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Wednesday, August 31, 2016

The IBM Cloud: Designed for Innovation

The IBM Cloud: Built for Personalization

The IBM Cloud: Designed for Start-ups

IT Briefcase, USA: Associate Vice President of Cognizant’s Center for the Future of Work Says Capturing a Company’s Digital Future Means Finding the Right Talent


http://news.cognizant.com/euandavis-itbriefcase-aug15-2016?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=EmployeeAdvocacy&utm_content=&utm_campaign=PressReleases

Taking Simplicity to a New Level with Hybrid Cloud Platforms

As this summer’s world-class Olympic athletes demonstrated, being successful in a fiercely competitive environment means constantly upping your game.  Success is about pushing the limits of what is expected while always remaining strategic. Similarly, we’re preparing our hybrid cloud customers to grasp and maintain their competitive advantage.

http://pulseblog.emc.com/2016/08/25/taking-simplicity-to-a-new-level-with-hybrid-cloud-platforms/?cmp=soc-cor-glbl-us-sprinklr-Hybrid%20Cloud-EMC%20Corporation%20-%20emccorp--553913933

NextCon to Feature Wozniak and Kawasaki Keynotes

If you attend just one business conference before the end of 2016, put NextCon at the top of your shortlist.
You’ll get to see high-octane speakers like Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, and tech superstar Guy Kawasaki — not to mention executives from LinkedIn and Google.


NextCon to Feature Wozniak and Kawasaki Keynotes

Twitter Will Pay You to Post Video, Up to 70 Percent of Ad Revenue Going to Creators (Watch)

Twitter is going to start splitting ad revenue with content creators who post videos on its platform. The company hopes that this move will make it more competitive with other social platforms like Facebook and YouTube. And actually, Twitter is giving about 70 percent of ad revenue to content creators, making it an even better deal than YouTube.
However, YouTube is already a more established platform for those looking to raise some money through their content. So influencers and content creators already know they can make money there, whereas Twitter could be seen as more of a risk at this point.


Twitter Will Pay You to Post Video, Up to 70 Percent of Ad Revenue Going to Creators (Watch)

Will New Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch Be Business Friendly?

The smartwatch market is picking up traction as manufacturers reassess the design and functionality of their first generation watches with much better versions. Samsung (KRX:005930) is one of the companies that has dramatically improved from the first Gear S to the Gear S2, which has placed some great expectation for the upcoming Gear S3 to be unveiled this week. When the company made a not so subtle hint a watch will be unveiled on the invitations it sent for the 2016 IFA trade show in Berlin, Germany, the speculation started in full earnest.
If history does set a precedent, then the fact Samsung announced the Gear S2 at last year’s IFA show may be a good enough reason it will do so again this year. So what will the Gear S3 have, and will it be able to compete with the Apple Watch 2, which will be unveiled on September 7 along with the new iPhone 7.


Will New Samsung Gear S3 Smartwatch Be Business Friendly?

Top 5 threats for online gamers and how to avoid them

We all know how much you enjoy playing – socially, professionally or casually – video games, which is why we want to take this opportunity to share more information about safe online gaming.



Top 5 threats for online gamers and how to avoid them

Fake-Game: The Emergence of a Phishing-as-a-Service Platform

Fortinet Blog

Rio Olympics Take the Gold for 540gb/sec Sustained DDoS Attacks!

When organizing a huge, high-profile event like the Olympics, there are always chances for things to go wrong – and, given human nature, we tend to simply accept it as a given when things go as planned, and to notice and highlight difficulties in execution.



Rio Olympics Take the Gold for 540gb/sec Sustained DDoS Attacks!

