News from CA

Such mystification is common. A survey by the software company CA Technologies found most consumers didn't know why they were receiving the new chip cards, and were confused about the benefits. Another 37 percent said their card issuer provided insufficient information on usage, and 77 percent said they believe it will better protect them from fraud during online shopping. (It won't).

LAS VEGAS—CA Technologies isn't one of those companies mentioned often in cocktail conversations. When someone asks what exactly CA does, even longtime employees have to stop, take a sip from a drink, and think for a minute before carefully offering an answer.

Some folks familiar with the company roll their eyes when the name comes up. CA, a survivor of 40 years in the business—a veritable millennium in IT time—isn't known for making headlines in innovation sections of tech magazines. It is a steady performer with a widespread installed base, and while it may not be flashy, it is experienced in problem solving. Please note: Boards of directors who spend lots of money on IT systems like steady, experienced and dependable.

CA could use an accurate descriptor. Unless you're downloading or installing a function, software is taken for granted; the code gets loaded, the icon hangs around until you need it, then the app does its chore. That's the nature of the business. But this is a company that often gets lost in the marketing noise, which is exceedingly easy to do in the spinning-turnstile world of tech. 

LAS VEGAS—CA Technologies has, over a lot of years in business, earned the reputation of being a company that would rather buy than build. All one has to do is look at the number of acquisitions the company has made—65 since 1981, 20 of those since 2006—to observe CA's strategy.

While CA in 2015 isn't exactly saying it is veering away from that approach under new CEO Mike Gregoire, it is allocating many more resources (including $600 million this year) toward research and development of its own as it continues to integrate all that intellectual property into products and services that it believes enterprise IT systems will want, now and in the future.

A little background: CA Technologies, formerly known as Computer Associates International Inc. and CA Inc., is one of the largest independent software corporations in the world. It is a New York City-based, publicly held, multinational company that creates systems software (and previously applications software) that runs in mainframe, distributed computing, bare metal servers, virtual machine and cloud computing environments.

The glue that holds the entire infrastructure together is a CA API Management platform, which IceMobile began using in early 2014. The Retailer API manages the integration between IceMobile's backend systems and retailers' CRM, ERP and POS systems. A private UX API handles integration with mobile and Web apps that interface with IceMobile's backend systems.

"The system creates an extremely smooth and seamless framework," says Roelof Blom, IceMobile's technology director. In addition, it provides detailed reporting, analytics and dashboards that let retailers track the success of their marketing initiatives and view overall trends.

The CA API Management platform eliminated the need to develop and test custom software. When IceMobile upgraded its architecture to the current IT framework, it was able to trim implementation time from 14 weeks to eight weeks.

The glue that holds the entire infrastructure together is a CA API Management platform, which IceMobile began using in early 2014. The Retailer API manages the integration between IceMobile's backend systems and retailers' CRM, ERP and POS systems. A private UX API handles integration with mobile and Web apps that interface with IceMobile's backend systems.

"The system creates an extremely smooth and seamless framework," says Roelof Blom, IceMobile's technology director. In addition, it provides detailed reporting, analytics and dashboards that let retailers track the success of their marketing initiatives and view overall trends.

The CA API Management platform eliminated the need to develop and test custom software. When IceMobile upgraded its architecture to the current IT framework, it was able to trim implementation time from 14 weeks to eight weeks.

- See more at: http://www.baselinemag.com/crm/icemobile-heats-up-customer-loyalty.html#sthash.oh0GmAYr.dpuf

The glue that holds the entire infrastructure together is a CA API Management platform, which IceMobile began using in early 2014. The Retailer API manages the integration between IceMobile's backend systems and retailers' CRM, ERP and POS systems. A private UX API handles integration with mobile and Web apps that interface with IceMobile's backend systems.

"The system creates an extremely smooth and seamless framework," says Roelof Blom, IceMobile's technology director. In addition, it provides detailed reporting, analytics and dashboards that let retailers track the success of their marketing initiatives and view overall trends.

The CA API Management platform eliminated the need to develop and test custom software. When IceMobile upgraded its architecture to the current IT framework, it was able to trim implementation time from 14 weeks to eight weeks.

- See more at: http://www.baselinemag.com/crm/icemobile-heats-up-customer-loyalty.html#sthash.oh0GmAYr.dpuf

Ever since the first hunks of Big Iron hit the streets, we’ve been struggling (and failing) to keep up with the demand for software applications.

Now it’s getting harder. Not only do we have to satisfy an insatiable appetite for new apps and services, but the nature of the business palate is changing. Business now demands a continuous flow of software innovation over back-office application support – or using the haute cuisine analogy – they want IT to serve a classy degustation menu versus just warming up a ready-made TV dinner.

