Building a Digital-First Strategy With IBM i

[llccing]

Origin article,
https://techchannel.com/SMB/06/2023/building-digital-first-strategy-with-ibm-i

When it comes to modernizing IBM i environments, often the biggest challenges aren't technical. Many enterprises simply don't know where to begin.

当现代化 IBM i 环境时，通常最大的挑战不是技术。许多企业只是简单的不知道从哪里开始。

Puneet Kohli sees it all the time. As president of application modernization at Rocket Software, Kohli is charged with helping clients navigate the challenges and recognize that IBM i is well-suited to help them achieve their modernization goals.

Puneet Kohli 看到很多这种情况。作为 Rocket Software application modernization 的主席，Kohli 负责帮助客户克服挑战并认识到 IBM i 适合帮助客户完成现代化目标。

This process typically starts with simple reassurance. That's because when meeting with IT personnel, Kohli says he can count on being told one of two things from the onset. “Anytime we talk to a customer about modernization, the first thing we'll hear is: 'Modernization is going to be too hard,' or 'I don't know where to start.'”

这个过程通常以简单的保证开始。这是因为和 IT 代表开会时，Kohli 说他能够想起其中的一两件事情。“任何时候我们跟客户谈到现代化时，我们第一个听到的就是， ‘现代化太难了’, 或者 ‘我不知道从哪里开始’”。

In March, tech industry analyst IDC published a white paper, “How IBM i Can Play a Pivotal Role in Supporting a 'Digital First' Strategy.” In the paper, which is sponsored by Rocket Software, IDC notes that IBM i systems, workloads and applications are often limited within or excluded from organizational modernization initiatives due to the perception that they are too costly and complex to manage.

3月份，技术行业分析 IDC 发布了一篇白皮书，“IBM i 如何能够在支持 ‘数字优先’的策略中版本重要角色”. 在 Rocket Software 赞助的白皮书中，IDC 说 IBM i 系统, 负载和应用程序经常在组织现代化初始时被限制或者排除，由于成本太高或者管理复杂的固有成见。

IDC then highlights key modernization requirements and details the platform's unique attributes, concluding: “In today's increasingly digital world…there is no avoiding including IBM i in a digital-first strategy. Too many critical applications run on IBM i for thousands of companies worldwide, and these applications require a platform that is included in continuous modernization in order to deliver new capabilities and services...IBM i is a solid, modern and future-proof platform for enterprise-class computing that organizations should invest in and integrate with their evolving digital-first IT landscape.”

IDC 高亮了关键现代化需求和细节了平台的唯一属性，总结出：“在今天的增长的数字世界…不能避免包含 IBM i 数字化第一的策略中。世界范围内数以千计的公司将很多重要的应用运行在 IBM i 上，这些应用需要一个持续现代化的平台，来提供新的能力和服务…对于企业级计算来说 IBM i 是坚实的，现代的和未来可持续平台，组织应该投资并与他们不断发展的数字化 IT 环境集成。”

Breaking Down Misconceptions About Modernization

打破现代化的错误概念

In dealing with clients, Kohli sees his role as providing information and education. Sometimes that requires addressing the misconceptions of someone unfamiliar with the IBM i platform. In an anecdote that will surely strike a chord with long-time programmers and administrators, he recalls a meeting a new CIO whose company had inherited an IBM i environment in an acquisition.

处理客户业务时，Kohli 认为自己的角色是提供信息和培训。有时需要纠正某些人关于 IBM i 平台的不公平的误解。在一个足以引起长期程序员和管理员共鸣的轶事中，他回忆起与一位新的CIO会面的情景，这位CIO的公司在一次收购中继承了一个IBM i环境。

“He's questioning why they're using this application that's 20-plus years old. He wants to move off of it,” he says. “And I just say 'look, it supports Python.' His eyes start to widen. 'So you're telling me these kids (programmers) that I have back there, they can take it?' I said, 'Absolutely they can.'”

“他问为什么他们在使用20多年的应用。他想移除它。”他说，“我说 ‘看，它支持 Python’ 他的眼睛开始睁大。“所以你是在告诉我那些孩子（程序员）能够接手这个项目？”我说：“当然他们能。”

“IBM i, RPG—they're not used to those terms," Kohli adds. "So you just have to help them through it, using terms that they hear.”

“IBM i、RPG——他们不习惯这些术语，" Kohli 补充道。"所以你只需要使用他们熟悉的术语来帮助他们理解。”

As noted in the white paper, this lack of familiarity with IBM i also plays out in another way, when organizations that rely upon disparate computing platforms confine their modernization initiatives to Windows or Linux.

正如白皮书中所指出的那样，这种对IBM i不熟悉的情况也会以另一种方式表现出来，即依赖不同计算平台的组织将其现代化倡议限制在Windows或Linux上。

“There are also applications running on Windows and Linux that were written many moons ago, but people are more comfortable talking about Windows and Linux, so they put IBM i on the back burner,” Kohli says. “However, it's the same conversation, and if you don't also bring in the people who are running your IBM i, those conversations about modernization become even harder and you fall even further behind. It's important to break down those silos.”

“也有一些很多年前写的应用运行在 Windows 和 Linux 上，但是当讨论 Windows 和 Linux 时他们更舒服，所以他们将 IBM i 作为备用计划，“ Kohli 说。”然而，同样的对话，如果你不包含运行应用在 IBM i 上的人，这个关于现代化的对话甚至能苦难，你会跑的更远。打破这个结构非常重要。“

Modernization Is Possible

现代化是可能的

The angst is understandable. It is daunting to think of an application written more than 30 years ago still performing business-critical functions, knowing that the original owners have most likely long since left the organization. Kohli acknowledges the process isn't simple, but there is always a logical starting point. For example, with one client, Rocket was about to demonstrate that their monolithic application was only using 20% of the quote path. Another client was reminded that APIs (hello, Python) can be used to connect legacy applications with modern systems.

烦恼是站不住脚的。考虑一个写完了30年的应用仍然运行着重要业务功能是令人望而生畏的，原始的开发人员很可能已经离开这个组织很久了。Kohli 知道这个过程不简单，但是总是有个理想的开始的点。例如，一个客户，Rocket 给他们演示，他们的单体应用仅使用了 20% 的能力。另一个客户被提醒，APIs 能够用来将遗产应用和现代系统连接。

"Many times, it just starts from letting us, or letting someone else who does this sort of thing, give you a view into the application,” he says. “Once you can see what the application is doing, you can approach it like any other software application. So, follow the same software development principles. You may just take the front end and build a Reactor connector to it. Go from there, do your two-week sprints, and you start seeing progress. So yes, it's hard, but it's not that hard. You can get there.”

“许多次，从让我们或者让其他做这些事情的人给你一个应用程序的分析开始，” 他说。“一旦你能看到应用程序在做什么，你能够像其他应用一样接近他。所以，遵循同样的软件开发原则。你可能仅用前端建一个反应堆连接它。从这里开始，做一个两周的冲刺，你开始看这个过程。是的，它很困难，但是也没那么难。你能成功的。”