23
Sat, Nov
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. News
  4. Cloud News
  5. Managed Services / SaaS
  6. IBM Raises the Bar to Meet Burgeoning Cloud Demand in the Channel

IBM Raises the Bar to Meet Burgeoning Cloud Demand in the Channel

Managed Services / SaaS
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

New offerings designed to put Business Partners on a fast track to seize the cloud opportunity.

IBM has launched a comprehensive set of capabilities to empower Business Partners of all types to quickly adopt innovative cloud business models and generate new revenue streams by offering public, private, and hybrid cloud infrastructures, applications, and services to their clients.

IBM is making a significant commitment to the Business Partner community to help them quickly ramp up and participate in the industry shift to cloud computing, a market opportunity that will grow from $96 billion in 2011 to $219 billion by 2015,* according to IBM. This effort will enable Business Partners to build new solutions that take advantage of IBM's cloud services and help clients make the most of their IT investments, the company says.

IBM is offering new software and services specifically designed for Business Partners through public or private clouds based on their business needs.

To help a range of companies, including Business Partners, independent software vendors (ISVs), system integrators, telecommunication companies and many other industry-specific businesses prepare to deliver their enterprise solutions as cloud services, IBM is extending the IBM SmartCloud portfolio with two new public cloud services. The new services include the following:

  • SmartCloud Enterprise+ will provide an enterprise class Infrastructure-as-a-Service including enterprise class governance, administration and management control, multiple security and isolation options built into the virtual infrastructure and network and real business-centric SLAs that align IBM accountability to your business. Additionally, IBM intends to make SCE+ available to qualified IBM Business Partners for resell in the first half of 2012.
  • SmartCloud Application Services will quickly enable enterprise applications as a cloud service using a set of secure and flexible tools. Interested ISVs can join the SmartCloud Application Service beta program. IBM is also announcing key enhancements to the existing IBM SmartCloud including a white label option for business partners to launch branded services based on SmartCloud Enterprise.

IBM is also launching SmartCloud Foundation, a family of private cloud solutions to help clients of all sizes to quickly and easily design and deploy private cloud environments. The new private cloud offerings will be specifically targeted to small and medium businesses. Business partners can access the offerings via IBM PartnerWorld channel reseller programs.

  • IBM SmartCloud Entry solution, delivered by IBM Starter Kit for Cloud, offers the building blocks to create private clouds on virtualized IBM System x and Power Systems hardware. The solution provides simplified initialization and administration for cloud environments on Power and x86 systems, standardization of virtual machines, and improved operations productivity with an easy-to-use, self-service interface. Organizations can also quickly and easily scale to more advanced cloud solutions as business demands and workloads increase.
  • IBM SmartCloud Provisioning software offers a powerful provisioning engine and image management system to dynamically create or provision virtual machines. The software can create hundreds of virtual machines in less than a minutes and scale to more than 4,000 virtual machines in less than an hour.
  • IBM SmartCloud Monitoring applies its industry-leading monitoring expertise to provide greater visibility into the performance of virtual and physical environments: storage, network and server resources.

In addition, to help companies analyze their cloud readiness and identify key challenges they may need to address before moving forward with their cloud solutions, IBM is offering a Cloud Assessment tool. This no-charge tool is available through www.ibm.com/cloud helps IBM independent software vendors get ready to transform their business model with cloud.

IBM is also offering a variety of ways for Business Partners to gain access to cloud technologies and expertise. Across its network of global cloud labs and 40 IBM Innovation Centers in 33 countries, IBM offers hands-on technical expertise in building cloud skills, delivering cloud workshops and providing access to new training programs to partners.

"We are committed to the success of our Business Partners and our goal is to continue to collaborate with them to bring innovative solutions to our joint clients across industries," said Rich Hume, general manager, IBM Global Business Partners. "To seize this opportunity, IBM has laid the foundation for a comprehensive set of cloud offerings which IBM Business Partners, who are key to our growth strategy, can take to market to help these clients address their cloud needs as their businesses grow."

IBM and CohesiveFT are piloting a program that is focused on providing enterprise application migration to the IBM SmartCloud Enterprise (SCE) environment. CohesiveFT offers a cloud convergence platform, the Elastic Server Cloud Container, allowing its users to deploy applications to a set of abstractions around image automation, topology automation, and network virtualization to facilitate the migration from datacenter to cloud, cloud segment to cloud segment, or cloud to cloud. Cohesive FT is now making available the CohesiveFT Elastic Server Cloud Container to IBM SCE users, allowing them to import their virtualized workloads to the IBM Cloud.

Clinical & Management Solutions (CMS) turned to IBM Business Partner Corent Technology to enable the industry’s first comprehensive, multi-tenant Software as a Service (SaaS) solution for home healthcare market. With the help of Corent and the IBM SmartCloud, CMS is now able to automate home healthcare agencies’ costly and burdensome administrative and clinical documentation, billing, scheduling, and regulatory compliance tasks, through their SaaS offering resulting in enhanced efficiency. This new cloud solution has helped Clinical & Management Solutions save time, money and has raised the bar for ease and speed of onboarding of healthcare providers.

"Corent is at the core of our Clinical Management application, enabling us to provide an efficient and secure healthcare SaaS solution." said Rommel Badua, CEO of Clinical & Management Solutions, Inc. “Running on the IBM Smart Cloud not only provides the quality of service our solution requires, but also provides the comfort and the confidence our customers demand.”

IBM is also announcing a collaboration with SugarCRM to make its products available on the IBM SmartCloud Enterprise. AMI Partners forecasts that in the U.S. alone, the SMB Cloud CRM market will triple by 2015.

Through this integration, clients can now take advantage of advanced CRM solutions, deployable in a matter of minutes, while achieving all the benefits of a private cloud environment. Sugar 6, the first CRM application available on IBM SmartCloud, enables businesses across all industries to achieve greater visibility into sales, marketing and support to deliver the optimal customer experience. Sugar on IBM SmartCloud Enterprise combines SaaS with IBM's world-class infrastructure, service and support and also offers seamless integration with other valuable IBM SmartCloud offerings such as collaboration and analytics capabilities. This provides businesses with the necessary tools and options they need to optimize and automate their businesses for growth.

Customers today are rethinking the way they approach CRM and are leveraging the cloud to gain faster access to sales reports and data, as well as analytical tools to evaluate sales performance.

SugarCRM applications are available on IBM SmartCloud today.

Highland Solutions, a SugarCRM Value Added Reseller and an IBM Business Partner, is already working with a variety of clients including Hi-Way Equipment, a company that sells, services and rents heavy machinery. The company was looking for a way to scale its infrastructure to accommodate future needs. With Sugar on the IBM SmartCloud, getting Hi-Way Equipment’s deployment up-and-running was simple, and over time, they will see reductions in operating costs.

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. Follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ibmcloud and on our blog at www.thoughtsoncloud.com.

_______________________________________

*IBM Market Development & Insights

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently, and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity, and service.

For more information, visit: www.ibm.com.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: