Server Vendors' High-Availability Services: Magic Quadrant

Transcription

1 Markets, A. Mac Neela, B. Igou, E. Rocco Research Note 30 September 2002 Server Vendors' High-Availability Services: Magic Quadrant User demand for high availability of critical systems is driving the market for high-availability services. This Magic Quadrant will help users find a server vendor suited to their high-availability needs. Core Topic Sourcing: Sourcing - ESP Evaluation and Selection Key Issues What criteria should be used to evaluate specific market/service offerings? How are individual ESPs positioned in the competitive landscape? Sustaining high levels of system availability continues to be a key issue and concern for many organizations. A major reason for this is that increasingly complex system architectures make it extremely hard to manage systems to very high or continuous levels of availability. The harsh economic climate has compounded this problem by increasing the number of mergers, acquisitions and changes to business models; these make it even harder for IT managers to maintain high availability for critical systems. As a result, the services capability, experience and skill of system vendors in meeting availability objectives are an important part of any organization's IT strategy. To help organizations choose the right server vendor for their specific availability needs, Gartner created a Magic Quadrant that positions nine leading server vendors according to their highavailability services strategy, offerings and capabilities (see Figure 1). The vendors analyzed were Bull, Dell, Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Inc. (FTSI), Hewlett-Packard (HP) (after the merger with Compaq), IBM, NEC, Stratus, Sun Microsystems and Unisys. Gartner selected these vendors on the basis of their share of the worldwide server market and of the capabilities and strategies of their overall high-availability services business. Note that the Magic Quadrant takes into account each vendor's total strategy for high-availability services, regardless of technology platform (fault-tolerant servers, midrange servers, mainframes and so on). Gartner Entire contents 2002 Gartner, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 Definitions and Criteria Gartner defines high-availability services as services that provide the highest level of proactive and reactive support; they include consulting and integration services that maximize the available uptime and minimize the unplanned downtime of operating systems and hardware (see also Gartner's "High-Availability Services Forecast Released" [ITSV-WW-DA-0113] and "The Competitive State of High-Availability Support Services" [ITPS-WW-FR-0101]). We examined the server vendors from two perspectives: their "completeness of vision" and their "ability to execute." Completeness of vision: The server vendor's focus and investment in the future of high-availability services. This perspective evaluates how successful a company will be at meeting the future needs of its customers based on Gartner's scenario for where the high-availability services market is heading. Ability to execute: The server vendor's focus on delivering highavailability services. This perspective examines how well a company is doing based on current business and technological realities and on what is being delivered. From these two perspectives, 15 specific rating criteria were weighted and used to evaluate the vendors' high-availability services. Specific rating criteria for server vendors' completeness of vision: Long-term vision and strategic plan for high-availability services High-availability services for the full IT life cycle Use of holistic methodology for high-availability services Escalation process for high-availability support Reimbursement of customers for lost revenue Customer skills training and education offerings Process or mechanism for ensuring service quality Specific rating criteria for server vendors' ability to execute: Specialists in high-availability services Remote-site recovery capability Comprehensive global service and support 30 September

3 Relationship management Alliances and partnerships Uptime guarantee Guaranteed restoration time for hardware Guaranteed restoration time for software For each criterion, we scored vendors from one to 10, where one indicated "worst in class" (or "has no offering") and 10 indicated "best in class." These scores were based on vendor briefings, information collected from end-user contacts, general Gartner knowledge and other secondary means. The Magic Quadrant was not based directly on customer interviews, and the results should not be taken as indications of customers' satisfaction levels. Figure 1 Magic Quadrant Evaluating Selected Server Vendors for Their High-Availability Services Challengers Leaders IBM HP Ability to Execute NEC Stratus Sun FTSI Unisys Dell Bull Niche Players Visionaries As of Sep 02 Completeness of Vision Source: Gartner Research FTSI = Fujitsu Technology Solutions, Inc. 30 September

4 Each vendor was put into one of four quadrants that chart their current capabilities against their future promise: Leaders, Visionaries, Challengers and Niche Players. Leaders Vendors in this quadrant are doing well and have great prospects for the future. They have a long-term vision for high-availability services, coupled with service offerings, expertise and methodologies to fulfill that vision. Vendors in this quadrant include FTSI, HP, IBM, Sun and Unisys. IBM IBM's leadership position reflects strong results in many aspects of its vision and ability to execute. IBM has the world's largest services organization and the widest array of services dedicated to high availability, from business and IT consulting services through to directly delivered business-continuity services. IBM's history of providing high-availability services, and the maturity of the processes and technologies it uses to deliver them, make it a leader in this sphere of activity. IBM does not have a standard restoration time for failed hardware and software, but is willing and able to write customized service-level agreements (SLAs). Hewlett-Packard The high-availability strategy and offerings of HP's services organization have been bolstered by the strengths of Compaq's services organization. HP is arguably the strongest industry player dedicated to high-availability Unix service and support. Its strong leadership position reflects its global coverage; its broad base of high-availability offerings; its strong highavailability management; its business-continuity offerings; and its ability to offer a standard commitment to system restoration for all of its customers. HP was the first server vendor to promote the "five nines" vision of percent uptime; however, it believes that customized SLAs are the only way for vendors to ensure that the different needs of each high-availability services environment are met. 30 September

