29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles

IBM Simplifies Virtualization Adoption; Drives New Business for Partners

Channel News
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

IBM has announced the availability of a new analysis toolset to help IBM and its business partners identify opportunities for small businesses to consolidate and virtualize infrastructure resources to improve IT economics.

First introduced in 2001, IBM's Consolidation Discovery and Analysis Tool (CDAT) helps identify untapped utilization and hidden servers across a client's network, and provides recommendations on how to consolidate and virtualize x86 resources most effectively, saving customers up to 60 percent in IT costs while quadrupling a client's computing utilization.

CDAT has been expanded with the introduction of the Server-Consolidation-Made-Simple toolset which certifies partners to provide evaluations to consolidate IT environments with less than 50 servers. By leveraging IBM blueprints from thousands of successful server consolidation engagements, business partners are able to provide swift guidance to clients.

"IBM has more than doubled its client engagements for virtualization on x86 systems, enabling IBM clients to deploy on average a total of 1,000 virtual machines a day thanks to resources such as CDAT," said Rich Lechner, vice president, IBM IT Optimization. "And with more than seventy percent of IBM's virtualization client engagements coming from business partners, our ability to serve our partners with tools that simplify and extend their client relationships is key."

Three years ago IBM Business Partner Mainline Information Systems performed a CDAT evaluation for its client, Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company. Founded in 1868, the company is considered a top property and casualty insurer with policyholders throughout the Midwest, Southeast and Northeast. Since its CDAT evaluation, Frankenmuth has continued to grow its business productivity in a virtualized IT environment. To date, the company is represented by more than 450 independent agencies and more than 575 employees.

"Mainline Information Systems came to evaluate our server utilization with the CDAT tool and the proposal they came back with reaffirmed to us that virtualizing our System x servers is the best way to effectively support the business," said Curtis Williams, IT manager of Technical Services at Frankenmuth Mutual Insurance Company. "By virtualizing many of our physical servers we improved overall server utilization rates to as high as 80 percent. We also benefit from a great ease of management, rapid deployment and thousands in cost savings per year."

An additional service, "Server Consolidation Factory" provides a customized, client-ready server consolidation proposal for business partners that do not have trained solution developers in-house. Partners can devote more time to client relationships by leveraging IBM's insight to provide sound recommendations in a timely manner. Bundled pricing for the service is not for profit, and starts at merely $500 per fifty servers, up to five times less expensive than competitive services.

"IBM CDAT is one of the most effective tools we utilize. It has enabled us to consistently achieve a 90 percent win rate with our customers," said Vic Verola, vice president of Sales for IBM Premier Business Partner, Vicom Computer Services. "We are now able to deliver the same high quality studies that previously we were only able to do with our very large clients. Through 'Server Consolidation Made Simple,' the process to engage such clients is very easy, requiring minimum time investment while providing them with an accurate yet efficient proposal."

"Virtualization and server consolidation are fueling tremendous growth in technology investments," said Tony Madden, senior vice president and general manager, Avnet Technology Solutions, Americas, IBM Solutions group. "While this market presents significant opportunities for Avnet's value-added reseller partners, they often have limited resources to develop the comprehensive analysis and proposals these type of engagements demand. IBM's Consolidation Discovery and Analysis Tool and Server Consolidation Factory provide our partners with a way to simplify the proposal process and complement our extensive solutions portfolio, training, programs and services."

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.

For more information, visit: www.ibm.com.

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: