Upcoming Meeting Notice

The Association of Service and Computer Dealers International (ASCDI) is a 30 year old, worldwide non-profit organization made up of companies who provide technology solutions, technical support or value added services to the business community.

Members and non-members are invited to learn how to grow your business, find new business opportunities, hear from industry representatives and enjoy some fabulous networking events at our conferences:

FALL CONFERENCE: October 7 - 9, 2009
New York City

Click here for more information on ALL ASCDI MEETINGS, to view the agendas, lodging details, attendee lists and to REGISTER AT THE EARLY BIRD RATE.

ACUTA
Automation
Cisco
HP
IBM
Modernization
Storage
Sun

ACUTA

ACUTA Issues Matrix updated
The ACUTA Issues Matrix is a summary of the key issues being addressed by the ACUTA Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee.  It is updated quarterly and includes topics of direct impact on higher education information communications technology. It has been updated for the third quarter of 2009.  ACUTA has made the document easier to navigate and divided it into Open Active Issues, Open Inactive Issues and Archived Inactive topics. The Table of Contents navigation panel makes it simple to jump to topics of interest. The Issues Matrix is available at http://www.acuta.org/Relation/downloadFile.cfm?DocNum=767. ACUTA, the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, is an international non-profit educational association serving colleges and universities.  ACUTA represents over 1700 individuals at nearly 800 institutions of higher education with members ranging from small schools and community colleges to the 50 largest U.S. institutions representing diverse Carnegie classifications in all 50 states, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  ACUTA also has Corporate Affiliate members, representing all categories of communications technology vendors who serve the college/university market.
Visit www.acuta.org.
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Automation

Robust file transfer capabilities added to JAMS Enterprise Job Scheduler
MVP Systems Software, Inc., a leader in enterprise batch job scheduling and automation, announced the availability of JAMS Release 4.8 which adds robust and flexible file transfer capabilities. With these new enhancements, it becomes even easier to automate and trigger tasks across the entire enterprise with JAMS. JAMS Release 4.8 includes built-in support for all popular file transfer protocols. The File Transfer Execution Method supports automatic retries and wildcards, and also includes complete integration with JAMS User Security. The integration with JAMS User Security, and the associated audit trail that JAMS provides, is a tremendous benefit for those organizations that need to meet regulatory compliance requirements.
Visit www.JAMSScheduler.com.
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Cisco

Cisco’s smart grid strategy: embrace everything based on IP
Cisco debuted an ecosystem for partners to make sure systems are interoperable with its smart grid network using Internet Protocol. Cisco has signed up tech companies, utilities and service providers into its ecosystem, trying to find partners at all levels of the network. The more partners Cisco has, the easier it will be to sell its network solutions to utilities. While Cisco said there are more companies in the ecosystem than named, the currently announced list is noticeably absent of network competitors like Silver Spring Network, startups (like the kind working with IBM) and even large players like IBM itself.
Visit www.cisco.com.
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HP

HP ProLiant server line gets SSDs
Hewlett-Packard will offer 60GB and 120GB solid-state disk (SSD) drives as an option across the full range of HP ProLiant G6 servers, as well as in select ProLiant G5 servers. The serial-ATA (SATA) SSDs, from Samsung Electronics, are aimed at supporting virtualized environments and I/O intensive applications where the latest HP ProLiant G6 servers are often deployed, the company said. Virtualized environments require significant memory, data storage and network connections to optimize server performance. Sun Microsystems and IBM announced earlier this year they are offering SSD in their server lines. HP qualified Samsung's SSDs for what it's calling the "green" option across its server line to give customers a way to minimize power consumption, saving money while boosting performance. Samsung claims the SSDs can significantly cut power use in HP's ProLiant servers and offer 40 to 50 times the performance over traditional hard drives, depending upon the application and computing workload.
Visit www.hp.com.
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IBM

