Conversation Guide

Infrastructure Matters Conversation Guide 2

Starting the conversation...
When you have a conversation about why infrastructure matters, where do you
begin and what do you say?
You might start with some simple examples of how critical IT systems and infrastructure
that underpin data, cloud and new forms of engagement are powering the work people
and industries do every day:
A bank has the processing power it needs to quickly respond to transaction demands
and better understand its customers.
Doctors can access new treatment information and personalize patient care by
combining cloud, analytics and powerful infrastructure to support it.
Tennis fans know which player has the edge thanks to powerful systems that can sort
through tons of unstructured data in the cloud.
A car manufacturer can use IT systems to better coordinate its combined dealer
networks, collaborate on vehicle design and ensure the right auto parts are in stock.
Retailers are delivering the experience demanded by their smarter, connected
customers thanks to a secure, exible infrastructure thats capable of integrating
various social and collaborative systems.
As part of your conversation, you might point out that, today, everything computes
and everything is connected. Intelligence has been infused into things no one would
recognize as computers: appliances, cars, roadways, rivers and farms. This is the daily
reality of an instrumented, interconnected and intelligent world.
And as our planet gets smarter, the work that IT systems and infrastructure support
is changing toofrom predictable workloads accessed through standard devices like
PCs to more unpredictable and uid workloads, supporting a wide range of devices
and applications.
These changes are causing organizations to pay close attention to the systems and
infrastructures that support their core business and all the different tasks that need to be
performedfrom unlocking the power of data to deliver more actionable insight and
engagement without comprising security; to automating the ongoing maintenance of the
computing environment and the repeatable tasks and unpredictable workloads that
occupy so much of IT managers liveswhether in the cloud or on site.
Questions to stimulate
conversation:
How is your organization taking
advantage of major shifts
occurring in technology and
business? Can your current IT
infrastructure support all that you
need to do with big data, analytic,
cloud, mobile and social today
and in the future? What would you
like to understand better about IT
systems and infrastructure?
How is IBM different?
As IBM continues to support
clients on their path of reinvention
and transformation in this new era
of big data, cloud and engage-
ment, infrastructure is essential for
making sure that all new era
solutions are being developed,
deployed and managed in the
best and most cost-effective way.
Infrastructure Matters Conversation Guide 3
Turning big data into big insights
Big data and the ability to capture and draw meaningful insight from that data
are driving business innovation. But running the most advanced analytics is
impossible without the infrastructure to support it.
You could start by describing how organizations need to manage not only the ones and
zeros that traditional computers love, but also streams of text, images, sensor-generated
impulses and more. They need to apply sophisticated analytics to data from multiple
disparate sourcesand to conversations from the growing universe of tweets, blogs
and social media.
This requires an infrastructure that can manage and process exploding volumes of
structured and unstructured datain motion as well as at rest.
There are lots of examples you can point to for how systems and infrastructure are
helping businesses capitalize on the real-time information owing through their organiza-
tion and the increasing demands of big data.
For example, insurance companies are using powerful analytics systems to see
patterns in billions of claims and identify the few that are fraudulentresulting in the
ability to better manage costs.
And cities are using analytics and powerful mainframe servers to get a birds eye view
of the different modes of transport and avoid gridlock and manage situations better
when accidents, bad weather and large-scale events occur.
Storing big data
Storage systems that are easy to use, can manage growing, unpredictable workloads,
and can handle todays data volumes play an important role in making businesses run
better. These systems are now being designed to move petabytes of data and billions of
les in seconds for clients who face new business challenges in the era of big data.
Securing big data
With greater interconnectedness, access and transparency of information also comes
increased security and privacy risks, both of which are a top concern for clients every-
where. A companys infrastructure must have strong security measures built in to guard
it against internal and external threats. And there needs to be a platform that comprises
stringent policies and practices around privacy and data protection, safeguarding all
of the data and insights on which a business relies.
Questions to stimulate
conversation:
How do you think industries could
best be served by transforming
data into relevant information?
Does your organization already
have an analytics infrastructure in
place to derive meaningful insight
from different data?
How is IBM different?
IBM Power Systems are designed
for a new era of big data, helping
technology leaders who are faced
with managing new types of social
and mobile computing and the
explosion of data generated
each day.
Infrastructure Matters Conversation Guide 4
The power of cloud computing
As companies require higher levels of exibility from their information technolo-
gies, the delivery of IT and business processes as digital services is becoming
increasingly important.
When you begin a conversation about cloud computing, you could start by describing
how cloud simply offers businesses and individuals another way to do important
work on computers that they dont always own or manage. The cloud transforms
computing into a utility, like electricity or water. Its all about speed and convenience.
And with the right infrastructure in place, an enterprise can easily integrate its existing
systems with new cloud-based technologies. And it will have the dynamic, responsive
IT resources it needs to adapt to changing conditions, to strengthen innovation, and
to generate value.
Here are some characteristics of an effective cloud infrastructure:
It uses open technologies to stay agile and responsive.
It needs to scale as the business scales especially in todays data-driven world.
