Software

If you asked most people, they would say that Dell is a hardware company. While that is true – yes, we do make servers, storage, laptops and such – there is much more to the story. Dell is actually in the business of selling solutions: hardware + software + services.

This week, we announced an extension of a solution that is critical to many of our customers: business intelligence or BI. Dell announced the release of Phase III of our BI Reference Configurations – this includes capabilities for 10 TB and 20TB solutions running on Microsoft Windows SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008.

When business data is properly stored and analyzed, BI can deliver the powerful knowledge to enable business decision-makers to react to marketing and business demands. Just ask CareerBuilder.com.

With more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs, data volumes at CareerBuilder.com have grown significantly since 2007. By using Dell servers and storage systems to power its data warehouse and business intelligence applications, CareerBuilder.com has reduced the processing time for key business intelligence load jobs up to 50 percent, allowing faster access to important business data and same-day reporting for global operations.

CareerBuilder.com is a model for businesses using data intelligently. BI and data warehousing, unfortunately, are often thought to be overly complex, difficult-to-implement and far too expensive for many companies. Most BI solutions cost over $1 million to deploy. The New York Times reported back in December that HP NeoView, HP’s BI appliance, can cost more than $10 million. Dell powered Microsoft BI solutions run in the ballpark of $300,000 – a much more business-friendly price tag, especially in this economy.

Why is CareerBuilder.com using Dell-Microsoft BI? Our Phase III Dell and Microsoft BI reference architecture takes the complexity out of deploying an enterprise class Business Intelligence solution so they can get it up and running quickly. It is built on industry standard Dell PowerEdge Servers and Microsoft's BI suite of application making it cost effective and easy to integrate with existing infrastructure. They are running it on Dell PowerEdge R900 Servers and Dell | EMC storage. This is a solution that our customers appreciate.

Is your business smarter than that of your competition?

Like me, you’ve probably noticed a lot of news lately on client virtualization. From new virtualization software and graphics technology by Citrix, to the delivery of an open source client from VMware, there’s definitely no shortage of buzz.

Perhaps because of this buzz, one of my colleagues this week asked me, “Are we witnessing the death of the PC desktop?"

Wow! There is a question that makes you stop and think.

My short answer is no. We’re simply looking at the latest in a series of evolutionary steps that will reshape the way IT thinks of the desktop. Ultimately, I don’t think that we, as end users, will know or care if our desktop is virtual. Let me tell you why.

Revolution or Evolution?

Let’s start by looking at what has happened in the data center. It wasn’t that long ago that server virtualization was the latest rage in IT - in fact, Dell talked about it a bit at last week's IT Executive Summit for our customers. Now that a large number of companies have virtualized their server and storage infrastructure, we are seeing reports of significant ROI. For example, by utilizing server virtualization and other cost saving data center techniques, our own IT department was able to cut operating costs by approximately $29 million and we were able to avoid building a new data center.

CIOs look at this kind of savings and they have to wonder what kind of efficiencies they can they gain on the client side.

As a result, 2009 is shaping up to be the “Year of the Pilot.” A substantial number of our customers are experimenting with or adopting virtualization for portions of their client infrastructure.

Why launch a pilot now? A few industry developments have converged to create the “next step” conditions for there to be an evolution in client management:

• Data center consolidation and server virtualization are allowing us to centralize both storage and, where appropriate, computing resources.

• New technologies are enabling the delivery of a true PC desktop to a variety of devices – we are not talking about a terminal service anymore. And as mentioned previously, virtualization software is evolving to address the issues of scalability, graphics performance, and data center resources that have been sticking points for customers in the past.

• Lastly, client virtualization using a true “bare metal” hypervisor is just around the corner. This will offer a key component for Flexible Computing that will enable what we like to call “one image, any device.” Bare metal hypervisors promise to simplify image management and enable the disconnected use of virtual clients, critical for mobile usage models.

We expect that new client hypervisor technologies will find their way into production networks in the latter half of 2009. When that happens, the game officially changes and we expect to see the market move from pilots to broad-based rollouts.

So what now?

This is the year to get educated and prepare for the coming change. In the next 18-24 months, the way we build, manage, and deploy clients will enter into the next stage of its evolution. If you want to hear more, I’ve posted a series of short videos about Flex Computing, available here. Also, in future posts we’ll examine some of the environments and usage models where the traditional PC is, and may always be, the preferred choice.

For now, though, let me leave you with this thought. The era of “one size fits all” computing is at an end, and the era of “one image, any device” is at hand. Personally I’m excited at the prospect of true synergy between virtual and traditional PCs, what do you think?

Some industry pundits have voiced doubt about the value of providing new SAN-based software features to customers. While everyone is entitled to their opinion, Dell and others clearly disagree. That’s why Dell bundles all of the EqualLogic software features in the price of an array at no extra cost. Customers only need to have a valid support agreement in place, and then they can download the latest array firmware and even host-integrated software like ESX-aware snapshots in Auto-Snapshot Manager/VMware Edition.

A while back, we added thin provisioning to the EqualLogic PS Series. A number of our customers implemented it quickly, retroactively applying it to volumes that they had already created. In effect, they ‘thinned’ volumes and recovered capacity that had already been reserved. The feature is pretty easy to use – literally checking a box and moving some sliders around to decide on where you want to set your alarms.

