For me personally, EBUG (European BASE24 User Group) is quite a significant event for two reasons. Firstly it’s EMEA’s premier gathering for anyone with an interest in BASE24 and other related ACI products. And secondly, because it marks my first year of involvement/employment in the HP NonStop field – the 2009 EBUG in Prague last year was my first day on the job!
The big talking point from last year was ACI’s announcement that BASE24 ‘classic’ would be phased out within a couple of years and its new collaboration with IBM. It’s safe to say that this announcement wasn’t greeted with the warmth that ACI had expected.
A year later, we’re in Madrid, Spain, and there was far less controversy. ACI had obviously taken its customer’s feedback on board and stances have changed and relaxed. Deadlines for BASE24’s ‘sun-setting’ have been extended and it’s now talked about as the end of ‘support’ for BASE24 classic, as opposed to the product itself. It’s no huge surprise that ACI was still keen for as many of its customers as possible to migrate to BASE24-eps, pointing out that over 20 customers have now made the switch.
From what I gather, the IBM situation hasn’t seen the exodus from HP NonStop that certain parties might have been hoping for – I may be wrong, but I don’t know of any HP NonStop users who have jumped ship to IBM. In fact, I dare say that ACI/IBM bringing hardware to the fore has actually resulted in a few NonStop Blade upgrades for existing HP customers. I can only see that as a good thing. But don’t go thinking that IBM has admitted defeat, would there have been a ‘stand of the show’ award, IBM would have won it with ease...
In the XYPRO booth there were less plasma TVs and halogen light bulbs, but that didn’t mean there was any less activity. Many thanks to all those who dropped by for a chat, to pick up product info and to enter their business card to win an HP Netbook. The drawing was held at the gala evening meal and was won by Attila Biro of Comparex, so congratulations to him!
Overall it was another successful EBUG event and we look forward to next year’s, which we hear will be taking place in Germany.
XYPRO’s next few European events are a one day BITUG SIG on 19th May in London and a much larger Viking NonStop User Group (VNUG) annual meeting in Stockholm during the last week the month. If you’re going to either, we look forward to saying hi and perhaps sharing a beer or two in the bar...
Dan Lewis
European Marketing Manager
Monday, May 10, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Product Spotlight:SQLXPress
SQLXPress Can Help You Manage Your HP NonStop SQL Databases
In November, 2009, we announced our strategic partnership with Merlon. Since that time, we have really enjoyed educating our customers about the beneficial tools Merlon offers.
In today’s blog, we’d like to highlight a tool that provides comprehensive support for managing large, complex database environments. The solution, SQLXPress, is an essential companion product for SQL/MX and SQL/MP.
Simplify with SQLXPress
SQLXPress supports all standard DDL operations, and offers several advanced features that are not available with the command line interface, such as compare data definition language (DDL), two-way object relationship browsing, multi-object commands and partition key data analysis.
SQLXPress offers benefits database administrators, software developers, quality assurance analysts and technical support staff. With SQLXPress, users can benefit from the following:
• Simplified Database Administration
• Improved Application Performance
• Increased Productivity
• Easy-to-use Modern Graphical User Interface
• Simplified Data Browsing
• Easy Statistics Management
To learn more about this sophisticated database management tool click here.
Or look for our upcoming webcasts that feature all of our database and security tools.
In November, 2009, we announced our strategic partnership with Merlon. Since that time, we have really enjoyed educating our customers about the beneficial tools Merlon offers.
In today’s blog, we’d like to highlight a tool that provides comprehensive support for managing large, complex database environments. The solution, SQLXPress, is an essential companion product for SQL/MX and SQL/MP.
Simplify with SQLXPress
SQLXPress supports all standard DDL operations, and offers several advanced features that are not available with the command line interface, such as compare data definition language (DDL), two-way object relationship browsing, multi-object commands and partition key data analysis.
