02
Sat, Nov
2 New Articles

System i and i5/OS Are Cornerstones in IBM's SMB Plans, Says Shearer

Analysis of News Events
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

A guiding light in the evolution of the System i says i5/OS is the "secret sauce" in the simplicity formula to reach a larger share of the SMB market.

 

The System i operating system, i5/OS, is here to stay, and IBM is prepared to do whatever it takes to continue to make it an attractive, modern, and viable platform.

 

So says Mark Shearer, IBM vice president of Marketing and Offerings for the Business Systems Division, Systems and Technology Group, who will continue in his role this year developing unique marketing strategies for the System i as an avowed evangelist for the popular midrange platform.

 

"Almost 50 percent of our systems group clients still use i5/OS in what is often a mission-critical application," says Shearer. "The most attractive feature for many of our clients has been the fact that we have essentially protected their investments in applications for two decades." Adds Shearer, "It's very clear that our clients want us to continue to allow them to bring forward their i5/OS applications and support i5/OS on future hot products."

 

In Shearer's view, i5/OS is the "secret sauce" of the System i and the ingredient that delivers to clients and users alike the "value of simplicity" inherent in the IBM midrange platform. As such, users can expect to see IBM increase the visibility of i5/OS this year and in the future. "We will absolutely double down on i5/OS and continue to introduce it in the platforms our clients want," he says.

 

In an interview with MC Press Online editors, Shearer acknowledged that Business Systems Division clients spend far more on Windows, UNIX, and other platforms than they do on the System i, about three times as much. So the challenge is to simplify the IT environment and, hopefully, provide an integrated IBM solution that rebalances the equation in IBM's favor. The BladeCenter S in which small and medium businesses can integrate i5/OS, Windows, and UNIX applications on blades is proving to be a popular choice for businesses looking to save on space, energy, and technical support costs. Shearer said one of his goals last year was to port i5/OS onto a blade and implied the realization of that objective in this year's announcement has been a source of personal satisfaction.

 

"The BladeCenter is one of the most popular products for small and medium businesses," says Shearer. "This year clients will be able to completely integrate their i5/OS apps and their Wintel apps in a single platform.... I think that many clients will use this new platform in really imaginative ways, and it's quite a compelling value proposition for clients that have a mix of Wintel, [Lintel], i5/OS, [and PHP] applications."

 

Shearer pointed out that having all applications on one platform, or form factor, and being able to manage them with one set of tools will allow IBM to address a broader segment of the SMB market. As the company rolls out Power6 technology throughout the course of 2008, users can expect to see continual improvement in the "price to value proposition," he says, adding that the "cornerstone" of the IBM offerings will be i5/OS, which the company will continue to "mainstream" on the most popular SMB systems platforms.

 

Regardless of any promotion of its product lines that the company may do, Shearer says that client needs will drive the company's marketing efforts, and the orientation toward a "client-centric" sales model is already proving successful. He points to improved sales results for the System i in the fourth quarter of last year as evidence of the changes IBM is making to better address clients' business needs, results that are founded in having a sales force versed on several platforms instead of just one, new products, and an approach concentrating on vertical markets that allows for specialization of knowledge and applications.

 

While IBM is working to integrate its hardware and software offerings, it also is integrating its business support groups to offer clients a more rounded solution. "We're going to be working with our colleagues in the software group, in our services organization, in our financing team, and sales and distribution...to integrate more of IBM's capability into future product offerings," says Shearer. Part of the current approach to the SMB market includes collaboration among knowledge experts as well as enablement of Business Partners to adopt the rapid deployment of new technologies that will be coming down the pipeline in 2008.

 

New technologies such as PowerVM and the software advances that will now be possible as a result of the Power6 chip, not to mention the emphasis on platform integration, will require training and special knowledge beyond what many Business Partners currently possess. Shearer said there is a plan in place to offer more training to bring IBM's partners up to speed on the accelerating stream of technology advances.

 

IBM is creating what Shearer called "value nets," or relationships between Business Partners, to provide cross-partner access to skills and capabilities beyond what any individual one might possess now. "We're going to help leverage our partners' current capabilities as part of our vertical industry focus...and share skills to solve a client need rather than everyone having to be qualified in every capability," Shearer says. He uses the example of one partner's having, say, expertise in produce distribution software being able to partner easily with another who is more expert in i5/OS systems. "We're trying to enable partnering of our ISV partners, our resellers, so people can be specialized but have the full capability we need to solve client problems."

 

Along with the value-net relationships, IBM will continue to offer online and classroom education for the most important product and technology topics. Driving new technologies into the hands of business users calls for implementation of a set of "robust enablement" plans that IBM will put into effect throughout the year, according to Shearer.

 

Looking ahead, Shearer says that much of his time is spent helping to work out the details of a new computing paradigm for the SMB market that involves "the best of software as a service, the best of Web service delivery, and the best of on-premise computing," combining them into a simpler, more flexible IT environment. The System i platform and the System i ISVs will be the "cornerstone" for the model, he says, with the System i serving as the central point around which all integrated services and applications will be managed.

 

Shearer says that because of his four years working with the System i community, it's natural for him to continue his relationship with the System i, though he is now operating in a more matrixed environment than as he did as general manager. The new approach requires very close teamwork with Shearer's boss, Erich Clementi, general manager of the Business Systems Division, and other IBM executives, a collaboration that promises to greatly enhance the products and services available to System i partners and users, resources that are expected to increase IBM's share of the SMB market.

Chris Smith

Chris Smith was the Senior News Editor at MC Press Online from 2007 to 2012 and was responsible for the news content on the company's Web site. Chris has been writing about the IBM midrange industry since 1992 when he signed on with Duke Communications as West Coast Editor of News 3X/400. With a bachelor's from the University of California at Berkeley, where he majored in English and minored in Journalism, and a master's in Journalism from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Chris later studied computer programming and AS/400 operations at Long Beach City College. An award-winning writer with two Maggie Awards, four business books, and a collection of poetry to his credit, Chris began his newspaper career as a reporter in northern California, later worked as night city editor for the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, and went on to edit a national cable television trade magazine. He was Communications Manager for McDonnell Douglas Corp. in Long Beach, Calif., before it merged with Boeing, and oversaw implementation of the company's first IBM desktop publishing system there. An editor for MC Press Online since 2007, Chris has authored some 300 articles on a broad range of topics surrounding the IBM midrange platform that have appeared in the company's eight industry-leading newsletters. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: