Goodbye Active Directory?

For me, just maybe.  I'm going to at least give this a solid look.

We have a loose migration plan for all of our x64-based Microsoft Windows servers to IBM Power Systems.  All except our Active Directory servers.  We use those for Group Policy, Domain authentication, Domino web authentication, DNS and a few other familiar functions.

As per ZDNet, the release of Samba 4 appears to be a viable alternative to Active Directory.  More to come once I dig a bit more information about it.  I wonder if I can run it on IBM i?   :)

http://www.zdnet.com/samba-4-released-brings-free-alternative-to-active-directory-7000008654/

Selling the Metal!

Here's a piece I wrote for MC Press Online.  Check it out.

In the Wheelhouse: Selling the Metal

Let's dissect two studies that put IBM i at the top of the list for lowest total cost of ownership, total cost of acquisition, and total amounts of awesome! You want justification? You got it.

ITG Studies to Help You Sell the Metal

International Technology Group (ITG) recently published two studies that talk about total cost of ownership, total cost of acquisition, risk exposure, cost of downtime, and security/malware considerations for the IBM i. The contents, in general, are things we know already: IBM i on Power Systems is the best platform to run our businesses on because of the cost reductions, consolidation, integration, security, simplicity, and the operating environment's virus resistance. Although some of this is old news, there are some great facts in here, so we need to dissect it a little bit. Why? Have you ever had to justify IBM i to a decision-maker? Wouldn't you love to have some key published information at your disposal? Absolutely. Those platform features I mentioned are a tall order to fill on most systems and may even sound like a bunch of hot air to those outside the IBM i community. Think about it. If you were a Windows administrator and lived only in the Windows world, what would you think if I told you that I could sell you a widely deployed operating system that had no known viruses? You probably wouldn't believe me.

Read the full article here.

We're Speaking At IBM Connect 2013!

Yes!  Now the real work begins!  All sessions are listed here. 
 

Session	Business Agility and Efficiency with Consolidation
Program	Lotusphere - For IT Practitioners
Track	Track 08: Customer Case Studies (from an IT perspective)
Activity Type	Lecture
Speaker(s)	Tim Rowe, IBM; Steve Pitcher, Scotsburn Dairy Group; Roxanne Reynolds-Lair, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
Abstract	In today’s flat world, successful businesses have their staff, customers and business partners connected. Critical collaboration technologies include: email, instant messaging, internet meetings, mobile access and social networking. This enables better and smarter decisions to be made quickly. Collaboration can mean IT environments are getting more complex forcing companies to spend time managing their environments and not their businesses. Steve Pitcher of Scotsburn Dairy and Roxanne Reynolds-Lair CIO of Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising will review how business value can be achieved with the state-of-the-art Collaboration Solutions running on Power Systems while keeping a simplified, agile and efficient IT environment.

2013 IBM Champions for Collaboration Solutions Announced

Today IBM announced their 2013 IBM Champions for Collaboration Solutions. 


I'm humbled to be included in this group for a second year.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity.

https://www-304.ibm.com/connections/blogs/socialbusiness/entry/december_10_2012_10_05_pm3?lang=en_us