SQLXPress offers benefits database administrators, software developers, quality assurance analysts and technical support staff. With SQLXPress, users can benefit from the following:
• Simplified Database Administration
• Improved Application Performance
• Increased Productivity
• Easy-to-use Modern Graphical User Interface
• Simplified Data Browsing
• Easy Statistics Management
To learn more about this sophisticated database management tool click here.
Or look for our upcoming webcasts that feature all of our database and security tools.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
And the Winner is….
The winner of XYPRO’s Events survey drawing is:
Michael Crispyn, Vice President
Group Manager, Tandem Online Systems
Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC
Scott won the $100 Gift Card drawing for filling out our recent survey.
As promised, here are the results of XYPRO's Survey about which upcoming shows our customers/prospects will be attending.
75% of those who responded are going to the NonStop Summit in San Jose
25% of those who responded are going to HP Tech Forum - Las Vegas
Anastasia Valentine asked: Lisa-how many in total responded?
Lisa Responded:
48 people replied, about which show they or people from their company would be attending, speaking on behalf of about 60 individual attendees.
6 additional responders didn't say which show because they weren't sure yet.
3 said they no plans to attend either show.
We had several international "Yes" answers - which is also encouraging.
A couple of interesting comments in the "free form" field - 3 people said they weren't aware that the NonStop event in September was happening due to the lack of marketing,
but they were all aware that HPTF was happening.
So those percentages match up with Ernie Guerrera's poll of his customer base, if I recall correctly.
So if roughly 70-75% of those going to a show are coming to San Jose, we just have to make sure enough people know about the NonStop event to consider it. So please pass the word around!
Michael Crispyn, Vice President
Group Manager, Tandem Online Systems
Fifth Third Processing Solutions, LLC
Scott won the $100 Gift Card drawing for filling out our recent survey.
As promised, here are the results of XYPRO's Survey about which upcoming shows our customers/prospects will be attending.
75% of those who responded are going to the NonStop Summit in San Jose
25% of those who responded are going to HP Tech Forum - Las Vegas
Anastasia Valentine asked: Lisa-how many in total responded?
Lisa Responded:
48 people replied, about which show they or people from their company would be attending, speaking on behalf of about 60 individual attendees.
6 additional responders didn't say which show because they weren't sure yet.
3 said they no plans to attend either show.
We had several international "Yes" answers - which is also encouraging.
A couple of interesting comments in the "free form" field - 3 people said they weren't aware that the NonStop event in September was happening due to the lack of marketing,
but they were all aware that HPTF was happening.
So those percentages match up with Ernie Guerrera's poll of his customer base, if I recall correctly.
So if roughly 70-75% of those going to a show are coming to San Jose, we just have to make sure enough people know about the NonStop event to consider it. So please pass the word around!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Product Spotlight:Encryption PRO
Don’t Let this Be You!
As you’ve probably already heard, a hacker was able to break into the database of RockYou, which provides applications and services for social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. This hacker obtained 32 million clear-text passwords! For whatever reason, the passwords of RockYou’s customers were not encrypted and were an easy target. RockYou is now encrypting all passwords and reviewing their current data security features to ensure that they meet industry standards and best practices. Of course, they’re undoubtedly wishing they would have taken this approach 32 million passwords sooner.
Protect Passwords with Encryption PRO
XYGATE Encryption PRO provides encryption for just about any type of communications between computer systems. These components enable you to encrypt interactive sessions, transaction sessions, file transfer sessions and databases or fields. Using software-based mechanisms, XYGATE provides encryption for not only HP NonStop servers and PC workstations, but also Unix, IBM OS390 and Z/OS, and many more....
XYGATE Encryption is the ideal solution set for protecting data in transit. A variety of components provide privacy for many types of sessions:
• Between your HP NonStop servers,
• Between HP NonStop servers and your PC workstations
• Many other platforms.
Protecting the privacy of data at rest is achieved via encrypting files and databases. XYGATE makes it practical to encrypt files for online storage, entire databases, or just selected fields that contain sensitive information. Learn more at www.xypro.com
As you’ve probably already heard, a hacker was able to break into the database of RockYou, which provides applications and services for social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. This hacker obtained 32 million clear-text passwords! For whatever reason, the passwords of RockYou’s customers were not encrypted and were an easy target. RockYou is now encrypting all passwords and reviewing their current data security features to ensure that they meet industry standards and best practices. Of course, they’re undoubtedly wishing they would have taken this approach 32 million passwords sooner.
Protect Passwords with Encryption PRO
XYGATE Encryption PRO provides encryption for just about any type of communications between computer systems. These components enable you to encrypt interactive sessions, transaction sessions, file transfer sessions and databases or fields. Using software-based mechanisms, XYGATE provides encryption for not only HP NonStop servers and PC workstations, but also Unix, IBM OS390 and Z/OS, and many more....
XYGATE Encryption is the ideal solution set for protecting data in transit. A variety of components provide privacy for many types of sessions:
• Between your HP NonStop servers,
• Between HP NonStop servers and your PC workstations
• Many other platforms.
Protecting the privacy of data at rest is achieved via encrypting files and databases. XYGATE makes it practical to encrypt files for online storage, entire databases, or just selected fields that contain sensitive information. Learn more at www.xypro.com
Thursday, March 18, 2010
XYPRO Recognized for Outstanding Support with Two Awards
Thank you to everyone we visited at the recent SATUG. It was a pleasure to meet with all of you and we look forward to our future partnerships. We are honored to announce that XYPRO received two awards at the event. The first was for Outstanding Support of SATUG and the second was presented to our regional representative, Morne Conradie. Morne received an individual recognition award for his Outstanding Contributions over the years. Thank you to everyone involved, as we continually strive to exceed your NonStop security, compliance and encryption needs.
See you in the SUN!
Please visit us at the Sunshine Summit in Tampa, Florida.
SUNTUG Conference- Friday, 19 March 2010 at Embassy Suites
Tampa - Airport/Westshore - 555 N. Westshore Blvd. - Tampa Florida 33609 - 813-875-1555
See you in the SUN!
Please visit us at the Sunshine Summit in Tampa, Florida.
SUNTUG Conference- Friday, 19 March 2010 at Embassy Suites
Tampa - Airport/Westshore - 555 N. Westshore Blvd. - Tampa Florida 33609 - 813-875-1555
Monday, March 8, 2010
SATUG and DUST 2010
XYPRO is Gearing Up for SATUG!
The SATUG 2010 Summit & AGM will take place on the 9th and 10th March 2010, followed by a training session on the 11th. SATUG will take place at the Emerald Casino and Hotel Resort in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa, and XYPRO is gearing up for this wonderful event. Along with gaining and sharing critical user group knowledge, attendees will have the opportunity to discover the newest solutions on the market!
Also, join XYPRO at the next DUST meeting - Tuesday 16 March!
The next DUST Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 16th, at CVS Caremark in Scottsdale, AZ. The continental breakfast sponsored by XYPRO will start at 8:30 am with the meeting starting at 9:00 am. Lunch is sponsored by ACI Worldwide and will be brought in after the meeting. NTI will be giving an HP Mini again and there will be other door prizes.
The presentations are:
User Presentation from Wells Fargo on security. Chris Draper will be showing some of the things WFB does on the Tandem: user/HR processing, personnel info in the SAFEGUARD profile, separation of duties, etc. Mark Hammett is a contractor at Wells and will be discussing an alternative implementation of XYGATE Merged Audit and how it could be used to full advantage to achieve PCI compliance.
Jim Bowers of ACI Worldwide will present ACI and HP - 35 Years of NonStop.
Network Technologies International will do a short presentation on the latest with NTI and DRNet and their customer trends for 2010.
Please RSVP to Cathy (480-766-5440 or cathy.meurer@usfood.com) for both the meeting and lunch.
The SATUG 2010 Summit & AGM will take place on the 9th and 10th March 2010, followed by a training session on the 11th. SATUG will take place at the Emerald Casino and Hotel Resort in Vanderbijlpark, South Africa, and XYPRO is gearing up for this wonderful event. Along with gaining and sharing critical user group knowledge, attendees will have the opportunity to discover the newest solutions on the market!
