IPIP Community Blog

Stephen Pawlowski: Intel Senior Fellow

sylvia@meshgroup.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:46:00 GMT

Today at IDF, I had the awesome opportunity to talk with Intel Senior Fellow Stephen Pawlowski following several sessions I attended with him at the helm. This was probably the greatest quote I have thus far received at the show, and yes, it's on the record:

"I've worked at Intel for 22 years. Never has my career been more exciting and challenging than it is right now. Never. There is all kinds of cool stuff, and we're pushing the boundaries in a lot of different areas. I'm really excited because in some ways we've taken some bold steps, and when you hear some of the talk around here [IDF] about people going, 'boy you know, it would be really great if you guys did this' or 'you really need to do that' and 'the competition is doing this' and I'm thinking... we're already on our way and I just can't tell you about it."

Believe me when I say, that this is the feeling we are getting from IDF across the map. That exciting things are burgeoning onto the landscape at a pace way ahead of any curve, in fact, they're creating the curve. With technologies such as 32nm that are bursting onto the scene along with 22nm and even 15nm (!) on the horizon, Intel is ensuring that the IT universe as we know it will see energy-efficient performance that will introduce us to the next level of cloud computing and truly virtualized data centers while building on the momentum of security and manageability built right onto the chip.

For more on Intel Senior Fellow Stephen Pawlowski, check out his bio at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/kits/bios/pawlowski.htm.

Mission Critical? Meet Next-Gen Nehalem-EX.

sylvia@meshgroup.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:20:09 GMT

Let's face it–the Intel® Xeon® processor is the world's most widely deployed server for a good reason. IT has grown to rely on Intel Xeon processors for their performance, reliability, virtualization capabilities, and a whole lot more.

And at this week's Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, Intel Senior Fellow Stephen Pawlowski took the stage to discuss the next generation of Intel Xeon processors, codenamed Nehalem-EX. "We've had a number of customers who have come to us and said, 'we want to be able to use Xeon and also the mission critical segment. What kinds of things or what kinds of capabilities can you put in there?'" spoke Pawlowski in his IDF session. The answer? Intel is throwing a whole lot at Nehalem-EX, all but the kitchen sink.

Designed for mission-critical performance, RAS, along with hardware-based virtualization, Nehalem-EX has got an industry-standard server makeover, with the ability to monitor, report, and recover from hardware errors to maintain data integrity and keep mission-critical services online. And that's just the half of it. With Nehalem-EX, IT and business knows that they've got a solid roadmap they can rely on for years to come.

Nehalem-EX also offers scalability along with world-record virtualization performance, enabling the highest consolidation ratios of any industry-standard server. And as IT departments across the board move to lower costs while increasing hardware utilization, Intel has responded to their needs by improving and enhancing its hardware-based virtualization technology.

Including broad industry support for an era that is increasingly moving towards the cloud, virtualization technology combined with energy-efficient performance and RAS-rich environments provide a reliable, scalable environment that IT departments can bank on.

Get more on Stephen Pawlowski's IDF session by visiting http://tinyurl.com/ycacf2c

News from IDF: Tick-Tock to a More Robust IT

sylvia@meshgroup.com — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:05:56 GMT

This year's Intel Developer Forum kicked off with a punch when Paul Otellini took the stage to discuss and reveal Intel roadmap leaps. With an unyielding commitment to Moore's Law, Otellini discussed Intel's tick-tock strategy and the path from 45nm to 32nm while offering a first-time glimpse at their latest feat--22nm process technology housing 2.9 billion transistors. Due to hit production in 2011, Intel has got an actual working prototype–another world's first. Check out the press release here: http://download.intel.com/pressroom/kits/events/idffall_2009/pdfs/22nm_factsheet.pdf

What makes this continuing tick-tock model so incredible is how it affects IT at every level. Intel continues to integrate more technologies on the chip that help enable IT to manage smarter. Showcasing this, Otellini talked about "building a continuum," a new concept that, in the future, can enable IT to have each and every system in their fleet–from handhelds, to smart phones, to mobile and desktop workstations, to servers, and more–seamlessly integrate, for greater ease of deployment, manageability, and security.

