LANSA Partners Join Forces

LANSA Partner Futura Data of Denmark has become a partner of Rippe & Kingston Systems, Inc. They will be using the e.ssential Portal and the LANSA Portlet Generator to expand their LANSA business practice.

About Futura Data: Futura Data A/S has extensive experience with the IBM System i (iSeries AS/400). They have customers within several lines of business, with the main empahasis on wholesale dealers within the autombile spare parts. Futura Data has developed a Web trade system for spare parts, which is built on the international catalogue from TECDOC. They are both a IBM & LANSA business partner. http://www.futura-data.dk/

Rippe & Kingston's global footprint now includes:

Bermuda
Canada
Cayman Islands
Denmark
Germany
Great Britain
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Romania
Thailand

DB2 Web Query for System i

I just returned from a training class on the new DB2 Web Query offering from IBM, and am excited about using it with our Plant and Facility Maintenance application (METHOS). It shows great promise in both retrieval and analyzing vital data. You are able to add a more modern look to any existing Query/400 report as well as produce new, more graphical reports. Queried output can go directly to spreadsheets or PDF documents, and color coding or graphs can be added. These new options will greatly enhance the ability to highlight Preventative Maintenance Tasks and Work Orders that are in need of attention as well as assist in easier distribution throughout the organization.

Features like the Developer Workbench allow for the complexity of the database to be hidden from the end user (non-IT staff). The Power Painter (WYSIWYG) provides users the ability to easily design reports with the end goal directly visible. The On-Line Analytical Processing allows users to drill into data so they do not have to guess as to what makes up the numbers on the report. And using Active Reports allows you to take the queried data on the road for analysis; no server connection required.

If you have not seen this new tool in action, I highly recommend it.

New Weblets for LANSA WAMS?

We are looking for new weblets to incorporate into our packages...does anybody have any weblets for sale? We have created a few and would like to know what others have created. If you have any for sale, let me know. Thanks!

"Business Process Integration For The Rest Of Us"

October 16, 2007

LANSA announces the general availability of LANSA Composer, the first Business Process Integration (BPI) solution designed specifically for small and medium businesses. The first release of LANSA Composer is targeted to System i users, while a second release will expand to Windows and Linux users. BPI solutions are common in large companies, which can afford the cost and complexity involved. But today every business – large or small – is under pressure to automate their manual processes, better integrate their internal systems and securely share data with external parties. LANSA Composer is the first native System i solution to address all of these requirements and be packaged and priced for the mass market.

I personally believe this will be a rapidly embraced tool. My guess is that we will see plenty of demonstrations at the 2008 conference.

VAULT400 Awarded Value Add by IBM for System i (AS/400 iSeries) and other Platforms

For those of you that are now using our recommended method of Data Vaulting (Online Backup), you will be happy to hear that IBM has awarded VAULT400 with the Value Add Certification. This is further validation along with the IBM Server Proven Certification of what a great solution this has been for our clients. Just like LANSA, it will work support numerous platforms. All platforms that can run LANSA plus several others in your entire enterprise can be centrally backed up and managed with VAULT400.

For those of you that might not be familiar with VAULT400:
VAULT400 is a premier managed service for secure online backup and recovery. VAULT400 backs up an entire organization’s business-critical data to VAULT400’s secure data center. Safe and Off-site, the Encrypted Data is Available online at all times for Immediate, user-initiated Recovery. VAULT400 works seamlessly in an organization’s existing infrastructure with no additional hardware required.
Click here if you would like to learn more.

VAULT400 Press Release

Homebuilder Taps LANSA for Lead Management System

I read this article in Four Hundred Stuff:

Maronda Homes, a homebuilder that does business across the Midwest and the southern states, has installed a lead management system, based on LANSA Windows and System i application development technology, to help it sell new houses, LANSA announced last week. See the complete article

Thom Davidson joins IBM Advisory Council

R&K has been invited to participate in the IBM Advisory Council. Thom Davidson will be joining 20 companies selected nationally. The council will meet on July 24th & 25th in Chicago. I hope to bring back technology trend information compiled by IBM and their leading partners that we can share with our clients. LANSA will be a prominent topic in my discussions with IBM and the other firms that have been chosen.