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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY / OCTOBER 13, 2003: VOL. 2 NO. 41
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Systems/Enterprise:
COHERENT INFORMATION ENVIRONMENTS
ALLEVIATE IT COMPLEXITY
According to IDC, CyberSmart Computing is becoming a reality. The now
well-established usage paradigm, which makes computer functionality and
information transparently available anywhere on any device from any system, is
being combined with other emerging characteristics of complex computer
configurations, resulting in what IDC calls a coherent information environment
(CIE).
"IT organizations are becoming so overwhelmed by the complexity of their
environments, that many are reluctant to incorporate significant new
components or even extend or upgrade their existing IT configurations," said
Carl Olofson, research director for IDC's Information Management and Data
Integration service. "The coherent information environment will enable IT to
address business issues and objectives in a flexible and straightforward
manner without complex procedures and the need for arcane technical
expertise."
With the advent of the CyberSmart Computing paradigm, it has become
possible
for information systems to interoperate as never before. All of this is being
done in response to user complaints that their systems, with their mixture of
hardware environments, are too complex, too arcane and too brittle to manage
effectively.
A coalescence of work is now underway to develop capabilities in systems,
storage and software that will enable application deployment and information
access and make physical system, geography, operating system and data format
details irrelevant for both IT professionals and users. Architectural elements
being used to build such an environment include virtual processing software
and Grid computing.
Olofson added, "Such an environment will be nimble enough to meet the needs
of
the agile enterprise and will bring all of an organization's information
assets to bear in executing its mission. The coherent information environment
will also require a concentration of IT resource integration and management on
a virtual platform, the provider of which must provide the full range of
manageable, secure, integrated functionality, driven by Web services and
flexibly enabled by Grid computing."
IDC's recently report, The Coherent Information Environment: Overview and
Software Architectural Elements for the CyberSmart Computing Platform (IDC
#29918), examines the coherent information environment phenomenon, providing
in-depth analysis of current market pressures, industry dynamics, and key
trends that are shaping the response to the complexity crisis. Essential
guidance for hardware, software and services vendors is also provided.
To purchase this document, call IDC's sales hotline at (508)988-7988 or
e-mail
sales@idc.com.
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