Item: IBM Turbonomic
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use VMTurbo Operations Manage to optimise our VMware estate so we can get the best performance out of it. It allows us to tune the estate to ensure all VMs are performing as well as possible.

Pros and Cons

Telling us when VMs are either over or under provisioned by looking at how they are actually used.
Telling us when hosts require upgrading.
Telling us when VMs need moving to hit our performance targets.

Setting up automation does seem tricky.
Dashboard refresh does not always seem to work automatically.

Return on Investment

Cannot really put a figure on it. It did spot an issue with a host that was about to fail. It allowed us to move the VMs off without affecting users. SO I suppose that helped our customer service by not giving our users an unplanned outage.

Managing Virtual / Cloud Environments with IBM Turbonomic

It allows VMs to be moved to better performing hosts, or if required assign more memory/CPUs to VMs that are under performing. This greatly improves performance and IT staff efficiency. I also like how the can reduce memory/CPUs to VMs that have been over allocated too.

Alternatives Considered

It was the first [prodcut] I came across that had the dashboard features I was looking for. None of the others that I looked at; I did not test any; had these features. That is why I chose this product.

Other Software Used

ManageEngine Password Manager Pro

Likelihood to Recommend

The dashboards are great. It allows us to see immediately the status of our whole VMware estate and how well it is operating. We can spot immediately if there are any issues and deal with them. It also emails us if it spots something critical.

Users and Roles

3 - The main users are second line IT technicians who need to ensure our VM estate is performing as efficiently as possible. Our VMTurbo configuration is weighted heavily on the performance optimisation side

Support Headcount Required

3 - The same second line technicians support VMTurbo. If they have any issues, we back them off to the excellent VMTurbo support. We have had no issues in the way we have been supported. In fact, the support has been proactive!

Business Processes Supported

Ensuring optimum performance of our VMs
Checking VMs are not over or under provisioned for resource
Alerting on critical issues with our VM estate

Innovative Uses

Being able to plan for new implementations without impacting on live systems
Having a great custom dashboard on our large screen wall showing the status of our VM estate
Regular reports showing the performance of our estate emailed to us

Future Planned Uses

Currently VMTurbo fulfils everything we could want it to do
Maybe a more simpler way of automating certain commands

Likelihood to Renew

We've been looking for a product that gives us a complete overview of our VM estate in one easy to read screen. VMTurbo not only does that, but then allows you to fix the issues it highlights from within the product. It has made a huge impact on the way we manage our estate

Products Replaced

Yes - We were looking for a product that had a simple dashboard showing the status of our VM estate

Key Differentiators

Product Features
Product Usability

We initially only wanted the free dashboard. But once the vendor showed us what else we could do with the product, we were sold. It has made a huge impact on the way we manage our estate. We could not believe that VMTurbo could report on over or under resourced VMs, or on hosts that were under pressure

Evaluation Lessons Learned

There is nothing I would change. We came across no other product that performed or was as simple to use as VMTurbo. Other products claimed to be able to do what VMTurbo does, but when it came to testing they were either too complicated or just could not do it

Implementation Rating

VMTurbo was easy to setup and implement. Probably helped by the remote telephone support we received. It was a simple process and and fairly painless. More complex configuration was achieved via a webex session and the support was greatly appreciated

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled - A simple change request was raised to create the VMTurbo server. And another raised to create the automated processes that we talked about with the support team on the initial setup calls

Implementation Issues

setting up the correct security
Setting up automation
Setting up automatic reports that get emailed out

Support Rating

They are very knowledgeable. They respond quickly. We get proactive calls. We get training on the product. We get courtesy calls to see how we are coping. I cannot rate the support from VMTurbo high enough, they are a great team

IBM Turbonomic Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Bug Resolution

Exceptional Examples of IBM Turbonomic Support

Yes, we needed to know how to automate changes to the memory or CPU config within our set maintenance periods. The support team showed us how to set this up and tested it with us. Brilliant support

Usability

I think VMTurbo works really well in our environment. We can see instantly if there are any issues woth our estate. And we can fix most of them from within the product. For most operations it is very simple to use. For more complex tasks a call to the support team is often required, But they are great and very knowledgeable and helpful

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient	None

Easy Tasks

Setting up dashboards
Seeing with VMs are over or under resourced
resolving issues reported with VMs on hosts that need moving

Difficult Tasks

Setting up automated reports
Setting up automated fixes within a maintenance period
Setting up security permissions

VMTurbo has great dashboards

Software Version

Overall Satisfaction with Turbonomic (formerly VMTurbo)