tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22172419765622123302024-03-21T11:47:51.258-04:00IT Thru the Prism of TimeDiscussion of how IT has changed from an application programmers perspective including topics such as project management, risk management, root cause analysis, influence of business on overall IT effectiveness. Project management methodologies such as Waterfall and Agile. How communication skills influence outcomes on projects and team members. A mainframe hardware and software blog.Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-78238762083281908922020-02-01T19:50:00.001-05:002020-02-08T13:13:35.319-05:00A New Captain at the Helm of IBM<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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In his January 31, 2020 article, "<a href="https://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/unfiltered-opinion/ibm-follows-microsoft-best-practice-with-new-ceo.html" target="_blank">IBM Follows Microsoft Best Practice with New CEO</a>", Bob Enderle gives a rather brutal assessment of IBM's prior CEOs. To his credit, there is merit in his statement that a technology company needs a CEO with both a technical background and an ability to have and execute a strategic vision of where the company needs to go. Although he alludes to the turbulent, often dire conditions under which a CEO takes the position, that aspect seems downplayed in this writer's opinion. The occasion for Bob Enderle's article was the announcement of Ginni Rometty's retirement from IBM.</div>
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Challenging Times</h3>
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For example, the article does point out that the IBM Ginni Rometty inherited had been decimated by cost-cutting moves perpetrated by her predecessor, Sam Palmisano, but then faults her for not having a vision. Probably the largest challenge Ms. Rometty faced in 2012 as she took over as CEO was the changing landscape of computing. That landscape largely included movement to cloud computing and away from the mainframe. With cloud computing, companies no longer needed costly investments in mainframe and related infrastructure. Instead, companies could hand over the maintenance of hardware and software updates and related human-resource cost to an external company. Companies could reduce their expenses by outsourcing to a <a href="https://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/definition/cloud-service-provider-cloud-provider" target="_blank">Cloud Service Provider</a>, as well as improve their ability to react to changes in the market more quickly.<br />
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Quite frankly, I am amazed that IBM did not have a larger footprint in cloud computing by 2012. As early as the late 1990's they had already incorporated Java into its core application software, COBOL, indicating an acknowledgement of the existence of and need for connectivity outside its own mainframe environment. That they had not by 2012 may be symptomatic of what Bob Enderle refers to as "siloed."</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The New York Times January 30, 2020 article, </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/technology/ginni-rometty-ibm-ceo.html" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">"Ginni Rometty to Step Down as CEO of IBM"</a><span style="text-align: start;">,
writes "Wall Street analysts who were often critical of IBM's
performance during her leadership acknowledged that she had inherited
key challenges." In spite of, or perhaps concurrent with those challenges, in 2019 IBM purchased <b>Red Hat</b> at a cost of $34 billion. Red Hat distributes the popular open-source operating system, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux" target="_blank">Linux</a>, which is used in enterprise desktops, supercomputers, phones, thermostats, refrigerators and more. <b>Red Hat</b> is also used when migrating to the Cloud. From a licensing revenue perspective, this looks like a good move given the trend to move to the Cloud.</span></div>
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Did IBM's Gamble Pay Off?</h3>
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With IBM reporting a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/21/ibm-earnings-q4-2019.html" target="_blank">strong Q4 2019 earnings</a>, Ms. Rometty leaves IBM in a much stronger position than the one she inherited. Its Cloud and Cognitive Software segment, of which Red Hat is a part, contributed $7.24 billion in revenue during the 4th quarter of 2019. IBM is better positioned to benefit from <a href="https://www.itproportal.com/news/cloud-computing-market-worth-dollar411-billion-by-2020/" target="_blank">$411 billion Cloud Industry</a> market than when Ms. Rometty became CEO.</div>
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In summary, I would say Ms. Rometty attained her vision of steering IBM in the direction it needs to take. She turns the helm of IBM over to Arvind Krishna as CEO in April of 2020. Perhaps Bob Enderle's brutal assessment is correct when he points out the flaws in the choice of CEO IBM has made in the past. Ginni Rometty spent much of her 40 years in sales, despite having a background in computer science. Her successor, Arvind Krishna holds a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering and has held several research and business management roles since arriving at IBM in 1990. Not quite a 'technologist' in this writer's mind, but he is the Chosen One. </div>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-31238036661256137622019-08-20T23:05:00.000-04:002019-08-20T23:27:26.043-04:00Life Without the Internet? Say It Aint So.<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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A recent article which appeared in Gizmodo on 8/19/2019 examined some practical and societal implications of what would happen if the internet suddenly stopped working.<br />
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The article, "<a href="https://gizmodo.com/what-would-happen-if-the-whole-internet-just-shut-down-1837346490" target="_blank">What Would Happen If The Whole Internet Just Shut Down All of A Sudden"</a> mentions some of the panic most of us might feel - no Twitter, email, social platforms - but also alludes to power outages due to the loss of grid connectivity to the internet and the exchange of data over the internet. This internet-born paralysis would also extend to modes of transportation (flight, train), food delivery and possibly food manufacture, banking and the financial sector, to name a few. In general, commerce would come to a stand-still.<br />
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Think of the vast array of services delivered via the internet which would be interrupted:<br />
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<li>Email marketing</li>
<li>Online shopping</li>
<li>Job search</li>
<li>B-to-B Commerce</li>
<li>Online Banking</li>
<li>Property Search</li>
<li>Electronic Legal Filings</li>
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A few areas which would be impacted, but which the article does not include are:<br />
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<li>Smart buildings which connect to the internet to manage building systems such as air conditioning, air quality, lighting, real-time monitoring of critical asset performance.</li>
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Some wearable medical devices transmit readings from the heart. Other wearable medical devices are more for monitoring purposes, for example, adherence to medication intake . IoT advances also allow for ingestion of medications with sensors which transmit readings back to the patient's medical professional thereby allowing for real-time, 24 hour monitoring.</div>
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IoT devices also have a presence in commercial real estate. To maximize efficiencies and reduce costs, companies are making use of IoT-enabled sensors to control on and off times for lighting, lower or close shades during hot sunny days in order to reduce air conditioning costs. IoT technology is also used to remotely monitor off-site equipment which further reduces cost as the need to maintain an on-site presence is mitigated by use of IoT devices and computers connected to the internet. </div>
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In summary, given our reliance, and in some cases, addiction to the internet, "<a href="https://gizmodo.com/what-would-happen-if-the-whole-internet-just-shut-down-1837346490" target="_blank">What Would Happen If The Whole Internet Just Shut Down All of A Sudden"</a> is a thought provoking article. Fortunately, it is not a doomsday article as some of the industry experts such as Francesca Musiani, William H. Dutton and Leonard Kleinrock point out in the article. Indeed, there can be an upside to life without the internet.</div>
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Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-25509345701665414692018-04-29T12:48:00.001-04:002018-04-29T12:48:06.434-04:00Artificial Intelligence - Top Platforms<h4>
by Brenda J. Christie</h4>
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<b>Artificial Intelligence</b>, defined in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> as </div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: white;">"</span><b style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Artificial intelligence</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> (</span><b style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">AI</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, also </span><b style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">machine intelligence</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, </span><b style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">MI</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">) is </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence" style="background-image: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Intelligence">intelligence</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> demonstrated by </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine" style="background-image: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Machine">machines</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, in contrast to the </span><b style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">natural intelligence</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> (</span><b style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">NI</b><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">) displayed by humans and other animals. In </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_science" style="background-image: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Computer science">computer science</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> AI research is defined as the study of "</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_agent" style="background-image: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Intelligent agent">intelligent agents</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">": any device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of successfully achieving its goals.</span><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Definition_of_AI_1-0" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 11.2px; line-height: 1; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence#cite_note-Definition_of_AI-1" style="background-image: none;">[1]</a></sup><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> Colloquially,
the term "artificial intelligence" is applied when a machine mimics
"cognitive" functions that humans associate with other </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_mind" style="background-image: none; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;" title="Human mind">human minds</a><span style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">, such as "learning" and "problem solving".</span></span></div>
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<span 14px="" font-family:="" font-size:="" sans-serif="">is back in the news after a <a href="http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geK9kQu.ValisAs0JXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTByMHZ0NG9yBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwM3BHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--/RV=2/RE=1525033873/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.nytimes.com%2finteractive%2f2018%2f03%2f20%2fus%2fself-driving-uber-pedestrian-killed.html/RK=2/RS=OfhmQikh1xXvnDnAW9sgUQKdbRA-" target="_blank">self-driving car killed a pedestrian</a> in March of 2018.</span></div>
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<span 14px="" font-family:="" font-size:="" sans-serif="">An evolving science, artificial intelligence, AI, has many applications including the following:</span></div>
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<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Healthcare</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Manufacturing</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Call Center</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Transportation</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Agriculture</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Automotive</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Energy and Mining</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Intellectual Property</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Technical Support</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Retail</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Defense</b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: cyan;"><b>Investment Strategies</b></span></span></li>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: white;">Some of the platforms on which AI is being built appear in Dave Roe's April 27, 2018 article, <a href="https://www.cmswire.com/information-management/11-industries-being-disrupted-by-ai/" target="_blank">"11 Industries being disrupted by AI"</a> which appeared in CMS Wire.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: sans-serif;"><span 14px="" font-size:="" style="color: white;">According to a World of Computing article, <a href="http://intelligence.worldofcomputing.net/ai-introduction/history-of-artificial-intelligence.html#.WuW80y7wbIU" target="_blank">History of Artificial Intelligence</a>, artificial intelligence was formerly born in an IBM workshop conducted at Dartmouth in 1956.</span></span></div>
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There are many implications, for artificial intelligence both favorable and unfavorable. Over the next few weeks, this writer hopes to cover some of the good, bad and downright scary aspects of <b>AI</b>.</div>
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Bye for now,<br />
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Brenda J. Christie
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Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-50275943608546259632018-01-18T22:36:00.000-05:002018-01-18T23:17:18.225-05:00Nothing New Under the Sun<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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A recent Business Insider <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/networking-analytics-tool-used-by-tesla-nyansa-just-raised-15-million-2018-1" target="_blank">article</a> by Becky Peterson, tells the story of a Ghanaian immigrant who came to America and struck it rich.</div>
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Given the unfortunate events of recent days vis-a-vis the purported state of Haiti and African countries in general, it is refreshing to see another success story disproving that conjecture. Abe Ankumah's story is also proof that with preparation, insight and grit, one can accomplish one's dreams. Of course, there is a lot more to achieving success than the aforementioned. If you have an interest in how entrepreneurs attained success, you may want to tune into a new MSNBC series about <a href="https://www.recode.net/2018/1/11/16859194/silicon-valley-google-youtube-tv-show-future-of-work-msnbc-nbc" target="_blank">tech, jobs and the future</a>.</div>
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What struck me about Becky Peterson's article, however, was not just because it is a success story, but the technology being employed. The company Abe Ankumah and his two partners created, <b>Nyansa</b>, combines analytics with monitoring on wifi networks. <b>Voyance</b>, the product Nysana recently released, "is a system that monitors wifi networks to make sure every device on the network is running perfectly." This is an old concept applied to modern technology. Which isn't to say it has no value. Indeed, just the contrary. Nysana recently secured $15 million in funding from <b>Intel</b>. Companies who are Nysana's clients include:</div>
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<li><b>Tesla</b></li>
<li><b>Proctor & Gamble</b></li>
<li><b>General Motors</b></li>
<li><b>Home Depot</b></li>
<li><b>Uber</b></li>