Also, join XYPRO at the next DUST meeting - Tuesday 16 March!
The next DUST Meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 16th, at CVS Caremark in Scottsdale, AZ. The continental breakfast sponsored by XYPRO will start at 8:30 am with the meeting starting at 9:00 am. Lunch is sponsored by ACI Worldwide and will be brought in after the meeting. NTI will be giving an HP Mini again and there will be other door prizes.
The presentations are:
User Presentation from Wells Fargo on security. Chris Draper will be showing some of the things WFB does on the Tandem: user/HR processing, personnel info in the SAFEGUARD profile, separation of duties, etc. Mark Hammett is a contractor at Wells and will be discussing an alternative implementation of XYGATE Merged Audit and how it could be used to full advantage to achieve PCI compliance.
Jim Bowers of ACI Worldwide will present ACI and HP - 35 Years of NonStop.
Network Technologies International will do a short presentation on the latest with NTI and DRNet and their customer trends for 2010.
Please RSVP to Cathy (480-766-5440 or cathy.meurer@usfood.com) for both the meeting and lunch.
Friday, February 19, 2010
From the CEO's Desk
I hope everyone is getting a good start on 2010. We have received a large amount of positive customer feedback on our reseller relationship with Merlon and we thank you for that.
Traditionally at XYPRO, we begin each February with a week of Kick-Off sessions. All of us gather at our California headquarters to assess the previous year and set plans for the future. It’s a time of concentrated information exchange and collaborative brainstorming, with all teams participating ‘across all the aisles’. It’s an opportunity to discuss changes in the market and our customers’ needs. We go over feedback from customers and partners regarding current requirements and anticipate what security functions will be needed, both to meet future compliance regulations and to thwart security threats. A high priority includes looking at our products and evaluating how to improve and repackage them so that customers can easily purchase the modules that they need and use them to their best advantage.
There are a number of exciting activities afoot with us, some of which we can share, and some of which we need to keep secret for just a bit longer. What I can tell you is that we cut our first deal with a Neoview customer, so we’re now protecting a high profile decision support system built from the ground up on the most scalable and available data warehouse platforms.
After my last column, an HP press release announced enhancements to our favorite system, the NonStop Server. It quoted Diederick de Buck, technical architect for NonStop systems at Rabobank, who said that, “Rabobank looks to HP NonStop technology to handle our mission-critical financial services applications and help mitigate risks associated with virtual banking.”
As you might imagine, the best way to mitigate the risks associated with any online application is through the implementation of secure systems, secure networks, and secure applications. With NonStop as the foundation, all that remains is to protect your application and network communications – and we’re here to help you do that with products and consulting services.
The release also mentioned the new NonStop BladeCluster Express 1.2, which allows the creation of complex enterprise data center systems spanning a large geographic area and thousands of processors. Other enhancements include the capability for improved business decision-making by aggregating “islands” of information across an enterprise. Can you say, “cloud computing?”
While other companies are just starting to talk about the cloud, XYPRO customers, like a large travel booking site, have been building clouds out of NonStop servers for many years. And not just any cloud, but a scalable, available, and secure cloud. So when a C-level exec drops by and asks what you are doing about cloud computing, just point to your NonStop Servers and let him or her know that everything is under control.
In other news, a hacker was able to break into the database of RockYou, which provides applications and services for social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and obtained 32 million clear-text passwords. For whatever reason, the passwords of RockYou’s customers were not encrypted and were an easy target. Now that the horse has left the barn, RockYou has found religion and is encrypting all passwords and reviewing their current data security features to ensure that they meet industry standards and best practices. Do you have ENCRYPTPASSWORD set for your UserID file? Have you upgraded from DES to HMAC256 encryption? Call our tech support line if you want assistance with either of these.
