The Journey Begins...

In essence, this ebook is about change and the ability to effectively respond to it. The business world is undergoing a fundamental shift which will increasingly favor the swift and nimble. Those businesses that can effectively "sense and respond" to changing business conditions will have the upper hand. IBM calls such a business an on demand business. An on demand business is responsive, variable, focused, and resilient.

The IT infrastructure that supports an on demand business must also be swift and nimble. IBM calls such an infrastructure an on demand operating environment and describes it more specifically as one that is integrated, open, virtualized, and autonomic.

In this ebook, we have briefly surveyed some key technology building blocks that you can mix and match to construct an on demand operating environment, including the IBM eServer product lines, TotalStorage disk and tape devices, Infoprint printers, and related software. We have seen that help is available for planning and implementing a migration toward the on demand business model and the supporting on demand operating environment.

As with any major change, pursuing an on demand agenda comes with risk. You can choose not to respond to the changes taking place in today's business world, but what about your competitors? Some of them will likely choose to respond to change and in doing so find new ways to reduce their operating expenses, offer new products/services to your customers more quickly, and increase their sales at your expense. Wait until they get a foothold and it may be too late to respond in a meaningful way. So in today's world... the on demand world... the biggest risk is faced by those who choose to do nothing at all. So let the journey begin.