07Apr
Posts Tagged ‘IBM i’
01Sep
Positive Pay Can Prevent Check Fraud
Positive pay is a simple but effective way to prevent check fraud
Check fraud is on the rise
In spite of the fact that overall paper check usage continues to decline each year, check fraud is on the rise due to today’s advanced technology that makes it easier than ever to create realistic counterfeit checks. Simple low-tech paper checks continue to lead as the payment type most susceptible to fraudulent attacks. Since they’re passed hand-to-hand on their way to payment, checks remain the most-often targeted payment method by those committing fraud attacks.
Check fraud also accounts for the largest dollar amount of financial loss due to fraud. Paper checks can easily be stolen, duplicated, altered, or cashed illegally. And the payer can be liable for the fraudulent checks as the liability for a bad check can quickly shift to the check issuer and away from the bank that accepts an altered deposit.
There are several situations where organizations can be prevented from seeking restitution from a bank that pays a fraudulent check, especially if the organization did not exercise “ordinary care” in issuing checks. This means an organization can’t count on a bank making them whole after accepting a fraudulent check. All of which calls for a better solution to catching fraudulent checks as they occur. One of the better ways to protect your organization from altered checks is to implement Positive Pay protection, which is available in several IBM i check printing software packages, including iChecks from inFORM Decisions.
Understanding Positive Pay
Positive pay is an automated cash-management service employed to deter check fraud. Most Commercial Banks use positive pay to match the checks a company issues with those it presents for payment. Any check considered suspect is sent back to the issuer for examination. The system acts as a form of insurance for a company against fraud, losses, and other liabilities. There is generally a charge incurred for using it, although some banks now offer the service for free. It protects against altered, forged, and counterfeit checks by verifying the accuracy of a check’s account number, date, and dollar amount when the check is presented for payment.
How it Works
Positive pay is a simple but effective way to prevent check fraud. It stops criminals from cashing fraudulent checks using stolen account numbers. It also catches bad checks where the check amount has been altered or the check has an invalid date.
- Bank customers send a check register file containing check numbers, dates, and amounts to their bank for checks the customer has written.
- When a check is presented for payment, the bank compares the presented check against the customer’s previously transmitted check information for that account.
- The service matches the check number, dollar amount, and account number of each check against a list provided by the company. In some cases the payee may also be included on the list.
- Where there’s a discrepancy between a presented check and check file information, the check will not be cleared. The bank notifies their customer through an exceptions report and withholds payment until the customer tells the bank to accept or reject the check.
Payee Positive Pay
Payee Positive Pay offers even a higher level of fraud protection than traditional Positive Pay. Traditional Positive Pay only includes comparing check numbers, dates, and amounts. It does not include payee verification, to insure the payee name has not been altered. Many banks provide Payee Positive Pay as an added feature to Positive Pay, and that may include additional fees. If you choose payee verification, make sure that your software and your bank both support it. iChecks from inFORM Decisions supports Payee Positive Pay
Transmission File
There are several different transmission methods and formats in which check data can be submitted to a bank. Not all banks use the same transmission format and transfer protocol. And some banks use different formats in different divisions. If your organization is planning Positive Pay, you may have to account for several different check file formats. If you’re implementing Positive Pay on an IBM i contact inFORM Decisions for a check writing package that enables you to produce the correct format for your bank. The file can then be submitted using a variety of transmission protocols such as FTP and sFTP.
Benefits
Although using Positive Pay requires a few extra steps, the advantages for your business are well worth the effort. Consider the many benefits, which include: Lower costs. By significantly reducing the potential for check fraud, Positive Pay can save you time, effort and real dollars.
When checks are printed with iChecks/Positive Pay Software, the process becomes simple. A file containing information such as check number, date, amount, and payee is automatically sent to your bank. When a check is presented at the bank for payment, the bank reviews the positive pay file to see if the check is valid. Funds are released only when the payment details match the exact items on the check file. Check fraud prevention is easy with inFORM Decisions.
Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about Positive Pay or our acclaimed iDocs suite of IBM i products.
15Aug
Take control of your IBM Power Systems output documents natively.
inFORM Decisions has the solutions to help clients get more from their IBM i/Power systems
Why the IBM i?
