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IBM AS/400 / Windows NT Integration
The AS/400 is the world's most popular multi-user business computing system -- sold in more than 120 countries, enabled in 40 national languages, installed in 98 percent of Fortune 100 companies. For almost a decade AS/400 has been the most popular server for medium-scale business applications. In support of AS/400 developers, IBM offers several avenues for assistance, including:
- The AS/400 Technical Studio – an online
source for the kind of technical information they use on a day-to-day
basis.
- The AS/400 Institute – an online source
of information to help individuals identify what's required to obtain
new, or grow existing, AS/400 skills.
- AS/400 Consult Line – a remote voice consulting
service that provides telephone access to a group of AS/400 technical
experts at IBM's Manufacturing and Development site in Rochester,
Minnesota.
- AS/400 Libraries and Education – extensive publication and education offerings that cover a broad range of subjects about the AS/400.
In recognition of the importance that Windows NT will have in the marketplace, IBM has undertaken a number of initiatives to ensure that IBM customers are supported in the development of NT solutions. Though they compete fiercely in some industry sections, IBM and Microsoft also realize that it is in their best interests to cooperate in other areas. Throughout this cooperative relationship, each has shown respect for the other's design and programming skills in the liaison between the two companies that has arisen from IBM's focus on Windows NT.
The primary point of interaction between IBM and Microsoft is at IBM's Kirkland Programming Center and within IBM's Windows NT System Management Organization. Lotus and Tivoli also maintain productive technical relationships with Microsoft.
IBM founded Kirkland in 1993. Kirkland's primary aim has remained the same -- to ensure that IBM hardware and software works seamlessly with Microsoft products. In addition to its hardware optimization role, the Kirkland Programming Center also plays a leadership role in ensuring IBM's software on Windows NT qualifies for the Designed for BackOffice logo. This accreditation communicates to IBM's customers that IBM software for Windows NT conforms to Microsoft's standards for excellent integration into the Windows NT environment. To date, eleven IBM products, including those providing database, communications, queuing and directory, and distributed security functions, have this accreditation.
Through IBM's Windows NT System Management Organization, the IBM
laboratories are participating in the Windows NT 5 early adopters
program. Microsoft calls this the FirstWave Program. As a result of
this relationship, IBM obtains regular builds of Windows NT 5, and
IBM receives the technical support necessary to ensure that IBM software
exploits Windows NT 5 functionality in a first class manner. In fact,
IBM and Microsoft have signed an agreement articulating the integration
points that IBM will exploit in Windows NT 5.
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