IBM’s new hybrid cloud partnership with VMware is big news for users

IBM’s new hybrid cloud partnership with VMware is big news for users

This week, the eyes of tech industry analysts have been focused on Las Vegas, as those analysts waited for possible major announcements coming out of the IBM InterConnect conference. On Monday, we got our first taste of just such an announcement. IBM and VMware announced a new hybrid cloud partnership that will allow users of VMware tools such as vSphere, NSX and Virtual SAN to deploy their existing VMware infrastructures on IBM SoftLayer, the company's public cloud IaaS offering. For two companies that have long talked of hybrid cloud as an important opportunity to provide greater flexibility and choice for users, the announcement is certainly a momentous occasion.

What does the move mean for IBM?

The company has been heavily invested in bringing as many new users as possible to the SoftLayer cloud, so the move certainly makes sense from an IBM perspective. VMware users represent a large chunk of all enterprise organizations, and one has to assume that those users are more than ready for an opportunity to start taking advantage of the benefits cloud computing has to offer. If IBM can coax a significant percentage of those users onto SoftLayer, it would be a real coup for the company’s hybrid cloud ambitions.

At the same time, the move represents the start of a new partnership with VMware, which could lead to new and better things in the future. Just like the company’s partnership with Apple, working with VMware has the potential to make IBM relevant in new ways to a new group of customers.

What does the move mean for VMware?

For years leading up to this announcement, VMware had talked about its intentions to build its own cloud platform to compete with the major cloud vendors. As these plans changed and began to narrow in focus, it became clear that VMware was not going to be able of offer its customers the kind of full-scale public IaaS offering many were looking for.

The move would have required the company to invest billions to build out a global network of data centers; now, through its partnership with IBM, VMware can easily connect its customers to the IBM SoftLayer network of data centers. As a result, the partnership represents a quick and painless way for VMware to start offering its customers new hybrid cloud capabilities. The idea of VMware as a major player in the IaaS cloud market was clearly not going to happen, so this may be the next best thing for the company.

What does the move mean for users?

To put it quite simply, the announcement means more choice, which is always a good thing when you're a user. VMware users now have the option to deploy on premises, off premises, or whatever combination of the two makes the most sense for their particular workloads. Best of all, they can start taking advantage of the flexibility and optimization offered by hybrid cloud without having to make wholesale changes to the existing VMware infrastructures they know and love. IBM has pledged to make the process of moving VMware workloads to the SoftLayer cloud as painless as possible, which means users get an easy way to start taking advantage of the benefits of hybrid cloud.

Learn more

If you're a VMware user, this announcement opens up important new possibilities for you. In order to manage those possibilities and find the hybrid cloud arrangement that best meets your individual needs, contact Cima Solutions Group today to schedule a free RightCloud assessment. We'll help you analyze your cloud workloads and select the cloud option that best meets the specific needs of your organization.

Schedule your RightCloud workshop today

Best,

Jim

James Cunningham serves as the Chief Technology Officer at Cima Solutions Group. His experience in Healthcare operations and infrastructure support has enabled him to effectively move workloads into various cloud computing models. With 19 years in the IT field he carries several industry standard certifications, specializing in x86 and virtualization. Prior to Cima, James spent 15 years in Healthcare IT. He was Manager of Infrastructure at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. He has also spent over 10 years at The MetroHealth System in Cleveland, in Systems Engineering and EMR System Support.


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