IBM is offering a package of new servers, software and financing to turn Oracle-Sun resellers and system integrators into IBM partners. IBM crafted the new Smart Analytics Systems servers and the pureScale Application package to entice resellers and enterprises to transfer their existing Oracle database running on Sun hardware to the new IBM platforms. IBM claims the new systems will enable enterprises to migrate their existing applications to a platform that's faster, more efficient and costs less to operate.
IBM on April 7 launched a major push to win over new system
integration partners, especially integrators specializing in Oracle databases
and Sun Microsystems hardware with the introduction of two new server models including
an x86 Unix System and a System z mainframe scale system.
To sweeten its pitch, IBM is planning to spend up to $500
million to help credit credit-worthy Sun Business Partners become resellers of the
IBM server and software packages. IBM officials said these initiatives are an
effort to stimulate the integrator channel as the world continues to recover
from a prolonged economic recession.
However, the company is claiming that more than 100 Sun partners
have already expanded or started an IBM reseller business with the help of
loans from IBM Global Financing to provide working capital; to bolster their
balance sheets; and to reduce the risk of starting up a new reseller line of business.
This is a level of assistance that IBM contends isn't available from Oracle-Sun's
financing operation.
Furthermore, IBM said the total package of hardware, software
and services was designed to make moving data and enterprise applications from
the Oracle Database running on Sun Systems to IBM's platforms "fast and low
risk." These new systems are also aimed
at encouraging enterprises to move their SAP applications to IBM's hardware and
database platform.
This latest competitive initiative coincidentally comes
barely a week after Oracle announced a new version of the
Tuxedo application
server along with new "re-hosting" tools that would allow enterprises to
migrate their existing IBM DB2 database applications to Oracle databases
running on Sun hardware.
The new IBM hardware products include two servers models, which IBM is calling the
Smart Analytics
Systems. These include the x86-based model 5600, which runs IBM's AIX edition
of Unix and is designed for business analytics applications, according to
Arvind Krishna, IBM general manager, Information Management, IBM Software
Group. This model also can be equipped with
optional solid state flash story to speed up data retrieval times, Krishna
said.
IBM has configured these new systems as standardized
hardware and software packages that resellers and application partners can
rapidly deploy to serve a variety of customer needs. IBM contends that these
systems are flexible and reliable enough to be deployed in a matter of days
rather than after weeks and months of design and planning.
The rapid deployment capability gives customers the ability
to migrate existing systems or start up new applications faster with much less
cost and risk.
Along with the new hardware, IBM introduced the IBM
pureScale Application, which combines the WebSphere Application Server with what
it has dubbed the DB2 pureScale database software to support
transaction-intensive applications, such as smart utility grids. The package
also includes IBM's Cognos data analytics package and the InfoSphere data warehouse.
The Model 9600 is based on IBM's System z mainframe platform and is designed to support advanced query and workload management
applications that generate hundreds of millions to billions of transactions and
queries per day, Krishna said. The system
is optimized to run IBM's DB2 relational database and lets IT managers perform
complex query and analysis tasks "right where the data is generated," Krishna
said.
These two new systems join the model 7600, which is
based on the Power7 processor platform and runs AIX. The model 7600 is designed as a high performance business analytics
engine running on top of a data warehouse within the same system.
The model 5600 is currently available while the 9600 will
be released by the end of the 2010 second quarter.
Email
Print
