While I am very grateful to be invited to help more IBM i users with new servers or cloud hosting, I am amazed how many of them feel they were taken advantage of by their previous Business Partner.
I say this because I commonly see configurations that are over-sized for the workload. In other words, the IBM i user paid WAY too much for extra disk storage, memory, processing and software that was not needed for the business.
Also, being involved in many situations where an IBM user is comparing their options with several suppliers, I am astounded how much some Business Partners charge for their professional services.
For example, a prominent Business Partner quoted a Texas-based client $20,000 for setting up their new POWER8. At a $165 per hour for consulting services, that translates into 121 hours! 3 full weeks to migrate and setup a new server with 64 GB RAM memory, 1.5 TB of storage, and 60 users with NO IBM iOS upgrade????? That is outrageously expensive. (In this specific case, it is a line item in the proposal…no detailed scope of work. Who’s kidding who?)
So, what should you expect from your IBM i Business Partner?
Your Business Partner Should Have Your Interests First.
- That is easy to say. But how do you really know?
Detailed Assessment That Reflects Deep Expertise
First, your Business Partner should conduct a deep and thorough assessment of your current and projected needs. At a minimum this includes a review your system (rack configuration, software listing of your IBM and non-IBM software, concurrent user count, performance assessment, etc.).
They should also understand how your system is integrated with other technology. Most IBM POWER servers link to Wintel servers and web-based solutions.
Does the Business Partner understand software provider variations for software support, OS version levels (some software providers only offer object code for specific IBM i versions), and software keys.
Besides what software you run, what programming languages are in use. Some programming languages are far more compute-intensive than others. This can affect your need for RAM memory and processor performance.
Does the Business Partner take the time to learn your future plans to recommend a server that can accommodate you over time until your next server? (This can range from 5-15 years. In some cases, a lot longer.)
Expert Needs Analysis Combined With Detailed Understanding Of IBM Features, Pricing and Practices.
Once the Business Partner has the details of your environment, he can analyze your needs to provide the best combination of configuration, software, peripheral, support, and integration options.
This is actually more difficult than you may think.
All Business Partners use the IBM configuration tool for a proposed server. The typical configuration has 1000-1500 line items detailing the hardware, software and support features. That’s a lot of line items to review and validate. (I have seen some of the smartest technical engineers and clients miss configuration items only to later say, “Oops.”)
Also, different servers have different pricing tiers. For example, there is an 8286-41A P05 with 4 cores and an 8286-41A P10 with 6 cores. Each core has 10,000 CPW. 80% of the servers in North American can be satisfied with 1000-3000 CPW, so in most cases you do not need more than 1 active core.
Even so, IBM charges $2,245 for IBM iOS for P05 and $14,995 for IBM iOS for P10. Unlimited users for P05 is $18,750 while P10 is $50,000.
Your IBM Business Partner can save you big…or cost you BIG…depending on how well he knows how to transfer your IBM software and entitlements. I know from first-hand experience that there are more nuances to this transfer process than meets the eye. So, if your Business Partner seems dismissive about this as “easy”, think twice.
The IBM Business Partner works with other tools with many variables, including hardware and software support, performance assessment and modeling, lease financing and order processing.
In short, you want to work with an expert who knows how to work with and properly interpret these tools to provide you your ideal configuration.
Easy-To-Understand Proposal
Your proposal should be easy to read and easy to understand. It should clearly summarize where you are now, where you want to go and how you are going to get there.
As obvious as this may sound, my clients have shared many examples that are difficult to understand, incomplete, vague, or misleading.
For example, recently 2 separate prospective clients shared with me graphs provided by competing Business Partners to demonstrate how “slow” their current system is compared to the “new” system.
While this is meant to suggest that newer is faster and better, what is not said is:
1) This graphing software allows the seller to manipulate the presentation (this allows the seller to make the current system performance look worse than it is and the new system performance look better than it is), and
2) There is no written interpretation of these graphs. A picture may say 1,000 words, but what
if the picture is deceiving or misrepresents the truth? (In the 2 examples of graphs, the sellers included these graphs to propose servers with way more resource and bigger price tags than what is really needed.)
Here’s one example of a graph that really does not represent what a use can expect:
What the above graph presents is if you move your RPG ERP software currently on a 9406-520 with 30/600 CPW (the big red image on the right), that the new POWER8 server will have 16 times more CPW at 10,000 CPW (the small red image on the left).
So, what’s the problem?
If you have a proposed POWER8 server with (5) 283 HD with RAID you will NOT get rated speed of 10,000 CPW. IBM i performance is affected by the number of disk arms. Performance modeling would forecast actual performance closer to 1,000 CPW – nowhere near 10,000 CPW as this graph would suggest.
Here’s another example:
In my opinion, the above graph does NOT easily make the case. To me both graphs look very similar. And, unless you are familiar with performance graphs like this I think it also looks confusing.
If you compare the graph on the right and the left, you will notice the difference in calibration on the Y axis.
Why not just make the case in simple English: the new server I/O is twice as fast as your current server… and be done with it.
I believe your Business Partner can make a proposal that is easy to read as well as easy to understand. This is a document you will share with your non-technical managers to help justify the acquisition of new technology. That is why clarity and simplicity to understand are important to explain what is being proposed, why the seller makes his recommendations and what you can realistically expect.
Proprietary Assessment And Analysis
I must confess that we have made big mistakes over the years.
That is why we developed a detailed, proprietary assessment checklist. It helps my team make sure we collect key information and properly analyze your needs to be comprehensive in our recommendations. And, no mistakes.
So, what should you expect from your IBM Business Partner?
My hope is this blog serves as a good guide of what you should get.
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