Technology

Novell looks out for more channel partners

Sri Lankan market is at a turning point and Novell is seriously exploring possibilities of investing in Sri Lanka, said Country Manager, Novell, India and Sri Lanka Sandeep Menon.

Sandeep Menon

We are looking at the Sri Lankan market very positively and have already signed up with three to four channel partners while we will sign up with some others in the coming months as the discussions are very positive.

Traditionally in Sri Lanka Novells channel partner was Metropolitan Computers but as the market grows we wanted to appoint some more channel partners to give an excellent service to the customers.

Menon said that Novell's strategy is to identify the channel partners sign the agreements and invest on their training. At present some of the Sri Lankan channel partners are undergoing training in Singapore where they get an overall background. He said Novell as an organization was well known for platform called netware which was used by hotels and banks but after some time it plateaued.

Though Novell acquired Suzi Linux we are not only a Linux company, but have formed four core business lines concentrating on Linux, collaborations, identity and security business as well as management software. Identity and security business is a niche business while management software is to manage complex systems.

Menon said that Novell has an interoperability agreement with Microsoft.

Globally and at country level the entire management structure has changed while the business is growing in leaps and bounds.

He said that Novell has returned to a partner-centric business model. Based on partner feedback, the company enhanced its channel program to increase partner profitability and simplify doing business with Novell.

The company also increased investments in sales, marketing and enablement support for partners. The new channel leadership roles and partner program improvements align with Novell's growth objectives in data center, end-user computing and identity and security solutions. Novell is a $ one bln software corporation based in the USA.

Novell, Inc. delivers the best engineered, most interoperable Linux platform and a portfolio of integrated IT management software that helps customers around the world reduce cost, complexity and risk.

With our infrastructure software and ecosystem of partnerships, Novell harmoniously integrates mixed IT environments, allowing people and technology to work as one.

Dell launches enterprise computing portfolio

Dell announced a portfolio of products and services specifically designed to help businesses become more efficient throughout the IT lifecycle and maximize their most valuable resources: people, time and money.

The combination of innovative software and services with next-generation storage and server products, offers customers technology solutions specifically designed to cut costs and increase efficiency.

"Data center operations require a holistic view to reduce overall operational costs, whether that is people, time or money over a technology lifecycle," said Michelle Bailey, VP of Enterprise Platforms and Data Center Trends at IDC.

"Dell is focused on how it integrates and aligns the enterprise technologies across its product portfolio to help companies simplify and manage their organizations' IT infrastructure."

The 11th Generation PowerEdge servers and Precision workstations based on the next generation of Intel's Xeon processors give customers phenomenal performance, exceptional management capabilities and thermals that help customers make the most of their IT infrastructure.

The new PowerEdge portfolio will offer optimal virtualisation, system management, and usability capabilities while Dell's PowerEdge R710 provides the industry's best performance per watt1. Embedded in all new 11th Generation PowerEdge servers is the new Dell Lifecycle Controller that delivers integrated manageability through a single access point.

Dell M-series blade architecture has 27 percent lower acquisition cost and delivers 17 percent lower TCO over 5 years per rack compared to HP c-Class2.

Dell ImageDirect Server simplifies transitions and image management for servers. Companies can now create and manage server images and have them factory-installed, eliminating time-consuming manual configuration, reducing deployment and IT staff time by up to 45 percent.

Dell ImageDirect allows the rapid stabilization of new servers with ready to deploy optimized configurations and a reduction of unwanted drift from desired configuration states at the time of deployment.

The new Dell Precision T7500, T5500 and T3500 tower workstations provide one of the market's broadest set of ISV certifications and are purpose-built for engineering, media, entertainment and biosciences industries. Select configurations of the new workstations have achieved Energy Star 5.0 certification.

Dell challenges HP's proprietary management framework with the introduction of Dell Management Console (DMC), a software solution powered by Altiris from Symantec, designed to unite systems management across IT environments into a single console. Dell's standards-based, open approach to manageability includes tight integration with world-class systems management solutions.

A comparable solution from HP requires up to 9 consoles3. DMC can reduce or eliminate manual systems management processes, allowing businesses to save time and money that can be redirected to more strategic technology use.

Dell also announced its new EqualLogic PS6000 storage arrays in May 2009 that offer customers increased performance, advanced virtualisation capabilities and even greater value than previous generations.

To help enterprises preserve and extend their existing investments.

