Published Reports

The majority of our work is internal reports, confidential to our clients, such as competitive matrices and product roadmap validation for development teams, competitive analysis reports and market research for marketing teams, and competitive sales guides and battlecards for sales teams.

Therefore, we are only able to publish a small sampling of our work product with the public reports below.

IBM PowerVM Virtualization Technology on IBM POWER7 Systems - A Comparison of PowerVM and VMware Virtualization Performance

Today’s business organizations need to rein in IT costs, but without sacrificing performance, security, reliability, and flexibility. A new era has emerged in which it is now possible, through intelligent and strategic use of new and/or advanced technology, to achieve breakthrough economics, considerably reducing the cost of delivering the workloads central to a business’s operation. Edison describes how IBM PowerVM Virtualization Technology on IBM POWER7 Systems is better than VMware vSphere Virtualization Performance.
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Harnessing the Performance of In-memory Databases with IBM System x eX5 and MAX5

In-memory databases (IMDBs) are a subset of relational database technology that arose in response to industry needs for high-speed data access where on-disk databases were not feasible. One of the most critical factors in deploying IMDBs is provisioning sufficient memory. An IMDB demands considerable memory resources and extremely high performance requiring, in an x86 environment, the highest level of processing power, large memory capacities, and extremely high performing I/O capability. This white paper discusses the only x86 platforms offering a complete solution for enterprise IMDB operations: the IBM eX5 systems. These systems feature Intel Xeon E7processors, larger and more efficient memory options including MAX5, and high IOPS storage. Designed with mainframe-inspired reliability features, eX5 systems have demonstrated record-breaking performance and scalability in mission-critical enterprise-class workload environments.
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IBM System x eX5 - High-Performance Data Storage in x86 Environments

Data-intensive computer applications such as social networking, high-resolution medical imaging and computerized stock trading are pushing demand for innovation in data storage. Traditional hard disk drives (HDD) can become an energy- and space-intensive bottleneck. High spindle count Storage Area Networks (SANs) can require 10 times the amount of storage space to increase the IOPS needed for these data-intensive scenarios. Using flash memory-based solid-state drives (SSD) a single server to provide adequate IOPS and be more cost-effective than a SAN. In addition, SSDs contain no moving parts and consume a fraction of the power required to operate and cool HDDs, while taking up a fraction of the space. This paper compares IBM’s two solutions and their advantages over traditional HDD storage from its portfolio of eX5 rack servers. Both the IBM eXFlash and IBM High IOPS SSD PCIe Adapters are built on flash memory-based SSD technology. The High IOPS Adapter delivers throughput of up to 300,000 IOPS -- 230 times better than with HDD. IBM’s exclusive eXFlash provides flash memory SSD storage that can deliver up to 4.8 TB of storage with 720,000 IOPS using hot-swap drives with optional RAID data protection.
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IBM PowerHA SystemMirror 7.1 — The Value of Deep Integration

High availability (HA) server clustering is an increasingly common strategy used to ensure the resilience of mission-critical business systems and the continuous availability of IT resources. However, multi-platform HA clustering solutions carry significant tradeoffs in functionality and capabilities compared with solutions designed for a specific platform. This white paper discusses how Version 7.1 of IBM PowerHA SystemMirror for AIX takes clustering technology to a new level, moving cluster monitoring and event management functionality into the kernel of the cluster-aware AIX operating system. This makes for a much more robust, efficient operation, as well as greater end-to-end automation, reducing administration costs and complexity.
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Leveraging IBM eX5 Systems for Breakthrough Cost and Density Improvements in Virtualized x86 Environments

Organizations are increasingly addressing the growth in the number of applications and the resulting server sprawl by incorporating server virtualization, which can lower costs for electricity, data center space, etc. However, many organizations are not fully leveraging the capabilities of their servers, as the average VM density falls far short of the true capital and operational savings that virtualization can achieve. This white paper discusses how the IBM eX5 family of servers can readily enable organizations to achieve the highest levels of VM density: a two-socket 1U IBM eX5 server offers up to six times the memory capacity of two-socket 1U servers from other vendors, enabling the replacement of up to six HP DL360 G7 Servers with a single IBM x3690 X5 server.
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The Superiority of the IBM eX5 Systems for Virtualized SAP Environments

