Lower TCO
The mainframe solution requires a greater initial investment than an interim pSeries solution would, according to Valois. "But the minute you install this kind of solution, you have very large capacity," she says. "We're looking at a return on our investment in 24 months-you don't have that kind of ROI with the pSeries because you're continually installing new machines as required. The total cost of ownership is also less because you don't have to acquire more people, more process and standards to control your infrastructure."
Regarding Microsoft's Lee's reservations, Valois comments that "we migrated our applications without having one IBM person in the loop. And on the Linux VM [virtual machine] part, we already had internal expertise, so the Linux was not that complex for us to work with." In addition to the CLPSS and PLPSS installations planned for 2004, ING Canada will work on increasing availability of the applications on the mainframe platform, as well as working on disaster recovery-related initiatives. Given the challenges that might represent, Valois says she appreciates the warnings about the complexity of the Linux environment. "It's a worthwhile comment and something we will want to think about. But right now we don't have that type of complexity."
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