And speaking of encryption, watch for our own Scott Uroff’s article in the next issue of Connection magazine. This article will describe the various types of encryption algorithms and how they work, point out the limitations when using specific encryption methods, and address how important it is for companies to use approved and certified encryption modules within their infrastructure.
To close, I want to mention that just like XYPRO, the US government also is working on advancements in data protection. The FIPS 140-2 Level 2 standard to which we certify our encryption products dates back to May 2001. This is one year after the Zero Latency Enterprise (ZLE) was first introduced and the same year that HP announced the merger with Compaq. This is pre-NonStop SQL/MX and well before Integrity NonStop. As you can imagine, we could not agree more that the standard needs to be updated and our cryptographers are already evaluating any changes needed to comply with this new standard when it is published next year.
Sheila Johnson
Traditionally at XYPRO, we begin each February with a week of Kick-Off sessions. All of us gather at our California headquarters to assess the previous year and set plans for the future. It’s a time of concentrated information exchange and collaborative brainstorming, with all teams participating ‘across all the aisles’. It’s an opportunity to discuss changes in the market and our customers’ needs. We go over feedback from customers and partners regarding current requirements and anticipate what security functions will be needed, both to meet future compliance regulations and to thwart security threats. A high priority includes looking at our products and evaluating how to improve and repackage them so that customers can easily purchase the modules that they need and use them to their best advantage.
There are a number of exciting activities afoot with us, some of which we can share, and some of which we need to keep secret for just a bit longer. What I can tell you is that we cut our first deal with a Neoview customer, so we’re now protecting a high profile decision support system built from the ground up on the most scalable and available data warehouse platforms.
After my last column, an HP press release announced enhancements to our favorite system, the NonStop Server. It quoted Diederick de Buck, technical architect for NonStop systems at Rabobank, who said that, “Rabobank looks to HP NonStop technology to handle our mission-critical financial services applications and help mitigate risks associated with virtual banking.”
As you might imagine, the best way to mitigate the risks associated with any online application is through the implementation of secure systems, secure networks, and secure applications. With NonStop as the foundation, all that remains is to protect your application and network communications – and we’re here to help you do that with products and consulting services.
The release also mentioned the new NonStop BladeCluster Express 1.2, which allows the creation of complex enterprise data center systems spanning a large geographic area and thousands of processors. Other enhancements include the capability for improved business decision-making by aggregating “islands” of information across an enterprise. Can you say, “cloud computing?”
While other companies are just starting to talk about the cloud, XYPRO customers, like a large travel booking site, have been building clouds out of NonStop servers for many years. And not just any cloud, but a scalable, available, and secure cloud. So when a C-level exec drops by and asks what you are doing about cloud computing, just point to your NonStop Servers and let him or her know that everything is under control.
In other news, a hacker was able to break into the database of RockYou, which provides applications and services for social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and obtained 32 million clear-text passwords. For whatever reason, the passwords of RockYou’s customers were not encrypted and were an easy target. Now that the horse has left the barn, RockYou has found religion and is encrypting all passwords and reviewing their current data security features to ensure that they meet industry standards and best practices. Do you have ENCRYPTPASSWORD set for your UserID file? Have you upgraded from DES to HMAC256 encryption? Call our tech support line if you want assistance with either of these.
And speaking of encryption, watch for our own Scott Uroff’s article in the next issue of Connection magazine. This article will describe the various types of encryption algorithms and how they work, point out the limitations when using specific encryption methods, and address how important it is for companies to use approved and certified encryption modules within their infrastructure.
To close, I want to mention that just like XYPRO, the US government also is working on advancements in data protection. The FIPS 140-2 Level 2 standard to which we certify our encryption products dates back to May 2001. This is one year after the Zero Latency Enterprise (ZLE) was first introduced and the same year that HP announced the merger with Compaq. This is pre-NonStop SQL/MX and well before Integrity NonStop. As you can imagine, we could not agree more that the standard needs to be updated and our cryptographers are already evaluating any changes needed to comply with this new standard when it is published next year.
Sheila Johnson
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