Welcome to the first installment of The Autonomic Computing Edge, a new column on developerWorks.
The Autonomic Computing Edge is intended to bring you some of the leading-edge topics surrounding autonomic computing; the kinds of things that could give autonomic computing adopters an edge over those who haven't yet gotten on the bandwagon. And yes, the Autonomic Computing edge will endeavor to bring you this information in an edgy manner; straightforward and concise, with facts and thought-provoking (I hope) opinions.
The purpose of the Autonomic Computing Edge is not to provide instruction about autonomic computing technologies, or how to deploy products with autonomic computing capabilities, or to provide insight on architectural specifications. developerWorks is chock-full of that sort of information about autonomic computing. So, what can you expect from the Autonomic Computing Edge? I will do my best to bring you forward-looking topics about autonomic computing; subject matter such as the path to level five (on the autonomic computing maturity index), the role of humans in autonomic computing technology, embedded self-management, and others. I will also explore the latest developments in the IBM® autonomic computing architecture and what they mean to autonomic computing adopters. So, let me get started.
This article discusses the particular interest in autonomic computing technology in Japan, as evidenced by some recent high-profile events. It looks briefly at the Japanese IT marketplace, and explores some of the reasons why autonomic computing might be heating up in Japan.
In November 2004, IBM and Fujitsu, a large and influential Japanese IT corporation, announced their agreement to collaborate on autonomic computing standards. This event was part culmination and part catalyst; it was the result of discussions between the two companies about their shared interest in autonomic computing technology and in developing and promoting open standards on which autonomic computing architecture could be based. It also sparked additional interest in autonomic computing technology in Japan, leading to a follow-up announcement about one week later.
According to the press release for the IBM-Fujitsu standards collaboration agreement,
Fujitsu Limited and IBM today announced that they have agreed to collaborate on autonomic computing standards. Initial areas of collaboration are expected to include existing or new standardization efforts related to the Web Services Distributed Management (WSDM) Event Format, standardization of a set of actions to manage IT resources, and standards related to software installation and deployment....
Fujitsu, IBM and other companies have been pursuing autonomic computing technologies on their own, but in order to enjoy the benefits of these technological advances in heterogeneous systems environments, it is critical to promote autonomic computing standards that enable multi-vendor interoperability. Fujitsu's and IBM's new collaboration aims to advance this important effort.
This agreement between two very large IT corporations to collaborate on open standards that are critical to autonomic computing technology was widely publicized, but it was not isolated. A press release from Tokyo on December 6, 2004 noted several additional companies that embrace autonomic computing technologies and announced that they would join IBM's autonomic computing initiative. According to that announcement:
IBM today announced that six business partner companies in Japan are working towards adopting autonomic computing technologies. The companies are utilizing the IBM Autonomic Computing Toolkit to develop self-managing solutions for their customers. The toolkit [available from developerWorks] is an online resource center that enables ISV, System Integrator and corporate developers to rapidly deploy self-managing functions into their applications and service.
This press release announced that CSI Solutions Corporation, Canon System Solutions Inc., Nippon Information and Communication Corporation (NI+C), Japan Business Computer Corporation, NS and I System Service Corporation, and Sumisho Computer Systems Corporation had all signed on to implement a variety of autonomic computing technologies. These six companies joined four others, already announced as IBM autonomic computing business partners, who have already deployed autonomic computing capabilities or standards from the Autonomic Computing Toolkit: Hitachi Software Engineering Co., Ltd, NIWS Co., Ltd., NS Solutions Corporation, and Toshiba Solutions Corporation.
Led by the standards collaboration agreement between IBM and Fujitsu, the list of Japanese companies who have embraced autonomic computing technology reads like a significant portion of a virtual "Who's Who in Computing in Japan" (including, of course, IBM Japan, although not explicitly mentioned earlier).
Why is autonomic computing technology of such great interest to such a large number of influential Japanese IT corporations? I will posit some theories later in this article, but first, here's some background information about the Japanese IT marketplace.
Available data indicates that the majority of the IT industry market share in Japan is held by, not surprisingly, Japanese-based companies, including Fujitsu, NEC, Hitachi and others.
Recent news articles report that U.S. companies are gaining market share for personal computers in Japan (see Resources). Although some of the Japanese companies noted here compete in the PC market, personal computers are not their only interest. Indeed, a hallmark of many large Japanese companies is that they are highly diversified.
Many of the companies noted here produce a wide array of information technology system components; various mixes of PCs, servers, storage devices, and software, including applications, middleware, and other software.
IBM's autonomic computing architecture addresses all of these system components, and autonomic computing technology can apply across an entire computing system. Therefore, it seems natural that companies that compete in a wide variety of information technology products and offerings are interested in exploiting the value that autonomic computing offers. Because many of the large Japanese IT companies mentioned here fit that model, it is not surprising that autonomic computing is heating up in Japan.
