SPARTA News

February 2015

SPARTA President’s Corner

contributed by Ron Pimblett

It’s a great pleasure for the SPARTA team to welcome in 2015 with our first meeting February 3rd  to be held at IBM. A new mainframe will be discussed and demonstrated. The IBM z13 with its large memory resources and focus on delivering mobile and cloud solutions is a new and exciting platform.

Last year our discussions focused on the new mobile capability for the Mainframe as well as improved operating tools like zAware and analytics.

Mobile devices are growing rapidly and will require access to data across the current and new application suites through new channels. Cloud computing is now being discussed as a given, featuring anything from Software as a server to full server deployment.  IBM z Enterprise has been at the forefront even before cloud computing entered the scene.

Looking forward to new speakers for the rest of the year our focus should encompass not only Analytics and management tools but also Data Security.  In fact, to senior executives this problem is keeping them up at night.  We need to highlight the incredible security of the mainframe and encompass other enterprise data solutions that will give management the “aha moments” to invest more in the mainframe infrastructure.

As we move forward, we must remember that it is not only important to stay apprised of new technology but also that SPARTA is an association to bring Mainframe Systems Programmers together to share their experiences and their questions during the year. Our mission is to promote the integrity and expertise of our members at all times.

See you on our new night (the first Tuesday of the month) on Tuesday, February 3, 2015, at IBM in RTP to hear about z System and the new IBM z13.

Ron Pimblett

Future Speakers

(subject to change)

Mar. 3, 2015 - TBA (at LabCorp)
April 7, 2015 - SHARE Conference Reports by SPARTA members

We need ideas and volunteers for future speakers. Presentations don’t have to be fancy, just informative and interesting. Even a 5 or 10 minute talk can start an interesting interaction. Contact Ron Pimblett by phone as noted below.

2013-2014 SPARTA

Board of Directors

Brad Carson - President

(1959-2013)

Ron Pimblett - Vice President

MDI Data Systems 919-426-6518

866-634-3282

Raleigh, NC 27609

Mike Lockey -  Secretary

Guilford Co. Information Services  336-641-6235

201 N. Eugene St.

Greensboro, NC 27401

Tommy Thomas - Treasurer

LabCorp                  336-436-4178

3060 S. Church St.

Burlington, NC 27215

Ed Webb -  Communications Director

SAS Institute Inc.  919-531-4162

SAS Campus Drive

Cary, NC 27513

Meetings

Meetings are scheduled for the first Tuesday evening of each month (except no meeting in January), with optional dinner at 6:15 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 7:00 p.m.

These monthly meetings usually are held at LabCorp’s Center for Molecular Biology and Pathology (CMBP) near the Research Triangle Park (see last page). Take I-40 to Miami Boulevard and go north. Turn right onto 1912 T.W. Alexander Drive. Go about a mile or so. Then turn right into LabCorp complex and turn Left to the CMBP Building. In the lobby, sign in as a visitor to see Tommy Thomas. Tommy will escort you to the conference room.

Call for Articles

If you have any ideas for speakers, presentations, newsletter articles, or are interested in taking part in a presentation, PLEASE contact one of the Board of Directors with your suggestions.

Newsletter e-Mailings

The SPARTA policy is to e-mail a monthly notice to our SPARTA-RTP Group. The newsletter is posted to the website about five (5) days before each meeting so you can prepare. The SPARTA-RTP Group is maintained by Chris Blackshire; if you have corrections or problems receiving your meeting notice, contact Chris at chrisbl@nc.rr.com.

November 2014 “CBT Tape” Shareware Online

The directory and files from the latest CBT tape V489 (dated November 12, 2014) are available from www.cbttape.org.

If you need help obtaining one or more files, contact Ed Webb at SAS (see Board of Director’s list for contact info).

Minutes of the December 2, 2014 Meeting

•Meeting was called to order at 7:05 PM by Ron Pimblett, the Chapter Vice President.

•The meeting was held at LabCorp in RTP, N.C.

•Fourteen (14) people were present of which Thirteen (13) were 2014 members.

•Everyone in the room introduced themselves, told where they worked, and briefly described their job functions or their job hunting challenges.
•The minutes of the November 2014 meeting were approved as published in the November 2014 newsletter.

•Tommy Thomas, the Chapter Treasurer, gave the Treasurer's Report. As of Nov. 17, 2014, the balance is $435.97. Motion was made and approved to accept the Treasurer's Report as published in the November 2014 newsletter.

OLD BUSINESS

•Articles are needed for this newsletter. If you would like to write an article for this newsletter, please contact Ed Webb. Keep in mind that you don't really need to write the article, it can be an article that you read that you would like to share with the membership.

•The SPARTA Web page is available at http://www.spartanc.org. Please send any comments or suggestions about the Web page to Mike Lockey. Be sure to check the Web page every once in a while to see any new or changed information.

•Tommy reminded everyone to leave the LabCorp conference room clean.

•Future Speakers and Topics (subject to change based on internal politics, budget, the weather):

If you have suggestions about speakers and topics, contact Ron Pimblett (919-833-8426).

•The next SPARTA monthly meeting will be February 3, 2015 at IBM Executive Briefing Center in the RTP.

•Food for the Feb 3 meeting will be a buffet at the IBM Executive Briefing Center.

NEW BUSINESS

•The 2015 dues are due ($30) starting in March 2015. Please pay Tommy Thomas.

Thanks to LabCorp (Tommy Thomas) for hosting the December 2, 2014 meeting.

•There are currently 47 people on the SPARTA-RTP e-mailing list. There are 3 additions since last month.

•Send any e-mail address changes to Chris Blackshire so he can update the SPARTA-RTP Listserv. You will be added by the moderator (Chris) sending you an invitation to Join the list. (ChrisBl@nc.rr.com)

•President’s Corner submissions are wanted. Please assist Ron Pimblett and Ed Webb with ideas or try actually writing a President’s Corner article. If your shop is installing software or an OS process like Brad wrote about, please write about it.

•Tommy Thomas noted that monthly meetings are costing about $100 each and the treasury balance is being depleted. We need to think of ways to increase the treasury balance such as increasing the 2015 dues, a membership drive, more corporate sponsors, etc. Think about the issue and resolutions for the next meeting.