This PowerUp blog entry was written by Nigel Fortlage. An IBM Champion for Power, Fortlage is CIO and VP of IT for GHY International.
In 2002 my company, GHY, approached the end of lease of its
existing IBM midrange server. This was not a new occurrence as we had started with
the platform in 1989 on our original AS/400 B35. We thought our 2002 experience would be like
the other times when we did an equipment roll over. Little did we know that was
the start of a journey over the last decade that won awards, solved problems,
enabled service improvements and powered innovation. As you will come to learn,
this is not the journey at its conclusion, but rather a review of an ongoing
story that focuses on business needs, user satisfaction and always chasing the
vision of making IT simple.
In the blog entry, I will be reviewing the details behind
the story, helping others understand not only the technological gains and
rationale, but the business case created and approved that allowed this story
to unfold.
The Story of GHY
In 2002 we upgraded our eServer 720 to an iSeries 270 and
820 that went into service in 2003. That brought into play the first
virtualization and server consolidation activity at GHY. At this time, we left
most of the Intel workloads on stand-alone boxes. It also set the bar for the gains we
recognized and continue to benchmark against in order to preserve the level of
simplicity that it introduced to our operations. Of most significance was the
shift from spending time being reactive to being proactive, and focusing on the
business and user needs.
Eighteen months later we were given the opportunity to begin
planning for POWER5 technology, which went live in 2005. Of most significance with
this platform, like the new PureFlex system, could run all four operating
systems (OS/400–now i, AIX, Linux and Windows) in virtual machines simultaneously.
The OS/400, AIX and Linux environments were IBM POWER technology-based LPARs,
while the Windows server instances ran natively on cards (blades) that were
installed in the I/O chassis of the machine.
One key difference between the current design of the new PureFlex systems
and that design was that PureFlex uses a hypervisor that is independent of the operating
system. With the POWER5 environment, on the other hand, OS/400 managed the
whole solution and treated AIX and Linux as guest operating systems under
OS/400 management. This was our first
exposure to hyper reliable Windows servers that didn’t require regular rebooting
because of the OS/400 oversight and memory management of the Windows servers.
The key business deliverable in this initiative was
maintaining the many hard and soft gains we had from the first step in our
journey, but also providing environment choice for the business to select
applications that suited their needs rather than applications that fit what we
had. It was during this phase that we
replaced all of our core business systems as we had no technology constraints
holding us back.
With the economic downturn that began in 2008, like many
businesses we had to maintain status quo as growth was tempered. It was at this
time, as we held our own, that I added an element of business development to my
corporate role along with my VP IT role. As the business became hyper focused on delivering new added value and
growth-oriented strategies, we were able to start planning in 2009 for growth
as the world economy started to come out of the depths of the downturn. That
planning resulted in delivery of what I have been told is the world’s first
commercially sold POWER7 server to our data center in January 2010.
POWER7 technology represents a fundamental shift from POWER5
technology. This has enabled steady growth using this platform without
additional investment from the business. We also were able to use some of the
industry “best practices” by adding our first SAN from IBM using multitiered
storage to support storage virtualization, adding VMware to virtualize Intel
workloads and adding fibre switching to connect everything. This added new
layers to manage but virtualized our data center.
The business outcomes with this solution were both hard and
soft. We first wanted to maintain the gains we had from our 2003 and 2005
initiatives, and we added new capabilities for growth enablement such as
running Intel technology-based Linux workloads on IBM Power, which extended the
value proposition of the Power server. The technology was much “greener” with
regard to power and cooling—our data center is running at least 4 degrees
cooler with that hardware and our UPS battery power has longer run times when
supporting this new platform. That green message is very powerful when taken to
market. I learned this when new marketing responsibilities was added to my
existing IT leadership position.
What's Next?
So now in front of us is a decision to consider our end-of-lease
actions in 2014. Do we hold our own as we have no capacity reasons to help drive
these discussions as the introduction of POWER7 addressed that
exceptionally. The pureFlex System offers
many benefits that we see as worth talking about but here is the list of
factors as we see them today:
- The economy will be a large driver
- Reducing complexity in IT will be a key driver
- Simplifying management under one pane of glass
is critical
- Preserving all of our gains through this last
decade is key
- Allowing for growth without constantly going
back year after year to ask for more funds is critical
Each point has its own business (not IT) story. I will share
that during the session at the IBM Power Technical
University in Las Vegas on Oct. 29 to Nov. 2. If you’re
planning to attend, come on out to one of the sessions: Tuesday, Oct 30, 11:45
a.m. and Wednesday, Oct 31 4:15 p.m.
About GHY International
Founded in Winnipeg in 1901 by George Henry Young, GHY
International is one of Canada’s oldest customs brokerage companies, and is
family owned and managed by the fourth-generation great grandson of Mr. Young,
Richard Riess. In February 2012, GHY International was recognized as
the only Gold Standard Level certified provider of exclusive customs brokerage
services in North America by Canada's
50 Best Managed Companies. This is the fourth year in a row of qualification
for the firm.
Over the years, the company has grown to become
national and international in scope, with more than 100 employees providing
Canadian and U.S.
importers and exporters with a full range of international trade services
leveraged around our core competency of Customs Brokerage, International Trade
Compliance and International Trade Risk Management.
About Nigel Fortlage
I am a
passionate leader who happens to oversee technology. I believe that technology
is best leveraged as an enabler. I see possibilities and solutions, not
roadblocks and barriers. I lead an award winning team of professionals who fuel
my desire to push the boundaries in all things we do. I enjoy a
wide diverse portfolio of responsibility. I oversee all aspects of social media
as part of our overall business development strategy. I actively participate in
business development opportunities including client visits and sales calls. I share my
passion, knowledge, and insights through written articles, interviews, public
speaking venues nationally and internationally, and in person. I started
my working life on the vendor side. I strive to develop partnerships in all
aspects of delivering customer care. I have a
Certificate in Applied Management: Information Technology Specialization
through the University of Manitoba. Accepted
the IBM Innovation Award for the iSeries server on behalf of GHY
International in Chicago in 2005.
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