New IBM Software Helps Clients Accelerate Adoption and Realize the Benefits of Cloud Computing

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Apr 07, 2011, 06:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today introduced new software that helps companies build their own cloud computing platforms to deliver business benefits in a wide range of industries such as banking, insurance, retail and communications.

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The new offering helps clients deploy workloads in the cloud based on IBM best practices in software, services and management. IBM is bringing automation and standardization to simplify cloud software deployment, taking human error and latency and manual labor out of the equation. This lowers risks and provides higher confidence in the desired outcome.

For the first time, clients will be able to use a simple Web-based interface to easily install applications, configure databases and set up security for the cloud services they consume or deliver to their customers. Delivered with built-in monitoring, life-cycle management and resource elasticity, the software can dramatically accelerate cloud deployments. For example, a retailer must be able to scale to meet high demands of the holiday shopping season. This IBM offering allows the client to automate not only deployment but also maintenance and upgrade cycles as part of its management capabilities, enabling the retailer to automatically stretch its capacity to meet spiking customer demand.

IBM now provides a single platform to enable users to provision all the middleware and application components they need to run web workloads in the cloud across multiple systems or hypervisors in a simple and repeatable fashion. This will allow businesses to respond quickly to new requests for services from their customers, and rapidly deploy new applications that will increase revenue and deliver greater customer satisfaction.

For example, OneTree Solutions is one of the first companies to take advantage of the offering and is currently working with IBM on a new solution that allows OneTree customers to realize the most profitable pricing for customized quote preparation and deal negotiation.

The solution, OT ReMax, combines advanced pricing analytics and optimization capabilities with embedded IBM technologies. It is able to provide profitable pricing recommendations to sales agents, customized for each offer and contract; allowing them to make better informed pricing decisions and maximize revenues.

"By deploying OT ReMax utilizing IBM cloud technology, OneTree is able to simultaneously tackle several challenges; to provide its revenue maximization solution without requiring its customers to make any upfront investments on hardware or software; to extend the reach of its solution on a global scale; to reduce the time and effort of deployment to a minimum; and to provide unlimited scalability, which would be difficult with a traditional approach," said Dr. Panos Konstantinidis, Partner and co-founder of OneTree Solutions. "IBM cloud technology gives OneTree and its customers a powerful competitive advantage."

Another early partner, Alphinat, has been able to easily deploy its SmartGuide solution using IBM Workload Deployer. SmartGuide Designer will allow their customers to create and to render complex web applications without writing a single line of code. It enables quick deployment of Enterprise Applications to the Cloud.

The demand for cloud computing is exploding as organizations seek to expand the impact of IT to deliver new and innovative services while realizing significant economies of scale. The power of the cloud computing model is the ability to harness varying technology investments by enabling rapid and dynamic scheduling, provisioning and management of virtualized computing resources on demand. According to IDC, $17 billion was spent on cloud-related technologies, hardware and software in 2009. IDC expects that spending will grow to $45 billion by 2013. (1)

Silvermoon Business Systems is another company utilizing the Workload Deployer. They will deploy their LUNOS solution, an Enterprise Suite of insurance systems components, to the cloud using the IBM Workload Deployer. Based on early pilot testing, Silvermoon estimates that they will be able to achieve a 50 – 70 percent reduction in development and migration time leading to a significant cost savings for their customers.

IBM led the market with the first private cloud development platform, the IBM WebSphere CloudBurst appliance, which was designed to deploy business applications based on IBM middleware into the cloud. The IBM Workload Deployer extends this experience to production environments with new workload management and elastic runtime capabilities.

The IBM Workload Deployer has new features and functions that enhance its cost saving benefits for clients and make deployment of on-premise cloud environments even easier.

IBM will demonstrate the new offering for more than 8,000 customers and partners during the IMPACT 2011 show in Las Vegas April 10 – April 15.

For more information on how IBM is helping clients create dynamic cloud environments for their businesses visit: www.ibm.com/software/webservers/workload-deployer/.

About IBM Cloud Computing

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.

For more information about IBM cloud solutions, visit www.ibm.com/cloud

For more information on IBM cloud computing partner initiatives, visit www.ibm.com/partner/cloud

IBM Media Contact
Mike Azzi
External Relations
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Steve Tomasco
IBM External Relations
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SOURCE IBM