IBM rolled out a set of offerings geared towards helping its business partners more tightly integrate with the IBM SmartCloud by helping to connect them with customers, create new applications and improve their cloud computing skills. Expected to grow to more than $214 billion by 2020, cloud computing has become a catalyst for capturing new business value through innovation, stronger customer relationships, and faster time to market while reducing cost and complexity.
New resources for partners include Ready for IBM SmartCloud Services, a new program that makes it easier for clients to quickly find technology from business partners that is certified for the IBM SmartCloud. A new directory divides certified Business Partner technologies into categories such as business applications, collaboration, development and test tools, infrastructure services, and security and monitoring. This is enabling IBM business partners to quickly ramp up and participate in the industry shift to cloud computing.
There is also Tech Talk for Cloud Computing, a monthly virtual learning series by IBM developerWorks to help IBM business partners to enhance their technical skills in cloud computing, as well as a new Social Business Tool Kit that allows business partners to integrate custom applications that interface with IBM SmartCloud for Social Business services. Developers can use OpenSocial APIs to get access to SmartCloud for Social Business profiles contacts, meetings, files and communities data. Companies can add their own custom actions to the SmartCloud for Social Business web experience.
Additionally, IBM business partners can now help small businesses experience cloud computing benefits with the new lower-cost reference configuration of SmartCloud Entry on IBM System x. SmartCloud Entry is an easy to deploy, simple to use offering that features a self-service portal for workload provisioning, virtualized image management, and monitoring. The configuration provides a template for business partners to help clients deploy a private cloud with a faster time-to-value.
For more information on IBM Cloud, go to www.ibm.com/smartcloud.