1st Mainframedebate review

Yesterday between 4-5pm was one of the most stressful hours of my life!!!  As most of you will already know, yesterday we held the 1st ever mainframe debate on Twitter. This event came about from an idea I had a couple of months ago.  Being a Twitter nut, IBMer and also keen cyclist doesn't always overlap but on this ocassion it did, let me explain.

On Facebook I follow a number of cycling companies and one of them regularly hosts a Facebook session for an hour with one of it's mechanics where anybody can post and ask questions...you would think pretty mundane but about 40 people ask questions in the hour.  Wind forward and I am running Mark Anzani's (IBM VP for System z) diary while he is in the UK this week.  So I decide that it would be good to have Mark as the guest on a Twitter debate, playing the role of the mechanic!

Well after numerous conference calls, an IBM internal newsletter article and many swapped emails we get to yesterday at 3.30pm, thirty minutes before the debate is due to kick off.  In the room we have:

1. Mark Anzani
2. Jeffrey Biamonte
3. Richard Gamblin
4. Paul Yarrow
5. Geoff Eggleston

On the phone we have Carly Exum and Pratin Ashketar, in Le Guardia Airport it transpires we have Paulo Carvao another IBM VP...

On my laptop I have access to not only my own twitter account but also the main IBM_System_z account.

When we get to 4pm the chaos begins, we have questions backing up and we are brainstorming how we can answer questions that would normally require a 5-minute discussion in 140 characters...for the next 60-minutes it is a blur of switching between Twitter accounts, Sametime with you boss' boss, finding links, getting answers into 140 characters when they have been built by a room of people and general panic and chaos.

We get questions from multiple IBMers including 2 IBM VP's and 2 Business Unit Directors we even get 2 customers join in.  We get representation from Jordan, India, USA, Cuba and Italy as well as bunch of guys from IBM UK during the debate.  In the hour we get over 100 interactions and this leads to multiple subsequent retweets and mentions..

And then 5pm arrives and the fastest hour of my life has gone and we are agreeing to do it again next month.  We learnt some valuable lessons while on line, so if it was less than perfect we apologise, bear with us we will be better next time...The lessons include:

• Don't attempt a Twitter debate on your own
• Don't have the main laptop on a dodgy WiFi network
• Set your Sametime status to do-not-disturb
• Get your WW colleagues involved they helped massively in the set-up
• Don't promise an IBM VP coffee when the canteen is closed
• Don't expect a Poughkeepsie Chip God to be succinct

See you on the 10th October (details to follow) for what will hopefully become a regular #mainframedebate

More Mainframe Twitter debate details

September 12th 2012 #MainframeDebate: zEnterprise EC12

On Wednesday, September 12^th from 11-12am EDT (16:00 - 17:00 BST), @IBM_System_z and @StevenDickens3 will be hosting a Twitter debate (Steven’s blog post) to discuss the new IBM zEnterprise EC12 and how it can help businesses to do more with less. This chat features Mark Anzani, IBM VP, Portfolio and Technical strategy and CTO for System z.

On August 28th, IBM introduced the newest zEnterprise system, the zEnterprise EC12 (zEC12). The zEC12 is designed to help enterprises effectively manage their core business processes. Improvements of the zEC12 include 50% increased capacity over its predecessor and 25% performance enhancement for transaction processing.  With the zEC12, businesses can tackle the challenges of today’s competitive business environment like never before. Read System z VP Paulo Carvao’s Smarter Computing Blog post for more information on the zEnterprise EC12.

Join IBM System z experts on September 12th at 11 a.m. ET for our first #MainframeDebate to discuss zEnterprise EC12. If there is anything you’d like to discuss, tweet questions to @IBM_System_z and @StevenDickens3. 

This Twitter chat will feature:
Mark Anzani, IBM, Vice President, Portfolio and Technical Strategy, System z | Follow @MarkAnzani on Twitter

Mark Anzani is the CTO and VP of Portfolio and Technical Strategy for System z. He was instrumental in the development of the zEnterprise EC12. Mark is responsible for driving long term business and product technical strategy for System z. Mark has been with IBM since 1983 and has held several positions working with IBM’s enterprise systems. In 2009, Mark became the Chief Technology Officer for System z. In July, 2012, he was became the Vice President of Portfolio and Strategy for System z. 
If you have not joined a Twitter chat or debate before, here’s how they work:

• What: A Twitter debate is an online conversation held at a pre-arranged time following a specific hashtag. Join our chat with the hashtag #MainframeDebate. You will need a Twitter ID to take part.
• When: Wednesday, September 12, at 11 a.m. ET
• Where: The chat can be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #MainframeChat or you can log on and access the chat on http://twebevent.com/MainframeDebate
• Who: Anyone who is interested in joining and has a Twitter account! Just include #MainframeDebate in your tweets!

