Liverpool Football Club and IBM i

We’re preparing for an announcement next week, so I haven’t blogged as much as I would like, but I wanted to share one of the customer references I talked about last time. If you’ll recall, I mentioned that while many clients do not allow us to mention their names, there are also many who are happy to share their story. Today I’ll spotlight someone from the other side of the Atlantic: the Liverpool Football Club.

Like many of our clients, no matter what the industry, the Liverpool Football Club wants to do a great job for their customers. Their need from the IT solution they buy: Liverpool FC aims to provide the best possible football experience for its supporters and recognized that online ticket sales were a key part of its interaction with its fans. The club decided to review its ticketing platform and create a roadmap for future development.

From more than 20 vendors, the club selected IRIS Ticketing, its incumbent supplier, to deliver a program of enhancements for the TALENT Sport ticketing system. IRIS Ticketing focused on transforming the fans’ experience with a new queuing system, and improved performance by moving the software onto a new IBM Power 720 server.

The team clearly saw benefits from this solution:

1. Increased capacity by 250 percent; the system can now support over 750 concurrent users.
2. Handled 100,000 ticket sales within four days without a single moment of downtime.
3. Queuing system gives supporters a better understanding of the ticketing process, improving customer service and fostering loyalty.

“The upgrade has at least doubled our capacity on the TALENT Sport system, and may even have tripled it.”

— Phil Dutton, Head of Ticketing and Hospitality at Liverpool FC

As is clear by this example, we reach many of our IBM i customers because of the excellent solutions that continue to be invested in and enhanced by ISVs such as IRIS Ticketing. It’s this focus on a customer solution that runs the business reliably, with high performance as well as fit-for-purpose functionality, that remains a winner.

So, whether you’re a fan of Liverpool FC or not, did you know that they use IBM i and Power Systems for their business? Now you do. That’s an example of IBM i in your world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TCO, TCA and Low Cost of Downtime – the ITG Studies and IBM i

Two studies have recently been completed by the International Technology Group (ITG) that should be of particular interest to the IBM i community. I wrote about the previous ITG study back in February of 2011. Now, almost two years later, the refreshed study confirms what the prior study showed, and what we all know from experience: IBM i on Power Systems is not only a great platform for function and stability, but it’s also a great platform for a company’s bottom line.

The first new study is the ITG study called “IBM i for Midsize Businesses.” The short URL for it is http://bit.ly/IBMiTCO_ITGMidsize and it confirms that the total cost of ownership for IBM i is significantly less than for the typical x86-based competition. Here’s a key chart.

The numbers are impressive. Over a three year period, running a midsize business on the combination of IBM i and Power Systems costs 44% less than running that business on Microsoft Windows Server and x86, and 57% less than Oracle/Linux on x86. These numbers continue the value proposition the platform has had for years, enabled as they are by the integrated nature of IBM i, and the automated nature of DB2 for i.

What remains a surprise for many customers and prospective customers, however, is how those three-year costs break down between Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA) and operational costs. The numbers are in the following chart:

Again, IBM i and Power Systems combine to beat the competition on average for acquisition costs; by 24% vs. Windows and x86 and by 47% vs. Oracle/Linux and x86. This means that ongoing operating expenses for IBM i are less than half of what they are for competitive environments; on average 51% less than Windows and 61% less than Oracle/Linux.

ITG did more than one study this time. They created a study that is of more interest to our larger clients. That study is called “IBM i for Enterprise Businesses: Quantifying the Value of Resilience” because one of the most important aspects of a platform for large clients is “How much money will it cost me when it doesn’t work?” The short URL for that study is http://bit.ly/IBMi_ITGEnterprise.

For this study, ITG looked at large businesses in various industries that run on IBM i, and those in the same industry that run on competitive platforms. I’ve selected on chart that shows the huge difference platform choice makes.

Again the study looks at a three-year period, and again, IBM i + Power Systems is a winning combination. With the integrity and reliability of the system, and with the features we’ve added over time to allow more changes to be made in the environment without disruption, the cost of downtime is significantly lower on IBM i. And this is a trend. A great quote from the study:

"No matter how one rates the value of IBM i’s distinctive strengths, that value is increasing over time."

