IBM i (iSeries, AS/400): December 2014

Monday, December 29, 2014

TCO, TCA and Reliability – the 2014 ITG IBM i Studies

November 11, 2014

Two years ago, I wrote a blog about two ITG studies that compared IBM i to our competition in the small and midsized business (SMB) market, and in the Enterprise market. Those studies have recently been refreshed, and I’ve been using charts and data from these new studies as I’ve been traveling talking about the value of IBM i on Power Systems. In today’s blog, I will point out the highlights and give you links so you can get the full studies.

The first 2014 study is the ITG study called “IBM i on Power Systems for Midsize Businesses.” The short URL for it ishttp://bit.ly/IBM_i_ITG2014SMB and it’s not much of a surprise that it shows, again, that the total cost of ownership for IBM i is significantly less than for the typical x86-based competition. Here’s a key chart:

As with the previous studies, the comparisons are made over a three-year period, where each set of bars represents the entire cost of running a business using only the platforms indicated. You can see businesses using IBM i and Power Systems costs 49% less than running that business on Microsoft Windows Server and x86, and 55% less than Oracle/Linux on x86. IBM i integration, ease of use and powerful DB2 contribute greatly to the value proposition the platform has had for years.

This 2014 study reconfirmed the competitive Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA) we now have with IBM i. While this still surprises many customers, it is valuable information to have when discussing IT investments.

Again, IBM i and Power Systems combine to beat the competition on average for acquisition costs; by 35% vs. Windows & x86 and by 46% vs. Oracle/Linux & x86. Powerful data to show your businesses how much IBM i and Power Systems help the bottom line, even when only looking at costs.

As in the previous round of studies, in 2014, ITG refreshed its study of the reliability of the platform. The new study is called “IBM i on Power Systems for Enterprise Businesses” because one of the most important aspects of a platform for large clients is “How much money will it cost me when it doesn’t work?” The short URL is http://bit.ly/IBM_i_ITG2014Ent.

For this study, ITG looked at large businesses in various industries that run on IBM i, and those in the same industry that run on competitive platforms. I’ve selected one chart that shows the huge difference platform choice makes.

Again the study looks at a three-year period, and again, IBM i + Power Systems is a winning combination. The length of the bar indicates how much money is being lost by the business when downtime occurs – and that can be actual revenue lost, or potential revenue that is not able to be gained because the application is unavailable. With the integrity and reliability of the system, and with the features we’ve added over time to allow more changes to be made in the environment without disruption, the cost of downtime is significantly lower on IBM i.

I’d encourage all of you to follow the links and enter the little bit of information our marketing people ask you to provide so that you can see the full reports. Then, the next time you encounter someone who wonders if trusting your business to IBM i and Power Systems is the right business decision, point them to the documents. The numbers in the study, plus your personal experiences with the stability and function of IBM i make a pretty powerful story.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Debunking the Myth that IBM i Costs More for Midsize Businesses: ITG Looks at the Numbers

Chris Maxcer 1 dec. 2014 Tags: linux tco x86 ibmi 219 bezoeken

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The International Technology Group (ITG) has been taking a close look at total cost of ownership (TCO) data for years, often packaging up their findings in research reports that include a deep understanding of IBM i on Power Systems. This fall, ITG has released a pair of new reports that are, quite simply, must-reads for any IBM i-loving IT pro.

More importantly, the research compares the relative costs of competing systems against businesses of similar sizes and types -- manufacturing, distribution, and retail companies. In "IBM i on Power Systems for Midsized Businesses: Minimizing Costs and Risks for Cloud, Analytics and Mobile Environments," the report compares the IBM i operating system deployed on POWER8-based systems to two alternatives -- Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014, and x86 Linux servers with Oracle Database 12c.

Not only does IBM i on POWER8 crush the competition in TCO when calculated over three years, IBM i costs for hardware and software licensing fees are significantly lower than Windows and SQL server and lower than x86 Linux server with Oracle. The numbers are amazing, but I'm willing to bet that a good many IT pros believe IBM i is not only more expensive for midsize businesses . . . but that some IBM i-focused pros still believe that, too.

How Much Less Expensive Is IBM i on POWER8?

In initial cost of acquisition, an IBM i installation averages 35% less than using Windows and SQL Server . . . and 46% less than using x86 Linux servers with Oracle. When extended out to three years, IBM i 7.2 on Power Systems average 45% less than for use of Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014, and 51% less than for x85 Linux servers with Oracle.

Wow.

You need to read this report and have it handy (download the .pdf) so you can scan it again before key meetings with upper management. Better still, download the short and sweet Executive Brief .pdf -- you never know when it might be important to share this information.

Numbers of Servers

In Windows and x86 Linux environments, ITG explains, separate servers are typically deployed to handle database, application, and Web serving, in addition to test and development systems. These extra servers increase licensing and support costs. ITG notes:

"In smaller installations, between three and five physical x86 servers are required for workloads handled by single Power System. In others, between 6 and 11 physical servers are required for workloads handled by pairs of Power Systems duplexed for redundancy."

This increase in tightly integrated simplicity is more important today than ever before, ITG says. Why? Mobile, cloud, and analytic services all draw upon core enterprise data. If core systems suffer from quality of service -- speed or availability -- the ripple effects rapidly extend outward through the organization and beyond.

In fact, ITG goes into detail over costs of downtime and risk exposure, detailing how and why it's important in today's enterprise computing environments. As you might guess, the three year cost of downtime for IBM i-based organizations is significantly less than the others. And by a similar token, security and malware protection are much improved with IBM i over other solutions.

All-in-all, "IBM i on Power Systems for Midsize Businesses: Minimizing Costs and Risks for Cloud, Analytics and Mobile Environments" is a report you need to go download from IBM (it's free) right now. Even if you already know or suspect the basics of what's inside the report, it's nice to see it delivered by someone who's spent the time measuring all this through 42 midsize companies.

What about larger organizations? Check out ITG's "IBM i on Power Systems for Enterprise Businesses: Value of Resilience for Next-generation Analytics, Cloud, Mobile and Social Media."

Gewijzigd op 1 dec. 2014 door Chris Maxcer

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