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What's interesting about the concept of monitoring is that it has existed within the mainframe world for decades. Mainframe shops, first, to a large degree, employed system programmers to monitor performance of hardware systems and subsystems accounting for high levels of mainframe availability. Today, enterprise software such as <a href="https://www.ibm.com/it-infrastructure/z/omegamon" target="_blank">IBM Omegamon</a>, <a href="http://www.bmc.com/it-solutions/mainview.html" target="_blank">BMC MainView</a> and <a href="https://www.ca.com/us/products/ca-sysview-performance-management.html" target="_blank">CA Sysview</a>, largely performs these functions. So the idea of hardware monitoring is not new, but applied to a different platform - iOT devices running in a wifi, networked environment.</div>
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It would be interesting to know whether today's mainframe enterprise monitoring software incorporate analytics into the software. Indeed, it would be interesting if we owe the whole existence of analytics to the mainframe.</div>
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In any event, the combination of system/subsystem monitoring for networks supporting wifi devices and analytics is very powerful. Its use will undoubtedly be expanded from manufacturing and the healthcare industries in the coming years.</div>
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Kudos to Mr. Ankumah and his team!</div>
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Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-79428508157642971932017-06-26T19:43:00.000-04:002017-06-26T21:33:43.822-04:00Mainframe Usage Outside the Traditional Banking and Insurance Industries<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4MsAJHmOsslO5Q4ygA7gf1rAODiQyYjCklwGUtx0Bp5dgXjkOfOv8Gbczw0y9hmO8Maq-HXauberoSOAtrHZG0d2XC17w9c8SZvwZvHLlk6_LYDEmednxqJqSXdbIM5_uAZ1bPTPsoomn/s1600/System_z_Frames.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4MsAJHmOsslO5Q4ygA7gf1rAODiQyYjCklwGUtx0Bp5dgXjkOfOv8Gbczw0y9hmO8Maq-HXauberoSOAtrHZG0d2XC17w9c8SZvwZvHLlk6_LYDEmednxqJqSXdbIM5_uAZ1bPTPsoomn/s1600/System_z_Frames.JPG" /></a></div>
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An excellent article appeared in the June 26, 2017 edition of Network World. An opinion, written by Bryan Smith, debunks the common perceptions that mainframes are only used by the banking, financial and insurance industries.</div>
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The Article, "<a href="http://www.networkworld.com/article/3203404/hardware/how-mainframes-change-our-lives.html" target="_blank">How Mainframes Change Our Lives</a>," could be an eye opener for some. Indeed, I have written about mainframe use in the aeronautical industry in my March 27, 2017 post "<a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2017/03/by-brenda-j.html" target="_blank">MobileFirst for iOS and Watson iOT Arrive in the Airline Industry</a>." However, some of the other industries mentioned in the Network World article came as a surprise to me as well. Industries covered in the article include:</div>
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It is a quick easy read and well worth it!</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
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Brenda J. Christie</h3>
Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-58156497719140111482017-04-02T08:25:00.001-04:002017-04-02T08:25:43.690-04:00IBM is Everywhere and Things are 'A Changing<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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Motley Fool's Timothy Green does an excellent job of succinctly summarizing some of the highlights of IBM's 2016 Annual Report in his March 20, 2017 article.</div>
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The article highlights how IBM, through Watson, is using huge amounts of data to improve results and reduce costs in areas ranging from healthcare, to transportation (the airline industry) to banking and other industries subject to regulation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIpih28IHsU7cv4vPk0gcoHgRa1TD4Yqww7tKcWZnRKn8PhU3jelmCxaAvXzLlb9M_3wYITdJxG-OsC5chEJjkIjetbpAs2AxkjdWayVtygHzdGQJaGD9h1fbx3w6om22NQDrcMUqhR7K/s1600/ibm-strategic-imperatives-2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIpih28IHsU7cv4vPk0gcoHgRa1TD4Yqww7tKcWZnRKn8PhU3jelmCxaAvXzLlb9M_3wYITdJxG-OsC5chEJjkIjetbpAs2AxkjdWayVtygHzdGQJaGD9h1fbx3w6om22NQDrcMUqhR7K/s400/ibm-strategic-imperatives-2015.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Healthcare</u></b><br />
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Through IBM's 2015 purchase of Merge Healthcare (covered on this blog in <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/09/socially-conscious-ibm.html" target="_blank">Socially Conscious IBM </a>post) as well as its purchase of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truven_Health_Analytics" target="_blank">Truven Health Analytics</a> a year later, IBM's Analytics revenue (part of its Strategic Imperatives) increased 9% from 2015. What this means is that huge quantities of data can be quickly analyzed and presented to researchers and doctors to enable better and quicker cures and prognoses and consequently save lives. To health care companies, it also has to potential to drive down costs through more accurate diagnoses in less time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKWFhaead6fcV7D6d69Dq56FZ5ZDOxLV7d7xCnDs_W4r94gObdZyEnMQo9MJgFXMxVvn_RtE2Zze3rTrQW7BPdU-RgTSUDG6h5cGRuYfZruBiMvWBZU6mRnpm93kw5k1ZoTnUsKP8_KTg/s1600/turbulence_2512784a-xlarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKWFhaead6fcV7D6d69Dq56FZ5ZDOxLV7d7xCnDs_W4r94gObdZyEnMQo9MJgFXMxVvn_RtE2Zze3rTrQW7BPdU-RgTSUDG6h5cGRuYfZruBiMvWBZU6mRnpm93kw5k1ZoTnUsKP8_KTg/s320/turbulence_2512784a-xlarge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><u>Airlines</u></b><br />
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IBM's analytic prowess is also apparent in the airline industry, both <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2017/03/by-brenda-j.html" target="_blank">on-land</a> and in the air. Through its 2015 acquisition of the Weather Channel, IBM has provided the means for airlines to reduce one of its largest operating costs - fuel. As Timothy Green's article points out, airlines are able to react quickly to turbulence and in doing so reduce fuel costs due to the availability of data analyzed by the Weather channel. IBM's MobileFirst for iOS and Watson iOT applications enable maintenance crews on the ground to quickly respond to flight delays and to have the required crews readily available for airplane maintenance.</div>
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<b><u>Paper, Paper Everywhere!</u></b></div>
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Other areas where IBM Watson is being employed include the legal, compliance and tax fields where millions of pages of changes and requirements can easily cost companies millions of dollars to peruse and encounter risk of hefty fines for non-compliance. Timothy Green estimates these fines and penalties to be in the vicinity of $250 billion annually for banks alone.</div>
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<b><u>Security</u></b></div>
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As is to be expected, security continues to be a significant business concern. IBM's revenues attributable to security increased 9%, as reported in its <a href="https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM-4Q16-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf" target="_blank">2016 4th quarter 2016 and 2016 full year press release, </a><br />
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In summary, through recognizing and taking advantage of changing business needs and innovations, IBM continues to be relevant. Despite the continued commentary of naysayers that it has outlived its heyday, hardware (which includes mainframes) and operating system software still generated $2.5 billion of revenue for IBM in 2016. Indeed, Timothy Green's article (read it here) reports that 90% of global credit card transactions are still handled by mainframes!<br />
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To read Timothy Green's <b>10 Key Numbers from IBM's Annual Report</b>, click <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/20/10-key-numbers-from-ibms-annual-report.aspx" target="_blank">here</a>. The IBM 2016 Annual Report can also be read in its entirety <a href="https://www.ibm.com/investor/att/pdf/IBM-4Q16-Earnings-Press-Release.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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Brenda J. Christie</div>
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Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-37587988556851377482017-03-26T19:17:00.000-04:002017-03-26T21:51:40.329-04:00MobileFirst for iOS and Watson iOT Arrive in the Airline Industry<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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An interesting article appears in the March/April 2017 print edition of IBM Systems Magazine. Entitled, "Mobile at Scale Takes Flight," it largely centers around IBM's Mobile at Scale for iOS and IBM MobileFirst for iOS offerings. Mobile at Scale is IBM's rapid design and development platform while MobileFirst for iOS is the joint venture between IBM and Apple, whereby IBM will develop industry-specific mobile applications for use on Apple iPhones, iPads, and the Apple Watch.<br />
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The article discusses Finnair's decision to deploy several mobile apps this year in its aircraft maintenance area.
One of the apps to be deployed later this year by Finnair include <b>Inspect and Turn</b>, which will "give aircraft mechanics digital task cards and documentation... to complete work assignments." Finnair's <b>Assign Tech</b> app, also anticipated in 2017, will provide aircraft mechanic supervisors optimal shift assignments incorporating required skills and certifications for each maintenance task. The app will also push notification of findings or events which could result in flight delays so that measures to minimize such events can be taken quickly. </div>
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Another aspect of this article that caught my attention is the market in which this particular technology is being deployed, mainly, Enterprise Asset Management (<b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_asset_management" target="_blank">EAM</a>). </b>Although the MobileFirst for iOS app <i>can </i>integrate with existing systems, it can also integrate with IBM's 2006 EAM acquisition, <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/category/asset-management" target="_blank">Maximo</a>. The potential of increasing Maximo revenue, while developing patented industry-specific mobile apps (another source of revenue), increasing service-related revenue does exist. Additionally, the apps will be hosted and managed on IBM Cloud leading to another source of revenue for IBM.</div>
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Leaders in the field of EAM software, to name a few, include:<br />
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<li>SAP Enterprise Asset Management</li>
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The 2016 joint venture between IBM and Apple includes integration of IBM Watson cognitive capabilities within MobileFirst for iOS. Watson's cognitive capabilities include Natural Language Processing (NLP) which will facilitate speech recognition. An example of how this could be used in the Finnair maintenance crew scenario would be the mechanic asking the app the correct wrench to use for a particular maintenance task.<br />
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United Airlines has also recently partnered with IBM to develop a mobile app, similar to a CRM, which would provide flight attendants information on customer preferences such as seating, meal preference, flight arrival gates.</div>
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Bye for now,<br />
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<b>Brenda J. Christie</b></div>
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Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-77964423806365347152015-11-11T00:26:00.001-05:002015-12-05T07:04:43.530-05:00Mainframe Mobile Has Arrived<h4>
<b>by Brenda J. Christie</b></h4>
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In one of my earlier posts, <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2014/09/mainframe-goes-mobile.html"><span id="goog_116714908"></span>Mainframe Goes Mobile<span id="goog_116714909"></span></a>, I wrote about the technical aspects of combining Mainframe and mobile technologies. Fast forward a few months, and a September 15, 2015 IBM Systems Magazine article, "<a href="http://www.ibmsystemsmag.com/mainframe/trends/Mobile/2015-MMAT-winners/?page=1">Thanks to Mobile Apps, Users Can Access IBM zSystems Services and Data</a>" , announces the winners of IBM's second Mainframe Mobile App Throwdown held in May of this year.</div>
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First place went to a team at the healthcare company, Aetna, for developing an app which can lower the likelihood of incompatible drug interactions, and consequently, reduce the deaths from such errors. The FDA puts the number of drug-interaction deaths at 7,000 per year, so this app has the potential to save lives. The app, Nurses in Motion (<b>NIM</b>), is used by nurses participating in the Visiting Nurse Association. The app uses the IBM Process Portal, and accesses CICS, DB2 and MQ on the mainframe. A video below explains how the IBM Process Portal works.</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wN0NSGx_vbw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wN0NSGx_vbw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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A Turkish team, Akbank A.S., came in as a tie for second place for creating an app which allows bank withdrawals via bluetooth. The app, <b><u>Money Withdrawal With iBeam</u></b>, works without using a card or pin, and as such reduces the likelihood of being defrauded by use of a scammer or stolen pin. The app leverages <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/what-is-apple-ibeacon-heres-what-you-need-to-know/">Apple's i<b>B</b>eam technology</a>, CICS and DB2 on the mainframe and works with blue tooth-enabled ATMs.</div>
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German company Deutsche Bahn Trains also took second place for its<b> Rails In Motion</b> app which uses CICS Web Services and tablets to manage its railway system and assets, for example, to check brakes. Using smart devices and tablets enabled with <b>RIM</b>, mobile workers can now scan numbers, take pictures of car ID numbers, use voice to record readings and findings. This is a nice step forward from manually writing results while wearing gloves. A further improvement will come when the activity can generate a work order for additional work or generate a purchase order for required parts.</div>
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Third place went to Turkish Bank, Garanti, for a mainframe mobile app which reduces network activity and CPU usage when pulling currency rates. The Currency Rate App uses <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/wmq-telemetry">MQTT </a>(machine-to-machine/Internet of Things Protocol) and <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/messagesight">IBM MessageSight</a>.</div>
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For good reasons, and to safeguard lives and property, the barriers to melding different types of technologies are being removed. With each success more confidence is being generated and proof of the mainframe's relevance in today's economy demonstrated. Consequently, expect to see more of these mergers between technology in the future. The mainframe is here to stay!</div>
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Bye for now,<br />
<br />
<b>Brenda J. Christie</b></div>
<div>
</div>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-71523193959790977442015-10-03T12:00:00.001-04:002015-10-03T12:00:34.793-04:00Could IBM's Carbon Nanotube Breakthrough Replace Silicon Transistors?<b></b><br />
<h3>
<b> by Brenda J. Christie</b></h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvteKcjQoGpg9gGfnDBZGjOC-MdcllytUziKTUiDxpsUIENQxOaFMEHJ34qd-nmZcY4P2aG1Zgpuy9W8TPeWRNkgZuNdbsL1AuGRcC2ThQBcUVSdnwsChYg3UAxia_ou90gHG0XCqcN8_/s1600/Intel+Chip+and+Carbon+Nanotube+transitor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvteKcjQoGpg9gGfnDBZGjOC-MdcllytUziKTUiDxpsUIENQxOaFMEHJ34qd-nmZcY4P2aG1Zgpuy9W8TPeWRNkgZuNdbsL1AuGRcC2ThQBcUVSdnwsChYg3UAxia_ou90gHG0XCqcN8_/s320/Intel+Chip+and+Carbon+Nanotube+transitor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A great article recently appeared concerning <a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47767.wss" target="_blank">IBM's October 1, 2015 announcement</a> regarding a major breakthrough which could possibly replace silicon chips with carbon nanotube chips. While IBM's announcement mentions several benefits of carbon nanotube chips: </div>
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<ol>
<li>faster analysis of Big Data</li>
<li>better, more efficient delivery to cloud datacenters</li>
<li>overcoming physical limitations of silicon chips</li>
</ol>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Alan Radding's article, "<a href="https://dancingdinosaur.wordpress.com/2015/10/02/ibm-z-system-post-moores-law/" target="_blank">IBM z System After Moore's Law,</a>" goes into great technical detail in describing how this breakthrough impacts the z System, and to a good extent, which it is appropriate to describe this as a breakthrough.</div>
