IBM invests $1.2 billion in cloud

This investment includes a network cloud centers, designed to give customers greater flexibility, transparency and control over how they manage their data, run their businesses and implement IT operations in the cloud.In 2014, IBM plans to offer cloud services from 40 data centers worldwide, in 15 countries and five continents, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. IBM will open 15 new centers internationally, expanding the existing global presence of 13 SoftLayer and 12 IBM international data centers. Among the most recent data centers to begin operations are in China, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, London, Japan, India, Canada, Mexico City and Dallas. With this announcement, IBM plans to have data centers in all major geographic locations and major financial centers, with plans to expand into the Middle East and Africa in 2015. According to some estimates, the global cloud market will grow to reach $200 billion by 2020 [IBM Market Intelligence], driven largely by businesses and government agencies who implement cloud services to market, sell and develop products, manage their supply chain and transform their business practices.

“IBM continues to invest in high-growth areas,” said Erich Clementi, head of IBM Global Technology Services. “Last year, IBM made a major investment, adding the $2 billion acquisition of SoftLayer to its existing portfolio of high-value cloud solutions. Today’s announcement is another major step in advancing IBM’s global expansion of its cloud presence and helping clients transform.”

IBM’s new investments in this area will give enterprise clients the ability to place and control their data on a global scale. As the company says in the announcement, IBM SoftLayer gives clients the ability to choose the environment and cloud location that best serves their business needs, “providing visibility and transparency into where data resides, as well as control over data security and placement.”

IBM SoftLayer says it can deliver high-performance services globally across the SoftLayer network. The combination of distributed, local data centers and a global network allows customers to place data where it is needed, when it is needed, giving them the ability to consolidate or aggregate data as needed. This enables optimized application performance and responsiveness. SoftLayer's unique network architecture allows customers to optimize performance globally using a private network, without being subject to the uncontrolled nature of public networks and the internet.

“Cloudant’s global expansion momentum is fueled by our commitment to continuous operation for our customers,” said Derek Schoettle, CEO of Cloudant, an IBM business partner. “Our mission is to be the data plane standard for Web and mobile applications. That mission requires us to push application data across the network, to as many locations as possible. Expanding beyond IBM SoftLayer’s current footprint will deliver significant value to our business. IBM’s investment in expanding its global footprint will not only help fuel our growth, but will also help drive the growth of thousands of Cloudant users worldwide.”

In today's fast-paced world, with the proliferation of data from mobile devices and social networks, this type of automation and speed of access to data with high availability and control makes IBM SoftLayer cloud infrastructure an ideal resource of capabilities for enterprise clients worldwide.

“The cloud represents a growing area for venture capital investment,” said Ann Winblad, co-founder and managing director of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. “By investing in the cloud ecosystem, IBM is not only making it easier for businesses to adopt the cloud and drive innovation, but it is also helping new companies of all sizes grow faster,” said Winblad.

IBM SoftLayer is the foundation of IBM's growing cloud portfolio

The acquisition of SoftLayer represents another significant investment for IBM customers. Since its acquisition in 2013, IBM SoftLayer has brought its services to nearly 2,400 new cloud customers.

In fact, IBM plans to make SoftLayer the foundation of its extensive cloud portfolio. SoftLayer's infrastructure will provide a scalable, secure foundation for delivering cloud services that include IBM's broad range of middleware and software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions on a global scale. SoftLayer's agility and global network will also enable faster development, implementation and delivery of mobile, analytics and social solutions as clients adopt the cloud as a platform for delivering IT and managing their businesses.

Recently, IBM made a significant investment by establishing the IBM Watson Group, a new business unit dedicated to developing and commercializing cognitive technology and Big Data innovations delivered via the cloud. As part of this initiative, IBM will also deploy Watson on SoftLayer.

About IBM cloud computing solutions

IBM is the global leader in the cloud, with an unparalleled portfolio of open cloud solutions that help clients think, create and realize their potential. No other company has the ability to integrate unique industry expertise with its unparalleled cloud capabilities, having already helped more than 30,000 clients worldwide. Today, IBM has more than 100 SaaS cloud solutions, thousands of industry-specific professionals who help clients transform their businesses, and a network of 40 data centers worldwide.

Since 2007, IBM has invested more than $7 billion in 15 acquisitions to accelerate its cloud initiatives and build a high-value cloud portfolio. IBM has filed 1,560 cloud patents, focusing on driving innovation. In fact, IBM topped the annual list of top U.S. patent grantees for the 21st consecutive year. IBM processes more than 5.5 million client transactions daily through the company’s public cloud.

For more information about IBM's cloud offerings, visit https://www.ibm.com/cloud .To learn more about this announcement, visit the A Smarter Planet blog https://ibm.co/1huAhrv