IFS drives manufacturers for project economy

Sri Lanka is on the threshold of a Project Economy, experts at IFS a global leader in business applications said, and local manufacturers must prepare themselves with the right tools to gear up for the emerging changes.

Across the world, there is a new phenomenon taking over as more and more businesses focus on operations that revolve around projects, which assemble experts, standards, tools and technology into a temporary arrangement to achieve set objectives and then disband. Moving from the Information Age of the 1990s, the revolution called the Project Economy has increased business complexity, shortened product lifecycles and has resulted in a greater dependence on information. Sri Lanka is not immune to this global change, and as IFS Sri Lanka Head of Applications-Manufacturing, Thusitha Withanage pointed out. It is now more important than ever for local manufacturers to implement the right systems to deal with the realities of a Project Economy, said Thusitha Withanage Head of Operations -Manufacturing IFS Research & Development Pvt Ltd.

IFS represents over 20 large manufacturing and supply chain customers in the South Asian region alone, and Withanage explained that these concerns which deal primarily with the markets in the West are not immune to the changes taking place there. "With the larger markets of USA and many parts of Europe firmly within the Project Economy, manufacturers in this part of the world are also rethinking the way they do things to fall in line with the industry trends."

Integration is key

The reality is that many manufacturers have to deal with increasing complexity and changing business operations where it has become vital to integrate with the suppliers' systems and the customers' systems to smoothly carry-out their activities. "We now see a scenario where outsourcing has become the order of the day for many manufacturers," he informed. "In the past, a company would research and develop their product, manufacture it, sell it and even provide the after sales service for the customer. Now, the situation has changed with some manufacturers simply providing their brand name to a product manufactured elsewhere. The dynamics have altered, and for businesses to keep up, information and it's flow is vital." He said that applications based on Service Oriented Component Architecture (SOCA). is now key to keep track of all the developments within the business and to obtain the information required swiftly and flexibly. "As way back as 1995, IFS recognized the need of a forward thinking, flexible business application that can deal with the various components of a business," he said, "And our Service Oriented Component Architecture based applications ensured that a business can have multiple integration points within the suppliers and the customers."

For example, he said with Service Oriented Component Architecture (SOCA) based applications a manufacturer can find out the moment his supplier dispatches the goods he ordered, or the minute a customer places a new order and its specifications. "With an integrated business solution, handling a complex environment becomes much easier."

Dealing with the Project Economy

There is a risk in allowing external access into the business' system, he admitted, but with the proper ERP, the system can create points of integration for only the information that needs to be shared. "It's similar to having several interfaces to access the same information, but at the end of the day, functioning in a Project Economy environment becomes simpler."

An important sign of a Project Economy is the shortening life span of a product which creates enormous pressure on manufacturers to innovate and change. However, Withanage added that the same features ensured that manufacturers in a Project Economy were better equipped to handle the recent global economic crisis.

"They were already focusing on lowering costs through outsourcing and contracting employees, technology and new tools were already a part of their business operations, so it was easier to find solutions within a Project Economy unlike any other methodology," he concluded.

Inovatec unveils comprehensive IT infrastructure portfolio

Inovatec, a provider of all encompassing IT infrastructure solutions in Sri Lanka since 1996 unveiled its capability to deliver end-to-end IT infrastructure that would empower organisations to drive their business forward. Inovatec is the only provider in Sri Lanka with the capability to deliver complete IT infrastructure solutions ranging from connectivity, information security, physical security, surveillance, infrastructure accessories and much more.

CEO of Inovatec, G. Sharma said, organisations in Sri Lanka who make investments in IT to facilitate growth now have the privilege of being able to find all their IT infrastructure requirements under one roof. The portfolio combines state-of-the-art technology with smart engineering and implementation, to meet the needs of various industries.

It provides organisations with both wired and wireless connectivity solutions which connect organisational networks across geographical divides and its state-of-the-art Optical Fibre Cabling solutions provide high speed connectivity to organisations powering superior data and voice communication and information transfer.

The security solutions provided by Inovatec range from data and information security to physical security and IP surveillance. These solutions enable organisations to secure their investments and information from all threats posed internally and externally.

Server Room Enclosures and Access Flooring have been unique and specialised services that Inovatec have brought into the Sri Lankan market.

These solutions have been a unique offering of Inovatec to further strengthen the security and stability provided for the organisations IT investments.

Sharma also said, "We are extremely pleased to be the leader in provision of IT infrastructure solutions and the only provider presently delivering the entire range of IT infrastructure needs of organisations in Sri Lanka."