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Investment banks are using grid computing as the basis of next-generation computing environments, according to analysts at The 451 Group.(www.gridcomputingplanet.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Investment banks, among the top early adopters of grid computing, are quickly moving beyond isolated compute grids to position their grids as the underlying fabric for next-generation distributed computing environments, according to a new report from The 451 Group. "There has been a significant acceleration in the deployment of shared and linked grids in investment banking, shifting from what were once grid 'silos,'" the report said. The development has implications for technology deployment in areas such as wide area networks (WANs) and data management, and also suggests that organizational and cultural issues such as resource sharing are being overcome, the report said. The report, Grid Computing Adoption in the Financial Sector, was written by 451 Group analysts William Fellows, Steve Wallage and Aidan Biggins. The analysts found that the view of most investment banks is that "for the first time in a long time, IT looks capable of driving sustainable, long-term and linear cost savings and performance improvements for the financial services sector. Grid computing, plus supporting technologies such as blades and Linux, appear to be leading this trend." Performance and competitive advantages appear to be behind the trend. "Experiences of investment banks continue to demonstrate that grids do not reduce total cost of ownership or save money, but they do enable banks to make more money," said Wallage, the group's research director. Other factors behind the growth of grid computing in investment banks include the desire to move to an internal utility model for charge-back and consumption of IT, the need for a better platform for business processes, and the deployment of a Web services-based infrastructure or service-oriented architecture (SOA). In a separate research note, Fellows speculated that Data Synapse, which has dominated the financial services grid computing market, could be headed for an initial public offering (IPO). The company has turned down advances from Platform Computing, United Devices and GridXpert, he wrote. The company, which booked $25.3 million in sales last year and hopes to hit $43 million this year, trounces other companies' enterprise grid sales, including $57 million Platform, Fellows wrote, although the company could face competition from IBM's XD. Platform, meanwhile, appears to be moving toward IT management, he said. Grid, Storage Groups Unite The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) and the Enterprise Grid Alliance (EGA) have formed an alliance to help further the functionality and interoperability of storage to support enterprise grid solutions. Under terms of the agreement, SNIA and EGA technical working groups will leverage their expertise to support standards development work. The agreement also calls for both associations to collaborate on the education of members and the general public, and to selectively participate in each others' marketing and member activities. The agreement is expected to result in a stronger understanding of grid requirements by the SNIA's Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) and of storage capabilities by EGA's Data Provisioning and Reference Model working groups. Collaboration between the organizations will drive longer term results in enterprise grid requirements being supported in SMI-S and other SNIA standards. "The SNIA recognizes enterprise grids are becoming ever more common and have unique requirements for storage and data management where collaboration with other industry associations is necessary to create complete infrastructure standards and solutions," stated SNIA Chair Wayne Adams. Back to Grid Computing Planet Internet.com Corp. Copyright 2003 Jupitermedia Corp. All rights reserved. Republication and redistribution of Jupitermeida Corp. content is Expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Jupitermedia Corp.. Jupitermedia Corp., shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the Content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. |