Many companies claim to have "gone to the cloud," yet returns from their efforts are meager or worse. Why? Because they've defined cloud as a destination, not a capability. Using cloud as a single-vendor, one-stop destination is fiction; in practice, today's organizations use a mosaic of capabilities across several vendors. Your cloud strategy needs to follow a hybrid multicloud model, one that delivers cloud's value at destinations you choose. This practical guide provides business leaders and C-level executives with guidance and insights across a wide range of cloud-related topics, such as distributed cloud, microservices, and other open source solutions for strengthening operations. You'll apply in-the-field best practices and lessons learned as you define your hybrid cloud strategy and drive your company's transformation strategy. Learn cloud fundamentals and patterns, including basic concepts and history Get a framework for cloud acumen phases to value-plot your cloud future Know which questions to ask a cloud provider before you sign Discover potential pitfalls for everything from the true cost of a cloud solution to adopting open source the right way

With the potential to add nearly $16 trillion to the global economy over the next decade, artificial intelligence may be the greatest opportunity of our time. But, so far, adoption has been much slower than anticipated. With this practical report, business leaders will understand the power of AI and learn how to fully unleash its potential. Author Rob Thomas, general manager of IBM Data and Artificial Intelligence, demystifies AI for C-suite executives and line of business professionals. You'll learn about the AI ladder, a unified, prescriptive approach to help you accelerate your AI journey, no matter where you are in the process. This succinct report explores AI's drivers, value, and opportunity, as well as the adoption challenges organizations now face.

Gain insight into how to govern and consume IBM's unique in-motion and at-rest Big Data analytic capabilitiesA. R. Ammons once said, "A word too much repeated falls out of being", and although the term Big Data sometimes seems to be "too much repeated", it's not about to fall "out of being". That said, it is subject to a lot of hype. The term Big Data is a bit of a misnomer. Truth be told, we're not even big fans of the term--despite the fact that it is so prominently displayed on the cover of this book--because it implies that other data is somehow small (it might be) or that this particular type of data is large in size (it can be, but doesn't have to be). This is Big Data in a nutshell: It is the ability to retain, process, and understand data like never before. It can mean more data than what you are using today; but it can also mean different kinds of data, a venture into the unstructured world where most of today's data resides. The Big Data opportunity. It's a shift, rift, lift, or cliff for your business--this book is going to help you experience the shift and lift, while those that don't work to get beyond the hype end up in a rift or cliff. In this book you will learn how cognitive computing systems, like IBM Watson, fit into the Big Data world. You'll learn how Big Data needs a "ground-to-cloud" architecture, what a Data Refinery looks like, and theimportance of a next generation data platform. Gain an understanding of the concepts of data-in-motion, data-at-rest (technologies like Hadoop play here, as well as others), the role that NoSQL and polyglot play in a leading edge analytics architecture, and more. Get details about the Big Data platform manifesto and why it is a must for any Big Data project. Capturing, storing, refining, transforming, governing, securing, and analyzing data, traditionally or as a service, are important topics alsocovered in this book.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Boost your Big Data IQ! Gain insight into how to govern and consume IBM's unique in-motion and at-rest Big Data analytic capabilities Big Data represents a new era of computing-an inflection point of opportunity where data in any format may be explored and utilized for breakthrough insights-whether that data is in-place, in-motion, or at-rest. IBM is uniquely positioned to help clients navigate this transformation. This book reveals how IBM is infusing open source Big Data technologies with IBM innovation that manifest in a platform capable of "changing the game." The four defining characteristics of Big Data-volume, variety, velocity, and veracity-are discussed. You'll understand how IBM is fully committed to Hadoop and integrating it into the enterprise. Hear about how organizations are taking inventories of their existing Big Data assets, with search capabilities that help organizations discover what they could already know, and extend their reach into new data territories for unprecedented model accuracy and discovery. In this book you will also learn not just about the technologies that make up the IBM Big Data platform, but when to leverage its purpose-built engines for analytics on data in-motion and data at-rest. And you'll gain an understanding of how and when to govern Big Data, and how IBM's industry-leading InfoSphere integration and governance portfolio helps you understand, govern, and effectively utilize Big Data. Industry use cases are also included in this practical guide.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. UPGRADE TO THE NEW GENERATION OF DATABASE SOFTWARE FOR THE ERA OF BIG DATA!If big data is an untapped natural resource, how do you find the gold hidden within? Leaders realize that big data means all data, and are moving quickly to extract more value from both structured and unstructured application data. However, analyzing this data can prove costly and complex, especially while protecting the availability,performance and reliability of essential business applications. In the new era of big data, businesses require data systems that can blend always-available transactions with speed-of-thought analytics. DB2 10.5 with BLU Acceleration provides this speed, simplicity, andaffordability while making it easier to build next-generation applications with NoSQL features, such as a mongo-styled JSON document store, a graph store, and more. Dynamic in-memory columnar processing and other innovations deliver faster insights from more data, and enhanced pureScale clustering technology delivers high-availability transactions with application-transparent scalability for business continuity. With this book, you'll learn about the power and flexibility of multiworkload, multi-platform database software. Use the comprehensive knowledge from a team of DB2 developers and experts to get started with the latest DB2 trial version you can download at ibm.com/developerworks/downloads/im/db2/. Stay up to date on DB2 by visiting ibm.com/db2/.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Save Time and Money with DB2 10 for LUW Even travel through time and shrink dataHow would you like to compress even more data, store it in a cloud, and analyze it as though you are traveling through time without compromising security? In addition to these enhancements, you will experience lower costs and faster performance with the latest release of DB2. Read this book to understand the power of DB2 10 and get started now! This book provides you with the comprehensive knowledge you need to get started with the latest DB2 release. Try some of the new features by downloading DB2 Express for free, which features Big Data and Cloud technology. Go to ibm.com/db2/express.

