IBM's Evolving Cloud Computing Strategy

May 27, 2010

IBM’s Evolving Cloud Computing Strategy

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IBM announced that it has signed a pact with Ariba, under which that company’s software for tracking spending will become available in the cloud via IBM’s Lotus subsidiary.

Earlier this week, IBM announced that it is acquiring Sterling Software, a provider of e-commerce software. Earlier this month, IBM acquired Cast Iron Software to gain access to middleware for integrating cloud computing services. And prior to that, IBM’s Cognos, Websphere, DB2 and Rational software offerings have all been made available via the cloud.

According to Beverly Dewitt, program director for IBM’s LotusLive partner program, there’s nothing random about the IBM cloud computing strategy.

Under the auspices of the LotusLive cloud computing platform, IBM is inviting application vendors that address specific business processes, such as spend management in the case of Ariba, to become full-fledged LotusLive partners alongside vendors such as Skype and Salesforce.com. Rather than just creating a platform such as Microsoft Azure or Google App Engine, IBM is trying to create an ecosystem where each partner addresses a discrete business process, said Dewitt.

Of course, IBM has its own platform and infrastructure as a service offerings based on its Rational Software, DB2, Cognos and Websphere platforms, but the end goal, says Dewitt, is to create a business process ecosystem in the cloud, so don’t be surprised as IBM moves to sign up additional complementary partners for LotusLive.

This brings us to the end game of cloud computing. Dewitt says that no one expects that all business processes and related software will run in the cloud. But it’s also becoming clear that not only software and hardware is moving into the cloud; entire business processes are moving, as well.

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Written by: Ammalgam

Filed Under: Adoption, Alliance, IBM, Partnership, Resources, Strategy