IBM AS400

The IBM AS/400 is a midrange system which has proven itself as the premier choice for businesses requiring a computer system capable of handling diverse business requirements ranging from Data Warehousing through to e-Commerce.

When compared to any other midrange system it offers unsurpassed reliability, minimal downtime, low maintenance costs and the flexibility to take advantage of emerging technology. The IBM AS/400 is the most widely used Midrange Business System in the world.

The latest model of AS400 is known as the IBM range. The AS400 has recently been renamed the iSERIES and comes in a range of models: Today's dynamic e-business environment demands a more powerful, scalable, and flexible IT infrastructure than ever before. The IBM iSeries Models 270, 820, 830, 840 and the new 890 meet these demands by delivering industry-leading innovative technology in a cost-effective and easily managed server platform with intuitive enterprise-class systems management tools.

The iSeries delivers flexible capacity management to provide uninterrupted performance growth, with new Capacity Upgrade on Demand options for most iSeries Model 830, 840, and 890 servers (4-way and above).

The introduction of award-winning POWER4 processors in the new 32-way i890 delivers outstanding mainframe-class performance, nearly doubling the capacity of the 24-way i840. The i890 is an integral part of the IBM product line - advanced servers that helps you lower your costs, improve efficiency and speed e-business transformation. The i890 integrates IBM’s innovative technology developed across all of the IBM platforms. For example, the i890 incorporates the same processors used in the most powerful pSeries servers available today, along with zSeries’ robust hardware packaging.

The i890 incorporates the latest advances in RISC technology by IBM with the POWER4 processor. With two processors running at 1.3GHz, on-chip L2 cache and new L3 cache, the i890 delivers performance gains -- up to 37,400 CPW1, as much as an 85 percent improvement over the i840 for businesses that need a server capable of mainframe-class capacity while retaining its focus on simplicity and robust availability.

RPG

RPG and the AS/400 platform have a long history. When the System/3 was introduced in the late 1970s, RPG II was released. A few years later, RPG III was released with the System/38, which included the ability to work with a fully integrated database, according to the AS/400 Primer by Ernie Malaga, Doug Pence and Ron Hawkins. In 1994, RPG IV was released, with it's ILE abilities.

RPG is still the language of choice for AS/400 programmers, according to a recent search400 poll. Almost 90% of the 862 respondents said they thought RPG was going to be around for a while. This is probably not surprising to many within the AS/400 industry.

Third Party Software became a legal entity in 1999. Although a young company, independently solving people's problems has been the goal much longer. The people associated with Third Party Software have been involved in making core ERP products expand their functionality to address specific business requirements since the late 80's.

Every one involved has been independent, an end user and a software house employee. They have all worked support desks and called them for help. They have first hand experience of the frustration this can cause.

The recent expansion to provide web site development is to allow the right people to concentrate on what they are good at while working together to develop web enablement solutions to give extended life to mature systems.