Please, take a few minutes to look at one or both of the studies. And the next time you encounter someone who wonders if trusting your business to IBM i and Power Systems is the right business decision, point them to the documents. The numbers in the study, plus your personal experiences with the stability and function of IBM i make a pretty powerful story.

 

 

 

 

 

Solution Editions for IBM i - JD Edwards & Turner Industries Group

Back in the late 1970s, IBM was producing systems the S/36 and S/38 for businesses that needed reliable computing. The success of those IBM systems, and their descendents, was closely tied to solutions produced by Independent Software Vendors.

In recognition of the key role ISV solutions play in our marketplace, and to help customers realize near-term value from purchasing IBM i and those solutions together, Solution Editions were created in 2010. By purchasing a Solution Edition, a customer can get the latest POWER, IBM i and ISV solution at a reduced price, and be assured that the level of stability they expect from the combined platform will provide excellent total cost of ownership. When Solution Editions were created, IBM naturally went to some of our most successful ISVs – first to define the concept, and then to create offerings.

The JD Edwards solution suite has a long history on IBM i. It came into existence at the very time those first midrange systems were introduced, and the partnership has been strong ever since. Yes, the relationship has undergone change – JD Edwards was acquired by PeopleSoft, which was then acquired by Oracle – but the support of the common customers continues, and new capabilities continue to be added for those customers. So it was natural that this would be one of the worldwide Solution Editions.

We have many excellent customer references from joint JD Edwards + IBM i installations, so today I wanted to highlight one of them – Turner Industries Group.

According to its website “Turner Industries has provided a single vendor solution in heavy industrial construction, maintenance, pipe, module and vessel fabrication, equipment, rigging and heavy hauling, and associated specialty services for nearly 50 years.” Yes, like so many IBM i customers, they have a real business to run, and they just need a server and software to help them run it.

Turner Industries had these challenges:

• Support the company’s projected growth
• Deliver increased performance and reliability
• Reduce maintenance costs and hardware footprint
• Facilitate new application development and reporting

Its business partner, CMA Technology Solutions, worked to deliver this solution:

• IBM Power 740 Solution Edition with IBM i and Oracle JD Edwards World
• Solid State Disks
• Capacity Backup
• Rational Development Tools
• IBM DB2 WebQuery

The new solution reduced server footprint by 66 percent, reduced energy consumption and reduced maintenance costs – a clear answer to the challenges the customer listed. But it got much more than that, due to the advanced capabilities in IBM i, the Oracle JD Edwards solution, and the other IBM technologies it purchased.

Turner was able to centralize all backup, upgrades, operations and maintenance, improving its high availability and disaster recovery position. It did this while getting special prices associated with the Solution Edition, which reduced its initial solution cost over the alternative, as well as reducing its ongoing maintenance costs.

Tuner didn’t stop there, either. The company also invested in SSD technology, which reduced the runtime of most batch jobs by 50 percent. Additional work was done to modernize some older queries to SQL, reducing their runtime from 20-30 minutes to one second! And now it can take excellent advantage of the easy-to-use DB2 WebQuery product alongside World to help run its business as it grow.

This is one example of many among the customers IBM i and JD Edwards serve together. And this solution is just one of many that are part of the Solution Editions program around the world.

In future blogs, I will almost certainly highlight other Solution Editions. They are excellent examples of the vitality of the IBM i, Power Systems, and the Business Partner and ISV marketplace, and they demonstrate the commitment we all have to bringing the latest technology to our clients to help them compete effectively.

 

 

 

Twitter: #ibmi, #powersystems @Steve_Will_IBMi

 

Four Quarters of Growth for IBM i

This is a good time to be involved with IBM i.

I have been Chief Architect for several years now, and I can honestly say it’s the best job I’ve ever had. There are challenges every day, I get to keep learning new things, and I have an opportunity to talk to many, many people who care about our platform.

Some times are better than others, though, and this past year has been fun for a very solid business reason. We’ve been growing.

