Consolidation in Russia and the Commonwealth States? Da! Concerned about Green IT? Nyet.
Today’s IBM analyst call provided some good figures on what’s happening in their East Europe/ Asia territory and even better insight on how a behemoth corporation enters, and understands, an emerging economy.
Tan Lu, System z Growth Leader, explained that the need for growth, control, and security is leading to an IT renaissance in Russia and, in particular, to a renaissance of mainframe use. Siegfried Langer, System z Growth Manager, provided some compelling examples: The Central Bank of the Russian Federation consolidated 78 data centers full of homemade apps down to three, decreasing the cost per transaction by 10X. Russian Railways pared 50+ data centers down to three, which are now strategically placed along major transport lines.
The peek into the business and cultural aspects of accomplishing these projects was really thought-provoking. For example, while the “green” story makes sense to clients in Moscow According to Mr. Langer, everything is still quite political, and certain industries deemed “key” reap the lucrative rewards of that designation. and the surrounding regions, it’s not part of the business justification at this point. Their primary energy concern is making sure that they won’t be subject to brownouts in the summer. For the most part, Russian and CIS companies aren’t even breaking down power costs in their accounting. And some of them have very – VERY – favorable energy deals with the government.
Optimizing applications has proven extremely difficult in some cases. In enterprises where homegrown apps have been flourishing unchecked, careful inventory and close, extended engagements to find the right structure and solutions portfolio are a must. Many applications have to be rewritten or created anew.
What about the people? Isn’t consolidation resulting in job cuts in an area that already has unemployment issues? Nope. According to IBM, not a single customer has asked how to re-allocate personnel. They’re too busy keeping up with the rapid growth rate typical of an emerging market. One of the impediments to that growth right now is a dearth of – get this – middle managers. Top management positions are filled; the populace has excellent technical skills, so the tech ranks are relatively stable; but you can’t just train middle managers, you have to grow some experienced ones. Something to think about if you’re looking for work and don’t mind a slight nip in the air come winter. Could also be an opportunity to export your own pointy-haired boss…