Survey Signals Comprehensive Cloud Strategy is Needed

BMC Software Survey Signals Comprehensive Cloud Strategy is Needed to Alleviate Growing Tensions between Business and IT Teams

HOUSTON, March 21, 2012 – BMC Software (NASDAQ: BMC), the recognized leader in Business Service Management (BSM),today announced the findings of a new commissioned cloud survey conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of BMC. The survey, published in a study entitled “Delivering on High Cloud Expectations,” reveals increasing tension between business and IT stakeholders. With a growing demand for public cloud services, CIOs are rightly concerned that business teams are willing to circumvent IT in order to acquire cloud services on their own. The survey included in-depth responses from 327 enterprise infrastructure executives and architects across the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

High expectations for speedy, low-cost implementation of new software systems in the cloud are putting unique pressures on IT departments within the enterprise. Initial findings of the survey reveal that while IT teams work to meet the needs of the business, the demand for more speed and agility is creating an environment in which business teams are looking outside the organization to provision services in public clouds. As a result, IT departments must expand plans to incorporate public cloud services into their overall cloud strategies.

“This survey has helped us to pinpoint the pains felt by both the business and IT as they struggle to adapt IT strategies to the avalanche of public cloud consumption,” said Mark Settle, BMC’s CIO. “The conclusion is that the need for a comprehensive, unified environment is becoming a top priority for business to connect everything – from the mainframe to the cloud. The BMCCloud Lifecycle Management solution provides a true foundation for an integrated, enterprise-class environment that allows businesses to support any infrastructure in the cloud, now and in the future.”

Key findings of the survey include

According to the survey, 81 percent of respondents indicated that a comprehensive cloud strategy is a high priority for the next year; however, additional survey data suggest that firms are facing significant hurdles as they attempt to deliver.

• IT is struggling with significant complexity and that is not likely to change in the next two years, according to the study.Findings of the survey reveal that 39 percent of respondents reported having five or more virtual server pools, and 43 percent report three or more hypervisor technologies. Not surprisingly, the study also found cost reduction to be the top IT priority in the next twelve months, with complexity reduction being the top strategy for achieving savings.
• CIOs are concerned that business leaders see cloud computing as a way to circumvent IT. Among the CIOs surveyed, 72 percent agreed or strongly agreed that their business executives see cloud as a way to be independent of IT. The simultaneous pull of cost reduction and simplification in one direction and better, cheaper, faster in the other is putting a strain on IT’s ability to meet expectations. CIOs are becoming increasingly concerned that cloud provides a way around their strategies for simplification and cost reduction.
• The business is indeed willing to go around IT to get public cloud services today, contributing to IT complexity.Approximately 58 percent of respondents are running mission-critical workloads in the unmanaged public cloud regardless of policy, while only 36 percent have policies allowing this. Furthermore, respondents indicated that public clouds acquired by teams outside of IT are a top driver of complexity and risk.  
• IT tacitly acknowledges that this public cloud acquisition cannot be effectively stopped. The survey revealed that 79 percent of respondents plan to support running mission-critical workloads on unmanaged public cloud services in the next two years, while only 36 percent allow this today. This indicates a growing acknowledgement that public cloud services must be a part of a comprehensive cloud strategy.
• IT feels that it should manage public cloud services, but realizes that providing high service levels will be difficult.Further,71 percent of respondents thought that IT operations should be responsible for ensuring public cloud services meet their firm’s requirements for performance, security and availability, and 61 percent of the survey respondents agreed that it will be difficult to provide the same level of management across public and private cloud services.
• Interest in Hybrid Cloud Reflects the Broader Need for Unified Management. When asked what type of cloud they were most interested in, the number one response from those surveyed, at 37 percent, was hybrid clouds running on a combination of internal and external infrastructure. This, together with the ubiquity of public cloud and the high degree of internal complexity firms are facing, underscores a need to take a unified systems management approach.
"CIOs sense the pressure that cloud is applying to their organizations and are prioritizing the creation of a comprehensive cloud strategy for their firms in the coming year,” according to the Forrester study. This strategy must create a path toward cloud in order to unify management across public and private, automate complexity, and create transparency so the business and IT can have real conversations about cost.
The full study results will be announced on Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 11 a.m. CDT as part of a BMC webinar. To register for the webinar in advance, click here.
For more information about BMC and cloud computing, please visit:

• The Cloud on BMC.com
• Cloud Community
• Follow BMC on Twitter

Survey Finds Investors Displaying Growing Conviction in Growth

BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey Finds Investors Displaying Growing Conviction in Growth

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Portfolio Managers Indicate That QE Era Is Coming to an End NEW YORK & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 20, 2012-- Investors are increasingly bullish about prospects for global growth and a diminishing number expect further rounds of quantitative easing (QE) by central banks, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for March. A net 28 percent of investors expect the world economy to strengthen in the coming 12 months – a large increase from a net 11 percent in February. As recently as January, the majority of respondents predicted that the economy would weaken. Eurozone confidence has risen – this month sees an even split between those expecting a stronger or weaker eurozone economy. In February, a net 35 percent predicted the economy would deteriorate. Investors are more optimistic about corporate profits. A net 6 percent of the panel expects corporate profits to improve in the coming year. A month ago, a net 11 percent predicted profits would decline. Fewer investors expect the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) to engage in further QE. Nearly half of the panel (47 percent) expects no further QE in the U.S., up from 36 percent in February. Thirty-nine percent predicts the European Central Bank will not extend QE, up from 23 percent a month ago. However, investors foresee higher inflation with a net 13 percent expecting it to rise in the coming year. Only last month, a net 16 percent predicted inflation would fall. “The prospect of higher inflation reflects a victory of central banks in the war against deflation. Risk appetite is rising with hedge funds more active, but cash is still on the sidelines to put to work,” said Michael Hartnett, chief Global Equity strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. “We are witnessing a rehabilitation of European growth prospects, boosted by a sharp fall in EU sovereign concerns,” said Gary Baker, head of European Equities strategy at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research. Attention shifts to developed economies from emerging markets Growth prospects in Europe, the U.S. and Japan are overshadowing emerging markets where some investors are turning bearish. Global investors hold far fewer fears about the eurozone. The numbers naming EU sovereign debt as their number one “tail risk” have declined sharply to 38 percent this month from 59 percent in February. Investors within the eurozone are both more bullish about growth and far less worried about corporate profits. A net 7 percent expects corporate earnings in the eurozone to deteriorate in the coming 12 months, down from a net 39 percent in February and a net 84 percent in December. A net 29 percent of U.S. investors say the U.S. economy with get stronger in the year ahead, up from a net 15 percent in February. Japanese fund managers are the most bullish with a net 91 percent saying that Japan’s economy with strengthen, up from a net 47 percent two months ago. While Global Emerging Markets remain the most popular region, concerns about China’s growth prospects have increased. A net 9 percent of respondents say China’s economy will weaken in the next year, up from a net 2 percent in February. Sentiment within Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) has dampened. A net 41 percent of respondents to the regional survey expect the region’s economy to weaken in the year ahead, up from a net 35 percent last month. Furthermore, inflation concerns have risen significantly among Asia Pacific fund managers. A net 41 percent of respondents now expect inflation in the region to rise in the coming year. Only last month, a net 5 percent predicted inflation to fall. Banks gaining momentum – U.S. underweight position disappears Banks and financial services companies have enjoyed a second month of popularity among investors as allocations towards equities have risen. The proportion of global asset allocators underweight banks has fallen 11 percentage points month-on-month to a net 14 percent. U.S. investors are now collectively neutral on banks with a net zero percent over/underweight this month. Two months ago, a net 16 percent were underweight banks. In Europe, the net underweight position in banks has shrunk to 7 percent from 50 percent in January. Technology remains comfortably the top sector globally, but it has also enjoyed a surge in popularity among Europeans. A net 33 percent of eurozone investors are overweight technology, up from a net 10 percent in February. The sector has overtaken automotives/parts to become the region’s most popular. Survey of Fund Managers An overall total of 278 panelists with US$796 billion of assets under management participated in the survey from 9 to 15 March. A total of 212 managers, managing US$639 billion, participated in the global survey. A total of 145 managers, managing US$354 billion, participated in the regional surveys. The survey was conducted by BofA Merrill Lynch Research with the help of market research company TNS. Through its international network in more than 50 countries, TNS provides market information services in over 80 countries to national and multi-national organizations. It is ranked as the fourth-largest market information group in the world. BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research franchise covers more than 3,300 stocks and 960 credits globally and ranks in the top tier in many external surveys. Most recently, the group was namedTop Global Research Firm of 2011 by Institutional Investor and No. 2 in the 2012 Institutional Investor All-Europe survey. The group was previously named No. 1 in the 2011 Institutional Investor All-Asia, All-China and All-Japan surveys, marking the first time a single institution simultaneously topped all three surveys. The group was also named No. 2 in the inaugural Institutional Investor Emerging Markets Equity and Fixed Income survey, covering Emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa; No. 2 in the 2011 All-Latin America and All-America Equity team surveys; and No. 3 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-America Fixed Income, All-Brazil and All-Europe Research team surveys. The group was also the winner of the Emerging Markets magazine’s EM Research Global Award for 2010 and 2011. Bank of America Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,700 retail banking offices and approximately 17,750 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is the marketing name for the global banking and global markets businesses of Bank of America Corporation. Lending, derivatives, and other commercial banking activities are performed globally by banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation, includingBank of America, N.A., member FDIC. Securities, strategic advisory, and other investment banking activities are performed globally by investment banking affiliates of Bank of America Corporation (“Investment Banking Affiliates”), including, in the United States, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, which is a registered broker-dealer and a member of FINRA andSIPC, and, in other jurisdictions, locally registered entities. Investment products offered by Investment Banking Affiliates: Are Not FDIC Insured * May Lose Value * Are Not Bank Guaranteed. For more Bank of America news, visit the Bank of America newsroom. www.bankofamerica.com Source: Bank of America

