february 20021© dennis adams associates meeting big blue a personal perspective on developing a...

February 20021 © Dennis Adams Associates

Meeting Big BlueMeeting Big Blue

A personal perspective on developing a professional relationship with IBM

Dennis Adams

February 2002 © Dennis Adams Associates2

IntroductionsIntroductions

• This presentation was prepared for the IBM Unix User Group, most of whom are “seasoned” IBM users.

• Having an “outsider’s view” may be useful for experienced IBMers and other customers.


DisclaimerDisclaimer

• 2001, working with a Bank which had no previous relationship in London with IBM.

• This presentation contains my personal perspective on how the initial engagement with IBM took place.

• No endorsement, implied or otherwise, from anyone else.


BackgroundBackground

• Investment Banking division of large European Bank

• Mid-Range Systems currently Installed– UNIX: Compaq, HP, Sun– Others: VMS, NT4, Win2000

• Hundreds of systems, and complex international network interconnects

• in the process of reviewing UNIX strategy


Technical BackgroundTechnical Background

• Investment Banking– Trading online Systems– Settlement Batch orientated communications– Market Risk Analysis Computation Systems– Customer Relationship Management Cross-

selling– Corporate Risk Analysis– Corporate Accounting– “Follow-the-Sun” Worldwide Trading


Technical IssuesTechnical Issues

• Server Consolidation– DataCentre filling up– “Partitioning” instead of multiple racked servers

may be a better approach

• Single Supplier Relationship– Ease of training costs, standard configurations


Other Unix VendorsOther Unix Vendors

• Compaq– Solid working Systems– ISV Support ? Commitment to UNIX ?

• Sun– Market Leader– Reliability/Clustering, Responsive to Customer?

• HP– Good ISV support– Living in the past, expensive, no clear roadmap.


Meeting the Big Blue MonsterMeeting the Big Blue Monster

• Impressive Roadmap of future hardware development (“control of own technology”)

• History of delivery

• Willingness to discuss futures, NDA etc.


PerceptionPerception

• They make mainframes, don’t they ?

• Good– Reliable, Solid, Datacentre-centric

• Bad– Slow, Unresponsive, out-of-touch

• Grey Adverts– What is their message, exactly ?


The Engagement ModelThe Engagement Model

• After much confusion, we realised how much more “channel-centric” IBM are, compared with other vendors we know.

• When do we deal with IBM, when with the Channel ?

• What are the ground-rules ?

• Will someone please sell to us !


Specifications of SystemsSpecifications of Systems

• Who invented configurator ?– Why is configuring a system so complex ?

• We want the “McDonald’s experience”.– Off-the-shelf solutions, which we can tailor– Eventually, we want to be able to order “two of

the usual, George”

• Surely, there is a better template for designing solutions ?


You want a what ???You want a what ???

• Exactly what is a 660/6H1 ?

• The model range can look confusing– even to IBM salesmen !

• We needed pre-sales technical guidance on parts, typical components, config etc.

• If you are dealing with a new customer, please make the effort to understand their environment and requirements.


The Benchmark DebateThe Benchmark Debate

• The first systems were investigated a replacements for HP or Compaq machines.– How to compare “like with like” ?

• SpecMark: basic indication of power rating– IBM results tend to be low

• TPC/C: transactional-based indication– IBM is consistently good


The Benchmark Debate (2)The Benchmark Debate (2)

• When specifying systems for replacing rival UNIX machines, you need to have a meaningful “rule of thumb”– Benchmark Testing is not cost-effective for

dozens of hardware projects at the same time.

• We found that TPC/C appears to over-rate the IBM capability for basic DBMS activity– Is this something that tuning could address ?


Retraining IssuesRetraining Issues

• Solaris to AIX training a big plus

• Training Courses very well received

• Difficulty of getting trial/evaluation systems

• HACMP training key to large users

• Importance of developing in-house standards and procedures– “Certification” of each hw / sw solution


Independent Software VendorsIndependent Software Vendors

• A key factor in choice of UNIX vendor is the extent of current and future ISV support

• Any UNIX vendor should ensure that this information is readily available– Products, Versions, Version Support etc.

• Have you tried to verify a list of “wants” without speaking to each ISV in turn ?– Mailshotting, Internal Certification/Testing– AIX 5L support from ISVs ?


IBM Global ServicesIBM Global Services

• Differentiate themselves from IBM parent

• Effectively sold the pricing model

• Consultancy can “take over” your business

• Sometimes “skills transfer” is even more important than “skills delivery”


Roadmaps and FuturesRoadmaps and Futures

• The provision of Future Roadmaps and plans enable large organisations to plan effectively– The refreshing thing is that the IBM delivered

• NDAs on future planning gives confidence– No sudden surprises

• At this stage, we do not have enough experience to input to customer feedback


ConclusionsConclusions

• IBM have a well-organised business model

• They do not necessarily explain themselves very well to “new contacts”

• The specification process could be improved– “Comparing like-with-like”

• Cross-training is excellent

• Pre-engagement may be tentative, but once involved, IBM resources really deliver


The ResultThe Result

• IBM AIX is UNIX of choice

• AIX 4.3.3 currently,– AIX 5.1L under internal certification

• Investment in p-Series 620…680

• p690 “Regatta” is part of our provisional planning for 2002

February 200221 © Dennis Adams Associates

Meeting Big BlueMeeting Big Blue

A personal perspective on developing a professional relationship with IBM

Dennis Adams

http://www.dennisadams.net

february 20021© dennis adams associates meeting big blue a personal perspective on developing a...

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