Mellanox Ethernet Solutions Accelerate Germany's Most Advanced Cloud Data Center (NASDAQ:MLNX)

SUNNYVALE, Calif. & YOKNEAM, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Mellanox® Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MLNX), a leading supplier of high-performance, end-to-end interconnect solutions for data center servers and storage systems, announced today that SysEleven, a managed hosting provider located in Berlin, Germany, has selected the Mellanox Open Ethernet Spectrum and Cumulus solutions to build its new SDN-Based, fully automated cloud-based data center. The Mellanox solutions include the Spectrum SN2410 and SN2700 25/50/100G Ethernet switches, ConnectX®-4 Lx 25/50G Ethernet adapters and LinkX™ cables for inclusion into its fully-automated OpenStack, cloud-based data center.



Mellanox Ethernet Solutions Accelerate Germany's Most Advanced Cloud Data Center (NASDAQ:MLNX)

Taming Big-Data for Practical Scientific Research with Microchip Biology

From the USDA:


Dr. Ramana Gosukonda with students
Dr. Ramana Gosukonda, left, associate professor of agricultural sciences at Fort Valley State University’s College of Agriculture, prepares to work with students in the university’s new bioinformatics program. Photo credit: Dr. Ramana Gosukonda
This post is part of the Science Tuesday feature series on the USDA blog. Check back each week as we showcase stories and news from USDA’s rich science and research portfolio.
At Fort Valley State University (FVSU) the next generation of leaders in agricultural and life sciences are coming face-to-face with technology that will help them solve the toughest challenges of the future.
“Bioinformatics is ‘biology in silico,’ or ‘digital biology,’ and it is transforming biological research into an informational science,” said Dr. Ramana Gosukonda, associate professor of agricultural sciences at FVSU’s College of Agriculture.
Gosukonda and his team created a bioinformatics curriculum at FVSU where students majoring in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects join with computer science majors to become competent bioinformatics programmers and gain hands-on experiences in writing algorithms and coding for biological problems.  USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is supporting the project with a $150,000 grant from its 1890 Capacity Building program.
Bioinformatics practitioners – bioinformaticians – use computers to store, organize, and analyze the vast amounts of data generated by scientific research.  In other words, they take big data and turn it into practical data that researchers can use to compare existing information with new data.  The capacity, speed, efficiency, and accuracy of bioinformatics are what make biology in silico so exciting for Gosukonda.
“Application of bioinformatics is key to our understanding of diseases and identifying new molecular targets for drug discovery, gene therapy, and economic production of healthy food items,” he said.
Many bioinformatics projects involve examining the genetic diversity of wild plants and animals.  In one such NIFA-funded project researchers at the University of Minnesota used a $459,000 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant to develop bioinformatics software tools and then used them to study the biodiversity of wild pandas.  This type of research could inform conservation and reintroduction efforts for other endangered species.
“Being strongly intertwined with computer-based approaches, the current state of research underscores the need for bioinformatics education more than ever,” Gosukonda said.  “This curriculum must be offered at the undergraduate level, especially at four-year colleges, where a majority of the students pursue their education.”
Since the grant’s award in September 2015, Gosukonda has created hands-on programming modules and case studies for two bioinformatics courses to enhance students’ knowledge and skills in the subject. The bioinformatics lab is nearing completion and will be stocked with powerful workstations and state-of-the-art education delivery systems.  So far, 20 undergraduate and 30 graduate students are enrolled.
Students aren’t the only ones that benefit from Gosukona’s program, the university does, too.  “The immediate effect is greatly enhanced teaching, research, and educational state-of-the-art technology infrastructure,” he said.  “Further, a value-added program like bioinformatics will help FVSU in its efforts to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates of minority students.”
NIFA invests in and advances agricultural research, education and extension and seeks to make transformative discoveries that solve societal challenges.
This month USDA is celebrating historic progress over the last eight years to improve the quality of life and access to opportunity for all Americans. Learn more online in The People’s Department: A New Era for Civil Rights at USDA.