The IBM i is recognized worldwide as one the most powerful and stable operating systems to manage business information today. IBM i is very different from the other operating systems in the industry, and the differences are related to its unique architecture. From the birth of the AS/400, the goal of the operating system was to create a platform that would allow a business to be insulated from the complexity of IT technology.
It allows its users to “run their business, not the computer.” Architectural elements within the OS make IBM i stable, simple, secure and scalable. To protect the integrity of the operating system, and the customer’s data, IBM i cannot have a “device driver” authored by another provider. IBM believes that the only software a typical customer really wants to deal with is the software that runs its business directly — the applications that are developed by the customer or that they buy from Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) such as inFORM Decisions. For that reason, the operating system comes integrated with all of the necessary “middleware” a business application might need.
Why inFORM Decisions?
inFORM Decisions has been a Document Automation provider specializing in state of the art Document Automation solutions for the IBM i – iSeries – AS/400 arena since 1994. We believe that the IBM i/Power Systems will be relevant for a long time offering the stability and security that you’ve come to expect from IBM. inFORM Decisions is committed to the IBM i platform forever!
Why iPDF?
Native conversion leverages the power of your iSeries investment and eliminates need to download to a PC or secondary server – delivering more security and faster processing of documents and reports.
Paperless Report Conversion software will copy spool files to PDF or TIF easily, dynamically naming, emailing and archiving without programming or additional hardware. For a quick product demonstration of how to use the iPDF Monitor to convert your spool files to PDF or TIF use the link below:
Convert spool files into PDF files
IBMi and Power Systems NATIVE PCL to PDF converter for Spool Files. iPDF converts standard HP Laserjet output (Printer Control Language) into the popular Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format). IBM native conversion eliminates the need to download to a PC (or secondary server) to process PDF files, thus improving security and speed of PDF document conversion. Much more than a simple conversion tool, iPDF enables report distribution, PDF document archival and retrieval, bursting, sorting and outputting PDF reports and custom business forms in the open PDF standard where they can be easily viewed using the free Acrobat Reader.
Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about our acclaimed iDocs suite of IBM i products.
08Jul
OCEAN TechCon 2019 | inFORM Decisions
Get all the IBMi training that you need at OCEAN TechCon 19!
IBM keeps rolling out enhancements that not only improve the IBM I platform, but make it easier to use Open source tools. Smart IBM I customers are adapting these new tools rapidly and are requiring some new hires to have some knowledge, not years, of these new features. They also pay a premium for these skills.
Where can you learn these new tools?
OCEAN TechCon19
IBM i Technical Conference
July 25–27, 2019 – Costa Mesa, CA
Three Days of Training, Networking & Insight into the Latest IBM Power Systems IBM i Technologies. Leverage the best of both the native IBM i as well as open-source products.
Topics include:
IBM 7.4, DB2, SQL, RDi, ILE, DB2 Mirror, Node.js, Open Source, IOt, Linux, Clean Code, Python, Systems Management, Cybersecurity, Watson, Continuous Learning, Modern Compute Environments, Best Practices, Managing Successful Projects, and much more!
On Thursday, 7/25/19 at 1:30PM, discover the power to become an “IBMi hero” for your company.
Join Document Management Specialist and IBMi Professional>
Orlando Ferrer,
as he shares how inFORM Decisions has been successfully helping IBMi customers automate the processing, distributing, storing, retrieving and sharing of documents natively on the IBMi. See how managing documents goes beyond printing and emailing spool files. Learn about the benefits of using an alternative to the cumbersome and obsolete AFPDS/IPDS printing. Find out how customers have benefitted from strategically managing documents & reports being distributed directly from the IBMi. Discover the power of converting inbound documents into useful information that can be used to run your business more efficiently while eliminating the need for file cabinets. Instead, your laptop or desktop computer can record your business transactions, send and store documents, and keep your financial records without taking up any added space. Multiple staffers can access authorized documents simultaneously boosting efficiency.