Autonomic computing opportunities in the Japanese IT marketplace
Opportunities and value associated with autonomic computing are not really different in Japan than they are in the United States, Europe, and other geographies. Perhaps the autonomic computing value proposition resonates particularly well in Japan, or Japanese companies see more immediate opportunities for the use of autonomic computing architecture and technology. Maybe it is just a matter of recent media and other activities, but I'll examine some of the particular areas of autonomic computing that are highlighted in the recent cited press releases.
Many global information technology standards bodies include significant participation from Japanese companies. Fujitsu, NEC and Hitachi, mentioned previously, all are members of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) and the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) [5], two standards bodies with relevance to autonomic computing.
Indeed, the IBM/Fujitsu announcement excerpted earlier is centered around collaboration on autonomic computing standards. Open standards are critical to the autonomic computing architecture, and although companies from around the globe participate in many standards bodies relevant to autonomic computing, open standards seem to be particularly well received by Japanese IT vendors.
Automation often is associated with Japanese industry. Japan has been a leader in manufacturing automation, from consumer products to electronics to automobiles (see Resources for more information). Automation historically has provided Japanese manufacturers with a competitive advantage.
It is not surprising, then, that Japanese companies would embrace the concept of automating the management of IT systems, as embodied in the autonomic computing architecture. Autonomic computing technology enables IT professionals to automate tasks and processes of their choosing, and automation is generally seen as valuable in Japanese industry.
Indeed, several recent IBM autonomic computing engagements with clients in Japan seem to bear this out. Some examples of automating one important facet of system management, namely problem determination are:
- Satoru Todokoro, Managing Director, NIWS Co., Ltd., notes that "We streamlined root cause analysis and have improved our problem determination process significantly since adopting [autonomic computing] technology."
- Takashi Oshiro, Director of Systems Infrastructure Technologies Research and Development Department, Systems Research and Development Center, NS Solutions Corporation, said, "IBM's Autonomic Computing Toolkit allows us to develop a unique tool which embody our knowledge and technologies rapidly. Common log format (CBE) technology provided by the Toolkit also allows us to develop a tool with the standardized interface. ... This tool will provide effectiveness and high-quality of the problem determination and system maintenance."
Although these statements are the types of things often seen in marketing literature, the intent of mentioning them in this column is not for that purpose, but rather to reinforce the observations of accelerating adoption of autonomic computing technology in Japan.
Automating the management of IT systems is an inherent component of autonomic computing, and having open standards as a basis for autonomic computing technology is a fundamental tenet of IBM's autonomic computing vision. These aspects of autonomic computing seem to be among the reasons it is on the upswing, especially, but certainly not only, in Japan.
Autonomic computing continues to become more widely known, with increasing adoption in the IT industry. IBM has many autonomic computing business partners from around the globe. Even so, there seems to be an especially sharp interest in autonomic computing in Japan, as evidenced by the recent activities highlighted in this article, as well as some independent observations noted earlier.
Will this apparently keen interest in autonomic computing technology in Japan translate to accelerated adoption of autonomic computing architecture and technologies there, and elsewhere? We will be watching closely to see what happens in this and other geographies. IBM intends to continue to develop the autonomic computing architecture and products and offerings with autonomic capabilities, and we find it encouraging that autonomic computing is heating up in Japan and elsewhere.
- The press release Fujitsu and IBM Partner to Promote Open Standards for Autonomic Computing details the standards collaboration announcement described in this article.
- The press release Japan-based Companies Embrace Autonomic Computing ? Several Additional Companies Join IBM's Autonomic Computing Initiative describes several new autonomic computing adopters in Japan.
- The article "HP, Dell gain market share in Japan in 2004" (India Daily, February 9, 2005) discusses U.S. companies gaining personal computer market share in Japan.
- The OASIS Web site describes open standards activities, some of which are relevant for autonomic computing.
- The DMTF Web site describes open standards activities, some of which are relevant for autonomic computing.
- The article "Electronic Manufacturing and Packaging in Japan" (Japanese Technology Evaluation Center, February 1995) describes industrial automation in Japan.
- The article "From Fixed to Flexible: Automation and Work Organization Trends from the International Assembly Plant Survey" (MacDuffie and Pil, University of Pennsylvania, March 1996) describes industrial automation in Japan.
- Download the IBM Autonomic Computing Toolkit for yourself.
Comments (Undergoing maintenance)
Table of contents
Local resources
My developerWorks community
Tags
Use the slider bar to see more or fewer tags.
Popular tags shows the top tags for this particular content zone (for example, Java technology, Linux, WebSphere).
My tags shows your tags for this particular content zone (for example, Java technology, Linux, WebSphere).
Popular article tags |
My article tagsSkip to tags list
Popular article tags |
My article tags