The United State Postal Service Delivers Second Supplier Performance Award to NCR Corporation

DULUTH, Ga., July 27, 2016 – NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a global leader in omni-channel solutions, announces that is has been recognized for excellence by the United States Postal Service (USPS) through its Supplier Performance Award program. The award was presented on June 29 at the 2015 Supplier Performance Awards Ceremony and Reception at the USPS Headquarters Building in Washington, D.C.

https://www.ncr.com/news/news-releases/retail/the-united-state-postal-service-delivers-second-supplier-performance-award-to-ncr-corporation

NCR Launches Next-Generation Digital Consulting Practices for Financial Services, Retail and Hospitality Industries

DULUTH, Ga. – August 25, 2016 –  NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a global leader in omni-channel solutions, today announced a new set of next-generation consulting services for the financial services, retail and hospitality industries. The new practices advance NCR’s leadership in consulting services for omni-channel transformation and integration, and complement NCR’s strategic solution offers:

https://www.ncr.com/news/newsroom/news-releases/ncr-launches-next-generation-digital-consulting-practices-financial

NCR Announces NCR Innovation Lab to Enable Digitally Integrated Businesses

DULUTH, Ga. – August 23, 2016 –  NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), a global leader in omni-channel solutions, today announces the NCR Innovation Lab, a brand new research and development hub, which will focus on cross-functional research, innovation, and design-thinking. The NCR Innovation Lab will bring together NCR’s R&D teams with its global innovation labs to drive a unified omni-channel focus and build upon NCR’s position as a leader in the digitally connected economy.

https://www.ncr.com/news/newsroom/news-releases/ncr-announces-ncr-innovation-lab-enable-digitally-integrated-businesses

HP Introduces World’s Only Notebooks with Integrated Privacy Screens

PALO ALTO, Calif., August 25, 2016 — HP Inc. today unveiled the world’s only PCs with integrated privacy screens1HP Sure View, a new option on the HP EliteBook 1040 and HP EliteBook 840, helps protect against visual hacking with the press of a single button. 

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-news/press-release.html?id=2318092#.V8dM6tQrLGg

HP News - HP Inc. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2016 Results

HP News - HP Inc. Reports Third Quarter Fiscal 2016 Results: HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) will present a live audio webcast of a conference call to review financial results for the third fiscal quarter

Salesforce Grants Equity Awards Under Its Inducement Equity Incentive Plan

San Francisco—August 25, 2016—Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, today announced it has granted equity awards under its 2014 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan (the "Plan") to new employees who joined Salesforce in connection with its acquisition of Demandware, Inc. (“Demandware”). The Plan was adopted by the Salesforce Board of Directors in July 2014, in accordance with New York Stock Exchange Rule 303A.08.

https://www.salesforce.com/company/news-press/press-releases/2016/08/160825.jsp

Western Digital SanDisk® InfiniFlash™ Platform Adopted by SoftBank Corp. to Address Massive Capacity Demand

San Jose, CAAugust 24, 2016 – Western Digital® Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC), a global storage technology and solutions leader, today announced that SoftBank Corp. (head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has adopted the SanDisk® InfiniFlash™ all-flash storage platform for its software-defined storage solution.

http://www.wdc.com/en/company/pressroom/releases/?release=497d2a97-74db-4469-ba87-7fc7b35f1e05

When Life Happens, Immediate Funds Availability Offers Quick Access to Funds From Deposited Checks

In today's 24/7 world, consumer expectations for convenience and real-time service have never been higher. When life happens – unexpected expenses, a forgotten bill or a big purchase – people sometimes need same-day access to funds from deposited checks.

https://www.fiserv.com/blog/the-point/immediate-funds-availability-offers-quick-access-funds-deposited-checks-blog.aspx?utm_content=buffer43612&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Q&A: Protecting Businesses while Migrating to Clouds and Software-Defined Data Centers with Fortinet

Fortinet Blog

VMWorld: Do you know where your data is?

VMWorld this year feels like a confessional – operators coming clean about their lack of data visibility, heads hung in shame. The reasons are many, but foremost is workload – once you provision a data volume you never have time to get back to it and ask why, or update it really to mesh with current initiatives. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of semi-orphaned data that is still sitting on a disk somewhere (you hope).



VMWorld: Do you know where your data is?

OSX/Keydnap spreads via signed Transmission application

Last month ESET researchers wrote an article about a new OS X malware called OSX/Keydnap, built to steal the content of OS X’s keychain and maintain a permanent backdoor. At that time of the analysis, it was unclear how victims were exposed to OSX/Keydnap. To quote the original article: “It could be through attachments in spam messages, downloads from untrusted websites or something else.



OSX/Keydnap spreads via signed Transmission application

BMC Positioned as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT Service Support Management for Third Consecutive Year

BMC's Remedy received the highest product scores in four of the five use cases for ITSSM Tools in the Critical Capabilities Report



RSS Content - BMC Software

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Are cloud services good enough to store our digital life? (Open_Tab)

EU: Apple, you owe $14.5 billion in taxes (CNET Update)

Twitter Expands Ways For Creators To Make Money | CNBC

IBM Announces Inaugural Health Corps Winners

First five IBM grants of pro bono Health Corps services to address critical issues including chemotherapy, mosquito-borne diseases, radiology and population health

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/50400.wss

IBM Expands Cloud Footprint in Korea

From IBM:


