IBM has launched a package of cloud-ready systems, services and solutions intended to help simplify the movement of data, applications, and services across a hybrid cloud environment.
The new systems offerings designed for hybrid cloud include Power Systems for cloud which offers integrated OpenStack-based cloud management and elastic consumption models to enable clients to transform their IT infrastructure to a local cloud for z Systems, AIX, IBM i and Linux workloads and extend them with rapid access to compute services in the IBM Cloud.
“Today’s business environment is very dynamic and filled with disruption,” said Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president for IBM Systems. “A hybrid cloud model enables clients to continuously adapt while also optimizing on-premises investments. IBM is uniquely able to support the flexibility clients need across IBM Systems and the cloud.”
A key offering, IBM z Systems Operational Insights, is a SaaS-based offering that provides analytic insights on cloud operations for new levels of efficiency and application performance. It enables users to make better business and application decisions based on trends and embedded expertise on performance data through a GUI dashboard.
The z Systems offering accompanies IBM OMEGAMON Application Performance Management, which provides quick identification of problem components through end-to-end visibility for clients’ hybrid workloads that include z Systems applications. In addition, the newly available IBM Common Data Provider enables z Systems operational data to be efficiently consumed in near real time by the clients' cloud or local enterprise operational analytics platform.
The new range of offerings also includes IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management and Protect, a new solution that enables detailed, easy-to-use management of data copies. IBM Spectrum Protect also has expanded its extensive hybrid cloud solution integration with cloud object storage options for use in hybrid cloud deployments.
In addition, IBM announced that is partnering with Canonical to extending their ongoing alliance to make Ubuntu OpenStack available on LinuxONE, z Systems, Power Systems and OpenPOWER-based systems, including the new line of LC servers. The two companies will deliver solutions built on Canonical’s software and IBM servers through a deeper engineering, product and support collaboration.
Mirantis and IBM are collaborating to develop reference architectures enabling Mirantis OpenStack to manage compute nodes hosted on IBM Power Systems servers, and to validate a host of core applications to run its OpenStack private cloud. With this integration, Mirantis will now bring its OpenStack based private cloud management to the POWER platform. This enables clients to leverage the efficiency of IBM Power Systems for data-driven workloads in a seamless and compatible way in their data center through Mirantis's OpenStack cloud management.
IBM also said NGINX’s application delivery platform now supports servers based on IBM's POWER architecture, with the latest release of its commercial load balancer and web accelerator software, NGINX Plus R10. The combination of NGINX Plus and POWER enables users them to scale their infrastructure and application delivery solutions across any environment – public, private and hybrid cloud, containers, and bare metal – providing a consistent user experience.
As part of IBM's expanding collaborations, Red Hat and IBM are expanding their long-standing alliance to better help clients embrace hybrid cloud. Through joint engineering and deeper product collaboration, the two companies plan to deliver solutions built on key components of Red Hat’s portfolio of open source products, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Virtualization, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux High Availability offerings, enabling IBM Power Systems as a featured component of Red Hat’s hybrid cloud strategy spanning platform infrastructure located both on and off customer premises.
For more information, go to www.ibm.com.