Sponsor: IBM Corporation

An analysis of data from 1,200 benchmarking study participants quantifies the benefits an organization can gain through the use of enterprise resource planning systems (ERP's). Benchmarking data shows that Finance organizations that have adopted ERPs experienced as much as 300 percent material improvements in efficiency, and as much as 65 percent reduction in costs associated with performing Finance and Accounting operations.

IBM supports SAP clients with business consulting services with global implementation and outsourcing capabilities plus infrastructure of optimized servers (mainframe, POWER, x, Blade Center) and storage, DB2 database, Alloy, middleware and software. An innovation partner for SAP projects.

In this white paper we will explore the leasing option for technology asset acquisitions and IBM's particular suitability to this market. We will also use several case studies to provide examples of how this works including the toy company LEGO and the telecommunications services providers, Packet One. By the end of the paper you will be able to see the leasing proposition clearly and understand the advantage of doing business with IBM.

As companies become more reliant on critical applications to manage business processes and to interact with their customers, the time to market for new solutions becomes a key factor for success for the business. Over half of the organizations in the study cited accelerating new application development and deployment as an operational objective for deploying IBM PureSystems solutions. IBM PureSystems family is a portfolio of expert integrated systems built from the ground up to deliver an optimized hardware and software platform. Integrated systems combine compute, storage, networking and management into factory pre-configured and pre-integrated solutions.

With the growing demand for faster business applications and the rapid spread of technology trends, computing performance has never been more important. The challenges for midsize businesses are even greater. With fewer resources, IT teams in midmarket organizations need to be able to deliver mission-critical applications at full-horsepower. They also need to do more with less-more computing power with fewer servers, smaller teams and leaner budgets. This IT Managers' Journal delivers 10 Ways managers in midsize organizations can deliver more computing power. Topics covered include Linux servers, IBM Power Systems, SAP applications, a real-world case study showcasing the benefits of replacing underperforming servers, Big Data, server management techniques and more. Download this exclusive IT Managers' Journal and learn how to get more out of your data centers today.

Ricoh Americas Corporation implemented a virtualized storage environment which included IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller, IBM XIV Storage System and IBM System Storage DS8000, enabling seamless migration and more efficient storage management.

With storage needs doubling every few years, Dar Al-Handasah needed to rationalize and optimize its storage infrastructure. Performance, capacity, cost and ease of management needed to be addressed. The solution deployed two IBM Storwize V7000 storage systems with built-in tools for data migration, thin provisioning and auto data tiering; virtualized legacy storage systems within the V7000 environment. The benefit Backups run 25% percent faster; increased performance of existing storage; cut floor space requirements by 75%; improved efficiency of capacity utilization; delayed investments in extra capacity.

Businesses globally are challenged to innovate while managing an unprecedented rate of growth. Digital data was up by 48% from 2011 amounting to an astonishing 2.7 zettabytes in 2012, and big data can increase data volume by two to three times. The real value of data lies in the insights revealed through Smarter Analytics which can help you make better, faster decisions and automate processes. It's not a surprise that CIO's are ranking Analytics as the #1 factor contributing to an organization's competitiveness. Organizations that embrace analytics are more than two times as likely to outperform their peers, have 33% more revenue growth and twelve times more profit growth. IT infrastructure is key to a successful analytics solution implementation. Efficient storage is required not only to house data but to fully enable the extraction of actionable insights at the point of impact. IBM Storage solutions provide data ready infrastructure that allow you shared access to trustworthy information, deliver actionable insights on operational data, and to provide maximum availability of business insights. IBM's Storwize family is data ready storage. The Storwize family has helped numerous clients become data ready by offering scalable growth at their own pace, and storage efficiency capabilities to maximize optimization all while providing a resilient infrastructure base."

Canucks Sports & Entertainment, owners of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team, needed to expand their storage capacity to handle exponential growth in digital media. They needed a scalable storage system, and they were able to implement an IBM solution that surpassed their expectations.

"The need To improve patient care, Marienhospital Stuttgart wanted to extend the use of modern medical equipment and provide a single source of patient data. Both aims necessitated more storage capacity. The solution Marienhospital Stuttgart deployed a virtualized storage solution based on IBM technology to meet escalating data storage requirements and facilitate the deployment of new medical imaging equipment. The benefit Provides the data storage capacity and performance to support new imaging equipment, boosting service to patients. Keeps hospital systems running even if the hardware fails, eliminating downtime."

IBM helps Morneau Shepell meeting the challenge of growing storage demands.

IBM commissioned Forrester Consulting to examine the total economic impact and potential return on investment (ROI) that enterprises may realize by deploying Storwize V7000. This study illustrates the potential financial impact of using Storwize V7000 as a disk system and also to virtualize existing storage assets. The risk-adjusted ROI described in the study is 150% with a breakeven point (payback period) of only 15 months after deployment.

This white paper focuses on Edison's Competitive Management Cost Study (CMCS) methodology for IBM Storwize V7000 and EMC VNX5500. The results of Edison's research show that administering the IBM Storwize V7000 system using its management interface is 34 percent less time-consuming in weighted workday savings and 31 percent less complex than managing an EMC VNX5500 system using the Unisphere software interface.

The IBM Storwize family delivers sophisticated capabilities that are proven, efficient and dependable, in a wide range of storage systems designed to meet the differing needs of organizations, all built on a common platform. Shared technologies and common management features make the Storwize family the right system to meet today's needs and grow as your business grows.

This ESG Analyst Paper is a Lab Validation Report for IBM Storwize V7000. The goal of this ESG Lab testing and report is to validate the enterprise class features and functionality of the V7000 including Real-time Compression, ease of use, non-disruptive virtualization, automated tiering, data mobility, copy services, unified SAN/NAS capability, Easy Tier and Active Cloud Engine.