IBM Expands Cloud Footprint in Korea

- IBM Opens New Cloud Data Center in Korea with SK Holdings C&C to propel local innovation and competitiveness
- New Facility is the ninth IBM Cloud Data Center across Asia-Pacific
ARMONK, NY and SEOUL, KOREA - 25 Aug 2016: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the opening of a new IBM Cloud Data Center in Korea, in collaboration with SK Holdings C&C. Located outside of Seoul in Pangyo, the new data center is designed to support growing cloud adoption and customer demand across the country.
According to IDC, a leading information technology research firm, the public cloud services market in Korea is expected to grow from $445 million in 2015 to approximately $1B in 2019.[i]
The new facility in Pangyo is IBM’s ninth Cloud Data Center in the Asia-Pacific region, and part of the company’s growing global network of 47 Cloud Data Centers. With access to a local on ramp for IBM and SK Holdings’ Cloud services, Korean enterprises and start-ups can accelerate their digital transformation, business innovation and global expansion.
“A key part of our cloud strategy is to fuel new ecosystems to spur innovation and collaborate with companies who understand the local market.” said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president, IBM Cloud.  “That’s why we chose to partner with SK Holdings C&C in Korea. Together, we are able to bring the local expertise, platform and data services that gives Korean customers the ability to compete on a global scale.”
IBM’s network of Cloud Data Centers offers both global reach and the opportunity to keep data local to client locations -- whether for performance, security or flexibility. Clients in Korea are expected to benefit from faster time-to-market, improved performance, support for industrial-strength public and hybrid cloud, and access to IBM’s global network of 47 Cloud Data Centers so they can manage their data more securely and efficiently across global markets to drive expansion.
Modeled after IBM’s standardized pod design, the new facility in Korea will have the capacity for thousands of physical servers and offer the full range of cloud infrastructure services, including bare metal servers, virtual servers, storage, security services and networking. With services deployed on demand and full remote access and control, customers can create their ideal public, private, or hybrid cloud environments.
New Cloud Data Center Builds on Existing IBM and SK Holdings Partnership
The new Cloud Data Center builds on the existing partnership between IBM and SK Holdings C&C, with more than 20 local companies already using their joint hybrid cloud capabilities across the gaming, IT, manufacturing and retail industries. As Korean companies increasingly look to extend the value of their existing systems to the cloud, the two companies anticipate a high demand for hybrid cloud services with the opening of the new facility.
“Companies all over the world are seeking for new business and profit opportunity throughout digital transformation,” said Jung-ho Park, CEO of SK Holdings C&C. “The new Cloud Data Center provides one-stop cloud converting service of existing IT system and infrastructure, and become the base camp to support digital innovation for customers’ businesses by converging digital technologies such as IoT, Big data and AI.” 
Growing the Cloud Ecosystem in Korea
The new data center will further accelerate the commitment of IBM and SK Holdings C&C to foster the growth of cognitive and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies throughout the region. The two companies plan to make a cognitive cloud platform available at the Cloud Data Center in Pangyo, enabling local startups and IT developers to create cognitive apps and industry-specific services that leverage Watson.
Developers in Korea will also have access to Bluemix, IBM’s Cloud platform, and more than 150 APIs and services spanning key areas such as cognitive, blockchain, Internet of Things and big data.
Local universities are also participating by cultivating future cloud talent. To prepare the next generation of cloud-based app developers, IBM and SK Holdings C&C have been teaming with leading universities, including Dankook University, Ewha Woman’s University and Sungkyunkwan University, providing students with education and training based on the IBM Cloud.
 “Cloud computing has rapidly become a key driver of digital transformation throughout Korea,” said Goodhyun Kim, a well-known developer and IT columnist in Korea. “By making IBM Cloud and its easy, fast, and robust APIs and services available on Bluemix to local developers, I anticipate that we will rapidly see a whole new wave of cloud-based innovation across Korea.”
IBM Cloud is helping businesses of all sizes and industries innovate and grow throughout Korea. For example:
  • Amorepacific, a global leader in the beauty industry, recently established a ‘Global Smart Workplace’ on the IBM Cloud to create a flexible and efficient work environment that integrates its headquarters, partners, and branch offices worldwide.  By moving to the cloud, Amorepacific has improved productivity by reducing and simplifying business process and time to market.  
  • Gravity (NASDAQ: GRVY), a leading South Korean video game corporation and one of the original pioneers in Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPG), has selected IBM Cloud as the preferred platform for its new mobile role playing game Wonderfolic R and its widely popular RAGNAROK Online game. Gravity turned to IBM Cloud for its stability, security, global reach and to take advantage of IBM's network of Cloud Data Centers throughout Asia-Pacific. By tapping into IBM's Cloud Data Center in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Gravity has been able to expand its reach by providing gamers with better throughput performance and the ability process data faster, even when lots of users access the game at the same time.
  • Coolio, a social content analysis app developer, is using IBM Cloud to analyze and manage social media data and drive global expansion. Working with IBM, Coolio has built “Sprd”, a content-recommendation app that identifies and extracts information from social data that has the highest possibility of dissemination.  The app then shares this data with people that have similar interests. By adopting IBM Cloud, Coolio has been able to manage sharp increases of traffic very quickly, without any downtime or access delay, while providing users with stable service.
  • UpRoot, a data security start-up that provides real-time detection and analysis of malicious link sources and their routes of passage over websites across the world, has been able to take on complicated and repetitive analysis with speed and security by adopting the IBM Cloud. Additionally, by tapping into IBM’s global network of Cloud Data Centers, the company has been able to achieve fast analysis of websites worldwide and share data from the process seamlessly.
For more information on IBM Cloud, visit www.ibm.com/cloud.
###
 
[i] IDC, Worldwide Premium Black Book, Version 1, 2015, July 1, 2015.

IBM Research Opens in South Africa; Cognitive Computing and the IoT help Track Diseases and Forecast Air Quality

Projects include tracking the spread of tuberculosis, anticipating wildfires and searching for new discoveries in the universe

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/50396.wss

IBM Named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for its Flash Storage Solutions

From IBM:


IBM Named a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for its Flash Storage Solutions

