IBM Launches Storage Optimization and Integration Services

IBM Storage Optimization and Integration Services – transformation strategy is a storage assessment service based on the Management Complexity Factor (MCF) analysis tool. MCF is based on eight metrics that use a series of interviews, workshops, reports, and data analysis to rate your management complexity or maturity against industry standards and IBM best practices. The resulting roadmap of recommendations is intended to help improve your storage maturity, reduce complexity, and drive capital and operational expenditures out of your environment.

The service includes the following activities:

• Conduct interviews and workshops with your storage and backup staff to gather and define your current storage environment, including business and application information
• Analyze your environment against IBM best practices and industry standards to highlight gaps and uncover areas requiring optimization
• Develop short-term tactical and long-term strategic recommendations across all eight MCF metrics
• Determine your MCF rating and show how it compares to those of your industry peers
• Create your return on projections based on the efficiency gains enabled through enacting the optimization plan
• Build an actionable roadmap of the recommendations to improve your MCF rating
• Create and present your final MCF analysis to stakeholders

IBM Storage Optimization and Integration Services – transformation strategy can also include a periodic update service engagement in which IBM will provide, either quarterly or semi-annually, a strategic update review of your original evaluation.

It consists of the following activities:

• Review your original evaluation and recommendations to determine continuing applicability
• Conduct interviews and gather current data
• Track progress made and compare to expectations
• Provide updated recommendations that incorporate new data uncovered as well as changes to your business or technical drivers
• Update your MCF analysis documentation to include all updated materials and present findings and recommendations to appropriate stakeholders

IBM Storage Optimization and Integration Services – global insight installs an IBM software product called Storage Enterprise Resource Planner (SERP) in your environment to enable you to gain insight at the business unit level, cost center level, and application level to help you make critical infrastructure decisions. The software performs agentless discovery of your storage environment as well as extracts data from your existing storage resource management (SRM) tools.

It then correlates the storage data with your business asset information, enabling you to answer questions such as:

• Which of my business units can be migrated to less expensive storage?
• Which of my business units would be impacted by a storage consolidation or upgrade?
• Are there any opportunities to reclaim storage?
• Is my storage capacity being managed appropriately?

IBM Storage Optimization and Integration Services – global insight will provide
with the following types of reports:

• Capacity planning
• Configuration management
• Reclamation and utilization improvements
• Information lifecycle management and right-tiering
• Deployment planning
• SAN connectivity
• Financial transparency and chargeback
• Topology and connectivity
• Green coverage
• Storage virtualization

Key prerequisites:

• Software: Any Microsoft Windows client system
• Hardware: Server with two 3.0 GHz Intel or compatible processors, 4 GB RAM, and 40 GB hard drive; Client with any Microsoft Windows operating system
• Software: Server with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP4 or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard, or Web Editions; Server with Apache/Tomcat 5.0.27; Server with Oracle 9.2.0.8;Client with Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1, SP2 or Java JDK 1.4.2_08+;  Storage resource management software for storage devices

Planned availability date: August 11, 2009