After the #MainframeDebate:
Check out the zEnterprise EC12 announcement page. Let us know your thoughts on zEC12! Leave a comment on the Smarter Computing blog below or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Processor Architecture - a laymans view of the religious war

Just read, a for once, unbiased review from the Register on IBM's R&D investment in chip architecture:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/09/05/ibm_z12_mainframe_engine/

Definitely worth a read for the more geeky amongst us, who find micro engineering just a little bit cool.

Then I read the blog comments and came down of my geeky high, from all of the comments by people who just want to have a knock at IBM:

http://forums.theregister.co.uk/forum/1/2012/09/05/ibm_z12_mainframe_engine/

Now I can't claim to unbiased as Big Blue feeds my kids, but the level of vitriolic spewing on these blogs just shocked me...yes me a salesman of 17 years standing...How can people generate so much passion about the various pros and cons of chip architecture.  I know the guys in Fishkill and Poughkeepsie care, but I am sure they would not get 'biblical' on another approach.

A senior IBM exec said to me recently of IBM's chasing single thread clock speed that you can compare it with the airline industry and plane size Vs speed.  What is better Concorde or a 747?  One is designed to carry ~120 passengers very quickly the other is designed to carry ~500 a lot slower.  Both have there place as approaches (and yes I know Concorde is no longer in service).

Another saying I like about the mainframe is that "we worship different gods and speak in different tongues" never could this be more true than after reading the blog comments.

For all those x86 fans out there let me sum up the mainframe with a couple of anecdotes:

• I know of a large retail bank that has 93% of it's business logic running on 4 mainframes that cost the bank 7% of it's IT budget.  The other 40,000 servers cost 93% of the IT budget to keep running!

• I also know of a £1bn turnover retailer that runs its entire web front end on 4 IFL's (Linux engines on the mainframe).

So come on guys give IBM a break we have a very specialized market to service and we are spending hard cash to innovate...how can that be a bad thing?

Mark Anzani VP and 'CTO for System z' - Twitter Debate details

Twitter Debate - Mark Anzani CTO System z and IBM VP

16:00 - 17:00 BST

 

US Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) as 11:00 - 12:00

 

 Wednesday 12th September
Watch this space for more details on the Twitter debate with Mark Anzani IBM VP and Portfolio and Technical Strategy system z. 

Follow the debate via the following hashtags:

#IBMCTOMark
#mainframedebate 

Please register your questions in advance via @StevenDickens3 as I will be chairing the debate...

Mark's bio gives some insight as to why this will be a lively debate

Mark S. Anzani

Vice President, Portfolio and Technical Strategy,

System z, IBM Corporation

 Mark Anzani is Vice President, Portfolio and Technical Strategy for System z. He has the responsibility for driving long term business and product technical strategy, as well as enabling innovative client projects involving System z. He joined IBM in Poughkeepsie in 1983 and during his career has had positions in a variety of product development disciplines, primarily focused on IBM large systems. In January 2004, Mark was appointed Vice President, System z Hardware Products with the responsibility for the development and launch of the hardware products within the System z Portfolio. In January of 2007, Mark was appointed Vice President of System z Technical Support and in March of 2009 added the Chief Technology Officer responsibilities to his role. In July 2012 he was named to the Portfolio and Technical Strategy position.

RBS Outage - The aftermath at other mainframe clients

Following RBS' high profile mainframe outage a few weeks back, the reaction within my mainframe client base has been largely positive.  When the topic has been discussed the mood has been up-beat and sympathetic of RBS's plight. 

Specific reactions have been:

• One large UK bank raised the subject at a recent board meeting and felt it was comfortable with mainframe ops because of the IT exec who looks after the platform globally.
• Another large mainframe client has used the RBS outage to push back against an internal offshoring proposal, and surprisingly is having a lot of success
• A large retail client commented that they saw the same issue in the scheduling software and were glad they had a mainframe ops guy locally who was so knowledgeable.
• Another UK bank has kicked off a programme of reviewing their scheduling 'robustness' and the ability to roll-back during upgrades.

None of my clients have expressed any concerns about having their IT crown jewels on the mainframe given the recent press, in fact quite the opposite.  The feeling has been that they feel that mainframe ops and governance is best in class when compared against other platforms...

follow the debate at @stevendickens3

RBS Outage - does it cement the role of the mainframe ?

RBS Outage

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last couple of weeks, you will be aware of the significant outage that the RBS/Natwest/Ulster bank group has experienced.

Just in case you do claim a rock as your humble abode take a look at the links below for details:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/25/rbs_natwest_what_went_wrong/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9355028/City-puts-cost-of-RBS-glitch-at-between-50m-and-100m.html

This outage has sent a ripple through the mainframe world, especially with those clients who run CA's venerable scheduling software tool CA-7 and those looking to use offshore operations resource.  Without wishing to point the finger at my former employer and the quality of CA-7, a product that I have sold in the past, it would be remiss of me to mention that other mainframe scheduling products are available:

http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/products/scheduler/

But seriously, wider than a bit of professional gloating and opportunism, the fundamental question arises - Should large organizations run significant core business critical applications on the mainframe when a single outage at a bank can cost upwards of £100m?

Well lets look at some history:

• The mainframe has been around for some 40 years and throughout this time has been supporting key clients IT needs.
• IBM back in 1974 committed to maintain investment in this platform
• IBM provides 'integrity' commitments for the O/S
• System z mean time between failure stats run into decades

But apart from these IBM commitments, large organizations have been running their IT largely glitch free for years on this platform.  In fact the very lack of this type of outage is the very reason why it has been such big news.  By way of proof - 96 of the top 100 banks globally run System z and this is the first time I have heard of such an outage of this magnitude.

Also other platforms are not without their high profile glitches:

http://gigaom.com/cloud/will-amazon-outage-ding-cloud-confidence/

http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/networking/3246942/london-stock-exchange-tight-lipped-on-network-outage/

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/306421,vodafone-suffers-near-nationwide-3g-outage.aspx

In summary one of my clients runs 93% of their business logic on 4 servers that cost them 7% of their total IT Budget, whilst running 4000 distributed servers that contribute to 7% of the business logic and cost 93% of the total IT spend.  Which begs the question which looks the better bet?

Answers on a post card to @stevendickens3

Clients chose IBM System z for analytics over Teradata and Oracle Exadata

Clients chose IBM System z for analytics over Teradata and Oracle Exadata

 Re-posted from http://berniespang.com/ - hope you don't mind? Just remember plagiarism is the highest form of flattery...

Here is another question where conventional wisdom about “the right answer” has been proven wrong:  can IBM System z be the best solution for data warehousing and analytics?   For many of my early days in the database software and systems business the debate raged about performance and price performance implications of using System z for analytics workloads.  Recent client stories I’ve heard tell me that the advances delivered in DB2 10 for z/OS, and the Netezza powered DB2 Analytics Accelerator, have firmly answered the question.
For those that have not heard of DB2 Analytics Accelerator, it is a Netezza data warehouse appliance that integrates directly with DB2 for z/OS such that deep analytics queries are routed to it without any need to alter the application.  Transactional and operational queries are handled by DB2 as usual, and all data remains under the industry’s highest level of security and availability.
Also, you should know the Smart Analytics System models 9700 and 9710 are integrated offerings that include Cognos BI, InfoSphere Warehouse and DB2 for z/OS software on a zEnterprise z/196 or z/114, respectively.
If you are finding it hard to believe this is a real change in the game, consider the following client examples from our Banking Industry team:

European Bank Group adds IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator to System z over Exadata
This banking consortium has  IT teams that are Oracle technology friendly, and had invested in an Exadata system last year.   They were considering moving  BI workload to the Exadata system but the IBM team demonstrated the benefits of a BI infrastructure based on IBM System z with the DB2 Analytics Accelerator.  The client chose the IBM solution.

Federal tax authority chooses IBM Smart Analytics System 9700 after DB2 10 for z/OS blows away Oracle in a performance benchmark
A benchmark between Oracle Database and DB2 for z/OS was the first step in this decision process: DB2 proved to have 10 times better performance in the benchmark.  In addition to superior performance, other decision factors for choosing IBM Smart Analytics System over Oracle included:

• An end-to-end solution, including comprehensive data warehousing and business intelligence software
• Reliable hardware
• In-depth services that will support deployment and operation of the new platform

IBM System z selected over Teradata at one of the world’s oldest banks
This bank needed an integrated data warehousing solution for corporate, financial, and marketing information across the bank to reduce costs, improve revenue and drive better profitability.   Factors in choosing IBM System z over Teradata included:

• Significant savings in hardware, software, operating and people costs
• Faster time to value with a reduction in the time required to deploy Business Intelligence solutions
• Industry leading scalability, reliability, availability and security
• Simplified and faster access to the transactional and operational data on System z

North American Bank moves off Teradata in Favor of IBM Smart Analytics System
Teradata was the warehousing standard at this bank and its team had a misconception that IBM System z was not leading-edge technology or the most cost effective solution.   Fortunately, the team also had open minds and a desire to find the data warehousing and analytics solution that delivered the best value for their business.   The result: a transition from Teradata to an IBM Smart Analytics System powered by System z.

Never say never
Now don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that System z is the best analytics system choice for all clients in all situations.  I am saying that you should not assume it isn’t the best choice for you and your situation.  Make business decisions based on the reality of today’s facts, not based on outdated misconceptions.