Insights of this session:
Attending Orlando Ferrer’s session will benefit you by: 1.) Learning about the power of going paperless; 2.) Experiencing the monitory benefits of automating the monitoring of email accounts, out queues, and folders in the managing of documents; and 3.) Gain knowledge of strategies that have helped other IBMi customers reduce cost, free up time, and improve bottom line profits. 4.) Experience the key technological advances in document management and the future with digitized files.
Often, your savings in paper- and storage-related costs will pay for your document management software in the first year. You’ll do you more than just break even—you’ll get ahead. Join us and discover the power of becoming the IBMi hero for your company. Find the complete #OceanTechCon19 details here.
Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about our booth at the conference. Hoping to see you there!
01Apr
The AS/400 has evolved into the modern and powerful IBM i
inFORM Decisions is dedicated to creating innovative solutions to help clients get more from their IBM i/Power systems
IBM i‘s AS/400 heritage and strategic innovation point to a bright future for this strategic server that continues to support organizations in almost every industry around the world.
- The market for the IBM i continues to be extremely stable with 1.3% annual attrition.
- 24% of IBM i shops are planning to expand their IBM i footprint in 2019, which outnumbers those who plan to migrate off the platform.
- 71% rely on IBM i to run more than half of their core business applications, a strong indication of the platform’s stability.
- 92% of the respondents from IBM i Marketplace Survey believe that IBM i with Power Systems provides better ROI than other server options.
The continued reliance on IBM Power Systems hardware and a dedication to keeping current with the latest technology is revealing long-term trends that give insight into the future of this trusted technology. The most popular version of the IBM i operating system is currently IBM i V7R3. The jump to 7.3 speaks to the longevity of platform as organizations continue to invest in keeping current.
Since its arrival, one of the strongest features of this platform has been its upward compatibility. For the most part, you can run a program created for the AS/400 in 1988 on a Power Systems server today with little or no changes. However, there are some IBM utilities such as the IBM Advanced Function Printing Utilities are not supported on IBM i 7.3 OS.
While AFP data stream and protocol might still function, the AFP Utilities and the InfoPrint tool for designing pages are not supported in 7.3 and beyond. This would indicate that you can continue to print existing applications, but that you can’t create a new form overlay or modify an existing one.
AFP is an outdated technology and was always painful to work with. IBM sold off its printing division which subsequently removed support for AFP utilities along with the Infoprint Designer and is recommending 3rd party alternatives such as the acclaimed iDocs Forms Suite from inFORM Decisions. iDocs provides easy-to-use forms design and spool file data mapper with menus to set up business rules for manual or automatic processing and intelligent distribution of merged, formatted reports, forms and security MICR checks. Print in color with graphics and bar codes.
Whereas most of the IBM Solution providers have evolved with the platform, some antiquated or obsolete laser forms solutions such as Jetform, Optio, Createform or Createprint, ACOM, and others, are forcing users OFF the powerful IBM i platform onto a Windows or Cloud based solution with higher costs, higher maintenance and totally new learning curves.
inFORM Decisions offers a seamless, painless, and no-cost migration. Migrate to a continually developed and enhanced Document Automation solution running natively on the IBM i. Our modules include laser forms printing, laser check printing, email with PDF and Excel formats for spool and database files, document scanning and archival and document workflow.
As the platform continues to evolve, becoming increasingly robust, embracing modern technologies, and giving many of the world’s top organizations a competitive edge, so do IBM i providers like inFORM Decisions. inFORM Decisions has been a Document Automation provider specializing in state of the art Document Automation solutions for the IBM i – iSeries – AS/400 arena since 1994. We believe that the IBM i/Power Systems will be relevant for a long time offering the stability and security that you’ve come to expect from IBM. inFORM Decisions is committed to the IBMi platform forever!
Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about our acclaimed iDocs suite of IBM i products.
