UPDATED 00:01 EDT / NOVEMBER 01 2017

CLOUD

IBM unveils new software platform to bridge public and private clouds

IBM Corp. has built a new software platform that makes it easier for companies to shift on-premises applications and workloads into private clouds, and from there into public cloud environments as well.

The new platform, announced today, is called IBM Cloud Private, and it’s designed to help organizations set up on-premises private cloud environments with similar capabilities to public clouds. The platform also allows organizations to use popular cloud-native tools for application development in both environments.

IBM Cloud Private can do this because it’s built atop the open-source application container orchestration software Kubernetes, and supports both Docker containers and the CloudFoundry application development platform.

Docker containers are used as a way of getting software to run reliably when it’s moved from one computing environment to another. Applications and their dependencies, libraries and other binaries are bundled into a single package in order to abstract away any differences in the underlying infrastructure that app is being run on.

With IBM Cloud Private, the idea is that companies can build containerized versions of their apps on the platform, and then move them across various cloud environments to suit different purposes and use cases. Big Blue is also announcing new container-friendly versions of some of its application development software, including IBM WebSphere Liberty, Db2 and MQ, to help facilitate this.

IBM said the ability to easily move workloads between private and public clouds is essential for many of its customers, especially those in industries that have strict regulatory requirements. For example, IBM said, Cloud Private might appeal to financial services firms, which can set up a private cloud environment to ensure application data is stored in-house. The app can then be moved to a public cloud environment when necessary to take advantage of new analytics and machine learning tools when necessary.

The new platform represents IBM’s attempt to muscle into the “true private cloud,” said Dave Vellante, chief analyst at research firm Wikibon, owned by the same company as SiliconANGLE. He defines that as on-premises infrastructure that substantially mimics the public cloud. He explained that that market is growing almost twice as fast as public cloud infrastructure as a service in part thanks to the growing realization that not everyone needs all of the features that public clouds provide.

“The story here is that chief information officers are realizing they can’t simply reshape their business and force it into the public cloud,” Vellante said. “Rather, they must bring the cloud operating model to their data, and more often than not that means on-premises.”

Even so, Vellante said IBM’s new platform might not be for everyone, as public cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services Inc. still have a significant advantage in terms of cost and innovation. “I would estimate that AWS is three to five years ahead of where IBM is in terms of automation and the ability to support cloud-native apps,” he said.

Still, the IBM Cloud Private platform represents a significant step in the right direction for IBM, said Holger Mueller, principal analyst and vice president at Constellation Research Inc. He pointed out that the new hybrid cloud capabilities it delivers are clearly something that enterprises need and want.

“Support for open source projects like Kubernetes and CloudFoundry is key in this architecture and allows enterprises to port their load across clouds and deployments,” Mueller said.

Another advantage of IBM Cloud Private however is it can help companies that are transitioning away from on-premises to cloud environments, the company said. One customer, car rental firm Hertz Corp., said it’s using the platform to do just that.

“Private cloud is a must for many enterprises such as ours working to reduce or eliminate their dependence on internal data centers,” said Tyler Best, chief technology officer at Hertz. “A strategy consisting of public, private and hybrid cloud is essential for large enterprises to effectively make the transition from legacy systems to cloud. Hertz is an early adopter of both public and private IBM cloud and we could not accomplish our technology goals without private cloud as part of our overall cloud portfolio.”

IBM said its Cloud Private software is available now. The platform is optimized for IBM Z, IBM Power Systems and IBM Hyperconverged Systems powered by Nutanix. It’s also compatible with hardware systems from companies including Dell EMC, Cisco Systems Inc. and Lenovo Group Ltd., among others. The software can also integrate with database services such as IBM Db2, PostgreSQL and MongoDB.

Image: k_r_craft/pixabay

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU