IBM is a big company. IBM makes the System i. The System i is the best business computer on the market.

Yet you won't see any ads for the System i on TV. You probably won't read much about it in the non-System i press. You won't hear college students talking about the coolness of the newest release of i5/OS.

The System i didn't make bundles of money for IBM and didn't become beloved in IT shops by being second rate. So why doesn't IBM proclaim the greatness of the System i from the mountaintops?

I guess Big Blue is leaving it up to you.

Show Your Spirit

Start by awakening your System i spirit. When people ask why the "odd" computer you're using is so great, have an answer ready for them. Be able to say more about single-level storage other than "it's good!"

One of the best sources for information is the System i5 Handbook, particularly the second chapter, titled "System i5 Architecture: Fundamental Strength of the IBM System i5."

Other books that might help include Starter Kit for the IBM iSeries and AS/400 by Gary Guthrie and Wayne Madden (29th Street Press, April 2001), which you can find as a wiki on the System iNetwork (SystemiNetwork.com), and Experts' Guide to OS/400 & i5/OS Security by Carol Woodbury and Patrick Botz (29th Street Press, May 2004).

Memorize the Cheers

It's the Power and the i, stupid! Bid a fond farewell to "AS/400" and "iSeries" and even "System i." It's IBM Power Systems. It's IBM i ("for Business"), not OS/400 or i5/OS. (Okay, V5R4 and earlier are still i5/OS, but you get the idea.) The more unified your terminology is, the stronger your message is. (By the way, IBM swears it won't change the name again.)

Learn what makes the i different and better. Should a new wave of viruses or worms sweep through cyberspace, be able to explain why you're not too worried about your box.

Join the Squad

Get to know the vibrant IBM Power Systems community. Fire up your browser and discover the iSociety (isociety.org) and its wide-ranging focus. Shift to SystemiNetwork.com, http://systemiportal.com, and midrange.com to find a pool of resources for Power users and developers. And to share opinions, visit Angus the IT Chap (angustheitchap.com).

At these sites, you can find i-minded folks talking about all things i. Communicate with them. Share your challenges, frustrations, and successes. Gather the ammunition you need to help promote the platform.

Of course, nothing beats person-to-person contact, and the premier opportunity for that is the COMMON user-group gathering each spring. Can't make it? Check out common.org for a plethora of educational opportunities throughout North America and from COMMON's overseas sisters. For more face-to-face opportunities, join a local user group (LUG) or start your own. You can also attend an IBM educational event, such as one of the company's technical conferences.

Train

Learn to speak the same "language" as other i professionals. If you talk about "files," some folks may think you mean exclusively the old "flat files" of the past rather than state-of-the art versions. When conversing with colleagues, speak of "tables" and "views" rather than "physical and logical files." A good cross reference is the section ".

If you're like me, you may not have had much (if any) exposure to the IBM i (or even computers) in your formal education. This could be because i programs in schools and colleges are sparse. It's also a testament to how easy it is to use IBM i. You don't need to hold an advanced degree in computer science to master it.

One of the greatest tools for learning about IBM Power Systems is the i operating system itself. The commands have clear syntaxes — unlike with Unix, where a command could simply be the initials of its creator. The i context-based help text is better than most systems' entire documentation. The F1 key is a powerful educator too.

Although you may know a lot about your system, perhaps you have only a fuzzy understanding of IT in general. If you remember when TCP/IP was a PRPQ, you may want to add depth to your knowledge by pursuing some formal training. Not only will such schooling impress your co-workers and employers, but much more important, it will also help you communicate better with other IT people.

The System i is no longer shut up in a corner, connected only to a daisy chain of twinaxial cables. Now it's probably moving your business data to a wide variety of applications, devices, and remote systems across the globe. It's your job to keep up.

One thing you'll gain from IT education is exposure to the biases of your non-i colleagues. Consider this passage from Modern Database Management, Seventh Edition by Jeffrey Hoffer, Mary Prescott, and Fred McFadden: "Managing tablespaces, or physical database files, is a significant job of a database administrator. . . . For example, by locating different tablespaces ondifferent devices or channels and spreading tables across tablespaces, a database administrator can minimize disk drive contention across concurrent database users." Power Systems folks know, of course, that such tasks are automatic in i.

As you become familiar with the language and opinions of the IT community, you can distinguish yourself and keep your company benefiting from the Power Systems value proposition by talking to the people who actually write the checks — the business managers. "What?" you say. "Talk to users?" Yes, it's true, and you must even speak to users' managers. Keep in mind that despite the wonder of i, it exists to serve the needs of various organizations. You are not actually in the IT industry. Even if you are an IT service provider, you are in reality a part of your client's business, be it health care, finance, manufacturing, or so on. Your job is to demonstrate the value of technology to the enterprise.

