Enabling Business Agility
The current generation of Web Services known as Web 2.0 facilitate collaboration and sharing among people and
communities on-line. This on-line collaboration results in the creation of new applications, one example is a process
known as mash up. Mash up refers to creating new browser based applications that provide user experiences that more
closely resemble current generation desk top applications than previous generation static web page content. This new
generation of Web 2.0 service based applications can have significant potential impact on the performance and capacity
attributes of the web facing servers that underlie today's SOA solutions. These solutions are in large part focused on
delivering data, information, and content to web based customers. While Web 2.0 developed applications are essentially free the compute infrastructure of those organizations whose data, content, and application logic are used by those applications is not without cost. There are real and potential business benefits to be derived from supporting Web 2.0 however it is incumbent on organizations making this choice that they plan their infrastructure accordingly. IBM's WebSphere Extended Deployment (XD), WebSphere MQ, and IBM System x iDataPlex are well positioned to help today's internet focused businesses stand up to this challenge.
Risk Management
Risk management is about consciously taking the risks we want to take, for a fair price, without taking on too much risk or being blindsided by the unforeseen. Executed well, risk management helps a firm maximize its return and general prosperity. Poor risk management practices, on the other hand, can lead to ill-conceived financial commitments, undetected fraud, and, as was the case with the Barings collapse in 1995, insolvency and collapse.1 Vital to business success, and mandated by regulatory law, risk management is increasingly a firmwide, board-level concern.
Enterprise Risk Mamangement
During the past few years, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) has become a hot topic across America, especially in the insurance industry. Harvard Research Group (HRG) recently conducted research on Enterprise Risk Management through interviews with executive-level decision makers in the insurance industry. We were particularly interested in understanding the business drivers underlying enterprise wide risk management in the insurance industry, how they have evolved over the past few years and what industry decision-makers are saying about the future. In addition, we were interested in understanding what benefits risk management systems and processes provided to insurance enterprises and how these benefits may be changing.
Clearing and Settlement
Executing an order, “the trade,” declares the intention to buy or sell a security. “Clearing and settlement” refers to everything that happens after that initial declaration to cause the actual transfer of assets and ownership. Instructions and trade-related information must flow between broker/dealers, the securities exchange, central clearing parties, custodial banks, and security depositories, so that each takes the necessary action at the right time. How well the process works depends upon how well information flows between all of the players.
Autonomic Computing
The computer age began with vacuum tubes, green bar paper and punch cards. In the late 1980's automated or lights out operation was in vogue and now in 2003 we are on the verge of realizing the benefits of such grand visions as Autonomic Computing, and Grid Computing. The trend is toward increasingly automating those day to day repetitive operations that can be handled by rules based logic. Removing these sources of potential human error will also free up skilled and
valuable human resources for other higher value tasks.
Real Time Event Driven Processing
In the “always-on” unwired world:
• Customers expect immediate response and no mistakes.
• Partners expect instant notification and real-time visibility.
• Suppliers push the limits of the just-in-time supply chain,
Today’s enterprise thrives on continual change, signaled by all manner of events: a new purchase, a
cancelled sale, a materials shortage. We all run in a highly competitive race, to internalize business
requirements and respond effectively, as near to real-time as technology and human nature will allow.
HA Forecast 2001
This report presents a market forecast of Highly Available server use. The forecast includes systems that are modified or enhanced after shipment thereby placing them in a higher Availability Environment Classification. When a Highly Available system is initially shipped from the manufacturer it has the software and hardware capabilities to place it in a given Availability Environment Classification. Many times after systems are delivered they are modified or managed in such a way as to place them in a higher Availability Environment Classification than they were at the time of shipment. Additional components, such as back-up power sources, may be added as well as clustering software and RAID storage devices to further enhance system availability.
E-Government
The Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the newly established Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) all have in common a requirement for the integration and safe sharing of data regardless of hardware platform, operating system, or data format. The FEA, if properly and effectively implemented, will drive the integration of federal IT resources across agencies and departments of the federal government. The result will be the delivery of actionable information and alerts when and where needed to produce desired outcomes. This will become real-time E-Government in action.