IBM FlashSystem Speeds Access to Data Across Hybrid Clouds
ARMONK, NY - 24 Aug 2016: IBM (NYSE: IBM) has been recognized as a Leader for Flash Storage in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Solid-State Arrays (SSA).1
According to Gartner, “Vendors in the Leaders quadrant have the highest scores for their Ability to Execute and Completeness of Vision. A vendor in the Leaders quadrant has the market share, credibility, and marketing and sales capabilities needed to drive the acceptance of new technologies. These vendors demonstrate a clear understanding of market needs; they are innovators and thought leaders; and they have well-articulated plans that customers and prospects can use when designing their storage infrastructures and strategies. In addition, they have a presence in the five major geographical regions, consistent financial performance and broad platform support.”
IBM’s position as a leader comes after it announced the expansion of its FlashSystem portfolio, including DeepFlash and Storwize products, to help clients more quickly extract value from data for competitive advantage. Among the 380 patents that differentiate IBM’s flash products and services are its FlashCore and MicroLatency technologies. Clients rely on these technologies to quickly access the mounting volumes.
For example, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital (Henry Mayo), a not-for-profit community hospital and trauma center in Valencia, California, needed to implement a storage solution that would deliver faster access to patient data for their electronic health records (EHRs) system. Henry Mayo required a solution for its medical teams who perform a wide range of healthcare and outpatient surgical services.
After thorough testing of information systems software, MEDITECH, Henry Mayo selected a combination of IBM flash technologies. To quickly access EHRs, the hospital selected IBM’s FlashSystem® V9000 all-flash array. The solution also includes the VersaStack™ converged infrastructure platform by IBM and Cisco using IBM’s Storwize® V7000 hybrid storage array. Key to its decision was that the IBM arrays would provide security through hardware level encryptionand deliver the hospital’s database administrators a single dashboard into its storage assets.
 “From arrival to aftercare, our medical teams are constantly viewing and updating EHRs, so delays or interruptions to retrieving data can directly affect their care, which is why we were committed to MEDITECH and wanted to deploy its latest release,” said Cindy Peterson, Vice President/CIO, Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. “It was therefore particularly important to implement IBM’s FlashSystem V9000, which our testing proved could be relied upon for quick access of patient information.”
Physicians at Henry Mayo are now able to access patient records more quickly, which helps them make faster, high-quality clinical decisions without delay. As a result, they may be able to spend more time with patients, leading to enriched patient care and improved outcomes.
“Whether it’s a hospital or retail organization, organizations across the globe understand the value that fast and reliable access to data will provide,” said Michael Kuhn, Vice President of Offering Management, Storage Solutions. “Achieving this requires technology found in IBM’s FlashSystem portfolio, which is proven to dramatically accelerate the movement of data when and where it is needed, while delivering the reliability and availability to keep data always accessible.” We believe client testimonials like this help support the Gartner recognition.
For more information about IBM Flash Storage, visit www.ibm.com/storage/flash and follow us on Twitter @IBMStorage.
1 Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Solid-State Arrays, August 22, 2016
Market Share Analysis: SSDs and Solid-State Arrays, Worldwide, 2015, Published: 19 May 2016 ID: G00296794, Analyst(s): Joseph Unsworth | John Monroe
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

IBM Expands All-Flash Storage Offerings for Cloud and Cognitive Computing

From IBM:


