IBM today continued its efforts to provide advanced cloud services and software designed from the ground up for enterprise clients. The new IBM SmartCloud services will contain more security and portability capabilities for businesses who plan to shift critical activities to the cloud.
IBM plans to support about 200 million users by the end of 2012 as clients shift core applications and processes to the IBM SmartCloud.
Specifically, IBM is launching three things:
1. IBM SmartCloud Application Services, which is a new platform-as-a-service that will give enterprises the cost and time savings of a cloud environment for a wide range of enterprise applications while maintaining a high level of control and security over deployment and access.
2. IBM SmartCloud Foundation, which is a new portfolio of breakthrough cloud software and hardware that allow enterprises to quickly deploy and control clouds within their own firewalls.
3. IBM SmartCloud Ecosystem, which is a new services for IBM partners and independent software vendors (ISVs) to help thousands of small and medium business clients adopt cloud models and manage millions of cloud based transactions by assisting their customers in areas as diverse as banking, communications, healthcare and government to build their own clouds or securely tap into the IBM SmartCloud.
According to a new IBM survey of more than 500 business and IT leaders, only 33 per cent have deployed more than a cloud pilot today but that number is expected to more than double in the next three years. By 2015, 40 per cent of the respondents say cloud will bring “substantial change” and 30 percent say cloud will drive the invention of business models and revenue streams.