Insider Weekly
On demand computing takes center stage at COMMON
By Sarah Kimmel
Monday, March 17, 2003
Big Blue’s “e-business
on demand” strategy, a highlight of the latest iSeries hardware
announcement, was also an emphasis for IBM executives at COMMON.
“You need an IT infrastructure
that allows you to be responsive, resilient, variable, and focused.
It’s about an environment where resources can be shared securely
and virtually and… where the IT system acts more like the
autonomic nervous system,” says Al Zollar, iSeries general
manager, IBM, Somers, NY.
Making his first impression on
the COMMON community, Zollar spoke positively about the latest release
of iSeries hardware and the direction of the iSeries platform at
iSeries Nation Town Hall at COMMON, held from March 8-14 in Indianapolis,
IN.
“The January 20 announcement
was the most significant set of iSeries announcements in the last
15 years. It is about connecting the demand capabilities of the
business with the delivery capabilities of the business,”
says Zollar.
While some iSeries shops that have
made the switch from CISC to RISC may disagree on whether this is
the “most significant” announcement, it certainly is
the most significant for shops that run or are planning to run e-business
and on-demand workloads.
Zollar gave a live demonstration
of e-business on demand and showed how to instantly add processing
power with just a few clicks of the mouse. He also gave a demonstration
of how to use the phone directory that comes with WebSphere Express,
which is included with several other middleware products in many
of the new iSeries packages.
“I know some of you said
that we just moved from the Interactive tax to a software tax. It’s
the ability to build applications on an open middleware infrastructure
that runs across a system infrastructure — ones that can support
any technologies on the market,” says Zollar.
Marketing to focus on iSeries legends
Although she was given only ten
minutes to talk, Cecelia Maresse, vice president of iSeries marketing,
captivated the audience with her presentation of IBM’s marketing
plans for the iSeries.
After detailing the recent iSeries
“genie lamp” advertising campaign, which consists of
both print- and Web-based marketing featuring the iSeries as a server
that can grant all of your IT wishes, she discussed her latest initiative
— a series of customer testimonials about iSeries urban legends.
“I’ve talked to customers
all over the country who have heard the story of the iSeries shop
that dry-walled their box behind a wall and didn’t know it
until they had to look for it. We are going to use crazy stories
like this that have a kernel of truth, as well as real stories from
you, as marketing,” says Maresse.
To get the ball rolling on this
campaign, IBM set up a area in the Expo hall to tape customer testimonials.
Big Blue will also offer shops an opportunity to contribute to this
initiative over the Web.
Two minutes with the COMMON
president
As education and travel
budgets rebound in the new year, COMMON is reaping the
rewards and looking positively toward the future.
“We’re
looking to bring back the fun of COMMON. I remember
back to my first COMMON in 1980 – there was an
absolute sense of community and everyone had a marvelous
time. Over time, it started losing its intimacy, and
we are trying to bring that back,” says Robert
Boyson, president, COMMON, Byron, MN.
Although there were
some concerns over whether tough economic times and
current events were going to stunt the attendance at
the show, overall attendance was up from the past two
conferences, held in Minneapolis and Denver.
“In the first
part of the year we were in a little bit of a panic
– between the economy, what’s going on internationally,
and the number of folks who had preregistered at that
time – but to look around and see close to 2,300
people here, it’s just great,” says Boyson.
Attendees should look
for some scheduling changes at the next COMMON conference,
many made in response to attendees’ requests to
have less overlap with the vendor expo area.
“At the next
conference, opening session will be held one day earlier,
on Sunday, to give slightly more hours at the Expo and
to have less competition against sessions. Also, the
banquet will be held on the last night – on Thursday,”
says Boyson.
The regular Ask the
Experts session will also be slightly different and
will be in conjunction with some Expo hours to allow
vendors to show solutions to issues immediately.
Fall COMMON will be
held from September 7-11, 2003 in Orlando, Florida.
For more information, see www.common.org.
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Categories: IBM Strategy
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