It has been only a matter of
days since this year’s big tent user conference ended. The NonStop TBC2023
Conference drew attendees from all over the world, with every continent
represented as best as I could tell. I am sure there will be those who remind
me that as yet, no attendee has made it from Antarctica. Nevertheless, it was a
clear demonstration of the value proposition this annual gathering of the
NonStop community provides – did you make it this time?
Right from the start we were
able to enjoy the networking opportunities these conferences always seem to
create. Whether you were attracted to the downstairs bar as escalators passed
you by, or to the vendor pavilion where if you asked TCM nicely, a wee dram of
Scotch could be sampled. And then there was the hospitality provided by the Presidential
Suite sponsored by NTI and TANDsoft that managed to attract a crowd each night
that fostered conversations that went past midnight and closer to the witching
hour.
For Margo and me it was a
time to have face-to-face meetings with clients even as the opportunity to talk
to the senior management from the HPE NonStop team were not to be missed. This remains
the most important aspect of each year’s TBC in that it is a time when all members
of the NonStop community are presented with opportunities to catch up on old
times just as afforded the NonStop community an equal opportunity to look for
new solutions and new ways to capitalize on investments in NonStop systems.
What struck us was the
quality of presentations and sessions. Right from the outset and with the first
session Tuesday morning, we were captivated by the presentation by Hewlett
Packard Labs Chief Architect / HPE Fellow/VP, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Kirk
Bresniker, Future Proofing the Enterprise: Mission Critical, Quantum-Safe, and
AI Augmented. As informative and challenging as it proved to be it is a welcome
distraction to hear about the pursuit of future technologies by the teams
within the HPE Lab. Over the years I have had the good fortune to catch up with
Kirk at various HPE Discover events and the patience he exhibited while
listening to any topic I raised was a testament to how well he is attuned to
the HPE customer.
It was only a year or so ago
where we heard an HPE executive remark that the freshest data can be found on
NonStop but this year we heard Kirk talk about the cleanest data is to be found
on NonStop. When talking about AI and populating models and turning data into
meaningful information that can be consumed by NonStop solutions, having access
to clean data is paramount. And for good reason, its influence on outcomes
ensures a level of accuracy as well as the sense of what I call situational
awareness that is unmatched from any other source.
As for the panel session
where we heard directly from HPE Regional leaders including Neil Davis (EMEA),
Karen Ramirez (Americas) and Suresh Menon (APJ+) gave us substantial evidence
of not just the global presence of NonStop systems deployments but touched on
markets exhibiting growth. This was a message all attendees took to heart as it
was encouraging to see the palpable enthusiasm of all things NonStop coming
from those directly involved in ensuring continued success of NonStop.
It was the second time we
heard too from Mark Pollans of HPE NonStop. As a leader he was the catalyst for
all that took place and Mark took on this responsibility even as he kept a
steady eye on his day job as a leader of the NonStop product management team. I
have to add at this time my own appreciation of his willingness to listen to a
variety of folks with varying requirements for the coverage to be given at TBC,
but somehow he managed to balance all of the inputs to the benefit of the
NonStop community at large.
So, from my perspective,
what were the key observations I made as TBC concluded? Noting as I have of how
much Margo and I enjoyed this year’s conference, three things stood out for me
and I have to say, these are strictly Margo and mine own observations. These
included the planned design challenge, the overall theme of the conference and
the ever-present shadow of clouds. How many of us took note of the April 19,
2023 blog, Introducing
HPE’s simplified brand architecture? Or noted CEO, Antonio Neri,
announcement back in 2019 to “simplify the experience for our customers.”?
When it comes to simplifying
the customer experience the choice of Digital Resilience took an unfortunate
turn to embrace Ransomware. So many presentations worked into their storylines
some aspect of Ransomware that it became somewhat tedious. Let me be very clear
– and yes, welcome contrary arguments – Ransomware is simply part of the
ongoing discussion about the harmful presence of viruses. But here’s a useful
data point – no NonStop system has ever experienced the presence of a virus let
alone been subject to Ransomware.
The architecture of NonStop
makes nonsense of some of the claims. And to be honest, having lots of copies
of data, files and audits is only part of any meaningful solution that
addresses Ransomware. Even with todays hybrid NonStop where Linux CLIMS and
Windows Consoles constitute important components making up a NonStop System,
penetrating either the Linux or Windows environments with the intent of
sneaking onto the NonStop makes no sense. Mind you this doesn’t obviate the
need to have robust backup plans in place and having just gotten off the phone
with ETI their BackBox QoreStor supporting bare metal backups confirming to the
general 3-2-1 rule will definitely appeal to many NonStop customers.
However, when it comes to
NonStop systems, there is still a concern and it’s one that is beginning to be
discussed more openly – system intrusion perpetrated by disgruntled operators.
There is a reason why images of US nuclear silos feature two distanced missile
launch officers; no one would be comfortable with just one officer being
capable to initiate a launch. Against this scene, is it too hard to imagine
that the best solution for virus introduction including potentially Ransomware
is to step up to dual operators and to require some commands to be initiated
jointly? Better still? Just today Randall Becker came up with the suggestion, “is
it time to take keyboards away from operations?” We don’t want to see a missile
launch just as we don’t want to see that disgruntled operator delete critical
files, code and links.
And for SQL and the planned
design challenge this gave the NonStop team insights into the world of NonStop
SQL. Whether it was with the advance promotion of what the challenge was going
to be this year – design / proposal of migration from NonStop SQL/MP to NonStop
SQL/MX – the result that it was a case of witnessing a no-show. Following
conversations confirmed what is widely understood. When it comes to solutions,
the choice of file and database is up to the solutions provider and apart from
a handful of NonStop users, NonStop SQL in any form has still a long way to go
to be viewed as a key middleware offering for the average NonStop user.
Finally, clouds; co-lo or
full-on cloud deployment, yes you can deploy NonStop in a cloud but that begs
the question, why? Conversations on this topic varied widely from yes, the
CIO/CTO demands running all platforms in the cloud to simply having the option
for someone else to manage the NonStop systems already deployed in the data
center. The reality is that NonStop can be “on the cloud” without necessarily
being “in the cloud.” By this I mean, you can lock down enough resources to run
a NonStop system from on the cloud but tapping into rearchitecting NonStop
solutions to be fully immersed in the cloud is a situation where the risk /
reward element doesn’t offer enough to warrant such an exercise.
Looking ahead, what would we
like to see at the NonStop TBC 2024 Conference in Monterey? That is something I
would like to explore with the HPE NonStop team and with those who read this
post. I have an idea but it’s not fully developed but don’t be surprised if I
throw out some early ideas as to what might be worthwhile exploring. One thing
is for sure, when it comes time to return to California and to spend time in
Monterey, much might have developed with respect to Digital Resilience, SQL and
Clouds. But for now, as much as I would really like to continue to explore all
three in this post, I am going to leave it to where your comments would be
greatly appreciated.
Remember, these are Margo
and mine observations and I am sure you came away with observations of your own
so make sure you continue to converse with all the members of the NonStop
community. What for us was the lasting impression was just how warmly each
member of the NonStop community interacted which speaks volumes of the
appreciation of NonStop by all who educate, support, develop and deploy NonStop
systems today. Yes, see you in Monterey and in the meantime, start tracking
upcoming RUG events in 2024 as I anticipate there are many lively conversations
to follow!
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