At the beginning of 2011, IBM released its 4^th quarter 2010 earnings statement, with our Power Systems growing at 6% YTY and our IBM CFO, Mark Loughridge, noting that we sold out of the low-end Power Systems models including the Power 720 and 740. Of course, that was good news for us, since those are the most popular models to run IBM i.

Fast forward to 3Q2011 and things got even better. In our 3Q results, Power Systems grew at 15% YTY, which was great. Even better was that that growth was in part fueled by IBM i software sales, which grew even faster at 19%. That’s right. IBM i grew faster than the platform itself. And, in fact, that makes four consecutive quarters of growth for IBM i.

There are many contributing factors to this growth, of course. As I talk to clients, one of the clear messages I am getting is businesses are investing and making a renewed commitment to their core technology platforms. As the economy declined in 2008-9, many businesses were forced to delay purchases and upgrades. But many also took a cold hard look at which platforms were really delivering for them. The people I talk to concluded that IBM i was right at the top of their list for cost-effective IT service delivery.

Now, as we gradually come out of the recession, many businesses are looking to catch up, upgrading to POWER7 and either to IBM i 6.1 or IBM i 7.1. Interestingly, in 2011, we have seen an acceleration of people going direct to IBM i 7.1. The reason? It’s just as easy to go directly from 5.4 to 7.1, you miss having to do another upgrade, and you also get easy access to new technologies with the Technology Refresh delivery mechanism we provide with 7.1. If you heard my webcast this week, you know I strongly recommend going directly to 7.1. You will take advantage of longer support and get faster access to new hardware and virtualization enhancements.

So, right now in Rochester, IBM i is growing and -- this is a big surprise for late November -- it’s not snowing (not yet at least). Next up is one of our favorite meetings of the year. The COMMON Americas Advisory Council will be here to review our roadmap and listen to client requirements for our next IBM i releases.

 

 

Twitter: #ibmi #power @Steve_Will_IBMi 

 

Links IBM i Users Need

What IBM links should you, as an IBM i fan always have at your disposal?

I am confident I will miss something, but let’s consider this a good starting point based on links I have sent to many people in recent weeks.

Business Case for IBM i: If you have the chance to restate the value of Power Systems and IBM i in your organization, the best place to start is the Power of i site, where you get the strategy paper and the ITG study, which talks about the IBM i Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA) and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of IBM i compared to our competition. The full URL is www.ibm.com/systems/power/software/i/powerofi/index.html or you can try to remember the short URL http://bit.ly/Powerofi.

Latest New Functions and Articles: We generally have two big announcements each year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Along with links to articles from our team, the developerWorks IBM i Zone has the latest. The full URL is
https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/ibmi/ and it’s so easy, I haven’t defined a short URL for it.

Storage for IBM i: One of the frequent questions we get when people are planning to buy new systems is “What storage can IBM i use?” While the general answer is, “Pretty much anything if you use VIOS,” some people really want to know what is available natively, as well as what is available through VIOS. To help answer that question, a PDF table has been built for IBM i Storage Options. The full URL is
www-03.ibm.com/support/techdocs/atsmastr.nsf/WebIndex/PRS4563 and the short URL is http://bit.ly/IBMi_Storage

Examples of IBM i 7.1 Use: The IBM i 7.1 Technical Overview Redbook is excellent, has great examples of using the features in the latest major release, and is being updated as we speak to include the functions which have been made available since 7.1. The full URL is www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/abstracts/sg247858.html?Open

The IBM i Reference Manual: We make updates to the IBM i Information Center throughout the year, as well as having a major update at each full release. Full URL: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/eserver/ibmi.html

IBM i Technology Refreshes: If you’ve been reading this blog for the past year or so, you know that we have created Technology Refreshes (TRs) to add new capabilities to IBM i 7.1. The page that explains TRs, and also has tabs with the details on how to get them, is at full URL:
http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/i/planning/techrefresh/index.html or short URL http://bit.ly/IBMi_TechRefresh


Twitter: #ibmi @Steve_Will_IBMi