Congratulations to Frank on the selection of his 2015 Insight Conference presentation!  Frank’s presentation (session #3584 for those of you already  working on your schedules) is titled, “DB2 ^ (Netezza | BLU) = Hybrid Transaction and Analytics Processing (HTAP)”.

As soon as the Insight schedule is released I will update this post with the session date and time.  Stay tuned!

In his session Frank will describe and compare the four distinct data retrieval technologies available from IBM, including two Hybrid Transaction and Analytics Processing (HTAP) platforms. Choices are good to have, but how do you choose which technology to apply to a particular business use case? Learn how these techniques differ, including their relative strengths and weaknesses.

– The traditional RDBMS, relying primarily on indexes to speed access

– The new BLU Acceleration columnar compression and memory-optimized database

– IBM PureData System for Analytics (Netezza), which deploys racks of Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) processors to parse data

– IBM InfoSphere BigInsights, the IBM distribution of Hadoop

Bio
DB2 Gold Consultant and IBM Champion Frank C. Fillmore, Jr. is the Founder and President of The Fillmore Group, Inc., a Premier IBM Business Partner that specializes in IBM Analytics software sales, consulting, and training. Frank has been providing IBM Information Management solutions to government, industry, and not-for-profit enterprises as varied as The World Bank, J.P. Morgan Chase, Northrop Grumman, and the FBI for over 28 years. Frank’s current practice centers on Hybrid Transaction and Analytic Processing (HTAP) and Oracle to DB2 migrations as well as information governance and integration. Frank kayaks and cheers for the Baltimore Orioles.

The Fillmore Group will deliver a free webinar Wednesday, June 26th, from 11am-noon EDT on the value of migrating from Oracle to DB2.  We have been assisting customers with Oracle to DB2 migrations for the past few years and believe that with the recent DB2 BLU enhancements and IULA announcement the time is right to break free!

Register Here.

What’s an IULA?  It’s the IBM Unlimited License Agreement, a new way to license DB2 use that provides a low cost entry point to purchase DB2, and allows customers to predict and control their ongoing maintenance and support costs.  

As long-time believers in the superiority of IBM’s database technology, we also want to spread the word about the technical enhancements announced for the new IBM BLU Acceleration.  With beta customers reporting 90%-95% compression and amazing performance improvements, the DB2 vs. Oracle performance comparison is a great story to tell.

Most importantly, however, is helping current and prospective IBM customers understand where IBM’s efforts to compete directly with Oracle will deliver the most benefit to their organizations.  Whether it’s cost, performance, or simplifying their in-house database environment, we want to help each one understand why and how IBM has the lead.

I hope you will join us!

Given that so many IBM customers make their initial software purchases in the fourth quarter of the calendar year (when the IBM pricing gets really aggressive), the number of DB2 customers whose annual software license subscription and support is due each December is higher than in any other month of the year.  For this reason we’ve decided to deliver another webinar on the DB2 Advanced Enterprise Server Edition (AESE) bundle in hopes of persuading renewing DB2 customers to consider the upgrade.  AESE has provided substantial value to every upgrading customer we’ve worked with, and enabled their IT organization to better monitor, utilize, and extend the use of their database. 

Frank Fillmore will deliver the webinar on Monday, November 19th from 11am – 12pm EST.  Register HERE.

The invitation, in case you didn’t receive one directly from me (!) –

If your organization’s DB2 license Subscription and Support is scheduled to renew in December, now is the time to learn about the DB2 Advanced Enterprise Server Edition (AESE) product bundle and how you can finesse the upgrade JUST BEFORE paying IBM the annual Subscription and Support fee to make it VERY affordable. Read More…

Frank delivered a terrific summary of the products in the Information Management portfolio at a lunch event at Baltimore’s Cinghiale restaurant earlier this month.  Unfortunately, we can’t offer everyone lunch (sorry!) but we will offer a repeat presentation via webinar on April 5th.  The invitation and registration information are below and the complete session abstract and Frank’s bio can be accessed by clicking ” Read More”.  Please share this event with anyone who may be interested in learning more about what IBM has to offer – it’s packed with great information.

Thursday, April 5, 2012, 3:00pm – 4:00pm EDT    Register here.  Read More…

I am excited to report that my IOD Birds of a Feather session on becoming an Information Champion was selected and will be held on Wednesday, October 28th, at 6pm at the IOD Conference.  Given that I am probably the least technical Information Champion I thought that if I could do it, so can anyone, and I thought it would be helpful to discuss the process with other future Champions.  If you are coming to IOD, I hope you will attend. 

IBM’s Amit Patel, who is serving as the communications focal point for the Information Champions, has offered to help, and I have asked another *technical* Information Champion to help as well.  When he accepts (I hope!) we will have an all-star cast ready (along with me) to assist our colleagues.  The session specifics are:

Becoming an Information Champion for Dummies  
Abstract:   IBM Information Champion program recognizes individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the Data Management community. Sounds kind of daunting, doesn’t it? Well, it shouldn’t if you have been working with IBM Information Management products and stay involved with the community. Read More…

It is with great pleasure that I congratulate my colleague, Kim May, on being named an IBM Data Champion.
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/champion/profiles/may.html

Kim started with The Fillmore Group a little over four years ago with a background in Java application development services and Microsoft desktop and applications training. From a standing start, she has become an expert on the IBM Information Management software portfolio. Moreover, she has been a tireless evangelist for IBM IM training: she developed and promoted *free* webcasts delivered via the International DB2 Users Group and launched the Baltimore/Washington DB2 Users Group Linux, Unix, Windows track.

Kim has also established The Fillmore Group as an IBM Authorized Training Partner for in-depth for-fee classroom education.
IBM Authorized Training

Take a moment to give Kim a well-deserved shout out at kim.may@thefillmoregroup.com

For more information on the IBM Data Champions Program, go to
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/champion