System iNetwork

October 28, 2009

Frank Soltis, Avnet, Infor All Join iManifest Initiatives

Lots of action for iManifest initiatives recently: Dr. Frank Soltis has joined the iManifest U.S. board of directors and heavyweights Avnet and Infor have joined iManifest EMEA.

Soltis on Board

Soltis is, of course, the primary creator of the architecture used in IBM's Power Systems. A recently retired IBM chief scientist, Soltis has remained active in the IBM i ecosystem. iManifest U.S. says he will lend his expertise and insight to help guide the iManifest team as they set out to improve the communication about the systems he helped create.

"As iManifest builds their membership of IBM ISVs, vendors and users worldwide, one of the things we have looked for is someone who can serve as a rallying point for the entire community. From the beginning, Dr. Soltis was our ideal candidate; there is no one who could fulfill that role better," notes Jeff Olen, chief operating officer at Olen Business Consulting, Inc. and founding member of iManifest U.S.

Soltis notes, "I have been a supporter of iManifest since its beginnings in Japan. I believe in the objectives that they are working toward. So when the iManifest team in the U.S. invited me to join the board it was a good fit. I look forward to continuing to work with the iManifest groups worldwide."

The iManifest initiative in the U.S. is always looking for more participants from within the IBM i community. To get involved in the future of IBM i and Power systems, check out www.iManifest-us.com or email pr@iManifest-us.com .

Avnet and Infor

Posting on his My Middle Meddle blog, Martin Fincham, LANSA's general manager for EMEA and the guy rounding up support for iManifest EMEA, reported that the initiative gained two major supporters.

"Today's news is the most significant thus far in the evolution of iManifest EMEA. Although not by design, we now have nice symmetry to the group; Avnet representing the Tier 1 distribution channel, Infor representing the biggest homogenous group of IBM i business applications and LANSA as the largest independent vendor of IBM i development tools and enabling software," Fincham writes.

Nice.

And what about IBM?

Fincham notes, "While I have no official word from IBM, I want to go on-record and say that I have personally received enthusiastic and practical support for iManifest EMEA from a number of IBM'ers around the globe. I cannot thank-you by name here, but you know who you are."

Posted by cmaxcer at October 28, 2009 10:47 AM