With growing data requirements penetrating every aspect of business along with shrinking budgets, new technologies like Intel's upcoming Westmere–Intel's family of next-generation high-k metal gate 32nm processors–are building the continuum through desktop, mobile, and server, all based on a single architecture. Take a look at YouTube for more from Sanjay Natarajan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4XyLRROZmQ&feature=player_embedded

IDF has just kicked off and there's more to come. Follow @IntelPremierIT and @sylviaflores for breaking tweets.

Scalable Virtualization Infrastructure: How Are You Driving ROI?

wendy.m.elizardo@intel.com — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:58:08 GMT

Radhakrishna Hiremane Shridhar will be talking about virtualization with the new VMware vSphere on IBM Intel processors on August 12, 1 PM EST. He'll be joined by Bob Zuber, Program Director, High Performance, IBM. The webinar is designed to help IT managers better understand scalable virtualization infrastructure, enterprise application virtualization, reduced TCO, and efficiency benefits along with a special financing opportunity.

To register for the session “Virtualize with the new VMware vSphere on IBM Intel processors and take advantage of special financing” please visit

http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=141535&s=1&k=C47B398CE28768E91D34E61574D736B2&partnerref=Intel03

Tech Refresh: eWeek.com article on tools to estimate your return on investment (ROI)

eric.e.doyle@intel.com — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:36:36 GMT

Click here to read the entire eWeek.com article.

Every time new technology is delivered, tech refresh is highlighted as a way to save money or gain a business advantage on your competition. It’s no different with the launch of the Intel® Xeon® Series 5500 server processor. Many benchmarks show the new Xeon Series 5500 processor is twice as fast as the previous generation Xeon 5400 processor. With its energy efficient design the Xeon Series 5500, when compared to 4-year old server technology, can deliver a full ROI in 8 months.

What’s different today is the availability of tools that can help you estimate the ROI for server refresh in your IT environment. The “Xeon Estimator” tool, designed jointly by Intel and Alinean enables you to perform simple ROI analysis on you environment using many “default” values, or a deep dive analysis by allowing you to set specific values on dozens of important enterprise infrastructure variables. The tool creates a full ROI analysis report based on the specifics of your environment.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Jeffrey Burt of eweek.com wrote an article, “Intel Online Calculator Measures Server Performance, Efficiency” describing the Xeon Estimator tool, as well as several other tools available to measure your return on investment around technology refresh.

Click here to view and use the Xeon Estimator tool. And feel free to give feedback via this blog; the good and the areas of improvement.

Does age matter when it comes to consumption of information?

michael@strategicoxygen.com — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:02:04 GMT

The Greeks argued that age was a precious virtue that could be passed on to youth to enrich their lives. Socrates did not quite benefit from that before his execution. Western culture invariably argues age is an asset so long as it is youth. As IT pros of all ages, and especially those moving up the management ladder, it is often said one should understand how one’s seniors absorb information and use those traits as you develop through the corporate ladder.

Well we actually think that the senior IT pros and the CIOs in large organizations should think hard about learning from their younger colleagues. What we are learning very quickly is that there are patterns of information consumption that younger CIOs can pass to their older peers, and methods of information gathering that younger CIOs are still very attached to as their senior CIO partners are.

The reasons why these are critical are three fold:

Information gathering and management of this information are crucial components of a successful CIO’s work habits (strategic activities and day to day). Learning what the best practices are can only enhance your personal value.

As populations age there is a tendency to lock into many of the habits of the past and fail to see potential trends and information that would be valuable to us now. This is critical as a way to sustain our own personal competitiveness in a market. Old methods alone may leave you somewhat information naked in a rapidly evolving world

The bottom line is information is power and you need to ask yourself if you are accessing it in the right ways from the past and for the future. So we have analyzed our marketing effectiveness database in the US amongst CIOs in large IT pro organizations to understand.