Managing multiple-system SAP landscapes has become the largest and fastest-growing cost component in IT. This white paper describes a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) scenario that demonstrates how organizations can consolidate their SAP landscapes by deploying their servers in virtualized SAP environments, with no adverse effect on performance. The PoC consolidates VMs from two four-socket x86 servers, running multifarious SAP workloads at near capacity, into a single eX5 server, thus achieving unprecedented VM consolidation. Overall results showed the workload ran three times faster on the SAP systems that were migrated. These very significant SAP workloads operated on the IBM x3850 X5 with an overall load of below 50 percent CPU utilization and just 28 percent utilization of available memory.
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Harnessing the Power of IBM eX5 Systems for High-Frequency Transaction Processing

High-frequency computing — the use of extremely fast computation to track and measure rapidly changing data — is used in high-tech trading platforms to automatically analyze stock data while executing millions of transactions per second. This white paper describes a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) wherein NYSE Technologies, a provider of electronic trading solutions, sought to take high-frequency trading (HFT) to the next level of capability, within a single x86-based server platform, to deliver an unprecedented level of performance and reliability. Businesses with demanding performance and uptime requirements can now confidently deploy their workloads on an Intel-based server, the IBM x3850 X5 server, to meet their own and their customers’ expectations.
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Lowering Manageability Costs while Expanding Storage Capacity using Oracle's Unified Storage Systems

The drumbeat for expanding storage capacity continues for organizations of all sizes, and as a result, there's an increasing need for easy to use management software that will lower these ownership costs. This white paper describes the results of Edison's Comparative Management Cost study on unified storage systems. The results of our testing show overall that a storage administrator can perform a series of day-to-day tasks in 36 percent less time with 38 percent less complexity on the Oracle Sun ZFS Storage Appliance than is required for the NetApp FAS filer.
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Enhanced Branch Office Productivity and WAN Bandwidth Savings with Microsoft BranchCache, Version 2^TM

With the release of Windows 7, Microsoft has delivered BranchCache, a solution to address the remote office challenge. Working in conjunction with Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7 clients with BranchCache capability enabled can expect to see significant performance improvements when downloading files from the central office. Microsoft commissioned Edison to do a WAN bandwidth savings study for BranchCache. Edison analysts created a set of use case scenarios and ran comparison tests over a range of typical WAN network types. This Edison white paper discusses the results, which showed savings that, in many cases, exceeded our expectations.
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Managing Complexity in the x86 Data Center: The User Experience

The proliferation of servers (both physical and virtual), storage, and network topologies makes managing the plethora of devices in even a small business network critical to the success of the organizations using the technology. For smaller organizations, choosing the right management platforms is becoming an important criterion for selecting between otherwise similar hardware. Edison analysts set out to discover which management platform provided the best user experience and therefore could deliver the most efficient management solution. We brought in groups of testers to compare Dell Management Console, HP Systems Insight Manager, and IBM Systems Director to a lab environment at Edison’s New York City facility.
To see what the tests revealed, read the PDF

Energy Efficiency Comparison Study: IBM BladeCenter vs. HP BladeSystem

Edison developed tests to measure and compare the actual power (energy) consumption of IBM BladeCenter and HP BladeSystem platform configurations, delivering a fresh perspective on a similar comparison study performed a couple years ago. These results show that, in designing a data center for blade servers, the choice of an IBM BladeCenter platform can yield significant operating expense savings while delivering the compute performance required by an organization's applications.
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The Business Value of HP StorageWorks EVA Storage Virtualization

The growth in data storage requirements continues to impact organizations of all sizes. For those organizations whose size, budgets, or technical requirements fit into what is called the midrange, the comparative business value of solution choice depends upon several factors. In addition to acquisition costs, these factors include administrative costs, scalability, reliability, capacity, and the ability to meet constantly changing business and technology needs through flexibility and versatility. This Edison Group white paper examines how storage virtualization as provided by HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Arrays (EVA) can help organizations meet these challenges.
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Operational TCO Comparison: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 File Services vs. Dedicated Storage System Vendors

While new database applications and other server workloads continue to be introduced, file services remains one of the premier drivers of Windows Server installations. This white paper provides informed comparisons between Windows Server 2008 file services and competing file service offerings from various storage manufacturers. Readers will learn how Windows Server 2008 File Services can provide a cost effective alternative to other file storage solutions.
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Advancements in Power Efficiency with the IBM System x3650 & x3550 M2 Servers

Organizations needing new servers must meet apparently conflicting demands for greater performance and scalability versus the need to lower power consumption. This Edison white paper describes the latest advancements in power efficiency offered by the new IBM System x3550 and x3650 servers. It provides readers with an appreciation of how IBM engineers have built servers that provide significant power and performance advantages over older server designs that can lead to significant energy use savings.
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iDataPlex and The Case for High-Density Server Infrastructures

