What's new with Planit CPM?

Check back here regularly to see our latest news stories. We will keep this page up to date with stories about products or services we launch as well as any other intersting Corporate Performance Management news.

IBM Information Management News

IBM Acquires Datacap

11 Aug 2010 - IBM has announced the acquisition of Datacap Inc., a privately-held company based in Tarrytown, NY. Datacap is a leading provider of software that enables organizations to transform the way they capture, manage and automate the flow of business information to improve business processes, reduce paper costs or manual errors and meet compliance mandates.

Announcing IBM IMS Recovery Expert for z/OS, V2.1.0

10 Aug 2010 - IMS Recovery Expert for z/OS is a storage-aware backup and recovery solution, integrating storage processor fast-replication facilities with backup and recovery operations.

Announcing IBM DB2 Sort for z/OS, V1.1

10 Aug 2010 - DB2 Sort for z/OS provides high-speed utility sort processing for data that is stored in DB2 for z/OS databases. This tool improves sort performance by communicating with the IBM DB2 Utilities, and then adjusting system resources to ensure optimal performance.

Meeting the Demands of the Smarter Consumer

04 Aug 2010 - Consumers are fast becoming more connected, empowered and demanding. Thanks to the Internet and new social media technologies, consumers now have instantaneous access to a wealth of information about retailers and their products. Smarter systems like business analytics better position retailers to capitalize on consumer information to create and sell products in ways that resonate with individual shoppers.

IBM Teams With Hildebrand to Bring Smart Metering to Homes Across Britain

28 Jul 2010 - Powered by IBM Informix database software using the Time Series capability, information and analytics help consumers make better decisions about energy usage while reducing costs.

IBM Informix Choice Edition V11.50 helps deploy low-cost scalable and reliable solutions for Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows

28 Jul 2010 - IBM® Informix® Choice Edition V11.50 is a low cost, feature rich edition for Apple Macintosh OS X and Microsoft® Windows® developers, solution providers, and independent software vendors (ISVs). Informix Choice Edition brings near enterprise class database server capabilities to the mid-market enabling you to develop solutions easily and quickly.

Famous Smoke Shop increases online presence and enhances security with IBM Informix

28 Jul 2010 - An IBM Informix user since 1994, Famous Smoke Shop upgraded to Informix 11.5 to gain the scalability and security necessary to support its 10 percent year-over-year growth in online sales since 2000 and to help staff protect customers' credit card information.

Trafficmaster: Building the engine to drive smarter traffic

28 Jul 2010 - Working with IBM and IBM business partner Integres, Trafficmaster built a solution to translate data into meaningful information, ultimately helping drivers to find the most efficient routes and avoid traffic congestion. It also provides other journey related services helping businesses manage their fleets.

The Next DB2 for z/OS: First glimpse into the future

26 Jul 2010 - Read an independent consultant's preview of the next release of DB2 for z/OS.

DB2 X leads the industry to minimize complexity and maximize productivity

26 Jul 2010 - In today’s business and economic environment, the challenge for IT is clear: improve responsiveness, reduce costs and boost productivity. Building on the formidable capabilities of DB2 9 and the System z platform, the next release of DB2 meets these challenges head on.

IBM DB2 10 for z/OS: Justifying the upgrade

26 Jul 2010 - DB2 10 promises significant CPU reductions for most OLTP, query and batch workloads, with initial testing showing savings of 5-10% out of the box with no application changes, when compared to Version 9. Those figures could be doubled once applications are changed to exploit the new function.

Top-10 Features of DB2 10 for z/OS: A Preview

26 Jul 2010 - On March 12, 2010, IBM announced a closed beta for DB2 10 for z/OS and a few select customers are now putting it through its paces. This article offers a DB2 10 for z/OS “Top-10 list,” previewing new functions of a system that offers improved performance with fewer CPUs.

DB2 10 Top 10 for 2010 countdown: #2 and #1

26 Jul 2010 - Read Willie Favero's preview and expectations of the next release of DB2 for z/OS.

IBM Introduces New Software to Accelerate Workload Movement to System z; Reduces IT Costs

26 Jul 2010 - IBM has announced 10 new software products to help companies lower application management costs by optimizing the System z mainframe for more workloads, such as data analytics, collaborative application development, application maintenance and other key business processes.

Industry Experts Detail Current Technology Trends and What They See Farther Down the Road

08 Jul 2010 - But once the overhyped gadgetry and consumer electronics are stripped away, what core technologies are changing - or will change - the way government business gets done? Government Technology decided to find out by asking the people who build the technologies of today and tomorrow.