14Nov
Making Document Imports Work for You
Making Document Imports Work for You…
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Leveraging the most out of your resources is a fundamental practice for successful managers and organizations. However when it comes to managing the flow of documents the actual practice can become distorted, failing to take advantage of many unexposed benefits. Reasons for not maximizing and making the most out of document flow ranges from lack of initial training; short comings in initial planning; unfamiliarity with installed products and system usage; being unwilling to implement changes to improve processes; and ignoring or misunderstanding the real needs of end users. Presented here is a snapshot of a few ways to consider in making your document flow manageable, beneficial to end users, and cost effective to your organization. |
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To figure out where to start look at the end point…
Typically either with the end users or established procedures is where managers can begin to address document management practices. This is a great opportunity and starting point to drill down on actual needs for an organization. The discovery phase could be considered one of the most important parts of the process if not the most important part of the process. However it’s surprising how many managers don’t make the time to dig deeper into the actual needs of their end users. This typically leads to configuring a document solution that only partially meets the needs of the end users.
In the scenario that we’ll be using, as shown on the above diagram, we will be working with three different departments.
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Although we have three very different needs for each of the departments, they do have some commonality which we’ll use to leverage our solution and make managing the document process easier.
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Reduce, Reuse, Repeat…
We are going to use two components to provide each of the departments there own unique setup.
The objective is to replace manual repetitive work done by people with machine driven processes. This will reduce the number of times that a worker will touch a document or have to key in data or have to shuffle paper around the office. From a technical managing point of view, we want to reduce and reuse the number of component being used to make it easier to manage the overall document management ecosystem. Once setup, we want the automation of repeated steps to process forward with as few human touch points as possible.
First consider a document management system like iView from inFORM Decisions. This will handle each of the applications separately. We’ll be able to store each of the document images in their own unique directory and write the captured metadata into separate tables. We’ll use the metadata as index fields to look up the documents at a later time and to push/pull data into the different operational systems for the company like the company’s ERP system and Accounting system. Additionally, we’ll use the front end portal; iView Document Center, to manage access to specific document types. This will make it easy to assign users from each of the departments to their own specific documents keeping the segregation of documents and data separate between departments.
Second is document capture system like iCapture that will monitor an entry point for your documents and automate the document capture process to your needs. In our case scenario we want to make it as easy as possible to manage the incoming documents for the technical manager administrating the complete document system and more importantly for the end users at each of the three departments.
In our setup, we are going to have different table top scanners like the Fujitsu Fi series scanners in each of the departments. As each of the departments scan in their originating documents in the different geographical locations, the documents will get funneled into a central collection point. The collection point can be either a single folder or a group of separate folders for each of the documents. The capture software will automatically monitor the collection point for new documents to begin the capture process.
Within the capture process we can apply Classification rules to identify each of the different types of documents. The classification step provides an important point in which we automate the separation of documents by identifying the documents at the entry point. This allows us to apply different handling rules for each of the different document types although all the documents arrive in a central collection spot. As each of the documents proceeds in the capture process, they each will follow their own unique configurations for indexing the metadata from the OCR process, validating the collected data, processing via Quality Assurance steps, and Migration steps. In our scenario, we are delivering the images of the captured documents into the iView Document Center and we are delivering the captured metadata into a database’s separate tables for each of the department’s unique systems.
Simple to complex…
By now you must be saying to yourself… This is a simplistic view to a bigger solution… and you are right.
My objective in this short article is to convey a few principles able to make your document import experience a successful journey.
Take the time to really understand your document management needs.
As managers of technology, operations, departments, and employee experiences it’s easy to become reactive as the pressures of demand push to get quick results. We’ve seen it over and over… those who engage deeper into the discovery of end user experiences and dive deeper into the overall needs of the organization tend to maximize their return in solution investments.
Manage your software tools.
From a technical managing point of view, keep your solution components to a few solutions that really provide you with what you really need and learn to use them. Learn to use your tools to take advantage of as many functions as they provide instead of adding another tool. Many times we run into folks that don’t realize that they have had the functionality in a current software tool they already own. If not sure, reach out to your contact for answers. This applies to putting together a document management system. Use tools that you can really use like iView from inFORM Decisions.
Keep the continuity of steps understandable.
When possible, use the same or similar steps in carrying your documents from the starting point to the end point. Have a central collection point to send documents into from all different locations in your organization; identify the documents using Classification configurations; process the documents with indexing and migration rules that are specific to a document type; and delivery useful data that is searchable to your end users. Keeping the flow of steps linear will make it easier for managing and troubleshooting your document management process.