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The article does not go into great detail regarding Moore's Law, but the tacit understanding that the growth in use of Chips does not continue into infinity, but does in fact, have an end point. As defined by Investopedia, <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/mooreslaw.asp" target="_blank">Moore's Law</a> refer to an observation made in 1965 by Intel Co-Founder, Gordon Moore that "the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since their invention. Moore's Law predicts that this trend will continue into the foreseable future."</div>
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If there is any truth to IBM's research and discovery, this is one law which is flawed.</div>
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Bye for now,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b></b><br />
<h3>
<b>
Brenda J. Christie</b></h3>
</div>
<br />
<br />
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-27232608780664645662015-09-11T01:09:00.001-04:002015-09-13T23:08:25.523-04:00Socially Conscious IBM?<h5>
by Brenda J. Christie</h5>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJNifLD3Szh36YQ1Tmz3aoAVnsddcMYY9axOt7czBHbqTLeLwOqp4X_p_tIyZff-NtWJr94XgsuJZp9PwtCMX1KC2TyqpE_8kXzF8gVJu1u19nOD8rD2MJZFRoel9_ObWTNAypOqRcxpo/s1600/IBM+Social+Consciousnesses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMJNifLD3Szh36YQ1Tmz3aoAVnsddcMYY9axOt7czBHbqTLeLwOqp4X_p_tIyZff-NtWJr94XgsuJZp9PwtCMX1KC2TyqpE_8kXzF8gVJu1u19nOD8rD2MJZFRoel9_ObWTNAypOqRcxpo/s320/IBM+Social+Consciousnesses.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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If I were to use some of the new BI and Analytics tools IBM has debuted, I might find that a lot of the conversation surrounds its stock price, its continued predilection towards remaining in a supposedly dying segment (mainframe) and missed EPS.</div>
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However, in researching content for an upcoming Dash DB Enterprise MPP article, I came across a side of IBM that does not receive as much press, yet holds the possibility of benefiting millions of people. Specifically, I refer to IBM's <b>Billion dollar </b>investments in healthcare - an industry very different from mainframes, software and hardware.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjBVWcuv2WHy0W4Dr2rcXVk0yMNWAjIQ0F4BfM8T25oNj5GOe7XXlXPWNSvw-OnO1xb1S_gPfcjBY0fcXhkmR1OvZvUWV2Xrd4dLjOteJrWmTOTa5Bl1VsRdmhuHHb14L7BJPWSlkb6AY/s1600/healthcare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjBVWcuv2WHy0W4Dr2rcXVk0yMNWAjIQ0F4BfM8T25oNj5GOe7XXlXPWNSvw-OnO1xb1S_gPfcjBY0fcXhkmR1OvZvUWV2Xrd4dLjOteJrWmTOTa5Bl1VsRdmhuHHb14L7BJPWSlkb6AY/s320/healthcare.jpg" title="futureofhealthcareblog.mayoclinic.org" width="320" /></a></div>
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IBM's commitment to healthcare is evident in its <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/47435.wss" target="_blank">August 6, 2015 announcement </a>of its planned $1 Billion acquisition of <a href="http://www.merge.com/" target="_blank">Merge Healthcare</a>. The combination of IBM Watson's analytical and cognitive capabilities with Merge Healthcare's medical image processing and handling efficacies will potentially enhance physician's patient care decision making efficacy.</div>
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Further evidence of IBM's social consciousness is illustrated in a recent TechCrunch article, "<a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/10/ibm-watson-health-unit-begins-to-take-shape/#.znlau2:63Bo" target="_blank">IBM Watson Health Begins to Take Shape</a>." TechCrunch reports that through partnership with Apple, IBM plans to harness data via Apple wearable devices such as <a href="https://developer.apple.com/healthkit/" target="_blank">Healthkit</a> and <a href="http://www.apple.com/researchkit/" target="_blank">ResearchKit</a> for use with IBM Watson analytics to fight diseases such as breast cancer, Parkinson's Disease and brain cancer. IBM has also partnered with Medtronics to improve diabetes care.</div>
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According to <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/46580.wss" target="_blank">IBM</a>, each person generates <b><i>one million gigabytes </i></b>of health-related data in a lifetime. <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/what-makes-ibms-watson-run/" target="_blank">ZDNet reports in a February 4, 2011 article</a>, "The total on-chip bandwidth for Watson's 360 POWER7 processors is an astounding 180,000 Gigabytes per second!" Clearly, Watson has enough computing power to analyze an individual's lifetime health-related data. An additional value, to people, the medical field and businesses is Watson's ability to see trends and patterns and perform predictive analysis quickly. This can lead to better quality of life, prevention, reduction in healthcare costs to both individuals and companies, relieve states' Medicaid and Medicare burden.<br />
But how does it work?<br />
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An IBM infographic on how IBM Watson Health works appears below.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFA99H0O519AHXeWp5pJn0CIQxWjiH8pOUkANYJ1sfaVQa1NbjnbRmnFfdGCQci5-l6FNHnxicT5g2fMzkkIkQixbHkBD4deiZ6iZNsvinKtHUp8ZnXj8__j9PhIjeBGtzTsFziU_EBTsA/s1600/watson_health_infographic_FINAL.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFA99H0O519AHXeWp5pJn0CIQxWjiH8pOUkANYJ1sfaVQa1NbjnbRmnFfdGCQci5-l6FNHnxicT5g2fMzkkIkQixbHkBD4deiZ6iZNsvinKtHUp8ZnXj8__j9PhIjeBGtzTsFziU_EBTsA/s320/watson_health_infographic_FINAL.png" width="206" /></a></div>
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Regardless of whether IBM lives up to the financial markets expectations on this venture, there is no doubt that the potential benefit to humanity as a result is real. IBM, in conjunction with its partners, harnesses the power and capability learnt over decades to expedite finding cure for all too prevalent ills which befall humanity. In this writer's mind, it is for this reason that technology exists.<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
<br />
<h5>
Brenda J. Christie </h5>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-14310320682521043742015-08-30T21:27:00.000-04:002015-08-30T21:43:05.568-04:00IBM and the Internet of Things<h5>
by Brenda J. Christie</h5>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyH6FDNpkpKLHSa_Mtbxh0Pj7zu2Eb3RZNUOS5KTQkGFSl83nR3jxxTSn5iTGh8o2k4uwbiA7nU0N-_KzQK5kxf_hd9znaUJI9VIvyOBKC24mq85RERsLQLxqm_YQ9f9COIe__nfBUOgU/s1600/The+Internet+of+Things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYyH6FDNpkpKLHSa_Mtbxh0Pj7zu2Eb3RZNUOS5KTQkGFSl83nR3jxxTSn5iTGh8o2k4uwbiA7nU0N-_KzQK5kxf_hd9znaUJI9VIvyOBKC24mq85RERsLQLxqm_YQ9f9COIe__nfBUOgU/s1600/The+Internet+of+Things.jpg" /></a></div>
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TechTarget defines the Internet of Things (<b>IoT</b>) as "an environment in which objects, animals or people are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction."<br />
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A practical application of <b>IoT </b>is a heart patient who wears a monitor or chip-embedded vest which is monitored and tracked remotely by a company millions of miles away. LoJack and OnStar are further examples of <b>IoT </b>whereby a stolen car can be located, a locked door can be unlocked by an OnStar customer service agent working in a different city, state or country. It can be a refrigerator repair technician remotely reading output from the refrigerator's sensors and chips to access parts needed for your new refrigerator before actually leaving the office.</div>
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Dr. John Barrett gives an excellent explanation of <b>IoT </b>in a TED talk.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QaTIt1C5R-M" width="480"></iframe>
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The potential commercial and medical applications are vast. It is for this reason that IBM, over the past 18-24 months, has invested $10 billion in <b>IoT </b>and Analytics. Analytics is an essential component to make sense of the data coming from diverse devices.</div>
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According to a recent CMS Wire article by David Roe, "<a href="http://www.cmswire.com/internet-of-things/ibm-has-aggressive-iot-ambitions/">IBM has Aggressive IoT Ambitions</a><span id="goog_1770042719"></span><span id="goog_1770042720"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>", IBM's strategy for capitalizing on <b>IoT </b>is a "4-Pronged Attack." This strategy consists of:</div>
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<ol>
<li>Technology to support connected devices and networks;</li>
<li>Technology to build and manage <b>IoT </b>platforms;</li>
<li>Applications and solutions to provide a service to businesses looking to mitigate risk to the company and business;</li>
<li>Strategic consulting and business process change </li>
</ol>
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A visualization of IBM's <b>IoT </b>strategy which appeared in the CMS article is reproduced below.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lMP2kLTUfIGTAfTtNOjPUtSOPFuy56irf4JRITe4jvfyr3T9plxbmNet0TFip2uFErGX4LW0qSYeuDEks3dYt5nGwfDSArmF9-i7Ems2-Z_V2sfDClQIlS-Y4palA6yn3ctI23Ppx-e4/s1600/IBM+IoT+Strategy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="IBM's Investment in IOT and Analytics as reported by IT Thru The Prism of Time" border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_lMP2kLTUfIGTAfTtNOjPUtSOPFuy56irf4JRITe4jvfyr3T9plxbmNet0TFip2uFErGX4LW0qSYeuDEks3dYt5nGwfDSArmF9-i7Ems2-Z_V2sfDClQIlS-Y4palA6yn3ctI23Ppx-e4/s320/IBM+IoT+Strategy.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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Some of the reason's IBM's strategy might work include (1) IBM has deep pockets (2) IBM has over 700,000 patents (3) it has a broad developer network (4) it has brand recognition (5) it has reliable software (6) it has stable management.</div>
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Some of IBM's weaknesses which work against its success in the Internet of Things market, as reported in the CMS article include: (1) products and services are perceived to be too expensive (2) decline in quarterly revenue and year over year earnings casts doubt on IBM's ability to execute on strategies.</div>
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Being a well-known, established company does afford IBM some comfort. However, some of the internet of things companies, IBM's competitors (Oracle, Microsoft, Intel, Cisco, SAP and SAS), are not resting on their laurels but are steadily moving ahead.</div>
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The race is on to connect all devices and networks. At the end of the day, regardless of who takes first place, the consumer wins.</div>
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Bye for now,<br />
<br />
<h5>
Brenda J. Christie</h5>
</div>
Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-26756924417443536542015-07-18T18:54:00.000-04:002015-08-29T21:17:47.705-04:00A Face to The Mainframe Skills Shortage Argument<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
I recently came across an article on attracting <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials">Millenials</a> to the mainframe workplace. Written by Chris O'Malley, president and CEO of <a href="http://www.compuware.com/">CompuWare</a>, the article, '<a href="http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20150708/index.php#/12">Millennialize the </a><b><a href="http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20150708/index.php#/12">Mainframe</a>,' </b>discussed three challenges facing companies using mainframes.</div>
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Two of these challenges are very familiar to people in the mainframe world. The first challenge which is usually bandied about in a "the sky is falling" fashion, is the imminent shortage of mainframe employees due to Baby Boomer retirement. </div>
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<h4>
Challenge One - Baby Boomers Are Retiring </h4>
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Looking at the chart below, the youngest Baby Boomer has 16 years until retirement, while the oldest Millenial is age 32. Assuming a company using mainframe technology could attract a Millenial, there would be a maximum of 16 years to transfer knowledge from the veteran Baby Boomer to the Millenial. </div>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="height: 160px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 500px;">
<caption style="caption-side: bottom;">
Source: <a href="http://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/ageincrease.html" target="_blank">Social Security Administration</a><br />
</caption><tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #003333; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: top; width: 99px;"><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">Generation</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #003333; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; width: 155px;"><br />
<span style="color: white;">Born </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Between </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Years</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #003333; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 132px;"><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">Youngest </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Age</span><sup style="color: white;">(1)</sup></td>
<td style="background-color: #003333; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 92px;"><br />
<br />
<span style="color: white;">Oldest </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Age</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #003333; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 95px;"><br />
<span style="color: white;">Full </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Retirement </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Age</span><sup style="color: white;">(2)</sup></td>
<td style="background-color: #003333; font-weight: bold; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 180px;"><br />
<span style="color: white;">Years Until </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Youngest </span><br />
<span style="color: white;">Retires</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #9999ff; vertical-align: top; width: 99px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Baby Boomer</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 155px;">1946-1964</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 132px;">51</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 92px;">69</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 95px;">66</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 180px;">16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #9999ff; vertical-align: top; width: 99px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Generation X</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 155px;">1965-1984</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 132px;">31</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 92px;">50</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 95px;">67</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 180px;">36</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #9999ff; vertical-align: top; width: 99px;"><span style="color: #333333;">Millenial</span></td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 155px;">1982-2004</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 132px;">11</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 92px;">32</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 95px;">67</td>
<td style="background-color: #ffffcc; color: #333333; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; width: 180px;">56</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<hr style="height: 2px; width: 100%;" />
<sup style="font-weight: bold;">(1)</sup>
Youngest and Oldest Age are calculated as of 2015.<br />
(2) Full Retirment Age for people born after 1960 is the number of
years with several months, (66 and 2 months, 66 and 3 months, 66 and 10
months) depending on the birth year.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Successfully recruiting a Millenial does not take into consideration the propensity of Millenials to job-hop. According to a 2012 Forbes <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeannemeister/2012/08/14/job-hopping-is-the-new-normal-for-millennials-three-ways-to-prevent-a-human-resource-nightmare/">article</a>, Millenials stay at a job on average, for 4.4 years. A more recent <a href="http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242439">article</a> (February 2015) published by Entrepreneur, contained a job-hopping infographic part of which is reproduced below.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQJ4Pa5hKyAQS5MpoWKr9n_HV_qtEq6T5z45UiJi4LCLadl7ttBq37n8ze-yG8W7yJB4F3ht7nwYbfI__ivLlAhRfl7VTOt07FOFJQiKbm-oieZaZtvHOve04dZwLY1CIMrXo9x9ZNk1T/s1600/Job+Hopping.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Attracting Millenials to Mainframes" border="0" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibQJ4Pa5hKyAQS5MpoWKr9n_HV_qtEq6T5z45UiJi4LCLadl7ttBq37n8ze-yG8W7yJB4F3ht7nwYbfI__ivLlAhRfl7VTOt07FOFJQiKbm-oieZaZtvHOve04dZwLY1CIMrXo9x9ZNk1T/s320/Job+Hopping.JPG" title="Entrepreneur Magazine - Is Job Hopping Loosing Its Bad Rap?" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
