Risks & Rewards of Cloud & Hybrid Data Centers

A recent survey conducted by Ensono, in partnership with the Cloud Industry Forum, showed that 89% of respondents believed that legacy technology was a barrier to effective digital transformation. Given that many organisations operate a complex technology landscape often with elements in different locations, and with core components that are regarded as ‘legacy but critical’, there needs to be a clear and simple approach to overcoming these obstacles.

Breaking down the barriers requires effective change in people, process and technology to attain a viable level velocity that will enable transformation without being held back by perceptions of legacy issues.

Examining these issues, this webinar will provide insight and thought provoking approaches for organisations seeking to transform their operations against this backdrop.

Integrate IBM mainframe & iSeries (AS/400) into Micro Focus Universal Discovery

IBM Mainframe and IBM i (iSeries-AS/400) environments continue to play a very critical part in today’s corporate IT infrastructures, processing some of the most valued and important data. Learn how one of the world’s largest insurance companies brought their IBM environments into the modern era by extending their Micro Focus Universal Discovery (UD) platform to include the key IBM systems.

The company’s former process of conducting manual audits was a time consuming, resource intensive, and outdated way of doing things at best. Attendees will:

•Learn how the combination of Micro Focus Software and EView Technology provided a cost-effective, comprehensive, automated, and real-time view of their business services across their multi-IBM system enterprise
•Hear a brief overview of the architecture of the solution and the business benefits
•View a short demo of the seamless integration

The “Great Storage Debates” webcast series continues, this time on FCoE vs. iSCSI vs. iSER. Like past “Great Storage Debates,” the goal of this presentation is not to have a winner emerge, but rather provide vendor-neutral education on the capabilities and use cases of these technologies so that attendees can become more informed and make educated decisions.

One of the features of modern data centers is the ubiquitous use of Ethernet. Although many data centers run multiple separate networks (Ethernet and Fibre Channel (FC)), these parallel infrastructures require separate switches, network adapters, management utilities and staff, which may not be cost effective.

Multiple options for Ethernet-based SANs enable network convergence, including FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) which allows FC protocols over Ethernet and Internet Small Computer System Interface (iSCSI) for transport of SCSI commands over TCP/IP-Ethernet networks. There are also new Ethernet technologies that reduce the amount of CPU overhead in transferring data from server to client by using Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA), which is leveraged by iSER (iSCSI Extensions for RDMA) to avoid unnecessary data copying.

That leads to several questions about FCoE, iSCSI and iSER:

•If we can run various network storage protocols over Ethernet, what
differentiates them?
•What are the advantages and disadvantages of FCoE, iSCSI and iSER?
•How are they structured?
•What software and hardware do they require?
•How are they implemented, configured and managed?
•Do they perform differently?
•What do you need to do to take advantage of them in the data center?
•What are the best use cases for each?

Join our SNIA experts as they answer all these questions and more on the next Great Storage Debate.

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog from our presenters http://bit.ly/2NyJKUM

FICON (Fibre Channel Connection) is an upper-level protocol supported by mainframe servers and attached enterprise-class storage controllers that utilize Fibre Channel as the underlying transport. Mainframes are built to provide a robust and resilient IT infrastructure, and FICON is a key element of their ability to meet the increasing demands placed on reliable and efficient access to data. What are some of the key objectives and benefits of the FICON protocol? And what are the characteristics that make FICON relevant in today’s data centers for mission-critical workloads?

Join us in this live FCIA webcast where you’ll learn:

• Basic mainframe I/O terminology
• The characteristics of mainframe I/O and FICON architecture
• Key features and benefits of FICON

Software-defined networking has come onto the scene and changed the way we think about moving packets throughout a network. But it has also morphed into multiple definitions and approaches, driven by both vendors and enterprise customers. But how does security fit into this picture? This talk will discuss the convergence of SDN and security and will try to make sense of them both.

Learning Objectives:
1: Understand all types of SDN.
2: Understand SDN and security.
3: Understand how a secure SDN makes a network safer.

Today’s data platforms for Smart Cities should be taking on the toughest challenges of interoperability, information architecture and user complexity. But they’re not. We need to creatively evolve to an entirely new approach that avoids the confinements and limitations of today’s differing platforms.

Join this live webinar with experts from Harbor Research, an IoT research firm and consultancy, to discuss why platform development for future smart cities is contingent on open data and improved data partnerships between technology vendors, OEMs, software innovators and governments.

Freeing information from assets and systems for the user’s benefit, allowing stakeholders coming from various contexts to utilize the data they need to improve decision making, will be what sets the future for smart cities.

About the presenters:

Nick Jeambon is a Senior Associate at Harbor Research. He specializes in data-driven business and focuses on how new data from diverse real world systems and devices are shifting business models and customer behaviors. Nick has contributed in publishing reports on the impact of IoT across smart cities, telematics, energy, transportation, and industrial automation. Nick also brings extensive quantitative research skills to the and has helped define and refine Harbor’s Smart Systems market and forecast model.

