IBM Introduces PureSystems Integrated Systems Family
Features “built-in expertise” to make operations, management easier; integrates virtual and physical elements for optimized management, security, and flexibility.
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IBM has announced a major step forward in a new, simpler era of computing with the introduction of a new category of "expert integrated systems." This new family is the first with built-in expertise based on IBM's decades of experience running IT operations for tens of thousands of clients in 170 countries.
IBM’s expert integrated systems family -- PureSystems -- is the result of $2 billion in R&D and acquisitions over four years by IBM to integrate all IT elements, both physical and virtual. The new systems family offers clients a clean break from today’s enterprise computing model, where multiple and disparate systems require significant resources to set up and maintain. The PureSystems PureFlex integrates server, storage, and networking resources into an automated and secure, simple-to-manage machine. The PureSystems PureApplication makes use of the first repeatable software patterns and industry-specific processes from IBM, drawn from decades of IBM's work with clients and business partners.
The prime challenge facing companies worldwide is the need to spend 70 percent or more of their IT budgets on simple operations and maintenance, leaving little to invest in innovation. Two-thirds of corporate IT projects are delivered over budget and behind schedule, according to a recent study by IBM and IDC, which also found that only one in five corporate IT departments are able to devote time and money to new innovation.
The time, effort, and skills needed to architect, procure, and deploy the infrastructure needed for a typical Web application, for example, can take six months or more at present. With PureSystems that same task can be completed in less than 10 days. The reason: built-in operational expertise; deep integration of servers, storage and networking for improved IT management; alignment of software, applications, middleware and hardware; and built-in support for cloud computing.
Deep Integration Simplifies Systems
IBM integrated all of the critical pieces required in today’s data center -- networking, storage, compute, management, etc. The result is a system that is intuitive to set up and far less expensive to maintain. For example, PureSystems can go from its single shipping crate to being up and running in one-third the time of today’s technology.
This type of deep integration allows PureSystems to automatically scale systems such as compute resources, networking and storage virtually instantly. Each PureSystems chassis can be split into thousands of virtual machines -- up to twice the density of previous systems -- resulting in 43 percent energy savings. PureSystems’ automated and highly virtualized storage layer can be provisioned 98% faster -- and provide a 45% savings in budget costs. IBM PureSystems can be managed from a single console.
Bottling Expertise -- “Patterns” Package IBM and Partner Know-how
At the center of the new PureSystems is a new software capability that enables operational know-how and expertise to be built directly into the systems. Called Patterns of Expertise, this approach converts technology expertise into reusable, downloadable packages. Patterns are available in three categories:
- IBM Patterns: Built-in at the factory and created based on knowledge gleaned from IBM’s smartest IT managers, engineers and technology experts, these sets of patterns automate time-consuming tasks such as configurations, deployment, and ongoing upgrades. Applications that used to take days to deploy can now be rolled out in ten minutes.
- ISV Patterns: IBM has teamed with more than 100 independent software vendors to offer applications that are certified “PureSystems Ready.” PureSystems’s online catalogue of ISV Patterns radically simplifies how applications are deployed and managed. For example, a customer relationship management program that used to take three days to deploy can now be deployed in under one hour.
- Customer Patterns: IT organizations can package the knowledge of their own handcrafted applications into a Pattern. As a result, a company that is interested in expanding into new markets can do so even when skills are not readily available in new regions or markets.
Built for the Cloud
A recent IBM Institute for Business Value study found that 90 percent of organizations expect to adopt or substantially deploy a cloud model in the next three years. Despite the interest in moving to a cloud computing model, many organizations are still grappling with challenges such as integrating the right pieces, addressing security and controlling usage of the technology.
With PureSystems, IBM is taking the unprecedented step to completely integrate all of the technology components needed to stand up a private cloud system in minutes. By combining the virtualized servers, storage and networking found in PureSystems with cloud management software, IT organizations have a ready-to-go “cloud system in a box” -- giving them the foundation of a private cloud environment that can be expanded.
To significantly accelerate the use of the cloud, IBM has included a cloud self-service interface directly into PureSystems so an application developer (from the marketing department, for example) can use the self-service feature to configure a cloud environment application without any help from the IT department. PureSystems will sense and respond to the needs of the running applications and services and make decisions on how best to deploy IT resources while ensuring maximum efficiency, performance, and control.
Additionally, PureSystems is also using some of the same foundational technologies and software used in IBM’s public SmartCloud Services offerings. By sharing common capabilities and interfaces, application developers can use IBM SmartCloud Services to create and test new applications and seamlessly move them over to the private cloud that has been created using PureSystems. IBM plans to create even tighter linkages to IBM SmartCloud to enable clients to fully realize their hybrid cloud strategy. For example, clients may want to automatically support peak load overflow by drawing upon IBM SmartCloud resources to augment their PureSystems based private clouds
Pricing and Availability
PureSystems is available in POWER7 processor- and Intel-processor compute nodes and supports four operating environments. Two models are available immediately. For more information, visit www.ibm.com.