I was on a call this morning with an IBM technical team to discuss our progress filling the seats in one of our upcoming free IDAA classes.  Not surprising, given the number of people on the call (and who they were!) we went a bit off topic and ended up chatting about services and what appears to be – to IBM customers and sellers at least – a shortage of skilled consultants available to help with the “tions” – replication, implementations, migrations and federation.

The Fillmore Group has skilled consultants available to support these efforts, at rates that are typically about half of those being charged by “the competition”.

If your team has a project pending, or one in process, where a skilled consultant, at a reasonable hourly rate, can get things back on track, please contact me.  We are ready to work!  A list of our IBM Information Management capabilities is attached here.

Sorry!!!  This post has been temporarily disabled.  More news soon!

This past summer IBM rolled out the Global Skills Initiative, essentially outsourcing all education marketing and delivery to four selected Global Training Partners.  IBM will continue to develop course curriculum, but everything else is now in the hands of the four Global Training Partners, or GTP’s.

The Fillmore Group has aligned with Global Training Partner Arrow ECS, our software distributor, and I am pleased to finally be able to announce that we are back in the training business.

There are still challenges.  Two of the biggest are the process of finding our classes on the IBM training site and actually registering for a class.  While I work through this process so I can update our website with accurate information, I am going to post our schedule in as many places as possible (right here for starters), and invite anyone in search of an IBM class to contact me if you need help.  Public classes, private classes, in the classroom or remote – please don’t hesitate to email me.  I want to help!

We live in a TLA (Three Letter Acronym) happy world, and there’s one very special TLA that very few IBM customers – and even IBM’ers – are aware of – VAP.  We have a VAP that we are very proud of and today received notification from IBM that it was recently revalidated.  I thought I should write about it, because VAP really is the best way for customers to buy IBM solutions.  Even if the VAP you need isn’t one we offer, ask your IBM team or Business Partner if they offer a VAP for the solution you are considering.

VAP stands for Value Advantage Plus.  Not exactly clear, huh?  Well, basically what a VAP does is offers IBM Business Partners a discount on IBM software solutions when they bundle services and training.   This does two things:  1) it offers an incentive to Business Partners to include services and training in a solution proposal, and 2) it reduces the cost of software to the partner.

Most technical solutions require technical assistance to implement; anyone who has been given a redbook and told to figure it out knows how difficult a do-it-yourself implementation is, and we have all unfortunately become accustomed to the software license cost being the only cost discussed when purchasing IBM software.  The second benefit, reduced cost to the Business Partner should, if you are working with an honest and ethical partner (think The Fillmore Group!) result in a lower price for you, the customer.

The Fillmore Group’s VAP is for IBM replication solutions, including Q Replication and ICDC.  We are currently working on both Q Replication and ICDC implementation projects and have historically been the exclusive provider of public IBM education for these products.

If you are considering a replication solution purchase and implementation please let us know – we would be happy to help you take advantage of this little known (terrific!) way to make sure your solution project is a success.

IBM has bundled its replication technology into a single package: IBM InfoSphere Data Replication (IIDR).  IIDR combines three components:

• SQL Replication (heritage DataPropagator- Relational)
• Easy to set up
• Staging tables
• InfoSphere Replication Server (IRS – heritage Q Replication)
• High volume, low latency
• Native Oracle and DB2 sources and targets
• WebSphere MQ transport layer
• InfoSphere Change Data Capture (ICDC – heritage DataMirror)
• Broadest set of heterogeneous sources and targets
• TCP/IP transport layer

There are a few of important take-aways.

1. IBM substituted an implementation decision for a buying decision.  For quite a while SQL Replication was bundled free with DB2 for LUW.  ICDC and IRS were separately purchasable technologies with a lot of functional overlap.  In 2010 my colleague, Kim May, delivered an IBM Information on Demand (IOD) presentation distinguishing between the three.  Now you purchase the IIDR bundle and determine which technology is best suited for a particular use case.  As with most IBM software on distributed platforms, the cost is based on Processor Value Units (PVUs).
2. New feature/functionality will be built into IIDR rather than the former heritage ICDC and IRS packaging.
3. There will be a convergence of the technologies over time.  Many of the prospective changes are still IBM Confidential, but IBM is looking to consolidate components where it makes sense to do so.  There is a long-term roadmap that I hope IBM be sharing shortly.
4. Upgrading and migration paths are a work-in-progress.  If you currently own ICDC or IRS and want to move up to IIDR, contact The Fillmore Group for pricing and implementation assistance.

The Fillmore Group has been delivering IBM Authorized Training classes in our Towson, Maryland classroom for the past several years and believe we offer some of the best DB2 training around – in a comfortable facility at an affordable travel location.  Our first half of 2013 schedule has recently been posted on the IBM website and a complete list of classes is available here.

In addition to the public, open enrollment classes we host on IBM’s behalf, we deliver an extended group of IBM classes directly to organizations as private classes.  The complete list of private classes available is attached here. 

If you or anyone on your team is looking to upgrade your DB2 skills in 2013 please let me know how I can assist.   Email me directly and I will help!

Please join us for a webinar Thursday, February 23, 2012, at noon Eastern.  To register, click here. 

IBM is merging replication offerings with the announcement of the IBM InfoSphere Data Replication V10.1.2 package.  The new Data Replication package updates and consolidates InfoSphere Data Replication, InfoSphere Change Data Capture, InfoSphere Change Data Delivery, and InfoSphere Change Data Delivery for Information Server into a single offering, giving replication users considerable flexibility in making a choice of a data replication solution.   In this session Frank will explain what the consolidation means to customers evaluating a replication technology and make recommendations to ensure your organization makes the right choice to address your business needs. Read More…

Instructor-led classroom training is the most effective and reliable way to develop new data management skills.  The Fillmore Group delivers a select group of public IBM authorized training courses in our state of the art classroom in Towson, Maryland.  Invest in yourself and join us for a class in 2012. 

A list of classes scheduled for the first half of 2012 is attached.  Please feel free to contact me with questions on our training offerings.  In addition to these classes TFG delivers private onsite classes, classes via distance learning, and custom training to meet specific needs.

First Half 2012 IBM Information Management Training Word

IBM Information Champion Nadir Doctor successfully passed the IBM Netezza technical certification exam on his first try, without attending the bootcamp or any formal training, one handed.  OK, maybe not one handed.

Congratulations Nadir.  As one of the first IBM Business Partners to become a Netezza reseller, and one of the first to close a Netezza sale, The Fillmore Group is excited to have a team of consultants willing to independently prepare to support Netezza implementations.  Nadir is a fine example of our consulting team’s resources.  He has over ten years of DB2 database/data warehouse and tools experience including InfoSphere Federation Server and Optim Performance Manager and Query Tuner.  If your organization is in need of consulting assistance, please contact The Fillmore Group – we would be proud to introduce Nadir.

Get the back-to-school spirit and register for a fall class at The Fillmore Group.  The classes below are scheduled to run in our Towson, Maryland classroom, just north of Baltimore.  I can’t promise crunching leaves underfoot but I can assure you will enjoy state-of-the art classroom equipment and award winning instructors.  Click on the course code for details and registration on the IBM site.

Don’t see the course you are looking for?  The Fillmore Group also delivers private classes on a variety of Information Management topics. 

Read More…