People make a lot of noise about the open community model and shared code, but that is based on the assumption that developers care about [the project] and that there is something in it for them versus what they are already doing today.

This is a critical starting point for the Tivoli software stack, integrating new products that will help lower the cost of ownership. I.T. managers see automation as a way to lower costs while providing technology innovation.

Historically, the governor has presented the award. We're hoping [Gov. John Baldacci's] schedule will allow it.

The bottom line is that automation lowers the risk of human error and adds some intelligence to the enterprise system.

A lot of the innovations are coming from start-ups. Anything that's going to increase the performance of the underlying plumbing, these are the tools that are going to be of interest from an enterprise standpoint. Also, anything that gives enterprises more control over their networks - even if the networks are outsourced - is going to reap the benefits.

There will probably be some job loss, but I think it will be less than what people think. There is always a need for more talent and human intervention even when tasks are automated.

The key thing is that there will be increasing pressure for users to automate tasks. The long-term goal is to standardize business processes and it's not a one- or two-year journey—it's multiple years.

There has to be level of end-of-life discussion, and information about architectural decisions and migration paths.

In terms of driving automation through their product set, IBM is one of the top two vendors.