IBM Unveils New Hybrid Cloud Solution For The Enterprise

PRESS RELEASE

ARMONK, N.Y. – 25 Aug 2011: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new hybrid cloud solution – building on its acquisition of Cast Iron -- to help clients significantly reduce the time it takes to connect manage and secure public and private clouds. With new integration and management capabilities, organizations of all sizes will gain greater visibility, control and automation into their assets and computing environments, regardless of where they reside.

As a result, it becomes significantly easier to integrate and manage all of an organization's on-and-off premise resources, and allows a task that once took several months to now be done in a few days.

Demand for Hybrid Cloud Computing Model Grows

Increasing numbers of organizations are looking to leverage the scale and flexibility of public cloud, but are concerned about losing control of resources outside of their four walls. This is causing organizations to embrace a hybrid cloud model, where they can more easily manage some resources in-house, while also using other applications externally as a service.

According to industry analysts, 39 percent of cloud users report that the hybrid cloud is currently part of their strategy, with this number expected to grow to 61 percent in the near future. This is the result of both private and public cloud users evolving towards the use of a hybrid strategy.1

Yet, as businesses adopt a cloud computing model, they are faced with integrating existing on premise software such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and homegrown applications, while managing their usage and security. Managing the complexities within and between such hybrid environments is key to effective enterprise business use of software-as-a-service (SaaS), according to Saugatuck Technology.2

New IBM Technology Will Manage, Connect and Secure Public and Private Clouds.

To overcome this challenge, IBM is expanding its SmartCloud portfolio with new hybrid cloud technology. The solution will build new hybrid cloud capabilities of IBM Tivoli cloud software onto the application and data integration technology from its Cast Iron acquisition to provide:

• Control and Management Resources: The new software will define policies, quotas, limits, monitoring and performance rules for the public cloud in the same way as on premise resources. This allows users to access public cloud resources through a single-service catalog enabling IT staff to govern the access and the usage of this information. As a result, organizations will more easily be able to control costs, IT capacity and regulatory concerns.

• Security: IBM enables better control of users’ access by synching the user directories of on premise and cloud applications. The automated synchronization means users will be able to gain entry to the information they are authorized to access.

• Application Integration: Using a simplified "configuration, not coding" approach to application integration, the software combines the power of native connectivity with industry leading applications to provide best-practices for rapid and repeatable project success.

• Dynamic Provisioning: IBM’s monitoring, provisioning and integration capabilities allow its hybrid cloud to support “cloud bursting,” which is the dynamic relocation of workloads from private environments to public clouds during peak times. IBM’s technical and business policies control this sophisticated data integration.

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.

For more information about IBM WebSphere Cast Iron, visit: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/integration/cast-iron-cloud-integration/.

For more information about Tivoli cloud software, visit: http://www-01.ibm.com/software/tivoli/solutions/cloudcomputing/B.html.

IBM’s statements regarding its plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice at IBM’s sole discretion. Information regarding potential future products is intended to outline our general product direction and it should not be relied on in making a purchasing decision. The information mentioned regarding potential future products is not a commitment, promise, or legal obligation to deliver any material, code or functionality. Information about potential future products may not be incorporated into any contract. The development, release, and timing of any future features or functionality described for our products remains at our sole discretion.