The way this works is that we interview thousands of CIO’s IT pro managers and other technology influencers around the world. In this situation we have ranked (the top ones for the younger CIOs) to the left and then looked at the impact level (people choose the four most impactful from a list of over thirty-five). Look at the significant differences here.

As David Letterman might say here are the top eight

1. The younger CIOs consume a lot, a lot of everything. Older CIOs should pay attention to the need for a wide net of information sources. The tendency to lock into a few sources is a thing of the past.

2. Everything online is hot and immediate and this is most true in areas like Blogs and IT Forums when we asked the younger CIO about content needs.

3. Tech publications (online versions) matter more to the younger CIO than the older one – who likes print.

4. Analyst’s opinions and white papers have resonance for the younger CIO because they offer experienced views. ROI Tool sites seem to have more attraction to the younger than the older.

5. Tech vendor’s websites have FAR less value amongst the younger CIO target.

6. Older CIOs love the Trade Show, the out-of-office experience for an extended period of information gathering. We all might want to re-think this as the curve of acceptance drops off very significantly as a CIO gets younger. Time is everything for the younger CIO, Trade Shows are all time-intensive.

7. Technology Information websites (like TechRepublic) work well for the Cusper or the Generation Y CIO, but not so much for the Boomer.

8. Podcasting is a thing of youth.

We would ask you all to think hard about your learning maps going forward. In a world where information is critical for how we work, we need older CIO to learn, or at least assimilate, some of the consumption patterns from our younger colleagues. Maybe information wisdom is not always driven by experience – what do you think? Does this seem true to you?

Vote For Your IT Hero: Intel Premier IT Knowledge Award Finalists Named

kevin.e.patterson@intel.com — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:36:41 GMT

Thanks to everyone who shared their IT best practices through the Intel Premier IT Knowledge Award program. Judges from Intel and CXO Media poured over the very qualified submissions and had the hard job of narrowing to a handful of finalists. Two awards (one for management of client fleet, one for data center) will be chosen by a panel of judges from Intel and CXO Media. One additional award winner will be chosen by the IT community members of Intel Premier IT Professional via online voting.

So it's your turn.

Users can find the link to vote on http://ipip.intel.com.

For those who are not program members, membership is free and takes just a few minutes. You'll also stay up-to-date with best practices and technology insights online, in publications and local events.

The Intel Premier IT Knowledge Awards program was designed to recognize and reward North American IT managers/groups who have generated best practices, driving business value and innovation.

The finalists represent diversity of business size, type, and solutions deployed using Intel architecture.

Data Center Management

Applied Materials

HD Supply

RichRelevance

Toyota Motor Sales, Inc.

Client Fleet Management

Hay Group

Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Inc.

Polycom, Inc.

Raleigh Pediatrics Associates

Award winners will receive industry recognition in an upcoming issue of CIO magazine as well as invited guest at either the CIO 100 Symposium and Awards or the CIO: The Year Ahead event.

Let us know who your favorite IT hero is.

Strength in Diversity: Premier IT Award Submissions So Far

kevin.e.patterson@intel.com — Sat, 09 May 2009 21:40:53 GMT

The April 1 issue of CIO magazine stressed the importance of “Marketing IT to the Business.” Per the call to "innovate and communicate," you can also market your projects via industrywide recognition. Which brings me to the Premier IT Awards, where we’re a few weeks to the end of our call for submissions.

CIO custom solutions group and Intel have been receiving numerous IT department submissions from around North America that demonstrate best practices in data center or client fleet management. Grassroots IT innovation and dedication to driving business value. The submissions span projects valued from $10K to $2.5M, from customers with in-house vs. managed data centers and client solutions. Intel products at the center of these solutions include not just Intel Core 2 processors with vPro technology or Intel Xeon processor-based servers, but Intel Itanium processor-based servers, Intel XScale technology and devices.

Just a few examples of our diverse submissions include a:

-Law firm

-Leading transportation company

-State government

-Non-profit healthcare network

-Managed service providers with small/medium business customers

-One of Fortune magazine 100 Best Companies to Work For

The short list of contenders for the awards will be posted on the Intel Premier IT Professional site soon. And you’ll have the chance to vote for the “people’s choice” winner if you’re a member (it’s free to join).

If you think you’re too small or your industry doesn’t lend itself to driving business value because you’re state/local government or a nonprofit, I encourage you to think again. Submit your best practices. For more information visit the program website or if you have any questions, ask me here.

SMB - the "little" engine that could

elaine.mah@intel.com — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:04:07 GMT

Small and medium sized businesses (SMB) have been called the engine for our economy given their sheer numbers (more than 98% in Canada). It has also been observed that this constituency will be the leading edge of the economic recovery in large part due to their size and an ability to be more nimble and responsive to opportunities that a larger organization may not be able to react to. This sounds good in theory, but is it reflected in reality?

For the last 16 months, I’ve had the privilege of speaking directly with group of small business owners from varying industries across Canada. However, they should not be seen as representative of the “average” SMB. What potentially makes them unique is their conviction that strategic investments in technology have enabled their business success. As such, their experiences and insights have been enlightening.

The following (in no particular order) are key issues facing this group:

Access to credit;
Government stimulus programs which incent the wrong behaviours; and
Stimulus programs which are more trouble to access than they are worth.

But while they acknowledge the challenging circumstances in which they are currently operating, almost all of them stated that the first 3 months of 2009 were incredibly healthy, in some cases their best ever quarter. It is through that lens that I give you this list of their suggestions (again, in random order) on how SMBs can best weather the current recession:

Focus on becoming more efficient across the entire value chain, not simply making short term, knee-jerk cuts and changes;
Manage costs and wrap services around your products where possible in order to extend your reach into the customer;
Continue making investments in core competencies – now is not the time to let your quality slide; and
Innovation = Survival.

So does this reflect what other smaller and mid-sized businesses are experiencing? Please share with us your thoughts, your current situation and most importanly your best practices on how to weather -- and thrive -- in this economic crisis.

Hello, IT. We're Listening (To Your Best Practices)

kevin.e.patterson@intel.com — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:03:55 GMT

CIO magazine has received some great submissions from IT organizations for the Intel Premier IT Awards. Stellar examples of best practices in client fleet and data center management. But some of you, literally dozens, have incomplete drafts waiting to be submitted for award consideration.

With the deadline for submission May 29, 2009 getting closer, I ask you: If you've come this far, what's keeping you from getting your submission to the finish line? And if you haven't considered submitting for the award ... why not?

Winning submissions for client fleet management and data center management as well as a "people's choice" winner will be profiled in CIO magazine. Plus, a winner in each category will also be CIO magazine's guest at the CIO 100 Symposium & Awards or CIO: The Year Ahead events. And a recogntion plaque for your company or office. Eligible nominees are North American IT end-user organizations.

At our Intel Premier IT events, on Open Port, and elsewhere, we hear loud and clear from you that these are challenging times for IT. And, in conjunction with CIO magazine, we'd love to provide some honor and recognition for the work you've done.

If you have a question about eligiblity or other critera, ask away. To paraphrase a TV doctor: "Hello, IT. We're listening." And we hope to hear from you, here or through the official award website: http://www.premieritawards.com

Smart Spending for Tough Times

sue.anne.bravo@intel.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:12:26 GMT

Now it would be fun to just speculate about all the low-cost airline tickets, flat-screen HDTVs and second homes we’re going to pick up for cheap during the current economic downturn. But as you might imagine most buyers are finding a lot less of those sorts of bargains than they were hoping for right now. And as a result there are a lot fewer purchases than sellers were hoping for. All of this is reflected in the most recent consumer confidence rating of 25.