Alex Glaser is the Vice President of Harbor Research and an expert in smart systems thinking and design. Alex also helps lead Harbor’s Smart Systems Lab program – a real world laboratory where organizations can design, prototype, and test new models for delivering smart systems and services value. Alex brings broad client experience in strategy consulting, value chain analysis, and research development across a variety of industries including industrial, energy, manufacturing, transportation, smart cities and telecom.

Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the way IoT devices are connected. The decentralized and distributed system emboldens security, enables third party verification and avoids multiple inputs of the same information, thereby increasing efficiency, speed and execution of IoT devices.

This webinar explains how Blockchain and IoT are coherently related and support each other. Blockchain enables organized functioning of IoT devices and their regulation, immutability and security.

About the speaker:

Tariq is a Fintech expert, writer and thinker based in Toronto, Canada. He is currently working on an initiative to disrupt the conventional insurance industry with Blockchain and IoT applications to the insurance industry for his startup.

Learn how Verv started with an IoT device to give consumers greater insight into their energy usage and developed it into a blockchain-based data and peer-to-peer energy trading platform.

Discussion topics include:

- Non-intrusive load monitoring and how it turns your home into a smart home with just one sensor
- What is the blockchain and why should it be used for peer to peer energy trading
- GDPR and how it will pave the way for ethical selling of data

About the presenter:

Maria holds an MEng degree in Electronic Systems Engineering from The University of Manchester. She is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Verv where they have developed a blockchain-based peer-to-peer energy trading platform and have launched a initial token offering. Previously she worked in Field Sales Engineering at NASDAQ data acquisition specialist National Instruments where she was responsible for a multi-million pound sales territory across a wide range of industries from Aerospace and Defence to Consumer Electronics. Earlier in her career she worked in telecommunications consulting, advising (among others) the European Railway Agency on future operational communications systems having spent time in postgraduate research studying RF and wireless sensor networks.

At most organizations, conference rooms are less than perfect--and that affects the productivity of any meeting. Inconsistency is the cornerstone of meeting room space, whether it's the power outlet locations, wired or wireless connectivity, brand of digital whiteboard, or video conferencing capabilities. That's why many companies are investing in "Conference Room of the Future" initiatives.

Nemertes recently conducted research among 600+ global organizations, and this webinar will focus on best practices.

It will address the following:
• What technologies are crucial to effective meetings?
• Who should run the meeting-room overhauls for the most success --IT or facilities?
• What are the differences between smaller, huddle rooms and large conference rooms, in terms of user expectations?
• How do advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and Internet of Things, play a role in meeting rooms?
• What should IT leaders look for in management and monitoring tools?

We look forward to sharing this information with you and answering your questions!

Are you a control freak? Have you ever wondered what was the difference between a storage controller, a RAID controller, a PCIe Controller, or a metadata controller? What about an NVMe controller? Aren’t they all the same thing?

In part Aqua of the “Everything You Wanted To Know About Storage But Were Too Proud To Ask” webcast series, we’re going to be taking an unusual step of focusing on a term that is used constantly, but often has different meanings. When you have a controller that manages hardware, there are very different requirements than a controller that manages an entire system-wide control plane. From the outside looking in, it may be easy to get confused. You can even have controllers managing other controllers!
Here we’ll be revisiting some of the pieces we talked about in Part Chartreuse [https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/663/215131], but with a bit more focus on the variety we have to play with:
•What do we mean when we say “controller?”
•How are the systems being managed different?
•How are controllers used in various storage entities: drives, SSDs, storage networks, software-defined
•How do controller systems work, and what are the trade-offs?
•How do storage controllers protect against Spectre and Meltdown?
Join us to learn more about the workhorse behind your favorite storage systems.

After you watch the webcast, check out the Q&A blog at http://bit.ly/2JgcHlM

Without a solid collaboration strategy, organizations are very unlikely to succeed at digital transformation initiatives, particularly those that involve improved customer experience. The "customer" may be internal or external to the company.

This webinar reviews key data and real-world scenarios that show why collaboration tools enable customer experience improvements.

We will address the following:

• What measurable benefits do collaboration tools bring to CX?
• How can IT and business teams use CX initiatives to help secure budget for collaboration projects?
• What does management need to change--immediately--to help propel better collaboration and improved CX?
• How do collaboration initiatives integrate with CX in the contact center?
• How can you benefit from emerging AI integrations in both collaboration and contact-center tools?

We look forward to sharing this information with you!

Team collaboration apps like Slack, Spark, Glip, and Microsoft Teams are taking the enterprise market by storm. Given the more than 20 apps now on the market, where do IT leaders begin?

In this webinar series, we'll provide insight and guidance based on Nemertes' 2018 Unified Communications and Collaboration Research Study, answering the following questions:

• What is the state of team collaboration adoption?
• What are the drivers and business cases?
• How do customers rate their vendors?
• Will team collaboration replace or augment existing UC apps?
• What are the pros and cons of a single vendor versus multi-vendor approach?
• How do I integrate team collaboration into business apps and workflows?
• How do I address security, governance, and compliance?
• How are vendors differentiating themselves?
• What are the on-premises alternatives if cloud is not an option?