So after training 4 different Millenials, all of whom leave after 4.4 years, the youngest Baby Boomer retires and a whole generation of mainframe knowledge retires as well. Perhaps there is reason for trepidation and a '<i>sky is falling</i>' mentality. However, the extent to which a skill shortage in mainframe technology exists clearly depends on the distribution of mainframe employees across generations. Companies with Gen X mainframe employees have 20 more years to plan for Gen X retirement.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h4>
Challenge Two - Controlling Costs</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Companies continue to be under pressure to control costs. My February 18, 2015 post, <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/02/mainframes-high-mlc-cost-can-it-be.html">Mainframe's High MLC Cost - Can It Be Reduced?</a> addressed some of the pressure IT management is undergoing to reduce software licensing costs. Additionally, seventy percent (70%) of respondents to <a href="http://www.bmc.com/blogs/mainframe-trends-results-2014-mainframe-survey/">BMC's 2014 Mainframe Survey </a>placed IT Cost Reduction/Optimization as their <b>#1 </b>priority in 2015. Given tight IT budgets, many companies may not be able to provide training to existing mainframe personnel in technologies more likely to result in increased revenue, e.g., mainframe mobile, analytics and Big Data. </div>
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<br /></div>
<h4>
Challenge Three - Leveraging Mainframe Intellectual Property</h4>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In his '<a href="http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20150708/index.php#/12">Millennialize the </a><b><a href="http://www.ibmsystemsmagmainframedigital.com/nxtbooks/ibmsystemsmag/mainframe_20150708/index.php#/12">Mainframe</a> </b>article<b>, </b>Chris O'Malley refers to Mainframe Intellectual Property more as the code comprising and used in mainframe applications. I differ with him on this somewhat since a lot of mainframe code is undocumented, and even when written in higher level languages such as COBOL, can be cryptic to anyone other than the teams that wrote the code. From this perspective, mainframe intellectual property is actually the knowledge held in the developer's head, not necessarily, the code itself. I do agree with Chris, however, that this knowledge needs to be harnessed to advance innovation in order to gain competitive advantage. I also think it is in this area of harnessing information and creating innovation where Millenials may best find a home. These are in addition to the 4 measures Chris O'Malley recommends be employed in order to maximize business value during the changing of the guard.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<h4>
The Solutions</h4>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Chris O'Malley recommend that the following four steps be employed during the mainframe generational transition from Baby Boomer to Millenial:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
<ol>
<li>Diligently Cast the Vision. With this measure Chris O'Malley is acknowledging that many people still view the mainframe as old, legacy technology. His admonition is to continuously show how the mainframe is being used today with new technologies such as mobile and cloud.</li>
<li>Provide Millenials with Digital Workplaces that match their work style and have a contemporary feel and function. Loose the Dilbert cubicles.</li>
<li>Give Millenials tools that are the accumulation of mainframe expertise acquired by their predecessors. This also translates to keep them away from the code. My October 13, 2014 post, <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2014/10/cobol-development-environments.html">COBOL Development Environments</a>, highlights several GUI-like interfaces which can be use in-lieu of 3270 monochromatic terminals. These GUIs are more contemporary in the sense that many are similar to the Java, PHP and web designer toolkits which employ drop-and-drag, in-line syntax checking, and syntax completion capabilities.</li>
<li>Continuously update the tools to take advantage of improvement and innovation in various methodologies, Agile, for example.</li>
</ol>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I think these are good solutions. I also think they are not enough and would not recommend hedging a bet that they will end in the desired result. It might be better to also supplement these measures with document-rich objectified code written by Baby Boomer mainframe personnel who have either written them or are familiar with the various mainframe applications. This code would then be included in code libraries for later use. This activity could be achieved on pay-as-you-go basis for applications and would most likely have appeal to Baby Boomers after retirement.<br />
<br />
A further option would be to work with <a href="http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibmwatson/what-is-watson.html">IBM Watson</a> to discern the logic and business rules underling the code for documentation purposes. The results could then be produced in a universal format such as XML and fed into a software utility which would then reproduce the code in the desired programming language.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div>
Bye for now,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h3>
Brenda J. Christie</h3>
Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-90918357284811087212015-06-03T06:25:00.002-04:002015-06-10T06:33:08.100-04:00Who Says The Mainframe Is Dead?<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
<br />
Chris O'Malley makes a great counter argument to "The Mainframe Is Dead" and "Mainframe is Expensive" choir in his June 1, 2015 article, "<a href="http://enterprisesystemsmedia.com/article/the-mainframe-is-a-witch#sr=ya&m=o&cp=or&ct=-tmc&st=(opu%20qspwjefe)&ts=1433325578">The Mainframe Witch</a>" appearing in Enterprise Systems Media. <br />
<br />
The article includes statistics on both mainframe performance and productivity as well as cost. Read it <a href="http://enterprisesystemsmedia.com/article/the-mainframe-is-a-witch#sr=ya&m=o&cp=or&ct=-tmc&st=(opu%20qspwjefe)&ts=1433325578">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Bye for now,<br />
<br />
<h3>
Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-21706532350885352015-05-05T11:40:00.000-04:002015-06-03T06:26:32.682-04:00Mainframe Economics in a Mobile Society<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie </h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl4U2l0_kmN8_vl5jLDgUzf901E8YL9yXk1wE0tnVbHiK3SHatEji69GJ62rbPL2tmHnuYtKT73jykSJ43f-t702J473udb5CMZjhRL8SjhqRsKZamFGgp1dhY5l7OMutTaO-4lCumvWS/s1600/Fully+Accessing+Mainframe+Costs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="mainframe costs, server costs, Economics of Mainframe Technology" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfl4U2l0_kmN8_vl5jLDgUzf901E8YL9yXk1wE0tnVbHiK3SHatEji69GJ62rbPL2tmHnuYtKT73jykSJ43f-t702J473udb5CMZjhRL8SjhqRsKZamFGgp1dhY5l7OMutTaO-4lCumvWS/s1600/Fully+Accessing+Mainframe+Costs.jpg" height="90" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Accessing Mainframe Costs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I recently attended a webinar which centered on the metrics which compare mainframe costs versus server costs.
The webinar, “The Surprising Economics of Mainframe Technology“ was hosted by Compuware. One of the keynote speakers was Dr. Howard A. Rubin. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In order to compare the costs associated with a mainframe platform to the costs typically found in a server configuration, Dr. Rubin used several metrics which are not widely known, but which perhaps show a more comprehensive representation of cost for each. Some of the metrics Dr. Rubin used for this purpose appear below. Why any of this matters at all really has to do with declining revenue relative to increasing IT Infrastructure cost. That is to say, Dr. Rubin’s conjecture is that IT costs are rising faster than revenue. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Given the proliferation of technologies (think disruptive technology) and technology driven cultural changes, there is a fair amount of truth to this conjecture. Many people perform work on the way to and from the office. There is a cost associated with company-sponsored cellphones to keep employees in contact with the home office. Companies often provide the devices used by the employee (laptops, tablets, cellphones, and software licenses for laptops, tablets, cellphone and Wi-Fi expenses for these devices). Additionally, staff or services providers to handle maintenance of these devices as well as troubleshoot also contribute to the cost of the mobile employee. Remote networks, software to support remote networks, staff to maintain both, also contribute to rising IT costs.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Consumer demand also drives rising IT costs through commodity availability. Consumers perform banking transactions in a mobile environment. Consumers shop online in a mobile environment. Appointments are made, not by phone, but via the net. Advertising dollars to alert and attract mobile consumers must also be spent lest the consumer stray into competitor territory. Marketing, more than ever, takes place in an electronic environment rather than through traditional paper-based channels.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
All these activities drive up IT costs and eat into company revenue. This seemingly insatiable demand fueled by technology is referred to as Technology Intensity – more devices, more apps leading to more demand.
Rising IT costs relative to revenue is a direct result of the availability of the Internet, mobile technology and the cultural change whereby employees and consumers are not stationary behind a desk, but on the move. While a company’s revenue may be increasing, the technology, infrastructure and hardware costs eat into that revenue to a larger extent today than in prior decades. Indeed, the actual cost, according to Dr. Rubin’s presentation, was 30 times more expensive in 2010 than it was in 1980! </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It would be easy to look at only one side of the equation, i.e., costs associated with the rise of a connected economy. However, if mobile transactions were failing companies, the practice of enabling them would be soon abandoned. The other side of the equation must be examined as well, i.e., rising revenues due to the ability to transact business, make online purchases and stay connected to the office. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblwu3qbofmtomBtNFA8KOZqjI9LCGVSfirip8tPdqRr7RDFA7fFpbU3YnV0w_Lq8urgBWjXx3xDf0JfEekeqEk56EQwZZQFMC07-UiQxqwXVio7ldL4jYpThpGjBItGDuoqEG2KWdFmCZ/s1600/Screen-Shot-2013-11-25-at-2.54.06-PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblwu3qbofmtomBtNFA8KOZqjI9LCGVSfirip8tPdqRr7RDFA7fFpbU3YnV0w_Lq8urgBWjXx3xDf0JfEekeqEk56EQwZZQFMC07-UiQxqwXVio7ldL4jYpThpGjBItGDuoqEG2KWdFmCZ/s1600/Screen-Shot-2013-11-25-at-2.54.06-PM.png" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<a href="http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2015/1/Final-2014-Desktop-Online-Holiday-Sales-Reach-53.3-Billion-Up-15-Percent-vs.-Year-Ago" target="_blank">Comscore</a> estimated Cyber Monday to be the heaviest day of the 2014 year netting more than $2 billion dollars.<br />
<br />
As reported in <a href="http://www.emarketer.com/Article/How-Mobile-Was-Cyber-Monday/1011671" target="_blank">E-marketer</a>, 41% of online purchases were made using a tablet or smartphone.<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYw0Dmp_YTqmcp1Up9VgikzjRSeix61n27qvC7IYsN19GpkRJjXzCq-a5_2Sn2g1aY-_xOVuPAsIJ-1eENTH1rxtXYXtVtYuoR6JiIxiMifXnot1abuCnQmIHNSJRn_93uQUEcZmvPY1R/s1600/Cyber+Monday+2014+Online+Buying.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYw0Dmp_YTqmcp1Up9VgikzjRSeix61n27qvC7IYsN19GpkRJjXzCq-a5_2Sn2g1aY-_xOVuPAsIJ-1eENTH1rxtXYXtVtYuoR6JiIxiMifXnot1abuCnQmIHNSJRn_93uQUEcZmvPY1R/s1600/Cyber+Monday+2014+Online+Buying.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Much of this volume involved mainframes.
Mainframes support this volume in the background through banking, credit card and inventory applications. They are often also at the forefront through providing analytics to facilitate real-time marketing to further increase sales. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
One of the metrics Dr. Rubin discussed illustrates the proportion of revenue supported by mainframes. He applied the same metric, <b>Income Supported per Dollar of Infrastructure Expense</b>, to server configurations as well. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
When the mainframe Income Supported per Dollar of Infrastructure Expense (<b>ISPDIE</b>) is compared to server <b>ISPDIE </b>over a period of five years, the result is that mainframe supported more <b>ISPDIE </b>while showing a 76% decrease in cost over the same five year period while server heavy configurations actually supported less <b>ISPDIE </b>than at the start of the five year period. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Part of the reason for this has to do with the difference in how the two configurations scale. Scaling on a mainframe can be accomplished through a variety of means, most of which do not entail buying a new mainframe. Storage may be added, software such as DB2 Analyzer or <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/02/mainframes-high-mlc-cost-can-it-be.html" target="_blank">Sub System Optimizer </a>may be employed to effect efficiencies.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Scaling on a server, however, usually is accomplished through the purchase of additional servers which are themselves accompanied by increased licensing costs, increased labor cost, storage, power and cooling costs, to name just a few. Indeed, there is an adverse relationship between mainframe unit cost and workload. The higher the workload the mainframe processes, the lower the unit cost. The same cannot be said for servers. Increased server workload usually results in increased cost through the items mentioned previously (more servers, storage, power and cooling costs, etc.).</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In summary, the growth in technology-driven demand has not only absorbed a greater percent of a company’s budget; cost associated with that demand outpaces the rate of revenue growth. Use of mainframes both facilitates that growth and works to mitigate the cost associated with supporting that growth. This is readily visible when viewed through a new metric, Income Supported per Dollar of Infrastructure Expense. It can also be seen when looking at IT Cost of Goods across different sectors wherein the infrastructure cost used to produce a good or service is examined. That service could be a banking transaction, a credit card transaction; it could be the cost of transporting a person from point A to point B. Across most sectors, according to Dr. Rubin’s research, that cost is less when mainframe technology is used. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Bye for now.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-62267473490964508082015-04-04T10:18:00.001-04:002015-04-04T10:18:47.175-04:00IBM Partners With The Weather Channel<h4>
by Brenda J. Christie</h4>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRGHLlhBp8yE_lRbeiYjXE4Vvy87aV4BnjJbsAlLRPt5IQheSEsMeEz3e9p5XX9IyyA0jyULxiZdXZCl5_ejZBoa_wA80e-pHguyJAHb76YHyFPocrQquKSRkdPnTXyVNb8YdBESgRDnK/s1600/ibm+cloud.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="IBM Cloud and The Weather Channel" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBRGHLlhBp8yE_lRbeiYjXE4Vvy87aV4BnjJbsAlLRPt5IQheSEsMeEz3e9p5XX9IyyA0jyULxiZdXZCl5_ejZBoa_wA80e-pHguyJAHb76YHyFPocrQquKSRkdPnTXyVNb8YdBESgRDnK/s1600/ibm+cloud.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IBM Cloud</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<em>Kudos</em> to IBM on it's recent partnership with <b>The Weather Company!</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As part of the deal, <b>The Weather Channel </b>will move its weather data services previously hosted on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Web_Services" target="_blank">Amazon Web Services (AWS)</a> cloud to IBM's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoftLayer" target="_blank">Softlayer cloud</a>. The move will allow The Weather Channel to integrate its data with IBM Analytics and cloud services. <br />
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h2>
How Does The Consumer Benefit? </h2>
One of the benefits to business is the predictive analysis capability inherent in IBM Big Data Analytics on the zEnterprise. This capability will allow The Weather Channel's historical and real-time data to be used by insurance companies to alert customers of inclement weather in order to move their automobiles or boats to safety in order to prevent damage resulting from bad weather.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<div>