Assuming your personal consumer confidence is around a 25 you will need less time to dream about scooping up a tropical island in foreclosure. So, with all that free time you can start thinking about the best spending habits for your company. Many companies are cutting back on expenses, but still need to maintain and grow their businesses despite the macroeconomic conditions. While one way to maintain or grow profits is to simply reduce spending another way is to streamline and scale your business. Maybe you buy a new phone system that allows your inside call team to handle a higher volume or instead of traveling to one customer you purchase a service that allows you to build custom videos to send out to 10 clients in the same amount of time.

As a part of an IT organization, big or small, what are you plans during this time?

· Reduced Spending?

· Smarter Spending?

· Focus on time-savings (time does = money)?

· Money savings?

· Both?

We’d like to hear what your plans are and what kinds of software you would most like to see us offering you today.

Technology That Helps SMBs Provide A Better Customer Experience

eric.townsend@intel.com — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 06:01:51 GMT

As I go and talk to different SMBs across the country about different technologies, I always get the same question: “What technology is currently available that a lot of SMB companies in industry ‘X’ are using to provide a better customer experience.” Everyone knows that this is a loaded question and there is no silver bullet when it comes to exceeding your customer’s expectations. I try and have SMBs look at it from the end customer’s point of view.

First, what is the experience like when customers first interact with your company? If the process to learn about your company's product or service takes longer than 60 seconds to describe on the phone, SMBs will go to another provider. So ask the question, is my organization’s employees equipped to explain our companies product/service value to a new customer within 60 seconds. From a technology point of view that involves having the appropriate systems in place to support any questions the new customer might ask (i.e. making sure all pertinent data can be accessed by your customer support team). In addition, you need to make sure that your systems are fast enough to access this data very quickly. I have talked with numerous SMBs that have a great product & services information databases established for their employees to access however, the employees don’t use the system because it takes tool long for their system to bring up the needed information.

Second, do your employees have the needed resources to follow up on new customer requests? These resources not only revolved around data associated to customer inquires/needs, it also involves the needed time for your company representatives to follow up with the new customers. I have talked to some customers and they say that for every hour their computer systems are not available, they are losing at least 3 new customer opportunities. As a result, there are more companies making scheduled maintenance updates to the employee’s systems in off-ours. One customer specifically, Midwest Eye Consultants, is implementing new technology that is saving them 10 to 12 worker-hours a month on system maintenance and those extra hours are now being used by company employees to recruit new customers. Click here to see more information about the technology Midwest Eye Consultants have implemented: http://msp.intel.com/midwest-eyes-case-study.pdf

Lastly, does your internal team have the resources available to support existing customers? Most of the time the resources that matter the most for existing customers relate to past product/services they have received from your company. If this information is not readily available when your team is servicing an existing customer, it can mean keeping or losing a loyal customer. In the health care field it is even more critical. Northwest Newborn specialist relies on customer/patient data being available at all times of the day. Carolyn Kraus from Northwest Newborn Specialist says: “Our physicians can be impatient, and with good reason. They’re on 24/7 in a high-stress job where downtime can have serious consequences, and much of their work is done through technology. When a PC goes down, they can’t access patient records, look at an x-ray over the network, or pass on their notes to the next physician on-call. In this field, it’s critical to keep their stress level low and their PCs up and running.” Click here to find out more information about the new technology Northwest Newborn Specialist is using: http://msp.intel.com/NW%20Newborn%20Specialists_final_318134-001US.pdf

In closing, when you think about what technology you need to provide a better customer experience, think about what you have implemented in your environment today. Do you have quick and efficient systems set up that enable your team to deal with first time customers and all the questions they may have about your company’s products & services? In addition, do your teams have up to date systems available any time during the work day to deal with follow up activities related to new customers? Also, do you have the right system managed infrastructure in place so that your desktops and notebooks will be available to support all existing customer requests during all hours of the work day? The answers to these three basic questions provide the best direction for your company to explore in order to provide a better overall customer experience.