Textbook IT - Technologies Key to Educational Facilities

28 Jun 2010 - School districts and universities are giving top grades to data warehousing and BI tools, virtualization, green IT and cloud computing.

Analytics Software Can Help Cities Effectively Deliver Services

17 Jun 2010 - Analytics technology can help city officials make critical decisions and streamline processes.

Mining for Gold in the Data

08 Jun 2010 - Whether you're digging through layers of rock in search of gold and diamonds or scouring through data warehouses full of customer information in pursuit of new information to give your company a competitive edge, you will need the right mining tools for the job.

IBM Business Analytics Helps Nottingham Building Society Improve Customer Service and Efficiencies

21 May 2010 - One of the largest regional building societies providing financial services in the UK has improved customer service and efficiencies through reduced paper waste with the help of IBM business analytics.

IBM Heralds the Decade of Smart

19 May 2010 - We are at the start of the “Decade of Smart”, where being more intelligent in using data to drive better decisions is key to business success

The Changing Face of Healthcare

04 May 2010 - Byliner by Susan Noack outlining how business analytics can improve Healthcare performance and drive efficiencies.

Product Review: IBM Business Analytics (Marine Max)

26 Apr 2010 - Marine Max CIO Jeremy Wilson offers a detailed product review of IBM Cognos business analytics software.

Globe and Mail: Data Dive Reveals An Ocean of Trends

23 Apr 2010 - Business intelligence and analytics software helps companies spot, dig out and digest information to pad bottom line

IBM's Bet On Business Analytics

21 Apr 2010 - Feature story on value business analytics provides IBM clients, particularly in the midmarket

Innovation: A Healthy Tech Future

21 Apr 2010 - Feature story spotlighting forward-looking healthcare organizations who are using latest technologies to drive innovation in the health care field, including IBM client Martin's Point Health Care, who uses IBM business analytics to produce clinical profiles of patients and alert physicians about potential gaps in care to prevent complications and reduce patient risks.

University of Ottawa and IBM Create New Analytics Research Center

15 Apr 2010 - Research and curriculum to prepare students with 'in-demand' skills to support 21st Century jobs

If You Build It....

01 Apr 2010 - Smaller companies have shied away from data-warehouse projects, but when done right such projects can stay on course and provide genuine value. Impax Labs provides one such example.

Agio Cigars Seeks Data Insights with Better Analytics

01 Apr 2010 - Snapshot profile of Royal Agio Cigars, who uses IBM business analytics - specifically IBM Cognos BI and IBM Cognos Planning -- to strengthen its relationship with its global retailers.

The MidMarket Touch

31 Mar 2010 - Profiles ten products that deliver the right technology and come with a high level of vendor commitment for the midmarket. IBM Cognos Express featured as the top Productivity Application.

Ideas for Collaboration & Information Sharing

31 Mar 2010 - You're hearing more about collaboration and information sharing everywhere you turn. The technology is in place to make collaboration easier...but the "people" element is the part agencies are struggling with. Rob Dolan is public sector global solution executive at IBM, and we talked about both the technological and human elements of collaboration and information sharing.

Army Division Uses IT to Gain Comprehensive View of Finances

23 Feb 2010 - Feature article describing U.S. Army ARDEC's use of IBM business analytics to deliver a single view of business data across multiple data sources, helping them gain comprehensive performance visibility, improve decision-making and assure that development projects stay on track, on budget and meet core objectives.

Extreme databases: The biggest and fastest

04 Feb 2010 - Extreme speed requires back-end databases that are highly responsive, which typically involves a tiered system of databases. In many cases, the back-end database is actually a mainframe database such as IMS, IBM's mainframe- based hierarchical DBMS.

What's the most important part of a telecommunications business? Data.

04 Feb 2010 - Data is the lifeblood of telecommunications companies. Unless they keep the data flowing, they won't have a business. But to grow, or even sustain, that business companies must do more with that data than ever before. Telcordia provides software and services, based on the IBM IMS database management system, that help telcos manage the network by tracking physical and logical resources to maximize resource utilization.

IBM Helps MarineMax Drive Smarter Retail Operations

11 Jan 2010 - MarineMax, the largest recreational boat retailer in the United States, is using IBM business analytics to streamline operational planning, improve decision-making, and enforce more consistent, collaborative information access across the company.

A Data Explosion Remakes Retailing

03 Jan 2010 - Retailing is emerging as a real-world incubator for testing how computer firepower and smart software can be applied to social science — in this case, how variables like household economics and human behavior affect shopping. IBM clients 1-800-Flowers and Elie Tahari spotlighted.

Impax Labs Enjoys The Fruits of its IBM Cognos Investment

30 Dec 2009 - Feature story that touches on how the specialty pharmaceutical company is using IBM business analytics to to gain stronger insights into their business and better predict risks and market opportunities.

IDS Workgroup Edition V11.50 offers enhanced security features and more pricing options for the midmarket

01 Dec 2009 - The Advanced Access Control Feature (ACCF) option is now included with the IBM Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) Enterprise and Workgroup Editions V11.50 at no additional charge. The ACCF gives customers finer granularity of access controls to help protect sensitive and private data. Customers can create label-based access controls on sensitive and private data, facilitating management of data accesses.

Nottingham Trent University Brings Greater Efficiency With IBM Business Analytics

20 Nov 2009 - Nottingham Trent University has selected IBM business analytics technology to help streamline information on finance, human resources, estate and student records.

IBM Analytics to Provide Real-Time Analysis and Delivery of Tax Information for Jackson Hewitt Tax Service

20 Nov 2009 - Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc., a leader in the tax preparation industry with franchised and company-owned locations across the country, is using IBM business analytics software to provide its nationwide locations with software systems that provide greater efficiencies in accessing tax information and relevant business data.

Impax Laboratories Drives Stronger Performance with IBM Business Analytics

20 Nov 2009 - Specialty pharmaceutical company saves thousands of hours per month tapping information that helps transform decision-making, improve sales, and minimize risks

IBM Brings Business Analytics and Cloud Services to Smarter Archiving

13 Nov 2009 - IBM has announced new offerings to provide organizations with analytics capabilities to make better use of their archived information and improve business processes. The new offerings support IBM's unified archiving strategy, called IBM Smart Archive, and are designed to help clients use content analytics and data discovery to determine which information is necessary to retain and archive.

Survey: Mainframe Hardware, Software Spending to Grow in Next 5 Years

13 Nov 2009 - According to a recent survey by market research firm IDC, nearly one-half of respondents indicated they plan to increase annual spending on mainframe hardware and software. IDC's study involves the views of 300 end users on the role of the mainframe in the multi-platform data center, and provides particular insights into the current state of the IBM System z mainframe platform.

Businesses find new uses for mainframes

13 Nov 2009 - Businesses are finding more ways to use their IBM System z mainframe platforms, a study from IDC has found. Far from being killed off, the mainframe is still considered a significant platform for running applications, according to the analyst firm.

Can mainframe use really grow?

13 Nov 2009 - According to a recent IDC survey of IBM customers, IBM’s strategy of building specialty processors for the mainframe, such as the Integrated Facility for Linux (IFL) System z Integrated Information Processor (zIIP) for ERP and CRM transactions and z Application Assist Processor (zAAP) processors for Java and XML transactions are key to ongoing success of the platform.

IDC Survey Finds System z Shops Plan to Increase Investments in Hardware, Software Over Five Years

13 Nov 2009 - IDC's recent study reveals that ITs growing adoption of a blended/hybrid approach to computing with IBM System z. "Customers are finding that new workloads, including Linux-based and Java-based workloads, can leverage the mainframe's built-in security and high levels of availability, by running them on mainframe specialty processors, such as the IFL, zIIP and zAAP processors," said Jean S. Bozman, research vice president with IDC's Enterprise Platforms Group.

System managers in thumbs-up for mainframes

13 Nov 2009 - According to IDC, a new breed of user has emerged, one ready to adopt a hybrid approach to using the IBM mainframe. One of the main proponents of the idea of using IBM's speciality processors to reduce costs is Neon Enterprise Software whose zPrime product saves millions of dollars in processing costs. "One of customers estimates that its yearly savings are in the region of $20 million" said Neon CEO Lacy Edwards.

Mainframe cloud computing? The venerable 360 architecture is more cloud-ready than x86

13 Nov 2009 - Okay, I'm sold on the cloud vision but there are far more technical hurdles to jump over than the tech industry is willing to admit. That said, the IBM System z (the great-great grand child of the 360 if I'm correct) may be far more technically suitable for cloud computing in the near-term.

Mainframes a Rock in a Cyber World Starved for Stability

13 Nov 2009 - When searching for the reasons why the mainframe has not only survived, but thrived in a technological environment that seems eager to dismiss the paradigm, the words “built-in security” have an especially meaningful ring for the insurance and financial services industries.

IMS: An Exciting Future Still Ahead

13 Nov 2009 - IMS has an exciting future because it can support all the latest IT ideas to generate business benefits for users. As one user group member put it: “Tell the kids to get IMS and mainframe training in college and get out here and take over!” Let’s hope they do.

Bank of America touts mainframe work as a safe career

13 Nov 2009 - The mainframe remains a core system for high volume, high transaction processes, particularly those used in large financial services companies like Bank of America Corp.