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<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Having advanced knowledge of pending inclement weather would also allow hardware stores to stock up on in-demand supplies such as shovels, salt, plywood, sandbags, etc., in the event of a blizzard or hurricane. Action taken on this <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDcQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webopedia.com%2FTERM%2FP%2Fpredictive_analytics.html&ei=MtwfVaXWGsvWsAXyv4HgCQ&usg=AFQjCNGG6Ef788WpXXPnpjlQNBAcKEXx_Q&sig2=uV50jhF_sXYfQrdkwyzg1Q&bvm=bv.89947451,d.eXY" target="_blank">predictive analysis</a> is beneficial for both the company, by increasing sales, as well as the consumer, by keeping them off the roads during a storm and allowing them to protect property and thereby minimize insurance claims.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<h2>
IBM Makes Good on Its 2018 Roadmap </h2>
The alliance between <b>IBM </b>and <b>TWC</b> also has potential to increase revenues for both. As noted in the <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/03/ibms-vision-for-2018.html" target="_blank">IBM's Vision for 2018</a> post which appeared in February 2015, the move furthers IBM's goal of increasing revenue in both the Analytics and Cloud sectors.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Benefits to Developers<br />
<br />
The IBM press release also cited benefits to developers as:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: white; font-style: italic;">"Entrepreneurs and
software developers will be able to rapidly build mobile and web apps
that take advantage of WSI data combined with data from operational
systems, connected devices and sensors using advanced analytics through
Bluemix, IBM’s cloud application development platform." <sup>(1)</sup></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
<br />
Read more on IBM's <a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/46446.wss" target="_blank">website</a> and<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/weather-channel-moves-from-aws-to-ibm-cloud-2015-3" target="_blank"> Business Insider</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
Bye for now,<br />
<br />
<h4>
Brenda J. Christie</h4>
</div>
<hr />
<sup>(1)</sup> Source: IBM March 31, 2015 Press Release: <a href="https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/46446.wss">IBM and The Weather Company Partner to Bring Advanced Weather Insight to Business</a><br />
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Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-57159729217195834492015-03-20T08:59:00.001-04:002015-03-20T08:59:28.685-04:00Better Metrics for Assessing Mainframe's Value to Business<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I attended an impressive CompuWare-sponsored webinar yesterday, "<b>The Surprising Economics of Mainframe Technology</b>." Many issues relative to IT Costs were presented during the webinar. Some of my takeaways were: </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;">It is still cheaper to run a mainframe than a series of servers. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Mainframes scale better than connected servers.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">IT's Cost of operations has surpassed revenue generated by the companies in which they are found. </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">The cost of running applications on a mainframe cannot be calculated solely based on licensing costs, but should instead be presented in terms of how much of the organization's business is supported by the mainframe. When compared to a server-based environment, mainframe supports more. </li>
</ol>
The webinar resonated and extends the metrics which should be used when determining the value of mainframe technology in computing. It extends a concept ,<b>Total Cost of Ownership,</b> which has appeared in several posts appearing in IT Thru the Prism of Time (<a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/03/ibm-software-defined-storage-to-rescue.html" target="_blank">here</a>, <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/01/legacy-system-modernization.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2014/06/by-brenda-j.html" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
<br />
Look for more discussion on the economics of mainframe technology in subsequent posts.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Subsequent to that webinar I came across an article, <a href="http://www.nutanix.com/2014/03/11/understanding-web-scale-properties/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=banner_ad&utm_content=justmedia&utm_campaign=web-scale101" target="_blank">"Understanding Web-Scale Properties"</a> which presents an overview of a practice and platform whose use is on the rise, and whose goal is to further reduce IT costs in an intelligent, efficient way. This topic is of interest due to the rise in interest and discussion of the changing anatomy of infrastructure and the datacenter. Look for more in-depth topics on this subject as well.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Bye for now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-22699304100204925642015-03-17T00:29:00.001-04:002015-03-19T06:28:48.556-04:00How to Select the Best Business Intelligence and Analytics Software<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrVuAVTzNuwkxsPsuHwo5dX7TfMMDvfQI1bjXdgZLr8C-0Lfxi9cTekt0o6GhYWDGU0JI1JtujJoJDTMGLGSNnxNqqv0aVHcLPOKnKpesO0pfD1RvdAa1MBYu_71unrTY6Y2NBGmlC2Jx/s1600/BI+Image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Business Intelligence Rankings and which BI Solution Should You Use" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwrVuAVTzNuwkxsPsuHwo5dX7TfMMDvfQI1bjXdgZLr8C-0Lfxi9cTekt0o6GhYWDGU0JI1JtujJoJDTMGLGSNnxNqqv0aVHcLPOKnKpesO0pfD1RvdAa1MBYu_71unrTY6Y2NBGmlC2Jx/s1600/BI+Image.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In February 2015, Gartner published its latest Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms. <b>Business Intelligence</b>, as defined by Gartner is <i>an umbrella term that includes the applications, infrastructure and tools, and best practices that enable access to and analysis of information to improve and optimize decisions and performance. <sup>(1)</sup></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
Wikipedia defines<b> Business Intelligence</b> as
<br />
<div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="color: white; height: 70%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 70%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 50%; vertical-align: top; width: 50%;"><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the
set of techniques and tools for the transformation of raw data into
meaningful and useful information for business analysis purposes. BI
technologies are capable of handling large amounts of unstructured data
to help identify, develop and otherwise create new strategic business
opportunities. The goal of BI is to allow for the easy interpretation
of these large volumes of data. Identifying new opportunities and
implementing an effective strategy based on insights can provide
businesses with a competitive market advantage and long-term<span class="Apple-converted-space"> stability.<br />
</span></i></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<b>
Data Analytics</b>, or <b>Analytics</b> can be defined as<br />
<div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="color: white; height: 70%; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 70%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="height: 50%; vertical-align: top; width: 50%;"><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">the science of examining raw data with the purpose of drawing conclusions about that <span class="Apple-converted-space"> information<sup>3</sup>.<br />
</span></i></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<br />
<br />
Both Business Intelligence (<b>BI</b>) and Analytics are activities performed on Big Data, previously discussed in this author's <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/02/what-is-unstructured-data.html" target="_blank">What is Unstructured Data</a> post which appeared on February 15, 2015. They are also fast-growing, multi-billion dollar industries. As reported in the "<a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/03/ibms-vision-for-2018.html" target="_blank">IBM's Vision for 2018</a>" post, they are also part of IBM's recently released vision for 2018.<br />
<br />
The end goal of Business Intelligence and analytics is to facilitate better business performance and business decisions.<br />
<br />
Gartner's Magic Quadrant on this topic reviewed and ranked current providers of BI and Analytics software according to 13 capabilities and the vendors ability to support four main use cases:<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>Use Cases</b></h3>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_YKRCAO5torW7z9nXxDLWK6mBiUsW5M6JNktuWSxYgeywUvaBhBJE1RpNROGFibLjS6ANpSTv5crlq7PMNEnQF4ZR0p53izubzZ2XWygni4Ir9_FjX5akSlayFY_pTx-C8chla3HnqWw/s1600/BI+and+Analytics+Use+Cases.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_YKRCAO5torW7z9nXxDLWK6mBiUsW5M6JNktuWSxYgeywUvaBhBJE1RpNROGFibLjS6ANpSTv5crlq7PMNEnQF4ZR0p53izubzZ2XWygni4Ir9_FjX5akSlayFY_pTx-C8chla3HnqWw/s1600/BI+and+Analytics+Use+Cases.jpg" height="285" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<ol>
<li>Centralized BI Provisioning: Supports a workflow from data to IT-delivered-and-managed content.</li>
<li>Decentralized Analytics: Supports a workflow from data to self-service analytics.</li>
<li>Governed Data Discovery: Supports a workflow from data to self-service analytics to systems-of-record, IT-managed content and governance, reusability and promotability.</li>
<li>OEM/Embedded BI: Supports a workflow from data to embedded BI content in a process or application.</li>
</ol>
<h3>
Capabilities BI/Analytics Vendors Should Have</h3>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QsAmpyGK6cNiUt9DhiEue9TAWB1yV47ZoPsTDrYkm4lBCZWTgS3bopr5dZ7qnQyCq4dUrqnyp01WGvz4nDNnXbdl3oe_eOt_o0TGCts-hLHeReQyEsPEwVdTUlO27mA68Mcu63pDTWzG/s1600/checklist+with+human.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4QsAmpyGK6cNiUt9DhiEue9TAWB1yV47ZoPsTDrYkm4lBCZWTgS3bopr5dZ7qnQyCq4dUrqnyp01WGvz4nDNnXbdl3oe_eOt_o0TGCts-hLHeReQyEsPEwVdTUlO27mA68Mcu63pDTWzG/s1600/checklist+with+human.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
The 13 capabilities vendors should have are paraphrased below:<br />
<ol>
<li>User Friendly - Business users, who typically do not have technical skills, should be able to employ drag and drop from various sources to model.</li>
<li>The BI/Analytics platform should have a common look and feel. How it is installed should be consistent across all platform components (i.e., there should be an install wizard, ideally). It should have a common query engine and support shared meta data.</li>
<li>Capabilities should include Administrative features for user permissioning and maintenance which should be consistent across all platform components as should scaling, disaster recovery and performance optimization.</li>
<li>Tools should exist which allow users to access the same system-of-record semantic model <sup>(4) </sup> where semantic model is defined as a "method of organizing data that reflects the basic meaning of data items and the relationships among them." Administrators should be able to search, capture, store, reuse and publish metadata objects.</li>
<li>Software should be available in the Cloud and be capable of including data in the Cloud as well as data held internally within the company.</li>
<li>Platform should be available as a workbench for building reports, dashboards, queries and analysis. It should have alert, scheduling and workflow capabilities to mobile devices and portals. It should also be capable of embedding and customizing BI platform components within a business process, portal or application.</li>
<li>Interactivity - allow user to interact with the data by clicking or moving an object such as a pie chart, heat chart, or other visual object.</li>
<li>Ability to create interactive dashboards.</li>
<li>Support IT-developed dashboards and print-ready reports</li>
<li>Ability to create ad hoc queries. Platform should also support "what if" modeling, "slicing and dicing." It should also have the ability to write-back values to a database.</li>
<li>Software platform should support delivery to mobile devices.</li>
<li>Users should be able to collaborate through sharing to discuss information and analysis using social integration.</li>
<li>BI and Analytics Platform should support Embedded BI which includes a software developer's kit and API's to be able to modify visualizations, applications and analytic content.</li>
</ol>
<div>
In ranking the vendors, Gartner also considered several other important aspects. These included geospatial location, technical support, bugs and product reliability. <a href="http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/geospatial-analysis" target="_blank">Geospatial analysis</a> can be valuable when analyzing data obtained from mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, mobile devices, etc.).<br />
<br />
Also worth noting are vendors who offer free Business Intelligence and Analytics software on a trial basis. These are annotated below with<span style="background-color: white;"> <b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*).</b></span></div>
<h3>
Who Are the Winners in this Year's Magic Quadrant?</h3>
<br />
<div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="background-color: #999999; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 80%;" title="Magic Quadrant BI and Analytics Winners">
<caption style="caption-side: bottom;"><br />
</caption><tbody>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: white;">Alteryx</span><sup><span style="color: red;"><b>(*)</b></span></sup></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Birst</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Board International</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Datawatch<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">GoodData<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">IBM</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Information
Builders</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Logi Analytics<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Microsoft</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">MicroStrategy<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">OpenText(Actuate)</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Oracle</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Panaroma<br />
Software<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Pentaho<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Prognoz<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Pyramid Analytics<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Qlik<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Salient Management
Company</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">SAP</td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">SAS</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Tableau<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Targit<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;"> Tibco
Software<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
<td style="color: white; vertical-align: top;">Yellowfin<b style="color: red; font-size: 13px;">(*)</b></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />
<br /></div>
The complete Gartner Magic Quadrant can be read <a href="https://www.gartner.com/doc/2989518?ref=AnalystProfile&srcId=1-4554397745" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<h2 class="definition-subtitle" style="color: #666666; font-family: NHaasGroteskTXW01-65Md, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.54em; margin: 0px 0px 20px 240px; min-height: 95px; width: 540px;">
</h2>
<b>Summary</b><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In summary, current market-driven sentiment seems to indicate a strong demand to enable users to perform their own analysis and business intelligence activity. There are many positives to this including potentially expanding the number of possible scenarios and consequently number of opportunities. Extending this capability to business users also speeds up report development cycles to the extent the BI platform is intuitive and easily understood. This similarly would present management with more revenue-generating possibilities. The ability for IT to continue to maintain governance policies and the platform as well remains critical.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Selection of a BI and Analytics Platform is therefore dependent upon a host of factors. These include:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<ol>
<li>Expectations - what must the software do?</li>
<li>Most likely use of the platform, i.e., will it be used primarily for report generation, and if so, are there out-of-the box reports that can be used quickly; is it possible to create report and how easily and quickly can reports be created?</li>
<li>Number of users.</li>
<li>Centralized versus decentralized configuration.</li>
<li>Product reliability, i.e., is it free from bugs or bug-ridden?</li>
<li>Access to technical support.</li>
<li>How easy is the software install? </li>
<li>Will the software need to be available on mobile devices.</li>
<li>Ease and length of time required to scale up or down. </li>
<li>Options for licensing or subscribing to the software. </li>
<li>Whether and how additional functionality can be acquired.</li>
<li>Existence of an evaluation or trial version is available prior to commitment.</li>
</ol>
<br />
Recommendations are to have answers to these questions prior to seeking out a vendor. Weights can be added to those items which hold more importance.<br />
<br />
Bye for now.<br />
<br />
Brenda J. Christie<br />
<br />
<hr />
Sources:<br />
<sup>(1)</sup><a href="http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/business-intelligence-bi/" target="_blank"> http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/business-intelligence-bi/</a><br />
<sup>(2) Wikepedia: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_intelligence">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_intelligence</a></sup><br />
<sup>(3) <a href="http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/definition/data-analytics">http://searchdatamanagement.techtarget.com/definition/data-analytics</a></sup><br />
<sup>(4)</sup>See <a href="http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/?s=semantic+model" target="_blank">Gartner Semantic Model</a>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-31787420515380139372015-03-12T06:57:00.001-04:002015-03-19T06:28:25.029-04:00Birth of a New Machine - z13<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjol9FyDQyQWWPueDALc0HOmZ3rb6YtnDh1mkrSEYXkLyCqHxwhIi1owiZcIO0jlRcL1pcHB-Llu99dftZWorTvbJPPHLYxiP7WviSxR4Q8QBqqgVnXw38Jbh9tChhIJ0spmYnRBm9AP9Tb/s1600/saaerialibmchipc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="IBM z13 Mainframe Ships, itprismtime, mainframe computer, z13" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjol9FyDQyQWWPueDALc0HOmZ3rb6YtnDh1mkrSEYXkLyCqHxwhIi1owiZcIO0jlRcL1pcHB-Llu99dftZWorTvbJPPHLYxiP7WviSxR4Q8QBqqgVnXw38Jbh9tChhIJ0spmYnRBm9AP9Tb/s1600/saaerialibmchipc.jpg" height="240" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>IBM Poughkeepsie Plant</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
This is a great article that shows the human side of how the IBM System z13 gets put together. The article, <a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2015/03/09/ibm-shipping-mainframe-computer-today/24645083/" target="_blank">IBM Shipping z13 Mainframe Today</a>, is in stark contrast to what one would usually think of when the name <b>IBM</b> is mentioned. One thinks Ginni Rometty, one thinks multi-billion dollar, blue chip global organization, <b>Big Blue</b>, one things many things.</div>
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The article also includes a video taken at the IBM Poughkeepsie, NY plant. To see the video is to realize that behind all those celestrial, stratospheric, generally out of reach to the average person things, are the humans, regular middle class people, who are responsible for the birth of a new machine.</div>
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They're not the Silicon Valley types awash in cash, fancy cars and over-priced properties that have driven so many middle-class people out of the market.</div>
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Yet, their dedication, unsung expertise, traditional pride in the work they do for IBM, and this author suspects, the world at large in general, is responsible for one of the longest running success stories in American business - the mainframe.</div>
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Not a flash in the pan, there's a lot to be learned here.</div>
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Bye for now,<br />
<br />
Brenda J. Christie<br />
<br />
<hr />
<sup>(1)</sup> Photo courtsey of the Poughkeepsie Journal Archive
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-8276166230346297162015-03-04T22:10:00.002-05:002015-03-05T07:13:00.105-05:00IBM Software Defined Storage to the Rescue<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS8FZjZQ84WBcGfW7DQ8cYUV8OKlhSpbdb528H6fyAgNSD5LYbbYi3-HW3lzUE6i08AR_c0OEugkf2ZW-b-MHzpi9S0KEjIxNnbcOoycm4cV2O7mmPa-ZjyfXQVOJNwG8UsjVIba6kopk/s1600/IBM+Storage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="IBM Storage, SDS, IBM Software Defined Storage, itprismtime" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXS8FZjZQ84WBcGfW7DQ8cYUV8OKlhSpbdb528H6fyAgNSD5LYbbYi3-HW3lzUE6i08AR_c0OEugkf2ZW-b-MHzpi9S0KEjIxNnbcOoycm4cV2O7mmPa-ZjyfXQVOJNwG8UsjVIba6kopk/s1600/IBM+Storage.jpg" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IBM System Storage DS8800</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
An interesting article on mainframe storage in this month's edition of Enterprise System Media caught my attention. The article, <a href="http://enterprisesystemsmedia.com/article/ibm-redefines-software-defined-storage#sr=g&m=o&cp=or&ct=-tmc&st=(opu%20qspwjefe)&ts=1423536584" target="_blank">IBM Redefines Software Defined Storage</a>, indirectly discusses the cost of storage in part due to its inefficient usage. The product, <b>IBM Spectrum</b>, seeks to remedy this inefficiency and was announced by IBM in February 2015. </div>
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On a much smaller scale, the problem would seem to be similar to a personal computer hard drive in need of a compression in order to squeeze out all the space left empty by deleted files and applications; space which went unused because it wasn't large enough for a file or application, etc. This same scenario can play out with mainframe storage. There are several basic differences, however. </div>
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</div>
<ol>
<li>There is no ongoing expense related to a PC memory </li>
<li>PC memory is comparatively inexpensive these days </li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Mainframe storage can be quite expensive, especially given the explosion of storage needs to accommodate data captured from social media, emails, documents, images, i.e., Big Data. The variety and size of system software used to manage mainframes today has also grown as has the use of third-party software installed on the mainframe. Examples of this would include non-IBM Analytics software, Hardoop, BMC Subsystem Optimizer, and BMC Cost Analyzer. </li>
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Given these realities, i.e, storage is expensive, programs use more memory, and in light of other costs, such as MLC which are revenue generators for IBM, it makes sense that IBM would provide its on solution to growing storage cost concerns. It has done so with the announcement of Software Defined Storage. Software Defined Storage, <b>SDS</b>, on one level, acts like an air traffic controller for storage management. It purportedly, through the use of analytics, will efficiently determine the type and size of data and where it can best be stored for retrieval as well as backup purposes. IBM maintains that as much as 90% of storage cost can be reduced through optimum placement of data managed through SDS.</div>
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How much storage costs are reduced is dependent upon the choice of storage device as well as its configuration. The possibility of reducing storage costs will no doubt be of interest to datacenter management as will the ability to quickly deploy enterprise storage for cloud.</div>
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Another interesting aspect to this product and how it is being licensed is that its model includes a pay-as-you-go feature in that it can be leased on a month-to-month basis or as long as it is needed. </div>
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<h3>
<b>Summary</b></h3>
</div>
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In summary, it appears that with the launch of the Software Defined Storage product, what IBM is is trying to do is twofold. First, it is looking to capitalize on the inevitable demand for storage due largely in part to Big Data -- a growth which is accompanied by inevitable cost. Secondly, in responding to that demand, it will also increase revenue from software licensing. It may also, in the process, increase revenue from sale of its own storage. With additional freed-up space, IBM may also license even more software. Overall SDS and the possibilities it presents represents an opportunity to increase the Total Benefits of mainframe ownership.</div>
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</div>
<div>
Bye for now,</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Brenda J. Christie</div>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-68350942610836354402015-03-03T07:00:00.000-05:002015-03-03T07:34:59.360-05:00IBM's Vision for 2018<h3>
By Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
The last nail was hammered into IBM's 2015 Roadmap coffin, a 2-year promise to deliver $20 <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/eps.asp">Earnings Per Share</a> (EPS), with the announcement of its 2014 results on January 20, 2015. IBM missed the mark. 2014 EPS was $15.59, not the $20 EPS promised in its 2015 Roadmap, a snapshot of which appears above.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yflH2oLIIRTiknuPTAFwYF_GTbc1EbzNT-POVHDkXtRNOlwaZs8cyeVs6n-1MpfmHSzdSh2e_B3x5sMF19BWcMOCRkUWziejqFGJjTSi-dxm0FVbfxfL93CWEBkJVbNSAVYXcTGdlb0/s1600/IBM's%2B2015%2BRoadmap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-yflH2oLIIRTiknuPTAFwYF_GTbc1EbzNT-POVHDkXtRNOlwaZs8cyeVs6n-1MpfmHSzdSh2e_B3x5sMF19BWcMOCRkUWziejqFGJjTSi-dxm0FVbfxfL93CWEBkJVbNSAVYXcTGdlb0/s1600/IBM's%2B2015%2BRoadmap.JPG" height="209" width="320" /></a></div>
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IBM's 2014 financial results announcement also included notice that the 2015 strategic roadmap put in place by IBM's prior CEO, Sal Palmisano, was being abandoned. Its stock price, which closed at $157.14 at the end of the prior week, closed down at $156.95 the day of that announcement. However, despite missing the mark on 2014 EPS, many investors continue to have a lot of faith in IBM and this week, slightly more than a month after that announcement, the stock price closed above $161.00. </div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
Reason for Optimism</h3>
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There are many good things happening at IBM, despite the missed $20 EPS. IBM announced its latest mainframe computer, the System z13, on January 13, 2015. Then on February 24, 2015, IBM and Citi announced collaboration with developers to build the next generation of financial technology through the <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/46133.wss">Citi Mobile Challenge</a>. IBM is <a href="http://www.govconwire.com/2015/02/report-defense-dept-ehr-contract-competition-down-to-three-teams/">one of only three remaining bidders</a> for the $11 Billion Department of Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization Contract. The DoD expects to announce the winner in June of 2015. IBM recently won a big contract with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-wins-big-contract-with-marriott-2015-2">Marriott </a>to update Marriott's datacenters to use IBM's latest Cloud Technology. Forrester has also designated IBM leader of the $187.5 billion infrastructure outsourcing market. The cautious optimism evident in the improving stock price appears to underscore such notable accomplishments.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
What is IBM's New Roadmap?</h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh332ehDTlNljrMQy4QZzdulRfhRyD-5d9rutxlxe1VqVyqIDkARCq9S5c6szNPBhps1tXq5Saw6Ru9ssdKUWjJLfk9kJQrMTkoXPt4ydgjlEFL710CHP2_nDUWoK-3aSy01lzBvRLCPevn/s1600/IBMs_Vision_For_2018+v3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="IBM 2018 Roadmap, IBM Mainframe, IBM Hardware, System z13, Mainframe, IT Through The Prism of Time, www.itprismtime, mainframe blog" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh332ehDTlNljrMQy4QZzdulRfhRyD-5d9rutxlxe1VqVyqIDkARCq9S5c6szNPBhps1tXq5Saw6Ru9ssdKUWjJLfk9kJQrMTkoXPt4ydgjlEFL710CHP2_nDUWoK-3aSy01lzBvRLCPevn/s1600/IBMs_Vision_For_2018+v3.png" height="320" title="" width="312" /></a></div>
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IBM's new roadmap, as reported by <a href="http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdaily/2015/02/26/ibm-analyst-day-on-tap-rometty-talks-transition-from-era-to-era/">Barrons</a> and the <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/ibms-leaders-2015-is-a-transition-year-by-design/?_r=0">New York Times</a> following the February 26, 2015 IBM Analyst Day, will center around, Analytics, hybrid cloud, security, mobility and social apps. IBM's projection of a 2015 EPS of $15.76 to $16.50 would also be facilitated by more acquisitions and strategic partnerships such as the recent IBM partnership with <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/07/15Apple-and-IBM-Forge-Global-Partnership-to-Transform-Enterprise-Mobility.html">Apple</a> and <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/29/us-twitter-ibm-analytics-idUSKBN0II1T720141029">Twitter</a>. Execution of such strategy would deliver revenue of $40 billion by 2018, reports a skeptical <a href="http://247wallst.com/technology-3/2015/02/27/ibm-announces-unrealistic-plans-as-stock-suffers/">24/7Wall Street 24/7</a>. IBM's new Roadmap also includes plans to continue innovating within its core portfolio areas of software and mainframe hardware.</div>
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<h3>
Can't See The Forest for the Trees?</h3>
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A few week points came out of IBM's Analyst meeting, held in New York on February 26, 2015:<br />
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<ol>
<li>IBM plans to make substantial gains in industries already dominated by Microsoft and Oracle.</li>
<li>IBM seems to be hedging its latest bet, i.e., investing in Analytics, Cloud Computing, Mobility, Security and partnerships, by blaming fluctuations in foreign currency prices attributable to a stronger dollar which effectively lowers the value of IBM's investments and assets held abroad. Institutional Investors will probably recognize this as a weak reason for missing projections due to the fact that it is possible to hedge against such currency fluctuations. </li>
</ol>
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So the questions here are (1) does ignoring your competition make them go away, or make them less worthy opponents and (2) does the future attribution to missed estimates reflect an underlying disbelief that making the mark this time is doable?</div>
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<h3>
As for Ginni Rometty</h3>
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As with all things, time will tell. In time, we will also see whether Ginni Rometty retains her post as IBM CEO. I admire her willingness to cut IBM's losses by abandoning the strategy put in place by her predecessor. It takes a strong leader to acknowledge such a reality. It's likely that a lot of male CEO's would view abandoning the 2015 Roadmap as failure and just stayed the course. It is equally likely that with the knowledge that the 2015 Roadmap was doomed, many male CEOs would have taken their golden parachutes and bailed similar to the way Sal Palmisano did. My gut and knowledge of how Boards work leads me to believe Ginni Rometty will be ousted. There are too many contenders waiting in the wings, and today's culture expects fast results. 2018 may just be too far away to wait for the $40 billion revenue promised by this latest Roadmap.</div>
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Sources for this article:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
(1) ZDNet:<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/ibms-rometty-pitches-high-value-innovation-reinvention-4-billion-more-into-growth-businesses/"> </a><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/ibms-rometty-pitches-high-value-innovation-reinvention-4-billion-more-into-growth-businesses/">IBM's Romety Pitches High Value Innovation, Reinvention, $4 Billion More Into Growth Industries</a><br />
(2) Forbes: <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/01/20/big-bloody-ibm-stock-drops-after-q4-revenues-miss-despite-major-earnings-beat/">Big Bloody: IBM Stock Drops After Q4 Revenues Miss Despite Major Earnings Beat</a></div>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-24021540354545813332015-03-02T06:16:00.000-05:002015-03-02T06:22:01.835-05:00Engaging Employees<h3>
by Brenda J. Christie</h3>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjV_oCdAVN3M-L8jUce7XtKxnYMvEfymbYAp4QcsVSl64uCwUEZvXsuTNsEN_0tNkhGZEvVTq0N66ZVw4BOvpXf0Nq63YewkmPcFgFM0oNShlIHZW7sn2H9QlVMKDN_oCgzx7UctJbnPFP/s1600/engagement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="itprismtime.com, employee engagement, toxic employees, dealing with toxic employees" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjV_oCdAVN3M-L8jUce7XtKxnYMvEfymbYAp4QcsVSl64uCwUEZvXsuTNsEN_0tNkhGZEvVTq0N66ZVw4BOvpXf0Nq63YewkmPcFgFM0oNShlIHZW7sn2H9QlVMKDN_oCgzx7UctJbnPFP/s1600/engagement.jpg" height="120" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
In several earlier very popular posts, <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-importance-of-pursuing-employee.html" target="_blank">The Importance of Pursuing Employee Engagement</a>, and <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2014/07/engaging-stakeholder.html" target="_blank">Engaging the Stakeholder</a>, I wrote about the necessity of engagement. As employees are the main reason companies are able to produce a product, and as they are a reflection of a company as well as iterations of that company's culture, great efforts should be taken to protect them.
