- Even as mainframe demand increases, spurred by mobile apps, Big Data, social and other drivers, IBM z Systems owners are being asked to slash their mainframe operating costs.
- With MLC-based software costs often consuming 30 percent or more of mainframe budgets, organizations can achieve significant savings by 1) shifting where and when workloads run to minimize collective MSU peaks and 2) tuning applications to reduce their individual MSU utilization.
- By partnering to deliver seamless integration of their respective offerings, BMC and Compuware are uniquely enabling customers to discover and exploit new opportunities for mainframe cost savings.
DETROIT and HOUSTON, Feb. 17, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation and BMC Software, Inc. are partnering to dramatically improve the economics of IBM® z Systems ownership. By doing so, the two companies are empowering customers to significantly reduce mainframe opex—even as they more aggressively leverage their high-value mainframe applications, data and processing capacity to meet the challenges of the digital economy.
Mainframe workloads are growing significantly as web, mobile and Internet of Things (IoT) applications drive increasing transaction volumes. Capabilities offered on the newly-debuted IBM z13 are also likely to attract new workloads—including high-performance analytics, Java and Linux®.
This workload growth is precipitously driving up the Monthly License Charge (MLC) for IBM mainframe software, which for sub-capacity environments is generally impacted by the highest rolling four-hour average (R4HA) of mainframe utilization for all applications on each LPAR—measured in MSUs. Therefore IT can most effectively reduce its sizable IBM z Systems software costs by both 1) tuning each application to minimize its individual consumption of mainframe resources and 2) orchestrating application workloads to minimize the LPAR utilization peaks they generate collectively at any given time.
"The partnership between BMC and Compuware launches an integrated opportunity for mainframe customers to manage workload inefficiencies in a manner that has not been achievable to-date," said Frank DeSalvo, former research director at Gartner. "This innovation helps organizations leverage their IT budgets by enabling them to continuously optimize their mainframe workloads, resulting in cost effective decisions for both current and future spending."
BMC and Compuware are uniquely enabling customers to achieve these outcomes by integrating three complementary solutions:
- BMC Cost Analyzer for zEnterprise is a financially intelligent workload management solution that enables customers to identify MLC cost drivers and take appropriate measures to reduce those costs—such as moving workloads to non-peak periods, running IBM subsystems on fewer LPARs, and capping LPAR utilization.
- BMC MainView provides real-time identification of application performance issues, enabling customers to quickly eliminate wasteful MSU consumption.
- Compuware Strobe delivers deep, granular and highly actionable insight into the behavior of application code in the IBM z Systems environment, allowing mainframe owners to quickly pinpoint inefficient sub-routines that can cause MSU consumption to be 20x or more greater than necessary.
One integration allows BMC Cost Analyzer to call Compuware Strobe for a detailed analysis of the specific application component for peak MLC periods, enabling customers to proactively tune applications that have the greatest impact on their monthly software licensing costs. A second integration with BMC MainView allows customers to either automatically or manually invoke Strobe performance analysis—empowering mainframe staffs to more quickly, efficiently and consistently perform cost-saving tuning tasks.
"BMC and Compuware have helped drive mainframe technology for decades, and today we are two of the most innovative companies delivering new solutions on the mainframe platform," said Bill Miller, president, ZSolutions and Select Technologies for BMC. "The integration of our key solutions helps mainframe customers achieve even greater cost efficiencies as they cope with the challenging combination of intensifying business demand and tight resource constraints."
"Customers are facing the loss of their most skilled and experienced mainframe staff at the same time as the opportunities and challenges of mainframe ownership are on the rise," said Compuware CEO Chris O'Malley. "BMC and Compuware are responding to this urgent market need by innovating and collaborating in a way that is unprecedented among mainframe ISVs—and that directly addresses the twin issues of improving the mainframe's performance economics and simplifying mainframe operations for a new generation of IT professionals."
The integrations are the first of several the two companies plan as part of a broader partnership that also includes use of each other's technology within their own organizations. BMC and Compuware's products and planned integrations will be demonstrated at SHARE in Seattle, Wash. March 2-4.
About BMC
BMC delivers software solutions that help IT transform digital enterprises for the ultimate competitive business advantage. We have worked with thousands of leading companies to create and deliver powerful IT management services. From mainframe to cloud to mobile, we pair high-speed digital innovation with robust IT industrialization—allowing our customers to provide amazing user experiences with optimized IT performance, cost, compliance, and productivity. We believe that technology is the heart of every business, and that IT drives business to the digital age. To learn more, visit bmc.com .
About Compuware Corporation
Compuware empowers the world's largest companies to excel in the digital economy by fully leveraging their high-value mainframe intellectual property. We do this by delivering highly innovative mainframe application development and performance optimization solutions that uniquely enable IT to drive business value. Learn more at www.compuware.com .
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Press Contact Kristina LeBlanc, The Medialink Group (508) 930-5636 Tami Casey, Senior PR Manager, BMC Software (408) 571-7131 Mary McCarthy, Public Relations Manager, Compuware (313) 227-8188 For Sales and Marketing Information BMC Software, Inc. 2101 CityWest Boulevard Houston, TX 77042 855-834-7487 http://www.bmc.com/mainframe Compuware Corporation One Campus Martius Detroit, MI 48226 800-521-9353 http://www.compuware.com
