IBM builds eLiza
 
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After six months of touting its eLiza Project, IBM this week debuted services and software underpinnings to help fulfill eLiza's promise of self-healing, self-managed systems aimed at large enterprise users.
Observers say IBM's eLiza Project-related services will be an attractive offering to users with IBM gear, as well as equipment from vendors cooperating with IBM. That's because it will give them a way to centralize and automate a lot of the management tasks they now spend time doing manually. For example, with the likes of Cisco and Nortel on board, users with gear from those companies and eLiza tools would have a single management interface from which to maintain and monitor those products.
The new services include IBM's e-business Management Services, which essentially gives users a software-based dashboard view of their critical business applications and hardware. IBM's new Active Middleware Information Technology software will provide the necessary components to monitor and maintain systems in an automated fashion. They will draw on pieces of Tivoli's management software, as well as other technologies like workload balancing for server and storage systems. The company also plans to bring some of the dynamic resource provisioning technology it offers on its high-end servers to its low-end eServer line. Dynamic provisioning lets users allocate server resources on demand so they can harness power for tasks on the fly.
IBM is also offering users an assessment program that is designed to give them a bird's eye view of the hardware and software that power critical systems, like CRM and e-commerce sites. The third and final component is consulting and management services through IBM Global Services for end-to-end network and systems monitoring and management. Those services can be tailored to the level a user desires, says IBM's Mike Nelson, director of Internet technology and strategy.
One potential problem for IBM and eLiza is that it doesn't have the support of some major software and hardware vendors - like HP, Sun, Compaq, Dell, or Microsoft. Jonathan Eunice, an analyst with Illuminata, says those vendors will have to meet IBM's challenge to come up with similar products, but won't be eager to support a company they consider a rival in the systems, software, or network management arenas. However, IBM has some powerful allies, including Cisco, Nortel, Computer Associates, BMC, and Candle.
BMC makes systems and applications management software and most recently started getting into network management. Candle produces performance and availability software for e-business networks and end users.
Reggie Moore, BMC's vice president of technology planning, says BMC's Advisor suite of software will complement IBM hardware developed with the eLiza project in mind. In that sense, he says the companies are jointly developing technology. For example, he says, BMC Pool Advisor for DB2 can tune DB2 pools proactively in an automated manner.
John Kogel, Candle's vice president of critical service management, says the company intends to work with IBM to improve the link between "IT services and business value." He says the company will work with IBM's eLiza project to help simplify and automate management across legacy and e-business network environments.
Two new Tivoli components integrated into the monitoring and management software portion of the e-business Management Services program include Risk Manager, which allows IT to identify and address potential security risk areas on the network. Tivoli Policy Director allows network managers to put a standard security policy in place for access to data and applications on a network.
Nelson says the prices for services will vary widely, as users can purchase components, but estimated that for a large enterprise pricing could be about $1 million per year. The assessment portion of the services typically take 15 to 20 weeks to complete.
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