It needs to be dynamiceasy to set up and useso a business can focus on
innovation instead of infrastructure.
It needs to use its resources efciently and build on existing platforms to
accommodate future technological change and business growth.
Tuned to the task
Another point you could make is that generic computing stacks are no longer up to
the jobbecause today there are fewer and fewer generic jobs. Transaction processing,
with thousands of online users, is different from business analytics, with multiple data
types and complex queries, which is different from the need to integrate content,
people and workows in a companys processes.
Thats why businesses are moving to architectures optimized for specic purposes, and
built around their own deep domain knowledgein healthcare, retail, energy, science
and other elds. This workload-specic approach integrates uniquely tuned software
and hardwareeverything from the applications to the chips themselves.
Questions to stimulate
conversation:
Have you seen the transformative
benets of accessing data and
applications from anywhere and
everywhere, and what are they?
How can infrastructure be better
linked to the needs of applica-
tions? How can infrastructure
simplication help a business
achieve its goals?
How is IBM different?
With all of IBMs cloud technology
built on top of a common
open-standards based architec-
ture, organizations get exibility
and choice in how they build and
deliver cloud services. They also
get greater condence that things
will work together across hetero-
geneous environments, as well as
a technology foundation that
enables a true hybrid approach to
power their initiatives around
mobile, social and big data.
Infrastructure Matters Conversation Guide 5
New forms of engagement
With the right infrastructure, organizations can benet from creating more
personalized interactions with their clients and their employees.
As you talk about new forms of engagement, you could start by pointing out that the
world in which we work, live and interact has changed drastically. Mobile and social
technologies are no longer novelties; they are ubiquitous and our fundamental means of
interacting with the world in this technological age. And each one of these interactions
creates unpredictable ebbs and ows of connections connections that span a vast
array of technology ecosystems that rely on highly available compute, storage and
networking capabilities to handle the unprecedented volumes of data that we now
generate in a secure manner.
With this data, consumers and organizations in all industries have higher expectations
and are facing new challenges. For example, customers expect anytime, anywhere
access to information and personalized lightning-speed responses.
At the same time, organizations have higher expectations of IT to generate more value,
such as improved economics, productivity and efciency, as well as the ability to convert
data into meaningful insight to make better business decisions and to improve their
customer experience.
For an IT system to create a positive experience, it has to be easy to access and use.
If the IT system makes it easy to nd answers to questions, or ensures that whenever
customers contact your organization they will get consistent and helpful responses,
then its enhancing the customer experience.
For example, having the right infrastructure is critical for retailers to deliver the customer
experience demanded by their more connected, smarter consumers. Why? Retailers
need a secure, exible infrastructure capable of responding to the explosion of data,
integrating mobile technologies and social and collaborative systems, and sharing
resources to deliver business value faster.
Questions to stimulate
conversation:
How can big data provide more
personalized experiences for
customers? What are some ways
that mobile and social technolo-
gies can be used to improve the
customer experience?
How is IBM different?
The IBM System z mainframe
plays an important role in todays
mobile world by providing the
secure and stable base that
businesses need to extend
existing enterprise data and
transactions to mobile users.
Infrastructure Matters Conversation Guide 6
Addendum
Key Concepts
Analytics: The process of examining large amounts of data of a variety of types to uncover hidden patterns, unknown
correlations and other useful information.
Big data: A collection of data from traditional and digital sources inside and outside an organization that represents a source
for ongoing analysis and discovery.
Cognitive computing: A computing system that processes and penetrates big data to help make more effective decisions,
and in the process builds on its own knowledge.
Data center: A large group of networked computer servers typically used by organizations for the remote storage, processing,
or distribution of large amounts of data.
Flash memory: A computer chip with a read-only memory that retains its data when the power is turned off and that can be
electronically erased and reprogrammed without being removed from the circuit board.
Infrastructure as a service (cloud infrastructure): The delivery of a computer infrastructure, including server functionality,
networking functionality, data center functionality, and storage functionality as an outsourced service.
IT infrastructure: The composite hardware, software, network resources and services required for the existence, operation
and management of an enterprise IT environment.
Network: A system of resources, such as appliances, computers, and storage devices, that are connected virtually
or physically.
OpenPower: An open development alliance based on IBMs POWER microprocessor architecture. This consortium intends
to build advanced server, networking, storage and GPU-acceleration technology aimed at delivering more choice, control and
exibility to developers of next-generation, hyperscale and cloud data centers.
Open standards: An IT infrastructure built on open source technologies and standards enables better interoperability, more
exibility, speed of innovation and above all, choice.
Storage area network (SAN): A dedicated storage network tailored to a specic environment, combining servers, systems,
storage products, networking products, software, and services.
Systems of engagement: The transition from current enterprise systems designed around discrete pieces of information
(records) to systems which are more decentralized, incorporate technologies which encourage peer interactions, and which
often leverage cloud technologies to provide the capabilities to enable those interactions.
Tuned to the task: Pertaining to an optimized system that aligns as closely as possible with workload-specic needs.
For more systems and infrastructure terms and denitions, download the glossary from the Glossary Export website or search the Terminology database.