A recent article, "<b>5 types of coworkers no one wants to work with"</b>, which appeared in Business Insider, succinctly describes characteristics of toxic employees and the negative impact they can have on productivity. It also lays out steps which can be taken to counteract toxic behavior in order to protect other team members, and reduce the effects toxic behavior brings to the office and productivity. It can be read <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/worst-types-of-coworkers-2015-2">here</a>.
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Bye for Now,</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Brenda J. Christie</div>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-91900479281421033582015-02-18T07:42:00.002-05:002015-02-25T07:00:11.055-05:00Mainframe's High MLC Cost - Can It Be Reduced?<h3>
<div itemscope="" itemtype="http://data-vocabulary.org/Person">
by <span itemprop="name">Brenda J. Christie and Eloy Cruz-Bizet</span> </div>
</h3>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vdgC-V_O59NyMS8riCKeyUD9DnetZrB9_6_DeOpoCbJVm3jdIxdHPafWJrL9QXbL9-XX5jOKWd7Q6nzRBrTBTPhAAVxRTf-1MKFAhQfXWjJq7brE5OCW3X7XYQoctJml7PTDZ0AUejFL/s1600/Rising+Costs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Mainframe Computer Monthly License Costs Keep Rising" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9vdgC-V_O59NyMS8riCKeyUD9DnetZrB9_6_DeOpoCbJVm3jdIxdHPafWJrL9QXbL9-XX5jOKWd7Q6nzRBrTBTPhAAVxRTf-1MKFAhQfXWjJq7brE5OCW3X7XYQoctJml7PTDZ0AUejFL/s1600/Rising+Costs.jpg" title="Mainframe MLC Costs Keep Rising" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rising MLC Costs</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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There has been a lot of speculation as to whether IBM's billion dollar bet on the System z13 will pay off ("<a href="http://www.channelnomics.eu/channelnomics-eu/news/2390235/will-big-blues-billion-dollar-bet-on-its-new-mainframe-pay-off" target="_blank">Will Big Blue's billion-dollar bet on its new Mainframe pay off",</a> Forbes article "<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertcringely/2015/01/22/next-weeks-bloodbath-at-ibm-wont-fix-the-real-problem/" target="_blank">Next Week's Bloodbath at IBM Won't Fix the Real Problem.</a>") Some companies, like Citigroup, as reported in American Banker's January 14, 2014 <a href="http://www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-technology/why-citi-is-buying-ibms-new-mainframe-for-mobile-transactions-1072161-1.html" target="_blank">article</a>, believe the bet will pay off, have already bitten the hook and availed themselves of the System z13. I, for one, believe IBM has a chance, but its fortunes will not go unchallenged.<br />
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Not Hearing Voice of the Customer?</h3>
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As alluded to in the Forbes article, IBM does not appear to be addressing its customers' needs, especially where software licensing is of concern. One great concern in IT management is cost reduction. As reported in BMC's 2014 Annual Mainframe Research Results, the top mainframe priority for the upcoming year was to lower <b>MLC</b>. Indeed, at the time of this writing there were 1,500 YouTube videos surrounding the topic of reducing MLC. Google search on how to reduce mainframe MLC returned 21,700 results. How to reduce mainframe MLC costs seems to be on a lot of people's minds.</div>
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What Is MLC and Why Does It Matter?</h3>
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Mainframe-related MLC, or Monthly License Costs, is defined by IBM as "<a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/z/resources/swprice/mlc/" target="_blank">Monthly License Charge (MLC) metrics are those where a recurring charge applies each month. This charge includes the right to use the product, and also access to IBM product support during the support period</a>." These are usage costs for system, subsystem and transactional software including the z13 operating system itself and can amount to millions of dollars annually. In a 2013 Forrester artlcle, "<a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/mark_bartrick/13-09-02-get_a_grip_on_those_ibm_mainframe_mlc_costs" target="_blank">Get A Grip on those IBM mainframe MLC Costs</a>" estimates for MCL were 30% or more of software budgets.</div>
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This is a huge cost being diverted from modernization and development in new business. Despite Forrester's admonition in 2013, MLC remained an issue at the end of 2014, giving credence to the supposition that IBM is not adequately addressing its customers' dissatisfaction.</div>
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Partitioning LPARS to Reduce Cost or Let Them Eat Cake</h3>
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That reluctance to address customers' concerns regarding high MLC costs may, in part be due to hubris, but may also be attributable to IBM's own answer on reducing MLC as noted in its 2006 coursework guide, "Introduction to the New Mainframe Chapter 2 Hardware Systems and LPARS," in which it recommends partitioning the box into <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDAQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwhatis.techtarget.com%2Fdefinition%2Flogical-partition-LPAR&ei=Nc_fVKjVFZO1sASi94HQBQ&usg=AFQjCNHUXCba2XgTFVmjai0SbySfkAFZ1w&sig2=vpWSrvDcedvwYvsygJJEzg" target="_blank">LPARS, or Logical Partition</a>. An LPAR is similar to a mainframe within a mainframe complete with its own storage, processor and storage. As MLC can be, in some instances, applied to the box itself, partitioning the box into several independent mainframes would allow for different applications such as CICS, DB2, Linux to run separately and negate the cost one would see if 3 different mainframes were maintained as well as the 3 separate MLC costs. While partitioning as a strategy does limit the MLC growth, it does not reduce it. Companies who are being pressured to reduce costs cannot show that reduction even with partitioning.</div>
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To its credit, IBM did publish a white paper, Optimize MLC Expenses of Your Mainframe Data Center with System Automation for z/OS (see below), and in June 2014, announced support for <a href="http://www-304.ibm.com/partnerworld/gsd/solutiondetails.do?solution=50958&expand=true&lc=en" target="_blank">BMC's Cost Analyzer for zEnterprise(R) version 1.1</a>, a graphical product which analyzes SMF/RMF cost and utilization data to calculate MLC costs by CPC while identifying workload peaks on LPARs and CPCs.</div>
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Is It In IBM's Interest to Reduce MLC?</h3>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">One must also be cognizant of the fact that, as noted by Steve Mills, Executive Vice President of IBM Software and Systems, during a Credit Suisse Group AG Technology Conference last month, the mainframe software business is a multi-billion dollar software business on the mainframe. That being said, it is probably not in IBM's interest to sell less software, or eliminate limitations such as the one requiring DB2, CICS, IMS to be on the same LPAR. Factor in the slow growth in mainframe sales, and the incentive to keep such requirements becomes even stronger. It is perhaps because of these factors that IBM has not actively gone out of its way to address its customers' needs to reduce expenses through MLC reduction.</span><br />
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Someone Else <i>was </i>Listening to IBM's Customers</h3>
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BMC seemingly took the bull by the horn and went a step further in September 2014 when it announced its very own software solution for reducing MLC - the Subsystem Optimizer for zEnterprise. Also known as Subzero, the software solution is purported to reduce monthly license costs by as much as 20% or more. Extending the analytical capabilities of the Cost Analyzer, Subsystem Optimizer allows customers to redirect work between different LPARS, somewhat similar to an air traffic controller. BMC's Subzero software breaks the dependency to have CICS, DB2 and IMS within one LPAR, necessitating an additional, separate LPAR for other applications. The inherent problem caused by requiring CICS, DB2, IMS to reside on a single LPAR is the potential under-utilization of other LPARs within the subsystem. The information needed to process requests between CICS, DB2 or IMS software residing on different LPARs is handled through BMC Subzero APIs. Being able to separate DB2, CICS, IMS onto separate LPARs is a valuable feature as MLC is calculated based on overall usage such that an under-utilized LPAR is charged in excess of its actual usage. By enabling the redistribution of workloads to under-utilized LPARs ROI on the heretofore under-utilized LPAR is improved. Subzero's flexibility in redirecting workloads in also of value in Business Continuity and Disaster Planning scenarios, further justifying its cost.</div>
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Customers May Prevail After All</h3>
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To the extent that BMC is successful, customers may finally have a way of reducing MLC cost and using the savings to expand into areas such as Cloud Computing and Mobility. I had the opportunity to ask Ann Duhon, of BMC questions regarding Subsystem Optimizer's success to date to which she replied " ."</div>
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Summary</h3>
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IBM's System z13 has a lot of bells and whistles, as noted in my earlier post, <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/01/15-reasons-ibm-system-z13-just-might.html" target="_blank">"15 Reasons the IBM System z13 Just Might Succeed."</a> Also noted in my <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/01/is-buzz-surrounding-ibms-system-z13.html" target="_blank">"Is the Buzz Surrounding IBM's System z13 Just Hype?"</a> post are some hidden costs in moving to the z13. Given that IT Management's mandate is to chisel away some of the thousands, if not millions of dollars spent annually on mainframe Monthly License Costs, I think it is more likely that companies will elect the path that meets that mandate, that is to say, they will chose to try the BMC Subsystem Optimizer.</div>
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As always, time will tell.<br />
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Bye for now,<br />
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Brenda J. Christie </div>
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Sources:</div>
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(1) <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-13/ibm-debuts-new-mainframe-in-a-1-billion-bet-on-mobile">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-13/ibm-debuts-new-mainframe-in-a-1-billion-bet-on-mobile</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/173502605/Optimize%20MLC%20Expenses%20of%20Mainframe%20Data%20Center%20with%20System%20Automation">Optimize MLC Expenses of Mainframe Data Center with System Automation</a></span><br />
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In the world of Big Data, "unstructured data" is usually considered data that does not sit neatly in column and rows. Most traditional mainframe relational databases such as DB2, consists of tables defined using rows and columns. For illustration purposes, the types of functions typically performed using an Excel spreadsheet whose data is laid out in rows and columns. Using this layout, it is possible to sum numeric information, such as currency, square feet. It is possible to count the number of occurrences of a given value. It is possible to arrive at an average value, as well as a statistical deviation, etc. This is possible because like values appear in either rows or columns. With the results of such manipulations, companies are able to make decisions concerning inventory, identify products which are selling below expectations. Medical researchers are able to identify statistical anomalies, slight deviations in study results and so on and so forth.</div>
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Unstructured data turns this type of quick analysis on its head. In fact, this same ease of aggregating, averaging, counting, etc. is not available when working with unstructured data. Unstructured data which consists of human-generated data which comes from email, video, text messaging, multimedia, blog content, web content, presentations etc., is a different animal, and as such has lead to the development of new tools for reclaiming and surpassing analytical capabilities traditionally available through a row and column layout.</div>
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In a May 1, 2013 Gartner blog article, "<a href="http://blogs.gartner.com/darin-stewart/2013/05/01/big-content-the-unstructured-side-of-big-data/" target="_blank">Big Content: The Unstructured Side of Big Data</a>," Darin Stewart reports that roughly 80% of a companies total information assets. There is value in being able to search for trends and patterns within the different forms of unstructured data. Consider the U.S. Census, for example. Following a Census, government agencies, both local, state and federal, have often provided more of a service - built more schools, provided funds for more hospitals, invested in better roads and transportation. This is possible because they were able to aggregate Census survey results to determine overall demand for services. In other words, the data the survey produced resulted in actionable items. The data, however, followed a particular data model. Unstructured data does not follow a particular model, especially when the sources are different. For example, combining 1000's of text messages with 1000's of video content would not necessarily yield any clear patterns because both media are different. Such is the problem confronted by companies today. How to unify all the data created by humans through text messages, likes, tweets in order to capitalize on trends and patterns.</div>
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Over the next several weeks how this problem has been addressed will be examined. This will include mainframe's role in this journey, how it has evolved to meet its latest challenge and who its partners and competitors are.</div>
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Join us for the ride.</div>
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Bye for now.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
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Brenda J. Christie</div>
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</script>Brenda J. Christiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09781177780758008935noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2217241976562212330.post-25003426793827753752015-02-03T06:44:00.002-05:002015-02-04T05:44:00.057-05:00IBM Series z13 Mainframe - Caveat Emptorby Brenda J. Christie and Eloy Cruz-Bizet<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMYkt-Gzz-bYIq5JUYn8T4eVVfJa22zuPJh8VHc906_JXf9vRvZ10MLTpXT7N3n0QBhFmopX9oQDLteo8nF_FwqFkWUZXsM5DbF0WV2sA45p_cuNCm77fdVF2NI4ApDnukTW1yNx3-hVx/s1600/Caveat+Emptor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixMYkt-Gzz-bYIq5JUYn8T4eVVfJa22zuPJh8VHc906_JXf9vRvZ10MLTpXT7N3n0QBhFmopX9oQDLteo8nF_FwqFkWUZXsM5DbF0WV2sA45p_cuNCm77fdVF2NI4ApDnukTW1yNx3-hVx/s1600/Caveat+Emptor.jpg" /></a></div>
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IBM's new System z13 mainframe has been the subject of recent posts appearing on this blog. <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/01/15-reasons-ibm-system-z13-just-might.html" target="_blank">"15 Reasons IBM's z13 Mainframe Might Just Succeed"</a> laid out several prominent reasons the z13 would appeal to large organizations. <a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/01/is-buzz-surrounding-ibms-system-z13.html" target="_blank">"Is the Buzz Surrounding IBM's System z13 Mainframe Just Hype"</a>, which featured veteran system programmer, Eloy Cruz-Bizet took, an initial look under the hood of the z13 Mainframe. This post will take yet a closer look under the hood at language-specific enhancements available in the z13, and what those enhancements may mean.</div>
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The implementation of performance and capacity improvements on a hardware level, such as those introduced with a new model mainframe processor such as the IBM z13, must take into account concerns of maintaining compatibility with preexisting application code. In addition, a major endeavor must be undertaken by the hardware manufacturer to maintain transparency with existing program code to prevent disruption of the existing customer base of in-house written software.</div>
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Contrast this, to the efforts which may be required by a particular firm anxious to actually take advantage of and leverage performance and capacity improvements offered by the changes to, or acquisition of new hardware. Hardware manufacturers can only go so far in making improvements before the hardware becomes borderline incompatible with the base of existing in-house written software. Invariably, hardware evolution reaches a point where the new feature requires alteration of the microcode. The roll out of the z13 has introduced 660 additional op-code machine instructions .</div>