Times are always a changing.
Always know that the best laid out plan will at some point change. In our modern world technology environments, regulations, and procedural shifts will at some point require your document management configurations to be altered. By having a sound laid out understanding of your document processing and of your tools like iCapture and iView, you will be able to better handle changes without having to reinvent your core document capture ecosystem.
Go beyond this article…
Contact us at inFORM Decisions to learn more about how we handle document management.
inFORM Decisions, Inc.
www.informdecisions.com
Call: (949) 709-5838 | Send email: [email protected]
19Sep
IBMi + iView = Complete web based content management solution
iView performs content management functions to enable the capture, storage, indexing and retrieval of spool files, merged documents and scanned forms so they are accessible via a web browser by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Operating natively on the IBMi (AS400, iSeries, Power Systems) iView increases security and speed over downloading to a PC or Secondary server.
There are countless reasons to choose the iView browser base archive retrieval module, but let’s first concentrate on the top three reasons. Elimination of these tasks results in reduced labor, and provides real cost savings and security.
1. Automate repetitive task of collecting document information.
Eliminate the need to manually sort and group documents for distribution, and filing.
iView will automatically ingest documents into archive repositories directly from the IBMi and from outside sources via inFORM’s document capture module. Documents will become immediately available for use.
Eliminate the need to key in information into database files for use in your ERP and Accounting Systems.
iView and iCapture solutions will collect indexed values into configured archive files which can be used to populate ERP and Accounting System databases thus eliminating the need to manually enter information multiple times.
2. Reduce and Eliminate the need to handle paper documents
Eliminate the need to manually file documents and bypass costly human errors such as misfiling and loosing documents.
Automatically file incoming documents into archive directories, the equivalent to electronic file cabinets, while iView and iCapture solutions automatically extract index values to use as searchable values to retrieve documents quickly and efficiently at a time when the user needs it.
Eliminate the costly reoccurring exercise of finding documents in file cabinets or worst yet tracking down misplaced or lost documents.
The iView Document Center makes it easy for users to retrieved documents from their desktop without the need of getting up and fingering through file folders in a sea of file cabinets. Since iView does the initial filing and uses metadata index fields, documents don’t get mislabeled, misplaced, or mishandled thus making it easier for users to find what they need in a quick and easy process with a easy to use dashboard. .
3. Backup stored documents electronically in preparation of a catastrophic event like fire or storms
Eliminate the vulnerability of not having a back up of your stored documents that now reside in your file cabinets.
Backup electronically stored documents and simultaneously store multiple backup copies in different remote locations including the cloud for safe keeping.
Eliminate the very real thread of a destructive fire, floods, hurricanes or storms destroying documents and preventing local access to your documents and further damaging your business’s continuity.
Continue to operate your business from backed up files and remote backup systems while local office operations recover and resume normal operations. iView is a cost-effective solution, enabling authorized clients to view their own documents online.
As iView leverages much of its technology for inFORM Decisions’ renowned electronic form software, a less expensive archive-retrial solution is achieved. Compare iView to other available COLD solutions on the market and see for yourself.
Contact inFORM Decisions to learn more about user-friendly content management solutions that offers a serious return on your investment.
iView Article 1 of 2. Look for the second article in this series in October.
12Jun
30th Anniversary of the IBM i and IBM Power Systems
30 years ago IBM, with it AS/400, taught the market about the value that an integrated data base and software could deliver. Way ahead of its time, IBM designed OS/400 (and its descendants i5/OS and IBM i) as a “turnkey” operating system, requiring little or no on-site attention from an IT staff during normal operation. To facilitate this, IBM i has a built-in DB2 database which does not require separate installation. Disks provide multiply-redundant storage and can be replaced online without interruption. Hardware and software maintenance tasks are integrated. System administration has been wizard-driven for years, even before that term was defined. This automatic self-care policy goes so far as to automatically schedule all common system maintenance, detect many failures and even order spare parts and service automatically. Organizations using the IBM Power Systems sometimes have sticker shock when confronting the cost of system maintenance on other systems.
