IBM Unveils Next Generation Smart Cloud Platform for Business

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today unveiled its next generation IBM SmartCloud, an enterprise-class, secure cloud specifically created to meet the demands of businesses.  

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

To accelerate the shift from experimentation, development and assessment to full scale enterprise deployment of cloud, IBM is building out its existing cloud portfolio with IBM SmartCloud, enterprise cloud technologies and services offerings for private, public and hybrid clouds based on IBM hardware, software, services and best practices.

As part of this announcement, IBM is demonstrating a next-generation, enterprise cloud service delivery platform currently piloting with key clients and available later this year.    For the first time, enterprise clients will be able to select key characteristics of a public, private and hybrid cloud to match workload requirements from simple Web infrastructure to complex business processes, along five dimensions, including:  

• Security and isolation
• Availability and performance
• Technology platforms
• Management Support and Deployment
• Payment and Billing

The IBM SmartCloud includes a broad spectrum of secure managed services, to run diverse workloads across multiple delivery methods both public and private. It includes customer choice with the potential for end-to-end management of service delivery from the server and operating system to the application and process layer.

"The new IBM SmartCloud allows for the best of both worlds – the cost savings and scalability of a shared cloud environment plus the security, enterprise capabilities and support services of a private environment," said Erich Clementi, senior vice president, IBM Global Technology Services. "In thousands of cloud engagements, we have discovered that enterprise client wants a choice of cloud deployment models that meet the requirements of their workloads and the demands of their business."

This level of choice and control translates into capabilities customized to your needs and priorities, whether you're deploying a simple web application, an ordering logistics system or a complete ERP system.

The new IBM cloud can enable organizations, their employees and partners, to get what they need, as they need it – from advanced analytics and business applications to IT infrastructure like virtual servers and storage or access to tools for testing software code - all deployed securely across IBM's global network of cloud data centers.

The IBM SmartCloud has two implementation options: Enterprise and Enterprise +.

• Enterprise – Available today and expanding on our existing Development and Test Cloud allowing customers to expand on internal development and test efforts with reduction of application development tasks from days to minutes via automation and rapid provisioning with over 30% reduction in costs versus traditional application environments. This offering is available immediately.
• Enterprise + -- To be made available later this year, Enterprise + will complement and expand on the value of Enterprise, offering brand new capabilities provide a core set of multi-tenant services to manage virtual server, storage, network and security infrastructure components including managed operational production services.

Also available later this year, IBM SAP Managed Application Services will be offered on the IBM SmartCloud.  These new services automate the most common labor intensive tasks associated with managing SAP environments. The services catalog for SAP on the IBM SmartCloud provides for the automated provisioning of SAP environments and significantly reduces the cost and labor associated with SAP cloning, refreshes and patching. SAP services on the IBM SmartCloud provide production service levels and optional 24 / 7 DBA and SAP Basis support.

Benefits from our SAP in the Cloud service, include:

• Install of DB2/Oracle from 1 day to 12 minutes
• Maintain database libraries from 1/2 day to 8 minutes
• Clone database from 2-3 days to 20 minutes
• Install of operating system from 1 day to 30 minutes
• Prepare upgrade/provide SAP system from 2-3 days to 40 minutes
• Add additional application server form 1 day to 10 minutes
• SAP systems refresh from 1 – 4 days to 3 minutes

"As a leading global chemicals distributor, and a growing company, Univar is now embarking on our global SAP implementation journey," said Dave Cummings, Univar, CIO. "For a global organization that is starting an SAP implementation, the depth of expertise, a global presence, flexibility and scalability of SAP services is key in choosing the right partner. As we ramp up our global SAP environments from development into production, we felt it was important that we had a single global partner that could deliver the technical infrastructure, application management services, and a SAP help desk with flexibility, scale and world class SLA's."

"After an evaluation of the SAP services market we selected the IBM SmartCloud to host all of our SAP environments and provide all SAP application management and help services. The IBM SmartCloud is providing Univar with a cloud-based platform and the required services for end to end SAP hosting and application support, with the right flexibility, scalability and the associated cloud based automated services for managing application environments. This allows our Univar internal Business Information Services organization to focus more on differentiating IT services and satisfying their customer's and supplier's needs."

The demand for cloud computing is exploding as organizations seek to expand the impact of IT to deliver new and innovative services while realizing significant economies of scale. According to IDC, $17 billion was spent on cloud-related technologies, hardware and software in 2009. IDC expects that spending will grow to $45 billion by 2013. (1)

Domino Applications in the Cloud

Additionally, customers can deploy their Lotus Domino applications to the IBM SmartCloud – Enterprise via the Lotus Domino Utility Server for LotusLive. LotusLive provides integrated email, social business and third-party applications from the cloud. The new server licensing model extends customer deployment options for Domino applications from on-premises to cloud. With the immediate availability of the Domino Utility Server for LotusLive, clients today can now move applications to the IBM SmartCloud – Enterprise and take advantage of fixed, predictable pricing and flexible deployment.  IBM Global Technology Services will also work with clients on planning and assessments.

Availability

The IBM SmartCloud - Enterprise is available immediately. For more information, visit: www.ibm.com/smartcloud

We have multiple clients delivering production workloads on the IBM SmartCloud - Enterprise + platform which will be widely available in second half of 2011.

About IBM Cloud Computing

IBM has helped thousands of clients adopt cloud models and manages millions of cloud based transactions every day. IBM assists clients in areas as diverse as banking, communications, healthcare and government to build their own clouds or securely tap into IBM cloud-based business and infrastructure services. IBM is unique in bringing together key cloud technologies, deep process knowledge, a broad portfolio of cloud solutions, and a network of global delivery centers. For more information about IBM cloud solutions, visit www.ibm.com/smartcloud

1) IDC http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/netsys/article.php/3870016/IDC-Sees-Cloud-Market-Maturing-Quickly.htmhttp://itmanagement.earthweb.com/netsys/article.php/3870016/IDC-Sees-Cloud-Market-Maturing-Quickly.htm

For more information about IBM cloud solutions, visit www.ibm.com/cloud

For more information on IBM cloud computing partner initiatives, visit www.ibm.com/partner/cloud

IBM Media Contact
Steve Tomasco
IBM External Relations
917-472-3738
[email protected]

SOURCE IBM