IBM Expands All-Flash Storage Offerings for Cloud and Cognitive Computing

Introducing new storage migration services for simple transition from Dell/EMC
ARMONK, N.Y. - 23 Aug 2016: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new, cost-conscious, enterprise class, all-flash storage designed to provide small, midsized organizations and global enterprises with primary storage for cloud or cognitive applications and workloads.
Also announced today is IBM’s “Flash In,” a storage migration program designed to help companies looking to leverage IBM’s expertise, like Dell and EMC clients, easily transition to IBM storage solutions as part of a journey to become cloud and cognitive businesses.
Clients today are embracing all-flash storage to deliver speed and response times necessary to support growing data workloads across public, private and hybrid cloud environments, as well as the demands of cognitive applications and workloads. IBM Storwize V7000F and IBM Storwize 5030F are all-flash arrays that meet the needs across the wide breadth of primary storage applications, workload and use cases at cost effective price points.
Built with IBM Spectrum Virtualizethe Storwize all-flash solutions reduce the cost and complexity of data center and cloud environments. The award-winning IBM management software improves storage efficiency with features such as real-time data compression, thin provisioning, and snapshotting across nearly 400 different storage arrays from a multitude of vendors. IBM Spectrum Virtualize also optimizes data security, reliability and operational costs. The software automatically tiers, migrates data from one storage array to another, provides secure data at rest encryption, and remotely replicates data for disaster recovery and business continuity purposes.
“This announcement addresses a clear need for clients that require a substantial increase in storage performance but at a price that’s in line with the reality of today’s datacenter budgets,” said Ed Walsh, general manager of IBM Storage and Software Defined Infrastructure. “As an essential part of a company’s primary storage strategy, IBM’s new all-flash solutions provide robust security and the reliability that organizations need as they move to cloud and cognitive environments.”
IBM Storwize V7000F and IBM Storwize 5030F also bring enterprise-class availability and function to mid-range and entry-level all-flash storage delivering greater performance and requiring less time to provision and optimize systems.
  • Affordable all-flash mid-range storage: IBM Storwize V7000F improves performance by up to 45 percent¹ and supports four times clustering for scale-out and scale-up growth to help organizations manage rapidly growing datasets.
     
  • Entry-level all-flash storage: IBM Storwize 5030F offers high performance and availability at an attractive entry point to help clients control costs.
The all-flash Storwize V7000F and Storwize V5030F are also built to manage a variety of primary storage workloads, from database management systems such as SQL Server and MySQL to digital media sources that include broadcast, real-time streaming, and video surveillance. The new technology can also handle huge volumes of Internet of Things (IoT) data.
Availability and pricing
The new IBM Storwize storage solutions will be available worldwide from IBM and through IBM Business Partners beginning early September. Pricing begins at $19,000.
Introducing installation services to easily transition clients from Dell/EMC to IBM
IBM’s “Flash In” is a no-cost migration initiative providing organizations that are not current IBM customers with a smooth transition path from storage deployments to the IBM family of all-flash arrays. Under the new program, clients will receive data migration and installation services for five consecutive days for either on-site replacement or upgrades.
Business Partners looking to add IBM as a strategic vendor to provide more long term stability and broaden their solutions portfolio will find a set of comprehensive benefits that compare very favorably to what they may experience today.
Up to 80 percent of all-flash storage is sold by IBM Business Partners. The IBM Flash In initiative will amplify the company’s all-flash offensive to help Business Partners reach new clients not currently served by IBM, and clients who may face potential disruption if there are product portfolio integrations with Dell and EMC.
“With any merger or acquisition, there is unrest in the industry creating uncertainty for channel partners,” said Mark Wyllie, chief executive officer, Flagship Solutions Group, a premier IBM Business Partner dedicated to helping clients with data center strategic planning and hybrid cloud implementations. “It’s critical that Business Partners have a strong relationship with a company like IBM that is committed to the channel and has proven leadership across key investment areas like flash and software defined storage, in addition to providing resources for ongoing development, training and support that opens the doors to growth.”
Clients choosing to migrate from Dell or EMC can also select from the following IBM storage solutions to meet their needs across the wide breadth of primary storage applications, workloads and use cases. These include:
IBM FlashSystem A9000 and IBM FlashSystem A9000RIBM FlashSystem V9000IBM FlashSystem 900IBM DS8888IBM Deep Flash 150 with Spectrum Scale and VersaStackofferings with IBM FlashSystem V9000, IBM Storwize V7000F and IBM Storwize V5030F.
“With ever increasing volumes of customer and operational information, flexible and secure data storage is crucial to keeping our operation afloat as our company expands to hundreds of destinations worldwide,” said Leonardo Irastorza, Technology Revitalization & Global Shared Services Manager, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “That is why we depend on IBM Flash technology, which plays a critical role in ensuring exceptional guest experiences across our brands.  It’s all about the guest experience, which is a foundational pillar in our company’s continued innovation.”
For more information about IBM Storage, visit www.ibm.com/systems/storage. Follow IBM Storage on Twitter at @IBMStorage or @IBMSystemsISVs
1 - IBM engineering measurements comparing 48-drive all-flash configurations of Storwize V7000 Gen2 using RAID5 with Storwize V7000F using distributed RAID6 – August 2016

Bodhi Healthcare Group Brings Cloud-Based Healthcare Solution to Chinese Hospital with IBM LinuxONE

From IBM:


Bodhi Healthcare Group Brings Cloud-Based Healthcare Solution to Chinese Hospital with IBM LinuxONE

Bodhi Healthcare Cloud Platform helps Qingdao Municipal Hospital Group integrate health data in order to help doctors optimize treatment recommendations and better engage with their patients
BEIJING and ARMONK, NY - 22 Aug 2016: Bodhi Healthcare Group turned to IBM (NYSE:IBM) to develop a new cloud-based healthcare platform built on the IBM LinuxONE to power a new cloud-based healthcare platform to support the new technology branch of Qingdao Municipal Hospital Group. By leveraging the security, scale and reliability of LinuxONE, the Bodhi Healthcare Cloud Platform offers an integrated, private cloud solution to promote information exchange within and between hospitals, aid in treatment decision-making and help drive seamless interactions between patients and their care providers.
Bodhi Healthcare Group, part of the BAHEAL Pharmaceutical Holdings network, works to apply and manage advanced technology solutions to address pain points in the healthcare industry, helping drive decentralization and greater efficiency. With this dedicated cloud, Qingdao Municipal Healthcare Group can provide its users with an integrated information platform containing physician and patient data. The platform helps support the various steps of the healthcare process, including disease screening, cause analysis, diagnosis and treatment, care and rehabilitation and pharmacy and health management. To better engage and empower users, Bodhi Healthcare provides physicians with a tablet device that allows them to communicate with patients, remotely manage patients’ care and make treatment decisions.
The healthcare industry in China is shifting rapidly, as policies to support a more proactive model of care encourage the adoption of healthcare technology services like the new cloud platform for Qingdao Municipal Healthcare Group. While information silos persist, the launch of this solution could help create a more integrated approach to health information, enhanced therapy decision-making and improved patient experience.
“Medical reform in China will rely on a transformation in how data is used and shared, enabling the establishment of stronger doctor-patient decisions and relationships. We believe data is the future of the healthcare industry. With the current accelerated transformation of the healthcare industry, we want to utilize advanced technical capabilities to enable smarter healthcare, improve the overall capabilities of physicians with a professional cloud platform, enhance communication between physicians and their patients and promote the creation of a proactive healthcare system through the cloud and mobile technology model,” said Fu Gang, Founder of BAHEAL and Chairman of Bodhi Healthcare Group.
LinuxONE, introduced in August 2015, is the industry’s most powerful and secure Linux-only enterprise system. LinuxONE is enabled for a broad range of popular open source and ISV tools, as well as mobile technologies, and can help organizations like Qindgdao Municipal Healthcare Group manage a secure, dedicated cloud environment. In China, IBM will provide comprehensive training, testing and technical support for local customers, partners, universities and developers on the platform.
“There is a proliferation of medical data in health systems around the world. The healthcare providers that Bodhi Medical Group supports needed a solution that helped them integrate and draw insights from previously siloed data,” said Gary Shih, Vice President, Server Solution, Hardware Systems, IBM GCG. “This local cloud environment based on our leading infrastructure technology helps meet hospitals’ security needs while supporting them as they transform through technology.”
In addition to providing and managing the Bodhi Healthcare Cloud Platform, BAHEAL also works with public hospitals like Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital to help them become regional healthcare leaders.