Attendees will gain the information they need to make better decisions as they build and deploy their own team collaboration strategy.

We look forward to sharing this information with you!

This webinar is part of BrightTALK's Founders Spotlight Series, where each week we feature inspiring founders and entrepreneurs from across industries.

In this episode, Doug Marschke will share his insight and expertise into the software-defined networking industry: what it means to found and run a consulting and managed services company, where the network industry is headed in the age of software-defined everything, and how to scale and grow a services organization in the hi-tech industry.

Join us for this live AMA where the audience will be encouraged to ask questions and engage directly with the panelists.

Have you wondered which solution--on-premise, cloud, or hybrid—is the right Unified Communications architecture for your organization? Would you like to know which provider costs the most—and least?
Nemertes has the answer!
In this first episode of our five-part series on Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC), Robin Gareiss, Nemertes President and Founder, will present findings from our real-world research on UCC costs—based on the cost data from our 2018-19 Unified Communications and Collaboration Research study.
She also will introduce The Nemertes UC Cost Analysis Tool, our on-line, interactive, customizable tool that allows you to cost-compare solutions and providers. With this tool you’ll find out which architecture, and which provider, are the best fit for your organization.
This episode will take an in-depth look at UC Total Cost of Ownership and will cover:
• How to use Nemertes’ Online Cost Analysis Tool to get the data you need to make the best decisions
• How operational, implementation, and capital costs vary with on-prem, cloud, and hybrid deployments
• The Nemertes True Cost of Operations™ of key collaboration technologies including telephony, meetings, team collaboration, and more
• Which providers offer the lowest costs and best value, based on cost data and provider ratings from IT leaders across all industries
• What you’ll save on operational costs by investing in management and monitoring tools

We look forward to sharing all this information with you and to answering as many of your questions as possible!

Microservices aren’t for every organization, but if you know what to expect and prepare accordingly—and if you pair them with Docker containers—they can bring unprecedented agility and scalability to application development and deployment, especially in large, complex projects where speed is crucial and small errors can be disastrous.

In this high-level presentation geared toward executives and other decision-makers, Parminder Kocher, author of the newly published book, Microservices and Containers, will break down these potentially game-changing technologies. First, are they right for you? Making the switch to microservices is a large undertaking with a steep learning curve, both operationally and culturally, so it's crucial to assess the risks before taking the plunge. Second, what should you expect if and when you decide to move forward with the shift? Kocher draws from his own personal experience to help you with the transition. By the end of the presentation, you should have a good idea how microservices—especially when paired with Docker containers—can bring unprecedented agility and scalability to application development and deployment, especially in large, complex projects where time to market and scalability are paramount.

About the presenter:

As the Engineering Director for the Cisco Networking Academy, Parminder currently leads the team responsible for developing the Academy’s platform, which is accessed by 1.5 million students in 180 countries. In addition to bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science, Kocher has an executive MBA from Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, an executive certificate in strategy and innovation from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and a certificate in Professional Coaching from iPEC, an International Coach Federation (ICF)-accredited coaching training program. His first book, Microservices and Containers, was published by Addison-Wesley earlier this month.

Looking for more cost-effective ways to implement fibre channel cabling? Learn why proper cabling is important and how it fits into data center designs. Join this webcast to hear FCIA experts discuss:
- Cable and connector types, cassettes, patch panels and other cabling products
- Variables in Fiber Optic and Copper Cables: Reflectance, Insertion Loss,
Crosstalk, Speed/Length Limitations and more
- Different variations of Structured Cabling in an environment with FC
- Helpful tips when planning and implementing a cabling infrastructure within a SAN

The SNIA Swordfish™ specification helps to provide a unified approach for the management of storage and servers in hyperscale and cloud infrastructure environments, making it easier for IT administrators to integrate scalable solutions into their data centers. Swordfish builds on the Distributed Management Task Force’s (DMTF’s) Redfish® specification using the same easy-to-use RESTful methods and lightweight JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) formatting. Join this session to receive an overview of Swordfish including the new functionality added in version 1.0.6 released in March, 2018.

To simplify the development process, microservice development is increasingly being conducted using containers. However, the picture is not always rosy, especially in an enterprise environment where both old and new processes must be managed simultaneously and elegantly in order to avoid chaos.

This session will review the top issues that must be addressed when making this transition--including development, operations, and even the finance department--with a focus on microservice development in hybrid cloud environments.

About the presenter:
Robert Starmer is a cloud advisor and the founder of Kumulus Technologies. At Kumulus, Robert and his team provide infrastructure-focused DevOps, systems reliability engineering, and cloud computing consulting, enabling companies at all levels to optimize their cloud usage. He also uses his more than 20 years of experience in cloud, SRE, and DevOps to educate the industry through articles, presentations, and curriculum development. Robert is a Certified OpenStack Administrator (COA) and a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology.