In This Corner: The Challengers

Google, Inc. announced new tools for finding and sharing files stored on the Google Docs service. Meanwhile, IBM Corp. released a cloud edition of its Symphony suite as well as the IBM Social Business Toolkit. Finally, Silicon Graphics International (SGI) announced that it has certified Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system on its line of Altix UV systems.

Focal Points:

• Google has introduced new filters for sorting files as well as a "priority sorting" feature  to create folders or files automatically that Google's algorithms believe are most important. Additionally, Google Docs will offer a default file category known as "Home," where users can decide which files are most important to them. Users can also hide this category if they prefer, Google added. By eliminating file folders, Google now offers file "collections," which means a file can live in multiple collections, just like with Gmail labels. Collections can also be stored hierarchically and can be shared, said Google. Moreover, users can use the Shift or Control key to select multiple files. Google Docs will also now offer a preview panel on the right hand side of the document list. Users will be able to browse thumbnails before opening files in full, play videos not just preview them, and view still pictures as slideshows, according to Google. Google expects the Google Docs updates to be available soon, but did not provide a specific release date.
• IBM announced LotusLive Symphony, a cloud edition of the Symphony suite, in an effort to take business away from Microsoft's Office and e-mail business. LotusLive Symphony has been rebuilt on OpenOffice and works with Microsoft's Visual Basic Macros, so users can import and open existing Office documents, said IBM. It also uses the Open Document Format (ODF), so it can work with various data and document stores, IBM added. LotusLive Symphony is currently free, and is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2011. The hosted version of the suite will start at $3.00 per user per month, with storage kicking in at 5MB, according to IBM. Meanwhile, IBM also introduced the IBM Social Business Toolkit. This set of application programming interfaces (APIs) and tutorials is intended to help customers and partners integrate "social elements" into "legacy mail and file sharing systems such as Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint," said IBM.
• SGI has certified Windows Server 2008 R2, as well as HPC Server extensions to the operating system, Hyper-V hypervisor, and SQL Server, on the Altix UV 1000 shared-memory, multi-blade server and Altix UV 100 midrange server. The high-end Altix UV 1000 systems are based on Intel Corp.'s Xeon 7500 processors, and use a modified version of Intel's Boxboro 7500 chipset, which links into SGI's proprietary NUMAlink 5 interconnect. According to SGI, with this interconnect customers can build a 256-socket, shared-memory system that has 2,048 cores. The Altix UV 100 is a blade server that slides two blades horizontally into a 3U chassis. It also uses the NUMAlink 5 interconnect, and can have up to 48 two-socket blades in a single system image, for a maximum of between 384 to 768 cores, said SGI. Previously, customers had to use Linux to span these sockets and cores, SGI added.

Experton Group believes vendors, large and small, see disruptive technologies as an opportunity to go after markets that previously were deemed impenetrable. Google and IBM view Microsoft vulnerable in its traditional Office and e-mail stronghold. Microsoft has been slow to adapt its cash cow to the Internet and new mobility devices, thereby exposing the platforms to competition. Meanwhile, SGI is targeting Hewlett-Packard Co.'s high-end Integrity servers, which are built on Intel Itanium processors. Microsoft and Red Hat Inc. are no longer supporting these servers with their latest releases, which is now exposing these servers to a more rapid decline in market share. The new SGI (which resulted from the acquisition of SGI by Rackable Systems) should be able to make inroads into the market, especially at firms that want to migrate from higher cost Itanium servers to lower cost Xeon boxes. Experton Group expects HP to incur a slow death spiral for its Itanium servers. IT executives should consider alternatives that help drive down the cost of IT operations as long as the risks are reasonable, the user conversion impacts are negligible, and the total acquisition and ownership costs meet corporate requirements.