All this bodes well for the fast iterative style agile, with fully autonomous development teams empowered to increase the rate of software deployments.

Sound great, but what does this mean for IT Ops?

At year-end, we often consider where we've fallen short over the last twelve months - and how we can do better over the next twelve. For IT leaders, DevOps is likely to be a primary concern for 2016. As application awesomeness becomes more important to the business, IT must get great code into production faster. DevOps success is thus imperative - especially if you're competing against digital-first market disrupters.

DevOps, though, isn't just about engineering better processes. It's also about cultural transformation. This reality makes some IT leaders uneasy, because excellence at operational management - rather than cultural leadership - got them where they are today.

But DevOps success requires cultural leadership. Without that leadership, people will work in 2016 the same way they worked in 2015.

2. Think hard about what data can be potentially taken. “Think about the worst and assume that the data could somehow get out and then ask yourself if you can truly tolerate that or not.”

— Scott Morrison, SVP at CA Technologies.

LAS VEGAS—As calendar year 2015 year winds down, Las Vegas in the days before Thanksgiving is remarkably quiet. Planes coming in aren't as packed with people, you can walk right up to a cab at McCarran International Airport, and obtaining a restaurant reservation generally is a snap.

However, it's still high IT conference season at Mandalay Bay here, where CA Technologies is staging its CA World '15 conference for a reported 4,000 attendees. As a company that has been built by acquisitions over years of time yet frankly isn't in the news all that often, CA is using this big opportunity to make a statement, and the New York City-based company has selected this: "Harnessing the Power of Disruption in the Application Economy." 

CA certainly has been disruptive in its own way, changing the routines of numerous smaller companies by acquiring them (20 since 2006 alone) to fulfill its stated mission: to mold together IT solutions of value for its customers that already contain proven secret sauce cooked up by others.

The unveilings at this week's CA World '15 conference in Las Vegas are the fruits of the New York-based company's efforts to step up its product line expansion efforts. In June, the company hired Otto Berkes from HBO to be CA's chief technology officer and in July hired Ayman Sayed from Cisco as chief product officer.

"CA is becoming more relevant to the discussion and CA's products more top of mind because the app economy is changing the focus from the IT department to the line of business," Sayed said in an interview with CRN.

CA’s new tagline – business, rewritten by software – does a good job of distilling Gregoire’s strategy. “Software creates completely new business models,” Gregoire explains. “Not software simply as a technology product. Instead, software as a basic organizing principle for your business.”

he correct use of software to identify waves of innovation is vital for businesses to stay relevant.

Speaking at CA World 2015, Mike Gregoire, CEO, CA Technologies, said: "You have to catch the wave when it hits - or risk being left behind. The window of opportunity to surf the wave is getting shorter."

Gregoire identified software as an 'organising principle' with the ability to become a, "lever to innovate and grow."

Gregoire, said: "Software allows scale, reduces friction, adds speed. Software creates completely new business models."

The company has placed agile development at the centre of success, both for developers and business, with the CA Technologies boss identifying it at as being central to digital transformation.

*Agile Management, based on its Rally acquisition; plus project and portfolio management and service management.

*Devops, with continuous delivery, application performance management, API management and workload automation.

*Security, with single sign-on, authorised user management, ID management etc.

At a later session, Ayman Sayed (late of Cisco), the new Chief Product Officer at CA Technologies, described new products in DevOps: CA Live API Creator, CA Mobile App Services, CA Virtual Network Assurance and CA Unified Infrastructure Management for z Systems, all about continuous delivery using automation and virtualised infrastructures. There is also a new product in Security/Compliance: CA Data Content Discovery, which lets you discover regulated PCI, HIPAA and personal data that you didn't know you had, hidden in mainframe systems, not only in databases but in VSAM files and the like. This last is potentially much more interesting than just a compliance tool (sorely though that is needed) - it could be used (although CA Technologies isn't announcing any of this) to help to mine mainframe systems for data that could be used in, say, mobile services, complete with the necessary usage permissions and legal limitations that should be associated with the data. It is also written in such a way that it could, again potentially, be called by third party applications discovering data across the whole infrastructure.

 

Within a relatively brief time, the lines between different types of providers—including communications service providers (CSPs), managed service providers (MSPs), cloud and hosted service providers (xSPs)—have started to blur. Markets keep getting more crowded and dynamic. The result is that for any service provider business, establishing and sustaining fundamental market differentiation is getting tougher by the day.