Shifting Content Needs for IT Pros

michael@strategicoxygen.com — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:46:07 GMT

The pie charts below look like sickly children’s cakes; however they are important illustrations of how IT is consuming key content (in the US). These are your peers in the largest accounts. The pies show the mix of content IT pros in large enterprises are looking for at each of three key stages in the purchase cycle.

It is interesting to see how much these content needs vary and evolve through the purchase cycle. This ongoing research of IT pros is conducted globally, so if you want to see what peers in your country are consuming make a comment in the blog and we will post it.

All of you are pretty fussy and discriminating about content. Look at the areas like Industry Examples. This is a powerful and important content need at the backend of the purchase. Over time there has been a shift in this content need towards the back of the purchase model. It tells us that while knowing what happens in your industry sector (retail, healthcare, finance, etc.) is important it is questionable if it is the first content need. The classics content needs, Technical Specifications, Tools for Assessing the Value and basic Price/Feature, still matter more. In fact, in the middle stages we have almost two chunks of content working the best, Tools for Assessing and basic Price/Feature. Historically we have often seen Industry Examples being used (in a somewhat painful way) to prove value. Now IT pros want to cut through that to more direct answers.

Here are the two reasons why we believe this to be the case:

1. Technology is omnipresent in most industries so best practices are not just locked up in sectors.
2. In the current climate basic values are so important in order to justify investments. Industry Examples are nice to have, but not essential at the front end.

Your peers still want this Industry Example content but it comes as the icing on the cake at the end of purchase cycle.

Call for Entries: Intel Premier IT Knowledge Awards

wendy.m.elizardo@intel.com — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 00:03:09 GMT

I wanted to let you guys know about a contest the Intel Premier IT Proffessional team is sponsoring: Premier IT Knowledge Awards.

If you've made an impact in managing your fleet or data center, then tell us about it and get rewarded. By sharing your best practices and the results they've generated, you could be named an intel Premier IT Professional Awards winner. Honorees will be featured on the Intel Premier IT Professional site, profiled in an upcoming issue of CIO magazine, and presented with the opportunity to be our guest at either the CIO 100 Symposium and Awards or at CIO: The Year Ahead. Get the details and application here: http://www.premieritawards.com/IPIK_2009_application.html?AWARDID=1

They seek him here, they seek him there, they seek that green content – well, not everywhere

michael@strategicoxygen.com — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:57:49 GMT

With apologies to anybody who ever read the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, set during the Reign of Terror following the start of the French Revolution. The story is a precursor to the "disguised superhero" tales such as Zorro, Superman and Batman. While bizarre as a reference I will try and connect it to the theme of this blog. Where are IT professionals looking for green content when they are purchasing? Firstly, green is still very relevant – even right now. In work we did globally in December of 2008 we checked the value of green content.

Let’s play with some examples. In the biggest organizations in the US your IT professional’s peers are most looking for green content in the following places:

All hardware purchases:

The vendors sales person and sponsored seminars
Data Center environments: Technology print, search engines and vendor events
Laptops: Technology information websites, industry conferences, vendor events, vertical industry publications, sponsored seminars and microsites

In truth green is a significant issue and requires some real depth of information. Green is important and it is something that is bringing your colleagues to events or is being brought up in sales conversations. IT professionals are seeking conversations about green, not short snapshots of green content. The implication here is quite simple – Green matters and it matters enough to drag your behind to an event or organization.

In another global study at exactly the same time (Dec 2008) IT professionals told us what sort of green information they are looking for in brands – Intel and others were measured. We funded the study to make it 100% independent.

The top green issues in India, for example, were the following:

1. Energy efficient products
2. Promotes a green image
3. Designs products that look green
4. Uses biodegradable components

What we have learnt is that green matters as a content area for IT professionals. IT professionals want content around energy efficiency and the fact a brand is up for promoting its green activities. In an economically tumultuous time IT seems to care more and more deeply (attending events) about green than ever before. So, if as an IT pro you are following this trend, check with vendor’s positions and make sure they are making energy efficient products, but also seek the information in an environment where you can talk and question them and your peers.