Platform Symphony™ Proof of Concept (POC) Service
Ensure the success of your grid computing project with a
Platform Managed Proof of Concept
Benefits
• Risk & cost reduction
• Faster grid implementation
• Knowledge transfer
• Proof of business value
• Proactive, expert support
• A running start
Service Components
• Initial Application Assessment
• Technical Application Review
• Technical Workshop
• Technical Mentorship and Coaching
• Deploy a Live Grid Environment
• Setup and Configure a Development Environment
• Grid Enable Application
• Functional Verification
• Simulated Scaled-out Environment
• Documentation
A tangible demonstration that your vision of a
business success can become reality
The purpose of Platform’s Proof of Concept (POC) Service is to
demonstrate that grid enablement of your application will deliver
measurable business benefits on your specific project.
A successful POC requires a structured approach to implementation and
the right application architecture. It also requires personnel with the right
expertise and skillsets. The Platform Symphony POC Service is a proven
approach to grid enabling applications.
Platform’s POC Service allows organizations to preview a realization of
an idea demonstrating feasibility, business impact and value before
making a larger technology investment. By providing project
management, application architecture expertise, technical guidance and
knowledge transfer in accordance with our proven methodology,
Platform will deliver the result you need quickly, and cost effectively.
As well as generating confidence in the value and workability of a
particular grid enabled application, the POCs 'Quick Win' prototype
provides many other benefits including:
• Project risk reduction, by identifying issues early
• Analysis of user requirements at the right level
• Appropriate, cost effective use of grid technologies
• Opportunity to build quality metrics into project
• A valuable means of presenting the ROI of grid
enablement to senior management for approval
• A way of involving users, at an early stage and establishing
realistic expectations and gathering their 'buy-in'
• Gathering a clear understanding of overall project scope,
cost and ‘time to production’
Platform Computing’s POC service represents a prudent first step for
organizations wishing to prove the value of a grid deployment while
ensuring the grid-readiness of their applications.
By understanding scaling characteristics and the level of effort
involved in adapting applications to a grid, I.T. and line of business
managers can optimize their planning activities ensuring a
maximum return on investment. By modeling your application and
testing scalability characteristics in the course of the POC, Platform
will help you determine what hardware infrastructure investments
will result in the largest return. With greater insight into how your
applications will run in production, you can avoid potentially costly
errors and mis-steps often resulting in project delays.
Deliver measurable Business
Benefits with a Platform Managed
Proof of Concept
The Proof of Concept process
However large or small your project, every Proof of Concept
Service follows the same basic pattern. This starts with a scoping
exercise, followed by a number of days developing your agreed
prototype and reviewing the lessons learned.
Presentation and review − The Presentation/Review Day begins
with a demonstration to show your decision makers how the
prototype will enable them to achieve their objectives, as agreed
during the Scoping Day. The Review highlights both the
opportunities presented and issues, which need to be addressed
to deliver the eventual solution. Every POC ends with an agreed
set of next steps.
What the Proof of Concept Service delivers
• A demonstrable application − The prototype belongs to you
and should be made available to users to demonstrate the
system
• Excerpts from the Reports and Views compiled during the
Rapid Application Development
• Accelerated skills transfer − Your developers will have
gained valuable, hands-on rapid development experience
in their own environment
• A Proof of Concept Service Call Report, itemizing issues,
opportunities and the way forward
• Confidence that the tools are appropriate for the solution
and that Platform is the right partner for you and your
company
• You need to remember that the Proof of Concept Service is
not a substitute for product training

Scoping − The Scoping Day involves a Platform consultant working

with your staff to identifiy suitable applications, establish the
"criteria for success” and agree to the scope of the proof of
concept. The consultant will also work with your IT team to identify
any potential issues and risks.
Prototyping − Following the Scoping Day the POC moves on to the
Prototyping Days in which Rapid Application Development methods
will be used to create your prototype. There may be a pause after
the Scoping Day to allow any identified requirements (developer
training, hardware acquisition etc.) to be addressed. Thanks to the
speed with which applications can be integrated to Platform
Symphony, there will be time for a number of iterations and
refinements. To benefit from accelerated skills transfer, at least one
of your nominated developers should be allocated to work
alongside the Platform consultant throughout. Also, users who take
part in the scoping should be on hand to verify the application as it
evolves, and to discuss opportunities or unforeseen issues that may
arise. Ideally, Prototyping Days should occupy a single timeslot.
Platform Computing’s Consulting Services team, having deployed
the world’s largest financial grids, have the expertise to
accelerate and simplify your grid computing project.
By following our proven POC methodology, Platform can help
you plan and execute a quality impleme tation of the latest
Platform Symphony release, grid-enable existing in-house or
commercial applications and prove that your performance and
cost objectives can be met - All this while providing your own
personnel with accelerated knowledge transfer and tools helping
them to grid enable applications.
Contact us today at Service_Offerings@platform.com for a no
obligation technical consultation, and let us help you kick-start
your own grid computing project today.

Platform Computing is a pioneer and the global leader in High Performance Computing (HPC) management software. The company delivers
integrated software solutions that enable organizations to improve time-to-results and reduce computing costs. Many of the world’s largest
companies rely on Platform to accelerate compute or data intensive applications and manage cluster and grid systems. Platform has over 2,000
global customers and strategic relationships with Dell™, HP, IBM®, Intel®, Microsoft®, Red Hat® and SAS®, along with the industry’s broadest
support for HPC applications. Building on 16 years of market leadership, Platform continues to define the HPC market. Visit www.platform.com.

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