The Entrepreneurial Mindset

These days, an entrepreneurial mindset represents an increasingly vital part of the service provider executive’s job description—and that’s true whether he or she is working with a large incumbent or an early stage business. Moving forward, business success will require that executives have a keen understanding of the service provider landscape and the untapped market opportunities that can be exploited. They’ll need to identify the innovative business models that can make an impact—whether for the customer, in the market or on the bottom line.

However, entrepreneurial innovation has to move past vision and become a reality. As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, great ideas are a dime a dozen. There’s a big gap between the innovative idea and the successful execution of that idea.

Good day! This is Shane Hastie with InfoQ and we're here at Agile 2015. I'm with Eric Willeke. Eric, welcome! You are the Regional Services Director for Rally? Becoming Computer Associates at some point, after the merger. You and I have met each other before but most of the audience probably haven't come across you. Would you mind briefly introducing yourself? 

Absolutely. I'm currently a Regional Services Director for Rally. I lead a team of consultants who help with organizational change and agile adoption. In my case, predominantly up and down the East Coast, as one of multiple teams around the world. Prior to that, I've lead transformations as a member of a similar team, in past lives. I've come up through the architecture and development ranks and just been involved in trying to deliver value from various perspectives for a number of years.

 

The new release of CA Privileged Access Manager helps control privileged user access to dynamic VMware NSX environments. Updates to CA Identity Suite help simplify identity governance for all users, and a new product, CA Data Content Discovery, helps address compliance demands by discovering and classifying mainframe data. With these new capabilities, CA is improving how businesses protect against security breaches, while helping them to more confidently implement the digital systems and applications that power the application economy.

A new release of CA Project & Portfolio Management (CA PPM) integrates with CA Agile Central (the former Rally Agile Application Lifecycle Management product; pictured). By uniting these tools, CA provides a combined view of agile and traditional projects.

This gives CA the unique advantage of providing customers with an agnostic approach combining waterfall and agile development,  CA APJ CTO Stephen Miles told iTWire. It means they can manage both environments in one place, with a single portfolio view, he added.

Most organisations will be in "a hybrid world for many years to come."

In this sponsored FastChat, CA Technologies' Global MSP Lead Justine Harris' sits down with Penton Technology's Contributing Editor Ryan Morris to discuss the future of the MSP market. Hear Harris' perspective on what opportunities are available for service providers.

With DevOps, containers, and microservices it seems that  things change almost as quickly as you start to think you understand them. How can formal education–like college degree programs–or IT training worth investing the time and effort in possibly keep up and stay relevant?

I wrote this post about the challenges of keeping IT education on pace with the quickly-changing world of DevOps:

IT education has been a problem since the dawn of IT. Things change quickly in the world of technology, and it’s difficult for institutionalized education to keep up. By the time a college-level course is developed and the associated textbook has been written, edited, and published, much of the information is already obsolete. Now that we’ve entered the era of DevOps, that rate of change has reached hyper speed and doesn’t look like it will slow down any time soon.

A recent article described the ongoing struggle companies face to find the right skills and talent. The article cites a study from CA Technologies that highlights some of the challenges, including a growing skills gap in the apps economy as organizations shift to a software-driven mindset. The article sums it up: “Ultimately, the lack of skilled—or available—workers is fueling company concerns. According to the CA Technologies survey, 42 [percent]of respondents said that the lack of knowledge or requisite skills prevented them from effective responses within the app economy, with 52 [percent]saying that governmental assistance or investment in technical or STEM education could go a long way to closing the gap.”

The 2015 State of DevOps Report, conducted by Vanson Bourne for "data-as-a-service" firm Delphix, found that DevOps was becoming increasingly prevalent in UK organisations - with 77 per cent having introduced dedicated budgets and support teams for DevOps.

The term DevOps refers to the integration of the roles of developers, who build and test IT services, and the teams that are responsible for deploying and maintaining IT operations. Only recently has the concept gained widespread acceptance, having previously been regarded as just another IT buzzword.

A 2013, a CA Technologies poll found that 45 respondents didn't know what DevOps was, and another 17 per cent thought it was all hype. Just last year, nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of IT decision makers claimed that they were not familiar with the term. Slowly, it seems, IT leaders are getting to grips with DevOps, with Gartner believing DevOps will become mainstream next year.

 

CA has also struck a deal to buy back 22M shares from top shareholder Careal Holding at $26.81 apiece, yielding a total price of $590M. The deal "effectively concludes" CA's prior $1B buyback. A new $750M buyback (good for repurchasing 6% of shares at current levels) has been authorized

The systems management software firm expects its buybacks to boost FY16 (ends March '16) EPS by $0.03. The company had $2.46B in cash at the end of September, and $1.66B in debt.