Unisys has launched its new Forward! by Unisys enterprise computing platform, with SAP applications and platform migration a particular use case to be targeted with the new product.
Under development for five years, Unisys says the “breakthrough fabric-based solution” will bring unprecedented levels of mission-critical security, availability, scalability and predictable computing performance to workloads running on Intel-based servers.
The Forward! platform, which combines Unisys secure partitioning technology with Intel Xeon processors and virtualisation technologies, could cut capital expenses by between 50 to 60 per cent and reduce total cost of ownership by up to 40 per cent, compared with competitive Unix systems.
Unisys also said that compared to physical Linux or Windows environments, the Forward! platform can eliminate up to 70 per cent of physical servers, reduce software licensing and hardware maintenance costs by up to 70 per cent, and cut server provisioning time for mission-critical workloads from weeks to hours.
Vic Herring, Forward! by Unisys and ClearPath program manager for Unisys Asia Pacific and Japan, said because Forward! has been build on a fabric structure that is technology agnostic, it provides a truly extensible solution, allowing organisations to build on the architecture over time.
The company has identified three specific use cases expected to benefit from the implementation of Forward!: UNIX-to-Linux applications migration, SAP applications and platform migration, and data centre consolidation. Unisys has a specific service offering for these use cases.
With the average HANA deployment requiring 4 TB of memory – and larger deployments requiring a minimum 70TB memory – organisations embracing the in-memory technology will require an architecture that supports these system requirements. Unisys says Forward! can provide this, by simulating the traditional SAP physical configuration in a secure and predictive virtualised environment.
On the new platform’s potential to boost the performance of SAP ERP, Herring said that by taking advantage of the partition technology in the configuration of the ERP system, it can run “blisteringly fast”.
Herring flagged more announcements in the future stemming from a “significant amount of work” Unisys is currently undertaking with SAP.
Unisys has also launched the latest version of its Stealth cybersecurity product – Unisys Stealth for Mobile – to help enterprises manage risks associated with an increase in BYOD by employees.
Paul Head-McNeil, APAC program manager, cyber security and data centre transformation and outsourcing, Unisys, said the solution extends beyond typical mobile device management capabilities to provide security from the mobile environment right into the data centre.
According to Unisys, Stealth uses advanced data cloaking and encryption techniques to help organisations mitigate cybersecurity attacks and hacker incidents by rendering devices, data and end users virtually invisible on the network. By creating secure user communities within an enterprise, only authorised users can access or see information.
The Stealth for mobile solution combines this technology with application wrapping software, to be provided by Mocana under a worldwide reseller agreement, that allows users to define specific security policies on a per-mobile application basis. Stealth for Mobile then adds a layer of identity-based security that gives users access and visibility rights to only the assets within the data centre they are entitled to access and see.
Head-McNeil said the solution is quick to deploy, and does not requires changes to existing mobile infrastructure investments. Only one licence per user is required, even if the user has multiple devices.