Learn to converse in debits and credits rather than in bits and bytes. If the business people say that the IBM Power Systems are slow, don't just rush to WRKSYSSTS. Find out the reasons behind their comments. Is the problem that a report is taking longer than it should? (Perhaps the underlying database has grown.) Is it a delay in processing that's causing customer-service call times to increase? Is it just a perception that might not have any business impact? Be able to make a case in dollars and cents. You can add to your know-how by taking even a basic course such as Accounting 101. Also, consider what doors a master's degree in IT/business or a full-blown MBA program could open for you.

If you don't have the time or the funds to acquire formal in-depth education in business and/or IT, you can find many resources to help you jump-start your knowledge base. Locate some good books. Cruise the technology websites. Subscribe to a podcast or two.

Grab Your Megaphone

You've filled in some gaps in your understanding of i, of IT in general, and of business. Now it's time to take your knowledge to the streets.

Post i stories and offer comments online. Start your own blog. Create your own podcast. Most important, spread the good news to those around you. Attend meetings regarding technology at your firm. Even if a project has nothing to do with i, sit in and soak up what's going on. Learn the IT trends in your company. Know the key business problems your managers expect IT to tackle. Can the i come to the rescue? Offer ideas and explain i's capabilities. Even if you are shot down, you will have raised awareness of the operating system and the platform. Is someone ordering a standalone Unix or Linux box or BladeCenter? Suggest that the Power Systems running IBM i are potentially more economical.

Another way to sing the praises of the i at your firm is to schedule a "lunch and learn" session. Book a conference room and ask your managers to pay for a few pizzas. Share some success stories. Answer questions about the system that others might be afraid to ask.

Use some of the sites mentioned earlier as well as the IBM "i want an i" (www-03.ibm.com/systems/i/iwantani) site to build a presentation highlighting the key benefits of the i. You'll find facts, images, and even PowerPoint templates, all based on the i and the Power Systems. Direct people to IBM's "i want control" (ibm.com/iwantcontrol) page, which promotes i awareness.

If your Windows comrades can take a little ribbing, pull up a file on Windows XP Professional called "best_fr.htm." Here, in the Windows XP tour, Microsoft talks about the best system for security and ease of management and uses the image of a data center full of CISC-era System i boxes to illustrate its point.

If you can, follow your presentation with a trip for your "C" level executives to the IBM Executive Briefing Center in Rochester, Minnesota. This center is set up solely to show executives the value of the Power Systems. Also, ask those same bosses to attend COMMON's IT Executive Conference, where they can meet with the IBM leaders who shape the IBM i's direction. Another opportunity is to attend the IT Leaders Forum sponsored by the System iNetwork (SystemiNetwork.com/itleadersforum) to be held July 20-23 in Denver.

As a side note, it should come as no surprise that interest in hardware is collapsing at IBM (see "Where Are the 'Machines' in IBM?"). Sure, there will probably always be big iron (System z) on the menu, but change is afoot. The new Power Systems run i, AIX, and Linux. System x can attach through iSCSI or the IXS/IXA and can run side by side with a new Power Blade. Sure, IBM would prefer just one hardware platform. If you were a manufacturer, wouldn't you love to create one overall entity to replace myriad options?

So although there may someday be a single IBM box that handles everything you need, that potentiality doesn't take away from the value of the Power Systems running IBM i. What it does mean, though, is that even if you choose not to practice what I preach and what the i preaches, you will still be drawn closer and closer to the Windows, AIX, and Linux clan.

Cheer On

Don't hide IBM Power Systems under a bushel. The worst thing you can do is make them a "black box" to those around you. In my experience, the biggest job protection comes from sharing information and growing the footprint and value of IT in your firm. The companies in the most danger of having the platform pushed away are those in which the Power Systems people build a wall around their "strange practices." That is the road to ruin.

So talk to those other IT folks. Figure out solutions with them. Combine your expertise with theirs. Go ahead and let the Unix guy explore with QShell (with proper security in place, of course). IBM i and the Power Systems, for all their unique attributes, have more similarities with other systems and platforms than differences. Too often, the System i is viewed as "non-standard" even when it is the central data repository and application server for a company. The system will not survive if that is the case. People sometimes tend to fear and resent what they cannot understand.

As an i devotee, you live in changing times. All you hold dear is being realigned, but there is still hope. You know the way to a better computing tomorrow. Don't keep it a secret.

Jeff Carey is a System i manager at Newedge Facilities Management, Inc., in Chicago. Jeff serves on the board of directors for COMMON, and he is an accomplished speaker, both at COMMON and as a member of Toastmasters International. He has both an MS in Information Technology and an MBA.