we’ve gotten valuable insights into our process and we’re ready to roll it out to other publishers,” says Donaldson. The process involves a deep dive into an application, analyzing its architecture and infrastructure. The firm’s expertise in cloud infrastructure, web performance, and high-availability platforms help identify where issues might occur and what the right configuration for every web server and component is. The final product can be a checklist with recommendations for the best practices for the application that ensures reliability, accessibility, security, and performance. For example, Donaldson and his colleagues have worked with an e-commerce client of a national retailer. The client was inundated with orders and had a business-critical application that could not scale because it relied on manual processes for routing orders to fulfill customer demand. Donaldson says it took several hours to complete the analysis and report, resulting in new application code with automated load balancing and failover, as well as other fixes to improve performance, scalability and reliability. “A couple of months into the project, the client called us and said, ‘OK we’ve taken all of your advice and made all of your recommendations,’” says Donaldson. “They had told us in the first place they were going to adopt some of these things. Now they realized they had to put a team in place to maintain it. We helped them make it a success.” Forrester client Vivek Khemka agrees that working with a consultancy can accelerate the adoption of critical best practices. In his role as an Enterprise Architect at Capital One, Khemka’s team has used IBM’s InfoSphere Information Server database platform and IBM’s MQseries messaging software. “We wanted to improve our platform and enhance service levels so we had the ability to scale, so that when traffic volumes increased, we wouldn’t have any service disruptions,” he says. Using an IBM consultant, Khemka and his team were able to address issues associated with the way the application was architected and the current platform’s design. “The IBM consultant helped our team get to know the IBM software, what it was capable of doing, what it was currently doing in production, and its pros and cons,” he says. “Based on that, we identified a set of architectural modifications that we could make, and that our team would have to work around with and integrate.” Working as a team, the consultants helped build a roadmap and deliverables that were aligned with the goals of the project. For example, they decided to build an IBM WebSphere application server for a new service based on the client’s current service provider. Doing so meant they could keep the existing application server and database as they are, while improving performance. The consultancy’s work enabled Khemka’s team to deliver a solution that’s more than adequate for their client’s needs and performance standards. “We went with the best possible application servers, but in hindsight, that wasn’t good enough,” he says. “It would have been great to know that earlier so we could have focused on the WebSphere solution in our first go-around.” Khemka and his team have worked with IBM consultants for several years now. “We like the way our development and testing is evolving over time. We have a team of consultants that monitors everything in our production environment, and helps us to evolve our strategy.” IBM’s ability to help clients deliver systems that are much more reliable and able to withstand large loads and complex processes will only be enhanced through the IBM Consulting Resource Team’s work. The team is one example of IBM’s commitment to continuing to improve the way it supports its clients and provide them with value. “One of our key objectives is to be a resource,” says Weitz. “That’s our focus and our passion.” The team, which is on target to double in size by the end of this year, provides a full range of capabilities to support IBM clients. They provide training and consulting services, build custom solutions based on IBM technology, and help implement emerging technology. The consultants will continue to deliver world-class capabilities for the business and IT communities around the world. “We want to be the gold standard in doing business with IBM consultants and IBM software,” says Donaldson. “If they’re part of the IBM Consulting Resource Team, they are part of IBM. That means we’re supporting their efforts in our clients’ best interest. Our goal is to work with our clients to make their environment a lot more manageable and to help them become successful.” Donaldson sums up the team’s work as, “We’re here to help and offer great advice, and we’re not asking for a single penny from our clients. If we do our job right, they should have a better application. We put a smile on their faces, and for us, that’s priceless.” Follow me on Twitter @larryolm. Check out the first two articles in this series: Tapping IBM’s consulting resources to achieve business goals and Growing your business with IBM consulting services. Looking for an expert to help plan, install and configure your IBM PureSystems and Power Systems? Or your IBM Information Management infrastructure? Contact IBM Consulting Resource Teams. They’re available to help. For more information, visit: http://www.ibm.com/services/us/en/consulting/