News Release from Cisco - Workforce Survey

Cisco Workforce Survey in Northern Europe Confirms Need For Open, Flexible Workplace Environment That Accommodates Social Media, Device Freedom And Remote Access

Amsterdam, the Netherlands  – March 13, 2012 – A majority (60%) of IT decision makers from North European countries believe the ability to work remotely leads to increased productivity, and it is no longer necessary to be confined to an office to be productive, according to a study held in the North European region and published today by Cisco. Although these IT decision makers believe technology allows them to be more mobile and flexible, more than half (56%) of those surveyed, led by those in Norway and The Netherlands, work one or more extra hours per day as a result of the ability to work remotely.

In Northern Europe, there is a growing need for remote access to the company network, social media access in the workplace and for the freedom to use personal devices for business purposes, also known as 'Bring Your Own Device' (BYOD). This trend has a tremendous impact on the IT policies of organizations and among end users who are employed by companies with IT policies, as the study also found that nearly half (47%) indicate their IT policy could use improvement or updating. These are the main conclusions of an online survey held by Cisco in five countries: Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and The Netherlands. The results of this North European survey complement and confirm the findings of last year's Cisco Connected World Technology Report, an international research into the demands, behaviour and work lifestyles of the next generation of workers.

In addition, the survey found that when faced with the choice between ‘a higher salary and no remote access' versus a 'lower salary position that offers remote access', end users are split, with one out of every two respondents (53%) opting for a lower salary, because they find work flexibility more important. With little differentiation across the countries, more than 6 out of 10 (65%) end users expect to have remote access to the network in the future.

Looking at the use of mobile devices, end users from Northern European countries tend to use more than one device during the typical workday: more than 8 in 10 (82%) end users indicate they use at least one device at work that is not company-issued. More than half (51%) of the surveyed IT decision makers even indicate that up to 50% of their company's mobile workers use a smartphone as their primary communication device.

Overall, most businesses in the surveyed countries have at least taken some steps to prepare for a ‘mobile and distributed' workforce. Still 1 in 5 IT decision makers (21%) indicate that their company is as yet completely unprepared. The highest percentage of unprepared businesses is reported in Norway (26%). In The Netherlands, 14% of decision makers indicate that their company is totally unprepared. In each country, roughly one-third (36%) indicate they are actively working towards enabling a mobile, distributed workforce, especially in the Netherlands (45%). Surprisingly, although Norway reports the largest percentage of completely unprepared companies, it also has the highest proportion of companies that already have state-of-the-art IT support for a ‘mobile and distributed' workforce (34%), together with Denmark (31%). In that respect, Netherlands (14%) and Belgium (12%) trail the pack.

Few end users (less than 1 in 5, 19%) report that access to social media type websites and applications is restricted at the workplace. Likewise, about 6 in 10 IT decision makers (59%), particularly those in Denmark, feel that access to social media sites and applications are important for the work-life balance, or staying competitive with other businesses that use them.

Supporting Quote

Niels Furu, Vice President, Cisco Northern Europe: "Our Workforce Survey in Northern Europe confirms that employees really want an open and flexible workplace environment. The survey indicates that IT decision makers want to accommodate this requirement and in a secure way enable a mobile, distributed workforce. Most end users in the surveyed countries indicate that they work an extra hour or more per day because of their ability to work remotely.  This shows BYOD brings the productivity we are looking for."

Key Findings

Remote Access and Mobility

• While the vast majority (68%) of IT decision makers indicate that it is critical for employees to be able to connect to the corporate network anywhere and anytime, end users tend to be divided. About one in four believes it is critical to be connected all the time, while 4 in 10 indicate that this is not imperative.
• Similar to the worldwide study conducted by Cisco in 2011 across 14 countries, not being able to access information due to physical location continues to be the greatest limitation to remote access, according to end users who have this capability. Roughly 4 in 10 (40%) indicate that location poses no restriction to remote access.
• Only a small proportion of end users who do not currently have remote access believe their company is open to this idea. The largest proportion indicate their job role is the primary obstacle keeping them from working remotely. Overall, the majority feel that this is not a big issue for them and the ability to work remotely is still a privilege in today's world - not a right.
• About 3 in 4 end users rely on cellular or WLAN connections for job performance outside the workplace and for nearly half, these are the primary types of network connections.
• IT decision makers indicate that satisfying user demand for mobile device connectivity is the primary driver for wireless LAN adoption. In Denmark, more than half indicate that guest access is a primary driver.