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At some point such hardware progress will require the source code to be recompiled as a method of introducing new features into the compiled code, by means of production compiled code with the machine language references and access to the new hardware features. Since knowledge of these microcode improvements did not exist at the time the current base of applications were last compiled, IBM is forced to implement software access to these hardware features within the scope of concurrently releasing improvements to the range of compiler software offerings, as well as macros, and calls for CICS, DB2, TPF, etc. </div>
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The most prominent and persistent languages found in application programs running on the mainframe are COBOL, PL/1, C/C++, and the High level assembler. Billions of lines of code have been written in these languages. This code forms the foundation of many companies’ core applications such as payroll, human resources, general ledger, insurance, accounts management. Embedded within such code are also often the rules, both regulatory and business proprietary which, drive much of these applications, and indeed, drive the business itself. Once the dust of Y2K remediation settled, the existence, depth and often complexity of these rules was brought to light in a most prominent fashion. The dawn of fear in the mainframe world gained a foothold in business during this period, as did the realization of the impact of application programmers moving to other companies or retiring and in doing either, taking intellectual property with them in their heads.</div>
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Consequently, not all companies will jump on the legacy modernization bandwagon, due to fear of not being able to replicate the same result once the modernization has been completed. Only 48% of the 1,194 respondents to <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bmc.com%2Fforms%2FzST-R4-2014-9thAnnualMFSurveyResults-Email.html&ei=-LDQVLvJO4W6ggS084DQDA&usg=AFQjCNFnLZ3UUc9asCPHKgHH-byZOpkMvw&sig2=O3hFqAVz2Z8F3Tca5deBvg&bvm=bv.85076809,d.eXY" target="_blank">BMC's 2014 Annual Mainframe Research Results</a> published in October 2014 had mainframe modernization as a top priority for 2015. Inherent in such modernization is an element of risk which most find uncomfortable. There is also the cost of finding and hiring qualified talent to understand and then translate the business and regulatory rules mentioned above. Although much progress has been made from the days of spaghetti code, there is no doubt in this writer's mind that it still exists.</div>
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However, one of the z13's big selling points to address this concern is the enterprise <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDIQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ibm.com%2Fcommon%2Fssi%2Fcgi-bin%2Fssialias%3Finfotype%3Dan%26subtype%3Dca%26appname%3Dgpateam%26supplier%3D649%26letternum%3DENUSA15-0050&ei=c7HQVMWXIo72ggSSmoDADA&usg=AFQjCNE6ewwLjTfW0E4KmcZtI5_tN5cQag&sig2=evKqg2bHrboEX_FreNAMVw&bvm=bv.85076809,d.eXY" target="_blank">COBOL for z/OS V5.2</a> compiler which includes application modernization as a feature. Astute leaders of mainframe applications will nonetheless establish baselines and perform extensive testing to assure the same or better results as those produced by the legacy application. With remediation, cost remains and additionally, a new element of risk related to compilation is introduced into the process. This is especially true where the COBOL program makes calls to or links with external sub-programs. The remediated COBOL program may compile successfully only to have the job abend due to unexpected incompatibilities in the static re-linked, dynamically called system routines or called sub-program's load module. Although, IBM claims that any necessary changes may be introduced piecemeal by the use of selective recompiles, changes and reassembly in lower-level routines, I/O calls, database calls, etc. may also be required to establish compatibility with the primary identified COBOL, PL/I or C/C++ program. This can create a chain-effect of needing sub-compile and reassemblies. Furthermore, for those firms doing assembler language programming, there is a fear that IBM’s choice of 660+ new Assembler language instructions mnemonic op codes for new z13 hardware features, will conflict with similarly named user-named in-house application macros. At that point the ability of programming department management to estimate the budget of an application software performance improvement plan, let alone estimate the magnitude of liability risk with it, become daunting. </div>
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Summary</h3>
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In summary, there are many features and enhancements available in the new IBM System z13 mainframe. Inherent in the decision to include such a purchase must also be a realization that to fully exploit the performance metrics frequently touted by marketing, extensive planning must be incorporated into the overall upgrade plan, along with a buffer to accommodate the unknown which will inevitably arise. This is not a SAAS solution where commercial software will work 'out of the box." As such, it is not a quick fix to what ails you, but a calculated journey to entering the competitive multi-billion dollar mainframe mobile app market. It is a journey which is not for the faint of heart!</div>
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Bye for now,<br />
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Brenda J. Christie <br />
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Sources:<br />
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by Brenda J. Christie with Eloy Cruz-Bizet</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevByhd-vO3i63ViamRBeAZfCHb0W1oLFHX1KN8TbVWiLsROM8ux4DpvA1GeaOAuQA1pu1rk2gxJZzEEILhkhSTatp-ORf9Rmy5T4Os9iQD0LrzOJihNiPeEQvN0IBiwZqKNnaKRDEWElH/s1600/IBM+z13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="IBM System z13" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevByhd-vO3i63ViamRBeAZfCHb0W1oLFHX1KN8TbVWiLsROM8ux4DpvA1GeaOAuQA1pu1rk2gxJZzEEILhkhSTatp-ORf9Rmy5T4Os9iQD0LrzOJihNiPeEQvN0IBiwZqKNnaKRDEWElH/s1600/IBM+z13.jpg" height="156" title="IBM System z13" width="320" /></a></div>
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I had the opportunity to solicit some feedback from Eloy Cruz-Bizet on his take on the new IBM System z13 mainframe. Mr. Cruz-Bizet is a veteran z/OS System Programmer who, as a young prodigy worked at IBM on some of its earliest 360 mainframes. His tenure in mainframe computing subsequent to IBM includes stints at such prestigious organizations as Mount Sinai, Merrill Lynch and GHI where he served as Director of Technical Services. Mr. Cruz-Bizet is unquestionably, one of the most knowledgeable experts in the field of mainframe computing. It is for this reason, that I asked for his system programmer's perspective on the hype versus the reality. I wanted to know do all of the z13 features add up to a power house or are they just another instance of marketing at its best. What's under the hood?</div>
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I had not spoken with Mr. Cruz-Bizet about the z13 prior to its launch, but not surprisingly, when the subject was broached, he expressed a similar reserve, such as the one I expressed in my January 18, 2015 post, <b><a href="http://brendajchristie.blogspot.com/2015/01/15-reasons-ibm-system-z13-just-might.html" target="_blank">15 Reasons the z13 Just Might Succeed</a>. </b>Here's what he had to say:<br />
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<h3>
Search for the Killer Mainframe Box</h3>
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"IBM’s evolution of mainframe technology is no doubt preceded by a massive research effort into the requisite needs of its customer base of large demand users. How successful IBM has been in the past to turn this research into product has depended on their understanding of current and hidden demand for processing power. The release of the IBM z13 will be no different. The current challenge in the computing arena is the proliferation of massive warehouses of unstructured data from the smartphone, tablet, and mobile apps’ 24-hour per day generation of huge amounts of demographic and usage data. The Holy “data” Grail has become the search for the killer mainframe app or killer mainframe Box that will reduce this plethora of raw, useless data, into actionable information pointed to improve the bottom line.<br />
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Companies are still seeking to find a method of paying for, or monetizing the “free app” model. Many believe the payback is in the value of the data being collected by the mobile applications.<br />
Whether this data can be put to any good use is anyone’s guess. It is un-standardized, random, chaotic and plentiful, nonetheless, everyone wants to collect it, parse it, store it, analyses it and use it for making more money. The z13 is IBM's first new mainframe in almost three years, and it exhibits the corporation’s continuing investment in the mainframe product line relied on critically by large banks, airlines, finance firms, credit card processors, manufacturing and other big firms, while showing steadily declining sales year over year.<br />
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<h3>
Sleek and Fast</h3>
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The z13 sports a new central processor design, meant to back up a faster I/O channel, that also ports significantly increased bandwidth, and the ability to address up to 10TB of memory in the largest of the 5 model processors announced. This capacity is nearly three times as much as any of its predecessors in the z12 line.<br />
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<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" style="height: 144px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: left; width: 358px;">
<tbody>
<tr align="center">
<td colspan="3" rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: top;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Model Number of CPC Drawers Client Memory
(GB)</span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">N30</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">1</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">256 GB to 2560 GB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">N63</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">2</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">512 GB to 5120 GB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">N96</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">3</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">768 GB to 7669 GB</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">NC9</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">4</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">1024 GB to 10,000 GB (10 TB)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">NE1</td>
<td style="text-align: center; vertical-align: top;">4</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">1024 GB to 10 TB</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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In its largest configuration, it can configure up to 141 processor units in a single system about the size of 2 refrigerators side-by-side that IBM calls, “The most sophisticated computer ever built.” Well they should know. Unfortunately that may not be as huge an improvement for those firms whose personnel have properly tuned their IBM z12’s or previous mainframe system’s performance already. The resulting system claims to be able to run as many as “8,000 virtual servers” (of some arbitrary size?) and can carry out “2.5 billion transactions a day”, (whatever a transaction is, the press hype remains rather vague) somehow delivering a 30% performance increase in carrying out some computing jobs. Yet, it is not clear what changes to code or procedure may be required to achieve this full benefit. C/C++ users are in for a challenge. IBM z13 systems include many new capabilities, most significant is the integration of encryption capabilities in its Cryptographic processor unit available on every core. The ability to have channel virtualization is going to increase the flexibility of adjusting (tweaking) 120Gps Infiniband I/O bandwidth, especially favorable in systems exploiting z/VM, z/TPF Transaction Processing Facility, and the CICS Cloud Server. <br />
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Seeking to expand the exceptance and implementation of encrypted data and applications that can handle them, IBM hopes to make this adoption more economically viable by making crypto services an enabled, no-charge feature on the z13 mainframe. Though up-front costs are unfortunately, a deterrent to adoption of cryptography, some companies find it required too much up-front work, for an elusive benefit. Many of us in the industry believe companies such as these will continue to believe cryptography is for those "other companies" until they fall victim to some variation of the much publicized data breaches of 2014 which have shown that the "emperor has no clothes." The "penny-foolishness" of avoiding encrypting sensitive data will quickly become obvious.<br />
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<h3>
z13 A Harbinger of Things to Come?</h3>
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If IBM has correctly estimated the hidden demand for extra computing power for the mobile market data explosion, the z13 roll-out promises to be a successful offering. Somehow, I doubt it, and expect that IBM will roll out a newer machine as soon as they recoup some of their 1 billion cash investment in the technology and gain manufacturing economies of scale. This future "super box z14 or z15" will kick ass, as Apple, Inc. enlightens IBM as to the "real" purpose of collecting every iota of data, every single person with a phone or tablet will generate.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EULqIGj7a-ZMjkl3oDE3X21vwxGbP0-9qelUpFBykKqNR_Wp3Je34C-mSEcHXlNNuuT6Ksotu5oTZMjFzMx8iNsT6jarCKu-x1HzCbcjZzTEtYUbmY8x1pbZDNNe1e71s_nNrvxwUCeL/s1600/IBM+z13+White+Background.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="z13 Mainframe" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-EULqIGj7a-ZMjkl3oDE3X21vwxGbP0-9qelUpFBykKqNR_Wp3Je34C-mSEcHXlNNuuT6Ksotu5oTZMjFzMx8iNsT6jarCKu-x1HzCbcjZzTEtYUbmY8x1pbZDNNe1e71s_nNrvxwUCeL/s1600/IBM+z13+White+Background.jpg" title="z13 Mainframe" /></a></div>
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The z13's physical appearance, t<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">he familiar black carbon-fiber colored geometric panels, presents a
dominating and fearsome pall.</span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">Certainly
not as scary as seeing an IBM 3495 robot tape system plucking arm flying towards
you, but it is also not your granddad’s</span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">
</span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">3090 in blue or red. It is important to keep in mind that just because
the “Beast in the Box” claims certain performance characteristics, that for
sure, your “performance will vary” with the choice of operating system,
hardware, and channel configuration, workload mix, online transaction rates,
and desire to recompile or relink to gain access to newer features. </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">IBM should be able to provide your firm with
modeling data based on available historical log data.</span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">These
boxes will not be installed as single systems in one location. Companies will
be replacing clusters of z12 and older devices to catch up with the inventory of hidden demand, and to cash in on the 30% promised performance boost.</span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">The question is whether that boost in IBM hardware
capability is enough to handle what the Gartner group estimates is a 40%-60%
growth in data accumulation.</span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">As networked
clusters of several z13 machines, some operating towards a single function, others operating as separate testing servers, production servers, and CICS/DB2
transaction processors, the capacity/performance-on-demand, and hardware
virtualization features are sure to be a favorite feature to those companies
with highly dynamic workloads."</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"><b>Summary</b></span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">There certainly seems to be much to consider in opening up the hood of the z13. By all accounts, it does seem to be an interim solution or a prelude to a much, newer machine in the not too far off distance - a machine which will undoubtedly encompass feedback from the early adopters like Citigroup. Short of that roll-out we will see if the appetite for the new z13 mainframe exists in IBM's quarterly reports later this year and early next.</span><br />
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<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">Bye for now,</span><br />
<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-indent: 22.3pt;">Brenda J. Christie</span><br />
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