IBM lowers mainframe costs with specialty processors
Since mainframe software is charged based on the usage of the core mainframe processor, IBM has developed "specialty" processors which provide a way for businesses to lower the software by offloading applications to a second, lower-cost processor. The IFL specialty processor runs Linux applications, while zIIP focuses on databases and zAAP on Java. In effect, a multi-tier SAP application with databases, presentation and application servers that previously would have required an entire room of servers and associated network equipment can all be run on a single System z mainframe. Taking the specialty processor route further, software company Neon Software has developed an innovative way for users to slash their mainframe software costs by enabling mainframe applications to run directly on the IFL, zIIP and zAAP processors. IBM recently announced an initiative to offer data warehousing, electronic payments, service orientated architecture and disaster recovery on the System z mainframe.
Visit www.ibm.com.



IBM to help Globe Telecom spark innovation, reduce costs and accelerate product to market
IBM, in collaboration with Nokia Siemens Networks, has delivered a service delivery platform that will make it easier and faster for Globe Telecom, a leading telecommunications company in the Philippines, to streamline its business operations, generate new revenue and reduce the time it takes to bring new services to market. This service delivery platform is helping Globe to reduce its time to market for new services by more than 80 percent, allowing Globe to create and deliver services and campaigns for its customers faster than ever before. As part of the contract IBM is delivering WebSphere, Rational and Tivoli software using SOA aligned with NGOSS standards. Globe will also utilize IBM's Telecom Operations Content Pack as the key accelerator to streamline the integration and automation of key processes, while providing significant reuse and lower total cost of ownership associated with the launch and delivery of new services.
Visit www.ibm.com or www.globe.com.ph.
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Modernization

New unrivalled System i modernization solution
The new partnership between Transoft and ASNA can now offer an unparalleled combination of tools and services for System i users looking to undertake modernization projects. Transoft has experience of hundreds of successful application migration and modernization projects from legacy platforms to open systems, carried out over more than two decades. ASNA has been developing tools and solutions for IBM midrange customers for more than twenty years, and its state-of-the-art Monarch product suite provides highly automated modernization of System i applications and data to the Microsoft .NET platform. The Transoft and ASNA solution starts with a PathFinder Assessment which includes a full assessment of the System i applications, a modernization roadmap, and then a comprehensive project plan and price. During the project RPG and CL applications are converted to C# or Visual RPG, screens are modernized to exciting Web pages, and the converted applications and databases are tested for completeness. Once the RPG code has been transformed to native code within the .NET framework, Transoft and ASNA can then also offer SOA-based development, making enterprise application integration much easier than previously experienced on the System i.
Visit www.transoft.com.
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Storage

Crossroads Systems unveils new virtual tape solution
Crossroads Systems, Inc. announced general availability of its new SPHiNX for Power Systems virtual tape solution for use alongside large data centers using IBM i, AS/400, iSeries and System i. Easily deployed inside data centers with IBM Power Systems, Crossroads' new SPHiNX solution allows organizations to greatly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of physical tape storage. Eliminating a common headache out of your data environment, SPHiNX for Power Systems also enhances data backup and restores, providing for significantly more secure and protected data. SPHiNX is designed for organizations that are feeling the pain around the inability to complete backups in a timely manner. SPHiNX for Power Systems also provides the highest level of data security and privacy requirements to help fulfill HIPAA and state information protection mandates.
Visit www.crossroads.com.
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Sun

Sun hosts software freedom day
Building on its commitment to empower developers and students across the globe, Sun Microsystems, Inc. sponsored more than 300 community style events in more than 30 countries for Software Freedom Day (SFD) on September 19, 2009. With an emphasis on emerging markets such as India, China, Indonesia and Russia, Sun's Software Freedom Day events are designed to help developers on all levels to better understand and generate increased involvement in open source technologies. Using its extensive Open Source University Meetup (OSUM) network, Sun brought together more than 25,000 students for student-run events designed to improve awareness around the importance and benefits of open source technologies. At each event, students had the opportunity to hear from open source experts from local universities and participate in installation demonstrations, while networking with students, professors and developers from their region who are passionate about free and open source technology.
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