IBM

Introduction: In general for message modeling COBOL  copybook layouts we use the DFDL parser within IBM Integration Bus Toolkit  to model and generate the DFDL schema . In some cases we find COBOL layout errors in generating the message model. We might think that once a COBOL  copybook is defined in the mainframe environment and is working why would it error out ? One of […]

Introduction: This article will outline the necessary steps to be taken with respect to calling existing CICS programs from IBM Integration Bus ( IIB ) using COMMAREA  data structures. The COMMAREA  specifies the name of a data area ( known as Communication Area in CICS Region) in which data is passed to a program or transaction. The maximum length of the COMMAREA  cannot be larger […]

I bought a new car last month. The last time I bought a car was 10 years ago, and oh, how the times have changed. 10 years ago buying a car was not a pleasant experience; in fact it was downright stressful. My experience this year was in a word – easy. With today’s digital […]

Part 1:  What is Social Network Analysis and how do I get started quickly? I am going to be sharing with you the path that I took to get myself up to speed on Social Network Analysis (SNA) using SPSS Modeler.  If you are new to SNA, or just curious on what SNA is all […]

The attach document to this blog posting is on developing IBM Pure App custom virtual system patterns(VSP) using Pattern.next technology. The focus of the document is to assist customers in coming up to speed on Pure App v2(vsys). The document demonstrates how to develop a custom VSP to implement IBM Sterling OMS 9.4. The implementation […]

Implementing Scatter/Gather – Data Aggregation pattern (Fan-out/Fan-in) in Datapower This article covers one of the very important patterns in SOA – Data aggregation. The data aggregation can be implemented in Datapower in many different ways. Data aggregation in Datapower can be categorized mainly in three segments: Scatter n Gather Pattern Fan-out/Fan-in Pattern Data/Content Aggregation Fundamental principle of […]

Throughout my career there have been a couple of quips that I have followed when presenting certain ideas; “Eat Your Own Dog Food” along with its close cousin Practicing What You Preach. In the first article of this series I promoted the idea that architecture is about collaboration and communication. I then laid out a […]

Training delivered by professional instructors can be a huge benefit when implementing software systems.  Employee satisfaction, return on investment, and reduction of calls to help desks can all be significantly affected by appropriate application training. Here are a couple of quotes concerning the value of education: “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” […]

In a blog post earlier this year, I discussed the increasing role data security is playing in the world today.  As mentioned in the article, 2014 was dubbed the “Year of the Data Breach”.  Around the time of the post, Sony had just been hacked.  Subsequently we learned there was credible evidence the cyber-attack was […]

Advanced analytics has a home in banking and financial services, but it transcends the traditional use of Excel and OLAP to run trend-lines on revenue and cost as they affect the classic Profit and Loss statement.  While macro trends are important to the financial services professional, two more important challenges involve: understanding the customer at […]

The field of process control has changed radically over the last 20 years. Back in the day, it was not uncommon to view process control as simply the exercise of reading a time trend line to see if a defect rates were rising or falling based on outlier activity around the classic Shewhart control chart.   […]

Chief Marketing executives who are tasked with growing a book business are faced with many challenges: Acquisition – What offers will increase direct response rates for prospects? Retention – What factors indicate whether a current is at risk for attrition? Activation – Once a new customer is sourced, how can we get them to use […]