Future Proofing ERP and CRM
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) represents one large step toward the totally integrated enterprise. Most large organizations use ERP to run their operations, from order entry through manufacturing, delivery and service, as well as
Human Resource and Financial Management. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is the next logical step, bringing a unified approach to customer care and opportunity development. Enterprise software will continue to push outward, toward eventual engagement of all constituents: customers, employees, business partners, suppliers, regulators and investors.
Making Successful Sourcing Decisions
Harvard Research Group recommends that organizations include sourcing decision-making as part of their ongoing
strategic planning. While cost and technology are important factors, there are usually more strategic considerations. HRG interviewed C-level executives at Fortune 2000 companies to learn how they make successful sourcing decisions. We learned the following:
** When strategic sourcing involves entire functions, capabilities, or business processes, cost is not usually a
primary decision-making factor. However, for well-defined tactical sourcing decisions, cost is typically a
key decision-making factor.
** For sourcing decisions involving organizational, cultural, and human resource changes to succeed, C-level
executives need to be involved.
Interviewees tell us that cost is not the predominant factor in the majority of these decisions. However, business
expansion, revenue generation, streamlining business processes, and risk mitigation are more often key factors.
Server Consolidation in the Financial Services Industry
This HRG Assessment is based on interviews and obtaining detailed reports from an actual customer of IBM’s in the financial sector. The case represents work performed by the IBM customer from 2001 through mid-year 2005. The customer is continuing on the track of driving up server utilization while holding costs constant even though the specific server consolidation project has been officially completed. IBM can provide access to the customer behind this case upon written request assuming the customer grants permission to share information.
HP HPC
High performance computing (HPC), a strategic focus for HP, is a broader concept than the term High Performance Technical Computing (HPTC) implies. The introduction of industry standard platforms into this market by HP, IBM, and others heralds the increasingly commercial use of these systems that were previously used almost exclusively for technical applications. Today, RISC/Unix symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) servers and proprietary cluster platforms dominate HPTC, but there is a rapid movement toward Linux industry standard servers and clusters that is underway.
HRG’s investigation of the industry standard, high performance clusters market looks in detail at HP’s LC Series clusters. This paper provides an overview of the HPC market, HP’s position in that market, and the position of HP’s LC Series in the HPC marketplace. Additionally, this paper offers an unbiased examination of HP’s competition in this market, provides a summary of market opportunities for the LC Series, and details why HP’s LC Series is a good investment for customers looking to buy a HPC solution.
HRG Linux Summary
The Harvard Research Group recently conducted an assessment of the emerging Linux marketplace, with particular
focus on application deployment within the financial services industries. We appreciate your participation in our survey of Information Technology vendors, and are pleased to offer the following summary of our findings regarding the overall state of the market.
Internet Business Evolution (report)
This report provides concepts and information that are essential prerequisites to achieve that market ownership.
HRG has conducted extensive research regarding:
• The importance of an integrated solution for Internet information access,
• The real and perceived benefits of portals,
• The best terms with which to characterize portals to your advantage, and
• Opportunities for success in this market.
As a direct result of our research and analysis HRG has confirmed that we are witnessing a most significant change in the way businesses interact with each other and with their customers. The impact of the Internet Business Evolution will be just as significant as the industrial revolution.
Internet Business Evolution (paper)
We are witnessing significant changes in the way businesses interact with each other and with their customers. The impact of the Internet and its evolution continues to change the way commerce functions with no turning back. Ecommerce exploded in the late ‘90s in many forms bringing with it a lot of noise and excitement. Now in 2001 businesses and customers are trying to discern between those forms of ecommerce that will produce and thrive and those forms which are empty hype destined to extinction. Harvard Research Group (HRG) has defined five functional states of Internet Business Evolution (IBE). These IBE definitions are one attempt to avoid confusing and inexact terms such as “informational,” “enterprise,” “knowledge,” “internal” or “external,” “public” or “private,” etc. HRG’s goal is to provide a shared language to facilitate meaningful discussion between users, vendors, suppliers, partners, and engineers in the
pursuit of using the Internet as an innovative and easy to use business tool. The goal is for vendors to be able to clearly market their Internet services and users to have the ability to make informed and appropriate business decisions.
