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IBM Sends Technology To University Of Arizona MIS Department

The Eller College management information systems (MIS) department at the University of Arizona has received a Shared University Research (SUR) technology grant from IBM. The grant will support the development of on-demand stored data. Eller MIS researchers, with the help of IBM, plan to find ways to automate the allocation of data storage across the UA campus.

The goal of the project is to research workflow management applications that take input requests for data storage from a population, such as a pool of graduate class projects or funded research projects, and addresses issues in managing the storage requests in an on-demand, economical and timely manner. Today, the greatest costs associated with storage networking are the time and staff required to effectively manage information. Rather than relying on limited capable staff to manage storage distribution, companies and institutions are looking to automate these complex processes.

"This collaborative research project with IBM places Eller at the forefront of storage research, going beyond the development of wireless workflow applications to investigate questions related to dynamic data management in a wireless workflow environment," said Sudha Ram, an Eller College MIS professor and the project's principle investigator. "Our work has significant implications for innovative organizations that are distributing data and business processes where they can be most effectively managed and used."

Universities are challenged by complex storage issues and will increasingly demand flexible modes of distributed computational and storage resources," said Mohan Tanniru, Eller College MIS department head. "With the new IBM technology and our expertise and leadership in workflow and data management, we will continue our history of information technology innovation."

Interim Eller College Dean Ken Smith said, "Our close ties with IBM build upon a two-decade-long relationship that has led to the research and development of innovative applications of information technology in business and education. IBM is at the forefront of leading-edge data and storage systems that can support on-demand global information access and wireless computing. Eller College's MIS program leads university research in the areas of collaborative group decision making, intelligence-based database development and wireless workflow management. Working together, we will continue to innovate using information technology to improve data access and productivity."

The IBM grant provides the Eller College of Management with four IBM eServer systems for storage systems research, six IBM ThinkPad wireless-enabled notebook computers, two IBM IntelliStation workstations for systems development and a high-performance IBM xSeries 445 server which has the capacity to run 30 virtual servers. The new technology will be combined with previously received IBM eServer and TotalStorage systems, including a 1TB storage area network and robotic tape library, as conduits to research. The equipment will be managed by the Eller College's Hoffman E-Commerce Lab, which utilizes the newest information system technologies to facilitate research and education within the Eller College and outreach to the greater community.

"Our storage research aims to reduce the time it takes provisioning of data from days to only a few minutes," said Charles Lickel, IBM senior state executive for Arizona. "This research with the MIS department at the Eller College of Management will help us incorporate new knowledge into our product development as we continue to add value to our clients and transform their IT and on-demand business processes."

IBM's highly-selective Shared University Research (SUR) program awards computing equipment (servers, storage systems, personal computing products, etc.) to colleges, universities and institutions of higher education around the world to facilitate research projects in areas of mutual interest including: life sciences, Grid computing, autonomic computing and deep computing. The SUR awards also support the advancement of university projects by connecting top researchers in academia with IBM researchers, along with representatives from product development and solution provider communities. IBM awards approximately fifty SUR grants per year worldwide.