However, thin provisioning may not be for everyone and definitely not every application. That’s why it’s great that on EqualLogic SANs you can easily turn it off and/or apply it selectively to any volume, all without any extra cost or software license scheme.

So there’s no catch-22 about whether you can afford a feature that you want to try. I won’t get into where and why to use thin provisioning and the valid cautions about its use. There are many other documents available for that, here and here for example. Rather, it’s worth pointing out that in these days of tight or shrinking budgets, thin provisioning is a software feature that can add value to IT administrators trying to get more out of their storage. The one word of caution: with thin provisioning, like a credit card, you will have to pay back the capacity debt one day. It’s easiest to do that with a SAN that you can expand easily, incrementally and online, such as the Dell EqualLogic PS Series.

So, as I’ve commented on others’ blogs on this same topic, I think continuously adding features into our products at no additional charge is a pretty good thing for our customers. What do you think?

Today’s CIOs and IT managers increasingly deal with the complexity associated with managing satellite or branch offices and supporting mobile workers in dispersed locations across the globe. Let’s take franchises as an example of how remote offices and workers can complicate the IT environment.  Every new location adds new untrained employees and new equipment to manage.  Often, when something goes awry, even a minor problem can become difficult and expensive to solve. 

A large auto company or worldwide coffee chain might have tens of thousands of locations around the world.  At each location, the company must support hardware, software, and critical business applications that allow their franchisees to run.  In some cases, the franchisee may bring their own IT staff, and in other cases the franchise has no IT staff beyond the owner of the business.  In all cases, the franchise has some level of IT dependence on the franchiser for support or equipment.  Companies have lots of options for how to support their franchises and remote offices – but the methods they choose can have huge cost implications. Companies have three basic options for dealing with remote IT management: DIY, complete outsourcing or software-as-a-service:

1. DIY means that the IT department (often just one person) purchases and runs their own client PCs, servers, databases and network, and sets up systems management software to support their business needs.  Over time, they add IT staff and grow organically with their business.  For a franchise, DIY can be expensive – tracking assets as they move between locations, keeping devices patched and software deployed, and backing up critical business data can involve sending an IT employee to the remote location which is often costly. Plus, sending IT personnel into the field rarely offers a quick resolution in the case of an emergency. 

2. At the other end of the spectrum, some large companies elect to outsource their entire IT operation to a company such as IBM or HP EDS.  In full outsourcing deals, the outsourcer often takes over the entire IT infrastructure and staff from the customer.  However, full outsourcing deals can be very expensive and have the potential for poor CE due to price and long contract terms.

3. Increasingly, companies with multiple offices are evaluating software-as-a-service (SaaS) for remote IT management. The SaaS model allows customers to choose subscription-based services for remote management. With SaaS, management tools can be delivered over the Internet and housed in the cloud. Companies who use SaaS remote management can centrally track dispersed client assets, distribute software, manage patches and enforce IT policies. By automating remote management companies can avoid the administration burdens of manual management – without having to maintain the hardware and software used for the management.

To help CIOs and IT Managers, Dell recently introduced several innovative new services that can help companies leverage SaaS. 

For many organizations, software assets provide strong financial and productivity benefits but have ongoing expenses; such as license renewals, true-ups, support and version upgrades. And like any asset – physical, financial or digital – software has to be monitored and maintained. Yet, most companies still struggle with proper software asset management (SAM) which requires setting policies for corporate standards, software evaluation, purchasing, usage and compliance monitoring. According to the Fourth Annual BSA and IDC Global Software Piracy Study, in 2006, for every $2 worth of that software purchased legitimately, $1 worth was obtained illegally. This is a staggering figure that has far-reaching implications for corporations.  

In order to cost-effectively manage software, companies must first determine what assets they need and reconcile that with what is currently running:

1. Establish Software Standards – Setting corporate software standards to address compliance issues is a good place to start. By interviewing department heads, unit managers and other business leaders, IT can determine what software and applications are needed to run the business in accordance with corporate strategic objectives. While this may be time-consuming, it is essential for IT to determine what software is needed. As a result of these discussions, IT can create a list of software needed for each department and tie that to the needs of individual employees.

2. Perform an IT Asset Inventory – Once standards are set and notifications are understood by all users, IT must conduct a survey of all software and hardware that currently exists in its environment. Companies typically publish an internal list of approved software so that users know what they can use.

3. Match Software Installed to Licenses Acquired – The next step is to reconcile license documentation with the installed applications. Companies often find that there are discrepancies between what it has rights to and what is running in its environment – which can be risky if they are subject to a software audit.

4. Monitor the Frequency of Software Usage – Most companies need to employ an automated inventory solution with a software usage module to determining which applications are not being used. There is often a disconnect between the business owners and actual employees about which applications are really needed to run the business.

5. Enforce Standards and Recover Licenses – Once IT knows what it has and where it is, the company is well-positioned to start enforcing corporate software standards.

6. Check Usage and Upgrade Rights – One of the most frequently overlooked aspects of software licensing is usage rights. The End User License Agreement (EULA) governs what companies can and cannot do legally with the software.

Today, many of these necessary processes can be automated and occur automatically with the right software asset management tools. Of the steps detailed above, only establishing software standards needs to be a manual process. 

To help customers, Dell recently announced a set of cloud-based software asset management solutions that can help customers better mitigate risk or offer cost savings. As an added bonus, by getting a handle on software asset management, companies are much better equipped for a compliance audit – expected or unexpected.