IBM eServer
In the fall of 2000 IBM reintroduced its full line of servers as the eServer series. In addition to Linux compatibility, eServers now promise a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for traditionally expensive systems, and incorporate the following significant new features:
• New tools for managing e-business--capacity and performance growth on
demand, system availability, management, solution compatibility and financing.
• Application flexibility--fully tested solutions can be deployed on the platform
which best meets customer need for performance, availability and cost.
• Innovative technology--deploy Linux applications on xSeries Intel servers,
iSeries, pSeries or on zSeries mainframes depending on customer requirements.
In addition to running their traditional operating systems, eServers run Linux across the entire line "from x to z." Recently the Linux community has applauded IBM's efforts. Microsoft has launched a massive disinformation campaign against the open source community.
IBM OpenPower
As users migrate from RISC/UNIX® platforms to Linux®, to which 64-bit architecture will they move — AMD, Intel® or POWER™? In this HRG Assessment, we describe a strategy that places IBM in a strong position to gain market share with IBM eServer® OpenPower™ Linux servers. We do this by showing that there are significant benefits in moving to OpenPower, such as, price/performance advantages, investment protection, software application availability, etc.
OpenPower servers are based on IBM’s new POWER5™ architecture, and they are tuned to run Linux. In the remainder of this Assessment, we provide a brief overview of IBM’s OpenPower strategy, discuss why UNIX users are moving to Linux, analyze the benefits of moving from UNIX to OpenPower, provide a price/performance comparison among OpenPower servers and other 64-bit capable servers such as AMD Opteron™, Intel Itanium® 2 and EM64T, and present the OpenPower value proposition.
Marathon
Hewlett-Packard and Marathon Technologies have signed a multi-year, multi-product OEM agreement. Based on this agreement HP now offers its users a NetServer Assured Availability Solution for Windows NT. Additionally, HP provides worldwide world-class support for its Marathon-based NetServer Assured Availability Solutions. HP and Marathon will under the terms of this agreement share in the marketing and future technology development, as well as in the establishment of an Assured Availability standard. As part of this newly announced partnership, HP and Marathon have developed a common high availability vision based around HP NetServers, Marathon’s Assured Availability capability, and HP’s worldwide service and support organization.
OpenVMS
Compaq’s OpenVMS and IBM’s z/OS (formerly OS/390) are generally regarded in the industry to be the two “world class” operating systems. These are the operating systems to use for really critical business applications. Many of the applications in the banking, securities, healthcare, government, transportation and communications industries require both high scalability and extremely high application uptime. Application downtime requirements can range from almost zero to no more than 60 seconds. Online transaction performance requirements can be in the thousands per second. Disk storage requirements can be multiple terabytes.
Productivity Indexing
Classifying business opportunities would be much easier if performance of organizations and their use of Information Technology could be quantified.
The major difficulty with any traditional ROI, TCO or other quantifying technique is the lack of pertinent data. Few, if any, organizations have the data necessary to quantify productivity and its correlation with Information Technology
Cross-Enterprise Data Integration
Executives understand the benefit of having access to the complete range of corporate data without having to be exposed to its underlying complexity. In the future, users will no longer have to be limited by or concerned with either the physical or virtual location of data, which application it comes from, or even if the data is structured or unstructured. As Data Integration matures and evolves, it will accommodate an increasingly wider range of data types. Ultimately no data, regardless of type or location, will be beyond integration. Initially, operational data coming from transactional systems as well as historical data coming from data warehouses and data marts will be integrated into a single, actionable view. In the future, unstructured data will increasingly be brought into that view such that it will play a larger and larger part in contributing to the benefits of cross-enterprise data integration.
Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003
Microsoft's recent investments in high performance computing (HPC) technology and business programs have positioned them as an emerging major player in this market. Today, with over 90 million desktop users, of which over 10% are classified as technical computing users, Microsoft has a huge opportunity to bring the advantages of HPC technology into the mainstream. Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard (HP) together are collaborating with leading HPC Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to provide validated solutions, bringing to market real solution choices for customers preferring Microsoft Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (WCCS) over Linux for HPC cluster solutions.
Novell SLES 10 SP1
Virtualization adoption today is in the early stages and the number of organizations doin g Linux Virtualization is between 1 and 2 percent. However, HRG views the virtualization of Linux and Microsoft Windows environments as having a significant long term impact on the way that organizations leverage their IT assets. Server virtualization, cluster virtualization, site virtualization, and enterprise IT / Data Center virtualization each have the potential of delivering real benefits in terms of cost reduction, flexibility, agility, and productivity improvements. Server consolidation is a viable solution for the elimination of server sprawl and under utilized servers. Virtualization can facilitate server consolidation, the more effective use of installed technologies, and eliminate over provisioning of servers. Existing servers can be consolidated on to fewer and in many cases smaller systems due to ongoing increases in CPU power. Take for example the benefits brought to market through the introduction of HP's c-Class and p-Class Blades.
The first release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell® with virtualization capabilities, was supplied through the integration of the open source Xen hypervisor project into the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 and went to market July 2006. This was a version one release and anyone who has been involved to any extent in software development and product launch will likely say that a version one release while functional is typically not quite ready for full bore bet your business production use. Now with the release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1 HRG expects to see Novell deliver substantially on the promise of a fully functional virtualized enterprise ready Linux with fully available support for Windows running on Linux or Linux running on Windows. Customers can now look forward to gaining better control of their infrastructure, IT, and HR costs while at the same time driving substantial improvements in productivity and bottom-line business performance.
Cassatt
Cassatt Collage™ run-time fabric provides an enterprise-class application execution environment that allows an IT manager to view a collection of commodity servers as a single, seamless expanse of fabric on which to run applications. Collage provides the capability to manage the fabric with tools to easily boot large numbers of servers, deliver a consistent version of the operating system across servers, monitor the health of servers, handle alarms, and perform other management tasks. Cassatt Collage addresses one of the key challenges of IT departments today— how to realize the benefits of low cost commodity hardware while addressing the increased complexity of managing large numbers of servers.
Sun FTR Assessment
Sun’s FTR program simplifies the selection, purchase, installation, configuration, and implementation of Solaris based IT solutions for business. FTR is a good fit for businesses with an ongoing requirement for server replication (read as scaling out). FTR program solutions are based on a standardized set of building blocks comprised of Sun servers, storage, and software. This program provides the potential for reduced TCO, enhanced ROI, and decreased time to revenue (read as enhanced cash flow).
Cloud Computing
Keeping apprised of terminology in today’s constantly changing IT landscape can be a fulltime job for IT decisionmakers.
Some terms lend themselves to a fairly educated guess as to their meaning. But “Cloud Computing”? It’s no
wonder even the most technology-savvy among us shy away from attempting to define the term directly. This HRG
Insight provides guidance on what Cloud Computing means and more importantly, why you should care. It will also
discuss how one vendor, Red Hat, has approached it.
Subscription Services
The concept of “Subscription Services” in software is not new but has become a front-and-center topic recently.
Microsoft’s recent announcement that it will bundle the consumer version of Office with its OneCare security suite and
sell it through a “subscription service” mechanism is an example of its currency. However, the topic is fraught with
misconceptions. HRG’s Insight will summarize what subscription services are, why they have inherent value to the
end-user and how one vendor, Red Hat, has successfully approached the concept.
Virtualization
Virtualization? Everyone has heard about it but even the term conjures up a hazy, intangible image. It is one of those
technology topics many CIOs and IT decision-makers would rather avoid. However, they avoid it at their own peril.
This HRG Insight discusses what virtualization is, why it’s fundamentally important to your business and how Red Hat
is addressing it.
|
