No matter how well your systems perform, there are always ways to improve. Performance-management and capacity-planning tools help you find the best balance between high throughput and fast user-response time.

Written by John Ghrist

Despite the reputation IBM Power Systems (particularly the IBM i) have for reliability, uptime percentages with healthy doses of nines in them aren't the only criteria for system efficiency. The actual amount of processing that takes place in a given period can be crucial, especially for enterprises with high volumes of business, large numbers of remote system users, and customers who regularly access your systems to gather information such as the status of their orders. System response time is an efficiency benchmark for internal and external users alike, and the most effectual use of CPU cycles is a statistic that IT management needs to keep optimal at the same time.

Eighty three percent of CIOs are investing in analytics to address the "Big Data" challenge while demand for cloud computing increases 50 percent since 2009. 

A new global study of chief information officers (CIOs) by IBM reveals that the top strategic technology investment over the next five years at outperforming midsize organizations is business analytics, with cloud computing emerging as the fastest growing technology area for CIOs.