Device Freedom

• Most end users (84%) report using two or more devices during a typical workday.
• More than half (51%) of IT decision makers indicate that up to 50% of their company's mobile workers use a smartphone as their primary communication device. Relative to Norway, a significantly larger proportion of end users in Belgium use their mobile phone for work. Nearly 4 in 10 (38%) end users are allowed to use their personal PC or Mac for work.
• Approximately half of the surveyed end users are restricted from using personal devices for work purposes and for access to the corporate network.
• More than one-third (37%) of end users expect access from a personal mobile device.

Social Media

• Overall, fewer than 1 in 5 (19%) end users from the total sample indicate that their company currently restricts access to online games, social networking and Twitter. Restricted access to sites tends to be more prevalent in Belgium than in other countries.

• Access restrictions tend to be stricter worldwide relative to Northern European countries, as roughly 4 in 10 end users worldwide indicated being restricted from accessing online gaming and social networking.

Security and IT policy

• More than one-third (36%) of IT decision makers indicate they are actively working towards enabling a mobile, distributed workforce.  More than half (57%) indicate that security is their biggest challenge.
• Data lost outside of the organization continues to be a great concern for IT decision makers. However, just under half (40%) of them believe that just as much data is leaked or lost when employees are outside the company as when they are in in the office.
• While most IT decision makers (66%) believe employees are concerned about security threats when remotely accessing corporate information outside the office, just 44% of end users are worried about this.
• Risk behaviour such as sharing work computers and sensitive information externally tends to be significantly more prevalent in Sweden and Belgium than in other Northern European countries.
• About 8 in 10 IT decision makers (78%), driven by a significantly large proportion in Norway and Denmark, indicate their company has an IT policy outlining acceptable uses of company resources such as personal computers, cellular telephones and smartphones.
• However, fewer than half of end users (45%) are aware their company has an IT policy. This awareness is lowest among end users in Belgium and the Netherlands. Significantly larger proportions of end users in Sweden and Denmark are aware that their company has an IT policy of acceptable uses.
• Among those who are aware of the IT policy, nearly half of employees do not adhere to it "all the time" and feel that it could be improved.

Video

• There is a clear difference in perception between IT decision makers and end users on the importance of video for business communication in the coming years. While 60% of IT decision makers feel its importance of video will increase, only 14% of end users expect to be using video in the next two years.
• About 4 in 10 end users, driven by a considerably large proportion in Sweden, can currently use video at their workplace. More than half of those who actually use video, indicate this is mainly for training and education purposes – including a significantly large proportion in Norway (75%).
• About one quarter (28%) of end users, driven by a significant proportion in Belgium, expect video to become one of the most important modes of communication at work.

Datacenter

• Top priorities for IT decision makers over the next 3 years are to better manage resource capacity and to improve agility and speed in the deployment of business applications.
• Leading technologies and trends that are most important to achieve data center goals over that same period include cloud computing and mobile access to information for employees.
• The majority of IT decision makers from the total sample indicate that their primary strategy for achieving those top priorities is cloud computing, particularly in the Netherlands. In Denmark, that primary strategy is unified data center fabric, in order to unify SAN and LAN data traffic.
• Although fewer than 1 in 4 IT decision makers already use cloud-based computing, more than half are currently planning to adopt this or are considering its business value.
• About 6 in 10 (59%)  IT decision makers see the role of the network in their company's data center increasing over the next 3 years.
• 4 in 10 IT decision makers anticipate that 50% or more of their company's production servers will be virtualized over the next 3 years.

Survey data

• The online survey completed in February 2012, by 523 end users and 503 IT decision makers (ITDMs).
• The survey was held 5 countries to gain approximately 100 completes for each subgroup in each country (~200 total completes per country).
• Respondents were screened to meet the following criteria:

–      Adults (22+)

–      Employed (full or part time)

–      Not employed by a company in market research or nonprofit industry

–      Employed by an organization that employs 10+ people worldwide

–      End users: 50% Male / 50% Female; not employed by a company in the IT consulting industry

–      IT Decision Makers: CIO, CSO, CISO, VP of IT, Director of IT, Network Manager/IT Manager, IT Administration, IT Consultant, with at least some influence on the purchasing decisions for their company's security hardware and software.

About Cisco

Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.  Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go tohttp://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in Europe is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

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