5 FTSI FTSI's position in the Leaders quadrant reflects more than 30 years' experience with, and focus on, high-availability systems and services. Part of this experience derives from the mainframe heritage of Amdahl, which was combined with FTSI in early FTSI has well-developed and standardized methodologies based on the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. It also has embedded quality practices, such as total quality management (TQM). FTSI's challenge will be to apply its capabilities to offer industry-leading uptime guarantees and restoration times for hardware and software. Unisys Like IBM, Unisys's service culture has been steeped in high availability from the outset. Its global coverage and process for support escalation are noteworthy. Unisys's internal processes for ensuring the quality of its highavailability services are a particular strength. Unisys monitors and improves service quality in several ways; these include a strong ES7000 Advisory Council, a client focus managerial role and a Total Quality Process. Unisys's service offerings and geographical reach are not quite as extensive as those of IBM and HP. However, Gartner expects Unisys to continue to invest in high-availability services and processes and to improve its position in the Leaders quadrant. Sun Microsystems Sun has invested heavily and done much to bolster its highavailability services and capabilities. Its SunUP program is a holistic approach to high availability, centered on people, processes and products. Sun takes service quality seriously in fact, compensation for all of its high-availability services personnel is adjusted on the basis of this metric. Sun also maintains many strong alliances and partnerships. These form the basis of its service delivery model, whereby partners deliver a wide range of services to its customers. Sun's geographic coverage, skill set and the maturity of its service processes are less strong than those of IBM. As a result, Gartner believes that Sun cannot be considered a "full service" provider at present. However, Sun is determined to be the best provider of high-availability support for its own products. 30 September

6 Challengers Vendors in this quadrant execute well at present, but either have a less-mature understanding of market trends and directions or are less good at articulating their vision. They may not have all the elements needed for future success, but they do have a solid track record of execution. Vendors in this quadrant include NEC and Stratus. NEC NEC is well-positioned, its 40 years in the mainframe business having given it long experience of high-availability systems. NEC has a strong ability to execute, owing to its strength in service methodologies, support escalation processes and quality management; also to its solid alliances with technology providers such as Intel and Microsoft. To enter the Leaders quadrant, NEC will need to focus the following: capabilities to guarantee software restoration; strong practices for account management; and capabilities for disaster recovery and business continuity. Stratus Although Stratus lacks the scale of the other vendors considered in this Research Note, it is fully committed to server availability. Stratus, having built on its fault-tolerant hardware solutions, has the services experience, dedication and capabilities to assure high availability. Fault-tolerant systems were once a small, niche market, but Stratus has steadily provided the basis for mainstream adoption of Windows 2000 as a fault-tolerant platform. For Stratus to continue to develop its leadership in this market, it will need to engage more in business-continuity services. It will also need the ability to reimburse customers for lost revenue when required. Niche Players Vendors in this quadrant are doing well in only a small segment of the high-availability services market, or are unable to innovate or outperform other vendors. Niche players tend to deliver tactical rather than strategic high-availability services. They also tend to serve a smaller segment of the high-availability services market, and may be confined to a specific geographical or technological area. 30 September

7 Vendors in this quadrant include Dell and Bull. Dell Dell is a relative newcomer to the high-availability computing space. Consequently, it is vital that Dell has a robust strategy for high-availability services. Dell has created its Premier Enterprise Services portfolio and its Platinum Support Services to begin to address the support needs of its higher-end servers. Dell has a focused, pragmatic approach of providing professional services and support services for its solutions and does a solid job of packaging and delivering these services. Dell is not a "full service" provider, and so is not "everything to everybody." However, it does need to catch up with those vendors in the Leaders quadrant that have greater geographic scope, a broader range of professional services and more highavailability experts. Dell's strategy for high-availability services is well-positioned. Moreover, it will continue to invest in this area. Based on Dell's planned level of investment and history of focusing on services, execution and presence in the Intel architecture server arena, Gartner expects Dell to improve its position in the Magic Quadrant during the next few years. Bull Bull is strongly focused on Bull AIX and Windows NT highavailability services. Although it is increasing the number of platforms it can support, it is still only in the early stages of developing a robust portfolio of standardized high-availability service solutions. Bull has a robust high-availability service methodology and a strong model for process escalation. However, Bull is weak in service-quality process mechanisms, alliances and partnerships, and in its capability for remote-site recovery. Bull is clearly focused on the Western European market; it has little coverage of Asia/Pacific, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America and North America. Visionaries None of the vendors considered in this Research Note is positioned in the Visionaries quadrant. 30 September

8 Bottom Line: Organizations that are designing, developing and maintaining a high-availability strategy for their IT systems will continue to find server vendors' services divisions an essential resource. They will also find them important for the success of related availability objectives, such as operational efficiency and quality control. Organizations can use this Magic Quadrant in two ways: to gain insight into the relative positioning of the server vendors' capabilities for high-availability services; and to help them choose which vendor is best-suited to their IT infrastructure and availability needs. Most server vendors can deliver, either directly or via partners, adequate high-availability services and support for the equipment they sell. In determining which vendor is the most suitable, organizations should consider the following factors: their specific requirements, practices and limitations; how well-matched their business culture is with that of the vendor; their vertical-market expertise; and their geographical coverage. They also need to consider carefully what SLAs and associated risk-and-reward arrangements they can negotiate with the vendor. The leading server vendors are able to be both comprehensive and flexible in delivering services that extend total system availability. 30 September