The modern data center is under tremendous pressure to add more computing power while reducing the use of electrical power. This Edison white paper enables data center owners to understand the need for high density data center computer infrastructures and how IBM System x iDataPlex can meet those needs. It provides an overview of the issues data center owners face and of the evolution server technologies to address those issues. It also provides an in-depth review of the iDataPlex architecture and IBM's approach for delivering mass customized data center solutions.
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The Better Choice: HP StorageWorks EVA and HP BladeSystem

Evaluating the Facilitation of EVA vs. EMC CLARiiON CX-4 in the Virtual Server Environment. Server virtualization with VMware has become a mission critical tool in data center consolidation and cost savings efforts. Edison Group analysts demonstrate that the multi-level integration and superior ease of use offered by the combination of HP BladeSystem C-Class Servers, the HP Insight Control Suite and HP StorageWorks Enterprise Virtual Arrays with HP EVA Command View software provide a better solution for most organizations.
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Oracle’s Maximum Availability Architecture on the IBM System z

The IBM DB2 data server platform running on IBM System z has long been established as the platform of choice for enterprise IT data centers serious about availability, performance, security, manageability, and security. However, innovations in technology — particularly in areas of open standards, server virtualization, and high-availability grid computing — today offer viable options. These options deliver matching attributes or better while enabling organizations to more closely align business purposes, strategies, and plans with the technology underpinning them in ways not possible with proprietary systems. Oracle has evolved such architectural approaches that combine the inherent strengths of the System z platform with the bullet-proof, ultra-high availability of Oracle’s platform and Oracle’s Maximum Availability Architecture (MAA) incorporating Linux servers running as Virtual Machines on an on-demand grid computing environment.
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Comparative Management Cost Survey: Workload Weighting for Mid-range Storage Array Administrators

Edison surveyed storage administrators in order to understand how they spend their work day and develop a set of weighting factors that can be used in the analysis of administrator workloads in costs of ownership studies. This white paper describes the survey methodology, the survey results and the analysis leading to the creation of weighting factors. To illustrate their value the weighting factors were then applied to the results of the "HP EVA TCO: HP vs. EMC vs. NetApp" study (listed below on this page) showing that the total workday savings on an organization utilizing HP EVA arrays can be 35 percent and when compared to NetApp the savings would be 50 percent.
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HP EVA4400 Challenge

Edison worked with HP to create The EVA4400 Challenge, a testing environment between their new EVA4400 Array and EMC's CLARiiON CX3-10. HP invited five IT professionals, who had never used either storage array, to run both products through test routines of typical IT staff duties, in order to determine the ease-of-use, manageability, and time savings of each product.
To see how HP won hands down:
Review the report on HP's web site.
Watch the video
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IBM BladeCenter Power Efficiency Study

Edison analysts compared the power utilization of blade server systems from HP and IBM and found that the IBM BladeCenter H system was 10% more efficient than a similarly configured HP BladeSystem C7000. Extrapolated over 224 servers and with an energy cost of 9.4 cents per kilowatt-hour, our results showed that IBM blades can save customers up to $12,000 per year.
See our report on IBM's web site and watch the video from Edison CEO Dan Spiner
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Oracle Linux Support White Paper

In an Open Source environment, one of the key revenue opportunities is from support. This report was developed to assist enterprise customers in making the best possible choice for their Linux support. The report draws a close comparison between Red Hat Linux support versus the Oracle Unbreakable Linux support program, which comes out as the winner and as the best value.
See our report on Oracle's web site.
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HP EVA TCO: HP vs. EMC vs. NetApp

For a storage management study, Edison performed extensive hands-on testing of EMC, NetApp, and HP midrange storage arrays. Edison then performed a total cost of ownership study that showed how products with management tools that are easier to use translates into a lower operating cost. Edison published a TCO report that demonstrates that storage administrator efficiencies can greatly affect ownership costs for SAN arrays in the midmarket.
See the report on HP's web site under November 2008
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Oracle 10g vs. DB2 9 Manageability Cost Study

The latest in a series of studies comparing the management capabilities of the top relational database management systems, this edition shows that Oracle Database 10g Release 2 maintains its lower manageability cost advantage over recently released IBM UDB DB2 9.1. After completing a laboratory study of standard RDBMS administrative tasks, measuring for efficiency (time it takes to complete tasks), Edison analysts found that "Oracle Database 10g Release 2 can provide organizations using the product with 38% annual administration-related time savings."
See the report on Oracle's web site.
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Intel Virtualization TCO Study - "Business Value in Virtualization"

Edison performed a total cost of ownership analysis that demonstrates the business value of selecting top-end Intel Xeon processors for servers in the datacenter. The analysis was based upon the benchmarks established in Edison's previous research paper, Optimizing Virtualized Datacenters
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Oracle 10gR2 vs. SQL Server 2005 Manageability Cost Study

In 2004, Edison developed a metric and methodology for evaluating the manageability of enterprise database management systems. In the last four years, Edison has published a series of studies comparing products from Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM. This study compares the latest releases from Oracle - Oracle Database 10g R2 and Microsoft - Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
Read our report on Oracle's web site
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Symantec vs. Veritas: Break the Bundle

This "Break the Bundle" white paper provides an overview of the practice of selling technology in bundled solutions, and outlines the disadvantages of this practice to the technology buyer. The paper also discusses the financial and operational benefits to technology customers through the use of itemized solutions proposals, and provides strategies and tactics about how to succeed in getting a technology vendor to submit an itemized offering.
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Microsoft Windows Server NetBench Performance Benchmarking

Microsoft Windows Server White Paper: When CIFS Performance Matters Edison published a white paper entitled, "When CIFS Performance Matters" for IT Professionals, CxOs, and purchasing managers who are considering network storage solutions and who wish to understand the value of various vendor-reported performance characteristics.
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See the accompanying lab report
See our report on Microsoft's web site

Intel Virtualization Benchmark White Paper - "Optimizing Virtual Data Centers"

In a new emerging market, an innovative vendor needs to educate the consumer on the advantages of using the new technology. This paper is based on the results from hands-on testing that show the advantages (business benefits) of implementing this technology. Edison created a set of realistic workload benchmarks that demonstrate the scalability of Intel Xeon processors when used in virtualized data centers.
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Edison Puts Leading Middleware Application Servers Through Their Paces

Edison conducted a comparison study of four middleware application server platforms: WebSphere, WebLogic, JBoss, and .NET. The benchmark was intended to simulate an ordinary banking application scenario supporting combinations of normal activities rather than to test maximum throughput. Its design was based on the tiered MVC (Model-View-Controller) pattern considered standard for a user-interfacing application. The results show WebSphere outperforming the other leading servers. The report includes full results and benchmark details.
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HP IT Security Solutions for Government

Edison performed research and published a white paper covering the technical and legislative requirements imposed on the architecture and functionality of IT infrastructure within government organizations. The paper illustrates how HP addresses these security issues with innovative security strategies and Continuity of Operations.
See our report on HP's website.
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Oracle Migrating from Teradata to Oracle Case Studies

Edison performed a study that briefly enumerates the multiple advantages an Oracle platform has over Teradata, and describes how three actual businesses have seized these advantages by migrating from Teradata to Oracle.
See our report on Oracle's web site under Analysts
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Oracle DBI vs. SAP BW White Paper

In this white paper, Edison examines the key differences between Oracle Daily Business Intelligence (DBI) and SAP BW, and explores how they impact the total cost of ownership (TCO) and the total benefit of ownership (TBO). We reviewed various scenarios and looked at the impact of third-party or complementary BI technologies. We also recommended key questions to ask, both of your own organization and of external parties, when evaluating a major ERP investment.
See our report on Oracle's web site.
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CA Intelligent Storage Management White Paper

Edison analysts developed a white paper designed to provide information about the growing challenges of managing data storage in the modern enterprise. The paper describes the capabilities and benefits of today’s modern data storage management solutions, specifically CA's intelligent storage management solutions.
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Sun Solaris Container Technology vs. IBM Logical Partitions and HP Virtual Partitions

Edison performed a comparative study of virtual server technologies from the three leading UNIX vendors. Edison set up a laboratory environment for testing and analyzing the features, functional richness, manageability, and flexibility of Sun's new Solaris Container virtual sever technology against HP and IBM's respective virtual server technologies (HP “vPars” and IBM “LPARs”). The study results showed that Sun’s Solaris Containers technology does provide a more flexible and scalable virtual server environment than those provided by competitive technologies.
See our report on Sun's web site.
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IBM Scalable x64 Server Advantage White Paper

This white paper is for IT decision makers looking for “plain talk” or situational examples involving server performance to help them determine how an 8-processor varies from a 4-processor—and what benefits it will provide them in the long run. The paper focuses on IBM’s xSeries 460, which offers an expandable 64-bit x86 (x64) processing platform that can “scale” to maximize the performance enhancements of the software.
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Identity Access Management Market Overview Report

Edison analysts have been covering the Identity and Access Management platforms industry for several years, producing reports for many of the vendors on a variety of topics. This Business Strategy Report is a distillation of what we've learned and provides readers with an understanding of the primary issues involved in Identity and Access Management and an appreciation of the criteria for selecting the right solution for your organization.
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