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Extreme Availability and Scalability--Up and Running With DB2 pureScaleDB2 is a leading-edge hybrid data server that offers optimum storage, scalability, and availability. DB2 pureScale is a new technology primarily optimized for scale-out transactional processing clusters in an active-active manner. This succinct guide will show you how DB2 with pureScale can deliver transparent application scalability, the ability to deliver agile-like computing to your transaction systems, and extreme availability. This book, together with IBM DB2 9 New Features (McGraw-Hill, 2007) and Break Free with DB2 9.7 (McGraw-Hill, 2009), provides you with the comprehensive knowledge you need to get started with the latest DB2 release. Try the new features by downloading DB2 Express-C 9.7--it is free to develop, deploy, and distribute (with no user and database size limitations) and features pureXML technology. Go to ibm.com/db2/express. Discover the benefits your business can achieve with the agility provided by DB2 pureScale Find out how applications can be transparently scaled Reduce the risk and cost of business growth through umlimited capacity

Publisher's Note: Products purchased from Third Party sellers are not guaranteed by the publisher for quality, authenticity, or access to any online entitlements included with the product. Design and deploy integrated enterprise-class business solutionsEnhance productivity, profitability, and efficiency using IBM DB2 9 and the detailed information in this comprehensive resource. Written by experienced IBM data server professionals, IBM DB2 9 New Features covers the technical details of the major new aspects of DB2 9 alongside real-world business uses, syntax examples, and insider tips. Learn how to manipulate and manage XML data using pureXML, automate maintenance tasks, and seamlessly integrate Java, PHP, and Perl scripts. Plus, you'll get vital coverage of the brand-new DB2 Developer Workbench, enhanced .NET developer support, Ruby on Rails, and database security. Learn about all the auto-configuration features that make getting DB2 up and running faster than ever before Define, share, and validate data using XML and the unique pureXML DB2 Hybrid Storage Engine Improve runtime performance and optimize storage with the new DB2 Compression Technology Automatically handle DB2 memory allocation using the Self Tuning Memory Manager Use Automatic Storage, Autonomic Computing, and a host of other autonomic features that make managing DB2 a snap Create dynamic data server blueprints with Rational Data Architect version 6.1 Incorporate Java applications using the IBM WebSphere Application Server and DB2 data server Develop open-source scripts using PHP, Perl, Toad, and Ruby on Rails Utilize the DB2 Developer Workbench or exploit the enhanced .NET developer support Deploy the latest DB2 security and high availability features