For many technology firms today, it can be difficult to choose between a plethora of cloud providers to find not just any software-defined solution, but one that can help manage data stored across disparate cloud environments. The key driver is to find a company that has the right infrastructure offerings, contextualized for the multicloud, to provide a business edge.

“Storage or infrastructure … it’s more than just building the next array; it’s about how to bring all of this together, make it easy for clients, deliver in the way that they want,” said Ed Walsh (pictured), general manager of storage at IBM.

Walsh explained that representatives of many companies will come up to potential clients claiming to be leaders in a particular infrastructure technology; but only a provider like IBM can, for example, tap into the power of its Watson AI to provide state-of-the art technology and guarantee that such a hybrid cloud solution is completely scalable.

To help give businesses insight on how to choose a hybrid cloud or multicloud service provider, Walsh spoke with John Furrier (@furrier) and Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the VMworld conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. (* Disclosure below.)

Trust and security at the core

When it comes to integrating a business’ existing on-premises workloads with third-party cloud providers, partnerships must be carefully considered. “Who can I partner with to go forward? You can’t partner with 20 different firms. Who can you partner with to get you from where you are to where you want to get to?” Walsh asked.

Acknowledging the data-driven economies currently determining tech’s direction, Walsh reiterated the importance of storage for keeping data. The cloud now becomes crucial for sharing that data, and security is crucial for protecting that data in the sharing process. Security can’t happen without on-premises solutions.

With IBM’s multicloud-ready FlashSystem 9100, the necessary software is included the bundle, with validated designs to address all the use major use cases in the cloud, according to Walsh.

“There’s almost a renaissance, a boom happening in being data-driven, which plays to storage heavily,” Walsh said, explaining that you then need the right infrastructure to back it up, either via an on-prem, hybrid or multicloud environment.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the VMworld conference. (* Disclosure: IBM sponsored this segment, with additional broadcast sponsorship from VMware Inc. IBM, VMware, and other sponsors do not have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE