How to make the most of expertise built up from decades of experience

One of the things I enjoy about my career at IBM is the opportunity to be part of figuring out, and ushering in, new generations of business computing technology – delivering new levels of value to our clients.  I was fortunate enough to be in on the first generation of fiber optic channels (for the System z mainframe); in IBM Software for the early days of Java;  on the WebSphere team at the beginning of Web services, SOA, and the launch of the eclipse platform and community; and most recently to help shape the vision for Information on Demand to power a new generation of Business Analytics and Optimization.

It’s that time again.

First, a bit of context….

It’s not just about engineering a system. It is about the expertise to make the most of it.

This week Eric Savitz, at Forbes wrote that “Jefferies analyst Ross MacMillan late Sunday cut his rating on Oracle to Hold from Buy…”    Referring to MacMillian:

he writes in a research note. “We also have increased concerns that the relational database is facing multiple threats including SAP’s HANA, increased adoption of SaaS by enterprise customers (especially [of] Salesforce.com and Workday) and the potential risk of disruption from new approaches to analyzing large volumes of unstructured data.”

If you have read my past posts, you know I generally agree that we have entered a new era of data management that has significant implications for technology providers.

He also notes:

The Jefferies analyst contends that Oracle is seeing challenges with its engineered system strategy. He asserts that Exadata adoption “has moderated,” that Oracle Database Appliance adoption has not been as strong as expected and that the company’s Exalogic systems are “still seeking a viable use case.” He adds that he is “concerned that the strategy is not playing out to plan with implications for growth.”

Coincidentally, 3 days earlier IBM Executive IT Specialist Roman Kharkovski posted an in-depth analysis of what Oracle Exalogic is – and is not.

Bottom line is that out of the box, this Exalogic machine is nothing else, but a 42U rack of x86 servers mounted on a single rack and weighting 966 kg (2131 lb for those of us metrically challenged). You, the Oracle customer must apply your skills and expertise to turn this rack into something useful.

Roman followed with a great explanation that It’s not just about engineering a system. It is about the expertise to make the most of it.   Answering the questions: “what should the next generation of systems really be? What do enterprises need from their systems today?”

Now I invite you to learn how IBM is answering these questions: