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Under the Milky Way tonight ...
How brightly do our systems shine today? How proudly do we stand beneath the overarching technology we rely on to compete in today's business world?
June 15, 2015 by Richard Buckle — Founder and CEO, Pyalla Technologies, LLC
There's a reason why big tent events organized by major vendors are successful. No matter the topic, agenda, or audience, there's always a sense of excitement that comes from pulling thousands of people together in one place.
Under the "big tent" at such vendor-driven events, we get to hear messages from the executives in charge — firsthand, unfiltered and free of spin. Well, most of the spin, that is, as there will have been numerous dry runs before one word was uttered in public.
Last week at the HP Discover event that drew 10,000 fans, I was reintroduced to the Las Vegas heat (as I have been every month this year, so far). Just stepping outside the hotel's convention center was not for the wise.
Making matters even more interesting, I had elected to take the company command center (i.e., the RV) containing my fully operational mobile office so that I could keep working. And posting. But there's nothing like 100-plus degrees Fahrenheit to make camping out difficult.
For those who may not be on top of current RV technology, while there are two A/C units in the RV, it is so lightly insulated that they can only pull the temperature down 20 degrees, so nights were still rather toasty.
HP holds a sizable piece of the payments solutions processing marketplace. Ever since Tandem Computers dropped a Tandem in front of an IBM mainframe and successfully demonstrated 24/7 operation of POS and ATM networks, FIs have had many options for hosting payments applications. The options are only going to increase with cloud computing, but the point remains as valid today as it was in the mid-1970s.
Major FIs worldwide retain strong ties to HP and, for many of them, there has always been NonStop. However, what you might have thought NonStop looked like is evolving rapidly largely due to the current HP CTO, Martin Fink, pushing as hard as he can to embrace industry standards, support open source initiatives and, in general, drive out cost wherever possible.
On the exhibition floor at HP Discover, an HP salesman walked a prospect over to the NonStop X system where I happened to be standing alone. "See, this is the new SuperDome X," the salesman told the customer with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.
"No, it's not," I said.
Dumbfounded, the salesman looked at me as only a salesman can when his prime shot at making club has been shattered. So I went on to add, "This is a NonStop X; the SuperDome X is the system alongside it — yes, they are the same, and differentiated only by the SuperDome and NonStop brushed-nickel badges affixed to the tops of their cabinets."
It was then that I made perhaps my biggest-ever HP faux pas — well, in a while, that is — as the client asked me "What's the difference?"
Of course I just had to tell him, as I pointed to the SuperDome X, "That system stops, and this one here, the NonStop X, doesn't!"
The HP NonStop development manager responsible for giving hybrid systems to the NonStop community was walking toward me and overheard my comments. Without missing a beat, he executed a sharp U-turn and disappeared, but the look on his face was priceless.
Increasingly, all systems are looking alike. Gone are the days when flashing lights and rows of toggle switches helped to identify a computer. Today, no matter the brand or properties of a given computer, they are all similar and nearly all qualify as being servers, whether packaged as blades and chassis or racks and towers.
What continues to differentiate them are the applications available and the ecosystem of vendors and consultants supporting the server. When it comes to payments processing applications, most of the world's best offerings run on NonStop. And that's not by accident or mistake — these solutions continue to run 24/7 and that is the value NonStop continues to provide to FIs even today.
I get to many events over the course of a year, and seeing vendors showcasing their products is all part of the ritual — we go to these events to see everything a vendor has to offer in the best possible light.
I usually enter every competitor's booth to register to win a trinket or two — and usually nothing happens. However this time, the Connect community — made up of former members of ITUG, DECUS, Encompass and HP-Interex EMEA — was giving away trips on the latest Vegas attraction, the High Roller Ferris Wheel, and I was lucky enough to win a ticket for myself and my wife, Margo.
If you have as yet not taken the ride, it's a great way to see Vegas; we were lucky to get a bird's-eye view of the fountains performing in front of the Bellagio hotel. Rotating slowly under the evening sky, I looked up at the stars (most of which were unfamiliar to me, being from the southern hemisphere) expecting to see the Milky Way.
It can be viewed at certain times in the northern hemisphere, and perhaps I am biased, but it looks way, way better when viewed from the southern hemisphere. Either way, you still need to be away from the city lights — even thinking of catching a glimpse with the lights of Vegas shining brightly isn't recommended.
But I still need to ask, how brightly do our systems shine today? How proudly do we stand beneath the overarching technology we rely on to compete in today's business world? For me the story will always be about the systems that just do not stop!
photo istock
About Richard Buckle
Richard Buckle is the founder and CEO of Pyalla Technologies, LLC. He has enjoyed a long association with the Information Technology (IT) industry as a user, vendor, and more recently, as an industry commentator, thought leader, columnist and blogger. Richard participates in the HPE VIP Community where he is part of their influencer team.
