IBM's IT Process Automation Strategy

I had the opportunity today to speak with Alan Ganek, vice president of Autonomic Computing and CTO of IBM Tivoli. IBM issued a press release covering a flurry of new Autonomic Computing features in their existing products. Unlike BMC and HP who have purchased IT Process Automation tools this year, IBM is adding more "autonomic features" into their existing tools. If customers are looking for more holistic process automation, they will need to embrace IBM's change and configuration management database (CCMDB), stated Ganek, in order to automate workflow and process.

This approach may be difficult for customers that are not ready for a CMBD or that utilize another vendor for this solution. Users very familiar with the Tivoli suite may have a hard time picking out the specific new features that are "autonomic" from the press release.

As an overall strategy "IBM is adding more visibility, control and automation" to their products" stated Ganek. Ganek also commented on the symbiosis with IBM's Global Services to enable autonomic computing. "There has been a close relationship with field services and incorporating customer requests" Ganek noted.