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Have you also been “asked” to cut costs? Here is how you do it…

Have you also been “asked” to cut costs? Here is how you do it…. The problem in General. Economic crisis (again) Cost cutting exercises (again) Complexity (still) New technology Managers “demand” it, users “need” it IT not known for their successes. The Problem for Mainframers.

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Have you also been “asked” to cut costs? Here is how you do it…

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  1. Have you also been “asked” to cut costs? Here is how you do it…

  2. The problem in General • Economic crisis (again) • Cost cutting exercises (again) • Complexity (still) • New technology • Managers “demand” it, users “need” it • IT not known for their successes

  3. The Problem for Mainframers • Economic crisis (again) • Cost cutting exercises (again) • New technology • Managers “demand” it, users “need” it • IT not known for their successes • Architects.....

  4. The dilemma Any cost cutting exercise should focus on IT, not just on Mainframe...

  5. ZEN and the art of Holistic cost-cutting... Like acupuncture, focusing only on the part that hurts will not solve the problem

  6. ZEN and the art of Holistic cost-cutting... “The face of the enemy frightens me only when I see how much it resembles me” • IT folks can be arrogant, architects can be arrogant, and mainframers, well....

  7. ZEN and the art of Holistic cost-cutting... Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster. Sun Tzu

  8. RUNvsCHANGE Why separating the two makes you look smart...

  9. RUN the BusinessCHANGE the Business • RUN is all about: • Doing day-to-day tasks smarter/cheaper / more efficient • CHANGE is about: • Making the mainframe ready to support changes like • Access from Cloud or Mobile apps • Training new people • Being more agile • Showing you can CHANGE buys you management support

  10. So, pick the right battle... • But the question is; what IS the right battle? • Clear ROI • Management Buy In • You have the skills/resources/knowledge • You know what you want to achieve... • But some are obvious.......

  11. The obvious battle I • Problem: “We need to get rid of people!!” • Also read: http://www.mainframezone.com/it-management/the-effective-cio-mainframe-staffing (but that’s a whole other topic...) • Does the workload reduce? (NO) • Do people expect the same QOS? (YES) • Will you get a raise? (NO) • Solution: Automate and/or buy tools

  12. The obvious battle II.... • Problem: “We constantly cross the 4 hour rolling average!!” • Have you tuned applications/systems/databases recently? (NO) • Do you have time to do so? (NO) • Are you just fire fighting and no proactive monitoring? (YES) • Do you know exactly what runs in which partition so you can move stuff around? (NO) • Solution: Buy Performance Management tools

  13. Others are less obvious.... • “Do more with less..”, “Cut costs with 20%!!” • We have to ask ourselves: • What drives our management? • What keeps them awake? • What DO they know, and what do they NOT know? • Where is all the money spend? • How much can we really save? • If you think running Linux on zSeries is a good idea, but have no clue about cost or savings, stop dreaming....

  14. What drives your Management? • Less complexity • Lower cost • Fewer complaints • Easy budgets • No surprises • Flexibility & Agility • The same things that keep them awake.....

  15. What do they know? “When the only tool you have is a hammer, all problems begin to resemble nails” • In normal terminology: • If your management doesn’t understand the Mainframe, he will have a hard time understanding what you can/cannot do… • Or even simpler: • Explain that some problems that look like a nail are actually more like screws, and you happen to have a screwdriver

  16. Where is the money spent? • Efficient cost cutting is not possible unless you exactly understand the real cost of IT • Shaving 10% off an item that only represents 1% of the IT budget may not be the smartest thing to do • A tunnel vision is even more dangerous: • “I can save 10% with MY version of the solution”.. • Maybe another department can do 20% with THEIR version • Management support and buy-in is crucial....

  17. How much can you REALLY save? • IT people tend to be optimists.. • Saving money requires investments (money, people, tools) • Invest in a proper ROI, it makes you look smart(er) • Do NOT use things like “TBD”, “N/A” or “Unknown” • If you do not know, make an assumption based on real numbers • How to use numbers... • Ask people for data • Ask for proof • Ask for more data • Ask others about the validity of the collected data • Then use the data......

  18. Obvious places to look... • SLA’s • Look for breaches and the associated fines • Prevent a breach and you prevent the fine • Depreciation & HW Replacement • Every 4 year, servers are depreciated and replaced • Often, software is just migrated to new HW • Fast, new servers often not optimally used • “Middleware” software runs better on MF... • File- & Print servers • Database servers, transaction servers, Firewalls, WAS servers etc.

  19. Exercise 1, Part I • 4000 physical distributed servers • 1000 High end & 3000 Low end • 25% is depreciated and should be replaced • 250 High end at $ 10,000 • 750 Low end at $ 2,000 • Total Investment of replacement: 2,500,000+1,500,000=4Mln

  20. Exercise 1, Part II • Replacement • 30% stays on physical servers (75*10,000+225*2,000) = 1,200,000 • 30% can be virtualized on with a ratio of 1:4 • Acquisition of 75 $4,000 blades = $300,000 • Another 30% of these (300) can be Virtualized on the mainframe (average 1:4), we could potentially run those on 75 Linux Images on 20 IFL’s (official price per IFL on z196EC = $55,000) = $1,100,000 • + 90% reduced floor space + 70% reduced labour cost • + savings on V-Lan’s, V-Routers, V-Firewalls • TOTAL Savings: 4Mln – 2,6Mln = 1,4Mln for a project covering multiple disciplines • excluding benefits of floor space, power consumption, reduced network components and labour, database licenses etc... • Other reports state that the license costs of an application like Websphere Linux on System z will be 50% compared to Wintel (https://www.mercurymagazines.com/pdf/NOVELL5.pdf )

  21. Exercise 2, Part I • Lower four-hour rolling average MIPS usage • Measure • Use tools to see what is running where and how often • Trend analysis of Applications • Analyze • Utilize zIIP/zAAP? • Move stuff around in LPAR’s • Change /Move/Delay Batch processes • Plan • Pick a top 5 every week • Test • Implement

  22. Examples from real life.. • Lower four-hour rolling average MIPS usage • Do all batch-jobs that run at the time you hit your limits really need to run at that moment? • Don’t laugh, I have seen 5000 jobs starting at 12 o’clock noon. Just because they COULD... • zIIP • Do you have them? Are they utilized? When should you utilize? • New versions of tools (buffers, type of Disk etc.) • Underutilized new functions that could replace multiple processes • Database tuning is like taking care of plants..

  23. Conclusion • There IS room for savings • Often BIG savings • Treat is as a project • Get management buy-in. • You invest before you can harvest... • Ask your vendors • Be street smart, don’t spend the first month on just 1 problem, saving 0,1% CPU. • Pick quick winners; managers are impatient....

  24. Too short for details..Want more? zMarcel@ca.com Thank you!!

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