The IBM Middleware User Community was created to offer IBM product users more valuable content and that all starts with its 90,000+ members!
Last time we interviewed Kenio Carvalho, an IBM Champion who specializes in WebSphere Portal and Notes. This week I interviewed Michael Elleby, a Tivoli professional who has a background in a variety of topics including TWS, Netcool, ITSM, ITM, and more! He first became involved in the User Community in the late 90's to connect with other TWS users. Around 2007 he actively participated in Tivoli Framework/Monitoring forums and provided guidance to other users. Today Michael is involved with a Netcool user group, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest Tivoli user groups, and enjoys traveling around North America to speak on a variety of Tivoli-related topics.
How do you interact with IBM’s products on a daily basis?
As of this March, I was promoted to Technology Manger, IT Service Management at Prolifics, and I have a team of 4 engineers skilled in various IBM/Tivoli solutions (WebSphere, MQ, IIB, ITM, ITCAM, APM). As well as work on the deployment of products under the ITSM ‘umbrella’, I oversee all current efforts in the ITSM space, whether we are talking about ITM, ITCAM, TBSM, TADDM and even Netcool based products.
I’m currently developing our strategy to continue to work with these products as well as the new APM product, and its integration with other IBM and third-party products. I am also working on the Netcool Operations Insights product as well as the Analytics products (Predictive Insights and Log Analysis), to be able to deploy this product for our customers. I run a full test IBM Tivoli Environment with all of the installed products that I support.
I also participate in various IBM Development efforts such as Runbook Automation, Alert Notification UI, Operations Management as a Service, IT Operations Analytics, and IBM Watson Analytics.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I am an avid 70’s fan, as that’s the time in which I grew up in. I collect things I remember from that time, legacy audio equipment (I’m actually looking for a Reel To Reel, which I used to own when I lived in NYC, which is where I grew up..), Lionel Trains and gear. Currently, I am working my own Lionel train project - to set up an entire landscape with the old locomotive and Santa Fe trains. To the left is a picture of me with my Audi Q7, Smoke!
What do you see as the hottest trends in technology today?
Hmm, the hottest trend... That would be the effort I am seeing to move products to the cloud, which is an endeavor because we have a great deal of customers that love their on-prem solutions. But it's hot because the stress is on being able to access what you need from anywhere, any time of the day. But I do see an Achilles heel if we don’t catch it right away, we’re developing technology and making progress, but we need to make sure that we are keeping customers in the loop because they need a methodology to know how to best use this technology.
How can an organization stay relevant 5 years from now?
With the core of users that work on their on-prem solutions that provide a reasonable level of assurance that their data on the back end is safe, it's that they begin to look at Hybrid cloud solutions which I’ve been touting since I heard the word ‘Cloud’. We shouldn’t expect organizations to adopt Cloud to replace their legacy systems (on-prem) without levels of reassurance that they can execute strategies to migrate them there without interruptions to the levels of service they’ve become accustomed to with their current solutions.
What do you consider most promising in the era of cognitive computing?
The ability to invoke predictive eventing coupled with runbook automation as a result of the analysis of collected and active data. To truly provide your customer with the reassurance that their IT is actually ‘doing what we are paying for it to do’, we must be able to send up ‘flares’ when an app or hardware component is in trouble, and in most cases ‘provide automated response’ to minimize degradation and outages. For me, this has been the goal of IT Service Management from Day one. If cognitive computing is to be successful, it needs to be able to do exactly that.
What app can you not live without?
Hmm, I’d go with the Maps app, as when I’m traveling, and in some cases, don’t get good directions, the nav capability gets me to where I need to be. The other is the ‘traffic’ app when I’m in the Mid-Atlantic area (MD/DC/VA), good to know about traffic congestion when I’m traveling.. lol.
What was the worst job you ever had?
Would have to be one of the first government contracts I worked on back in 2006. First up, I didn’t get the position that I originally interviewed for - they gave it to a guy that I had to ultimately replace because he didn’t know anything about the Tivoli application we were supporting. A supervisor challenged my knowledge on the product we were supporting, since I had taken over from the previous consultant, and was asked by my manager if I’d take an exam to certify my knowledge. Though I was insulted, I challenged both my superiors that I’d take the exam right then. The issue was due to an outage that the previous consultant had not detected and did not know how to investigate, and I resolved it the same day. I was glad when I left that position.
You pull up to a coffee shop. What do you order?
Espresso, but with heavy whipping cream and Splenda (have to watch that sugar.. lol) to smooth it out…
Most importantly.... if you were a breakfast food, what kind would you be and why?
I would probably be a Mexican Omelet... Instead of the normal omelet, I would use spicy ‘Pico de Gallo’ as it would be a mixture of the original with some spice.. because I try to add an element of laughter and amusement to my personality, enjoying the spice of life.. I like to laugh!