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2006 InfoWorld 100 Awards: Computing/Tech



By Richard Gincel
November 13, 2006
 

ArvatoMobile www.arvato-mobile.com
Virtual Server Infrastructure
Project Lead: Lukas Lösche, Director of IT Operations
Project Description: Runs about 600 virtual servers, both Linux and Windows, comprising nearly the entire infrastructure for development and testing, internal apps, and business-critical applications, including content processing, licensing, distribution, royalty management, and user support. Even the company's Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL database clusters, and Business Objects reporting servers run on Virtuozzo. Behind the servers, several hundred terabytes of disc and tape storage are virtualized, using grid storage components, into a single file system namespace.

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2006 InfoWorld 100 Awards
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Atari www.atari.com
Outsourced IT Infrastructure
Project Lead: Jim O’Keefe, Project Manager
Project Description: Moved key systems to Rackspace Managed Hosting, thereby reducing infrastructure costs by migrating from a proprietary Unix system to a more flexible open source solution. Company officials cite greatly improved ability to focus on new game development.

Avanade www.avanade.com
Virtual Server Infrastructure
Project Lead: David Miller, Global IOI Lead
Project Description: Turned to PolyServe Database Utility for SQL Server, which is based on the company’s Matrix Server virtualization technology. As opposed to traditional server virtualization, PolyServe uses a symmetrical cluster file system to allow all servers in a cluster to see all the data within the Windows file system, creating a single, virtualized storage and server pool. Sharing the storage pool improves overall storage utilization while still giving the performance benefits of dedicated servers.

Cisco Systems www.cisco.com
Compliance Initiative
Project Lead: Tim Merrifield, Director, Innovations Team, Internet Business Solutions Group
Project Description: Installed an extensible compliance framework that’s continually integrated into the company's wider-reaching risk-assessment operations. Identified all provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley that would affect the business and sought to work with the appropriate legal, financial, and HR divisions to enact IT policies that would help ensure the accuracy of financial reports -- all while keeping channels of communication flowing among departments. An IT portfolio management approach drove a nearly complete in-house effort.

Conexant Systems www.conexant.com
Information Leak Prevention and Data Flow Authorization
Project Lead: Paul Edge, Manager, Global Telecom and Networking
Project Description: Built a leak prevention infrastructure controlled by products from Juniper Networks, PortAuthority, Cisco, and Airtight Networks. The IT team upgraded its Cisco 3800 routers for encryption and authorizations and replaced its firewall with Juniper’s ISG 2000.

Data 393 www.data393.com
Datacenter Modernization
Project Lead
:Steve Merkel, Senior Systems Engineer
Project Description: Co-location and managed hosting provider converted key hosting operations to run on DC power, thereby increasing server capacity while reducing heat load and boosting power efficiency by as much as 20 percent.

DATA Inc. www.datainc.biz
Project Management of a Globally Distributed Team
Project Lead: Charles Rich, CTO
Project Description: Helped usher in a 24-hour development lifecycle for an array of software development projects across all time zones. Centered on a variety of customized applications -- including Microsoft SharePoint, Microsoft Dynamics SL (formerly Solomon), and Microsoft Project Server -- it factored in quality assurance, risk, communication, and myriad factors that come into play with a global delivery model.

DRC (Dynamics Research Corp.) www.drc.com
Statewide, Web-Based Child Welfare System
Project Lead: Kathy Perras, Vice President and General Manager, State and Local Programs Division
Project Description: Worked with the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, the Ohio Office of Information Technology, and Compuware to develop the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS). Designed to help automate child-protection case management, the SOA-based solution provides Ohio a streamlined business model, which makes case management an integrated, uniform process.

Keane www.keane.com
IT Transformation Services
Project Lead: Bob Atwell, Senior Vice President
Project Description: Overhauled Cendant's IT assets, including personnel, datacenters, hardware, software, networks, and applications.

Netgear www.netgear.com
Business Process Management Initiative
Project Lead: Jim Dempsey, EDI manager
Project Description: Deployed Savvion BusinessManager to enable users to collaborate, control, and rapidly implement changes to improve business processes across the company.

SOA Software www.soa.com
Service-Oriented Legacy Architecture
Project Lead: Jim Crew, Vice President
Project Description: SOLA allows for building Web services -- SOAP stack and all -- on existing mainframes. X4ML, which Crew and his team developed, made the mainframe part of Merrill Lynch's SOA. Since 2001, X4ML has published more than 600 mainframe programs as Web services -- essentially using a collection of Internet technologies such as XML and SOAP to make operations currently performed on the mainframe available to programmers creating new applications in modern environments such as Sun Microsystems' Java or Microsoft's .Net. Fast-forward a few years, and Merrill Lynch has an enterprise SOA that fully incorporates the mainframe, allowing them to quickly develop applications that use existing mainframe-based services.

Stratus Technologies www.stratus.com
B-to-B Manufacturing Integration/SOA
Project Lead: Joe Graves, CIO
Project Description: Deployed Cape Clear's ESB to enable an SOA (service-oriented architecture). With Cape Clear's ESB in place, Stratus is able to handle the many business partners and processes it deals with, as well as the plethora of active processes it has occurring at any one time. Using Cape Clear's ESB, Stratus can now add an additional partner for less than the maintenance costs associated with its previous ERP system.

Ubicom www.ubicom.com
Network File Management
Project Lead: Jim Poehlman, Chief Information Technologist
Project Description: Secured new disk space by way of virtualization technology from the NeoPath FileDirector, a network file management appliance that creates a virtualization layer between the Ubicom clients and file servers. The project involved integrating files from numerous locations while avoiding adverse impact to end-users.

Zag www.zag.com
SOA Initiative
Project Lead: Nick Pernblad, Chief Software Architect
Project Description: Zag created a technology platform in six months that powered DriveOne for Capital One Auto Finance, a major provider of auto loans, to give consumers the ability to find pricing and availability for new and used cars, to configure new vehiclesm and to arrange financing online. The SOA-based project demanded bringing in a whole new set of applications into Zag to handle the inventory management, configuration, pricing, call center, and CRM. Developed, deployed, and integrated at least 10 core applications to create an architecture underlying DriveOne.com that's flexible enough to serve future partners.

Zimbra www.zimbra.com
Zimlets
Project Lead: Ross Dargahi, Co-founder and Vice President of Engineering
Project Description: Zimlets are an AJAX technology to mash up a collaboration system with IT systems or external Web services. For example, users can approve a purchase order from within their e-mail; they can also place a conference call while viewing a calendar appointment or see a Google map of a customer’s location when viewing their contact information. Third-party developers can create Zimlets by leveraging Web services to connect external services to their company's collaboration suite. These Web services can leverage Zimbra APIs to gain direct access to Zimbra calendar items, address books, e-mail, and shared documents. Zimlets take advantage of a suite of modern technologies, including SOAP, WebDAV, LDAP, iCal, and HTTP.

2006 INFOWORLD 100 WINNERS
Top 10 Finalists
Computing/Tech                                          Distribution/Supply Chain
Education                                                      Financial Services
Government                                                  Health Care
Insurance                                                      Manufacturing
Media/Multimedia                                        Pharmaceuticals
Retail                                                              Services
Sports                                                             Telecommunications
Transportation                                              Unspecified





 


 
Richard Gincel is an associate editor at InfoWorld.
 

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