Infrastructure Matters: IBM's System X

IBM announced today the 6th generation of its enterprise level X-Architecture for System X and PureSystems servers. This sparks a seamless addition to new and improved x86 based systems that would be great for analytics, cloud and large data.

IBM believes that change is inevitable. With a new era of business opportunities and very dynamic data size and sources, it is time to prepare to make use of better structures and framework. Analytics and big data handling is essential to remain competitive. Systems has to have no downtime, faster access and bigger data transfers and having servers that can predict any errors even before it happens without compromising other data uptime. Features like these make the IBM solutions for shared and secured access on a league of its own.

The beauty of it is that every two years they will announce new ones but this will still work. The same concept they are bringing to new ones because you don't need upgrades that much as it won't be cost efficient. This systems are designed for business critical enterprise so that even when you scale up, you won't get compromised and give you about 43% solutions cost. You can host multiple generations of technology in one server so maintenance is extremely easy. IBM's X6 is the fastest, mission critical application deployment in x86 based systems and no hardware vendor can match it. They are the first to do this.

X5 will retire this December. They also said that the Lenovo acquisition will not affect anything but the team that developed this and support for it will be transferred to Lenovo. We'll have to wait for the official announcement on this. With more performance and lower cost plus 4x more memory and higher system availability I couldn't think of any brand yet that could match X6. Will big enterprise use be of a reality soon? We'll have to find out if it applies to the Philippine market so we in turn can reap its benefits.

Note: One of the the local distributors is MSI, and they've assured all else will be okay once the transition starts in transferring x86 to Lenovo.That is reassuring.

IBM's Smarter Storage Solutions

When you notice your hard drive is about to become 100 percent capacity you always run around in circles and feel you're about to lose it. Now just imagine that same time when you tried to partition  your drives the first time you bought your laptop or desktop computer and looked helpless seeing it wasn't enough space you allocated for your files and you can't do anything about it and had no where else to back up files. Your pathetic attempt to put everything on USB drives and DVD was laughed upon by your peers because they know it would take you hours upon hours to do that and make it one of the most unproductive days at work. Your network administrator suddenly took out the whole network down so he can backup your office files and you go way past your deadlines, truly not a fun situation to be in.

All along, it should have been an enterprise level system that should have handled all of these for you. IBM as part of their smart computing initiatives, announced a new approach in planning, designing and managing big data infrastructures that utilizes their energy efficient, smart and intelligent software and hardware storage solutions that minimizes legwork in strategical ergonomic processes. Seen in the photo above, Jeff Barber, the Vice President for Mid Range Storage, Systems and Technology Group for IBM explains that the data we are gathering from an enterprise and corporate standpoint are increasing exponentially. The Asean region alone utilizes a huge chunk of these storage requirements and the only way you can cope up with this is by smart systems that has the intelligence and efficiency of handling this big data. We were shocked to see the numbers but it looks like they've got that covered. With things that can understand and automatically manage your data for you even in several brands that would normally not work together, the IBM Smarter Storage can run with your evolving infrastructures which even in some way future proof your systems. Now isn't that smart? 

If you know about Watson and the wonderful things he did for championing Jeopardy, that's exactly what they are going to be implementing in these storage systems. The proper management of data via virtualization, de-duplication, automated (even multilevel) tiering and cataloging can't be done by other known systems but IBM has that on their sleeve. You should check out these services that can complement your existing storage systems and have that enhanced via Intelligent Storage Service Catalog (ISSC) and utilize Cloud Systems (which in my books is inevitable) via IBM SmartCloud Services for Storage that can improve your data backup, manage massive quantities of data even in real time. 

Check out what they can offer over at http://www.ibm.com/storage or follow them on Twitter @IBMStorage for more information.

IBM Philippines

IBM: 75Years of Innovation in the Philippines!

IBM Philippines just celebrated their 75th Anniversary in this country. As much as it looks so overwhelmingly stamped its ground in the Philippines, they still probably think its still in its infancy. I was reminded more of what huge contributions they have made in the last few years despite of the hardships they also as a corporation have encountered. They have evolved from being a hardware vendor to a full circle serviced corporation able to integrate processes here and around the globe. They now are one of the stalwarts of off shore operations for IBM and one of the few recognized countries that would be essential for the growth of this multinational corporation. President and Country General Manager Mariels Almeda-Winhoffer said that this has been the challenge for her, she wants IBM Philippines to become ESSENTIAL. That word alone entails a lot of things and responsibilities and a private corporation like IBM Philippines wants to take this challenge. In undertaking this humongous task, I'd gladly laud them for even thinking of it.

IBM Philippines portfolio has grown tremendously. With 50 accounts and more to come in bpo, supply and shared services, it was not surprising seeing their numbers grow. Their goal was to always follow their dreams of building more smarter cities, gain ideal geo expansions, utilize cloud and its convenient advantages, plus utilize analytics to predict/gain reliable data.The first female IBM President and Country General Manager Mariels Almeda-Winhoffer says her arrival to the Philippines made her have a different purpose; to become an essential part of the country/the community/ and their customers. Actually she said the whole business model was made to support this goal. Aside from that, they did not forget their duty to society. Their Kidsmart project alone benefited almost 800,000 kids, institutions, students and professors. They have also put importance in integrated health services in the Philippines as this has also been the center of attention of IBM globally. IBM Philippines is now a proud services and software company that's going to have sustainable growth in the next few years. They will continue providing solutions via integration. That is actually their next step, and they are adding more for their long term goals.

It was a treat visiting them on their turf, let alone on a day where they celebrate their 75th year. They even had a small part of the intros explaining the Filipino work ethics and customs. It was nice to see it in that perspective. I hardly ask questions but while everyone was at the heat of the moment, I remembered the part about IBM and the problems they had with GSIS. I was worried that they painted a pretty picture here but still had that issue with the records of that government agency. As soon as I asked, everyone jumped in and said that it has been resolved. They released a statement here years ago. I was wondering what happened to that because I personally saw my Mom go through hell in GSIS. Saw an article here saying there were settlements being done during the new administration. In any case, they assured me they've got that settled already. Mom should be happy.

Today they've got a few projects with local cities like Davao. Their Public Safety and Security Command Center is being scaled up on a one of a kind initiative to make this one of their Smart Cities. The IBM Intelligent Operations Center solutions will create advanced technological solutions to existing infrastructure to improve the overall city management which will further lower crime rates in Davao. They will also be using analytics on parts of this very promising projects. Pretty soon they'll be using the same technique to other ones but this is a definite first in the world! I'm sure this wouldn't be the last of it!

This has always been IBM Philippines thrust; which is transformation through innovation. They've already made a great head start in more cities in the Philippines; and this will surely be something to be shared to the rest of the world. The Philippines is indeed essential to IBM's growth today and for years to come. Congratulations on continuing to grow together; with the people and communities you've helped along the way. Thank you for being a part of a bigger, better Philippines!