The early IBM System/36 and IBM System/38 series customers were a key target of the AS/400, so OS/400 (i5/OS and IBM i), have built-in subsystems that provide backward compatibility with these earlier IBM general business systems. For this reason, long time users, of which there are many, still refer to the platform as the AS/400. The current user base remains strong and committed and various user groups have played a major part in the evolution of the IBM i. Make no mistake, Power Systems and the IBM i are far from their 30 year old roots and green screens. They have been transformed. Built to crush the most advanced data applications, from the mission-critical workloads run today to the next generation of Artificial Intelligence.
This platform remains relevant for modern businesses today and in the foreseeable future. The Power Systems server and IBM i can accommodate emerging technologies such as mobile access and cloud computing. It can also run and interact with cognitive applications on other platforms. IBM Power Systems are ranked No. 1 in every major reliability category by ITIC and deliver the most reliable on-premises infrastructure to meet around-the-clock customer demands.
The true source of this platforms’ staying power through numerous generations of business computing comes from a wide-ranging group of talented business partners and their commitment to providing essential tools for modern computing. Importantly for Power Systems and IBM i users, partners such as inFORM Decisions have been around to provide innovative business solutions. Since 1994, inFORM Decisions has been a Document Automation provider specializing in state of the art Document Automation solutions for the IBM i – iSeries – AS/400 arena. inFORM’s biggest strength is that their solutions have always run natively on the IBM i and they continue to develop and enhance for this platform. inFORM customers appreciate this commitment and new customers are acquired every month who for various reasons are being forced to a much less efficient and less stable PC based solution.
This platform can do anything and after 30 years of innovation is just beginning. Just ask the users! inFORM Decisions is committed to the IBM i Power Systems platform forever!
08Mar
There is a future for the IBM i
The IBM i (iSeries, i5, AS400, Power Systems) platform has been delivering valuable new business capabilities for many, many years. As new generations enter the IT world, many have diverse backgrounds that lack specific knowledge of the ‘i’. New managers inherit legacy systems that they don’t always understand and may question the future of the IBM i.
IBM has made it easier than ever to develop solutions on IBM i by making the most popular native language (RPG) capable of using some of the newest technologies (services, XML, etc.), They have also added new languages and improved the strategic development tools both in function as well as in platforms supported.
The IBM i development team is currently working on the releases after 7.3 and will be delivering many new capabilities to the platform in the next several years. IBM has always listened to their solution vendors and will empower the technologies they see as important to them and their future. IBM is committed to investing in the programming languages, environments and tools which will be needed to build the solutions.
In the past several years, one of the key technologies we’ve needed to enable is mobile devices. There are now tools that make it easy to transform your 5250 green screens into stunning RPG, PHP and mobile applications by using your existing development skills and IBM i assets. We are seeing software vendors offering frameworks that make it easier for developers to create native applications specifically built so RPG apps can be extended to run natively on the iPad, and other mobile devices. These frameworks are not unique to RPG and exist for other programming languages as well.
IBM i clients predominantly use their systems on site, but in line with evolving technology trends, many are considering cloud options for their everyday business applications. In response, IBM has recently introduced new end-to-end solutions that better connect the IBM i to the cloud. One of the key growth areas for the platform is when it’s used by software providers to provide Software as a Service, or Cloud-based solution. Additionally IBM and its many partners are finding new ways to provide value to some of their clients by providing cloud services, whether it’s backup in a cloud or fully hosting customers. IBM is dedicated to making the combination of IBM i and Power Systems as good in that cloud environment as they have always been if you own the box on site.
Simplified security and availability have been the hallmarks of this platform from the day it was created, and IBM is continually working to ensure they remain strengths making it one of the most reliable, secure and trusted platforms in the industry.
In association with committed software partners such as inFORM Decisions, which has been a Document Automation provider specializing in state of the art Document Automation solutions for the IBM i – iSeries – AS/400 arena since 1994, we believe it is clear that the IBM i systems will be relevant for a long time offering the stability and security that you’ve come to expect from IBM i. inFORM Decisions is committed to the IBM i iSeries AS/400 platform forever!
Call (800) 858-5544 / (949) 709-5838 or visit us at www.informdecisions.com for more information about our acclaimed iDocs suite of IBM i products.