Will You Disrupt or be Disrupted?

Feb 25, 2016 | All Blogs, Big Data and Analytics, Cloud, Managed Services

Cloud computing is a necessity and here is why:

  • Your customers are making decisions at their fingertips via mobile apps.
  • Your competitors are creating new business moments utilizing valuable insight from nontraditional data sources.
  • You are missing out on new innovations that are only available via digital services from a broad ecosystem

Cloud offers multiple viable models, however many enterprises are experiencing the greatest success with hybrid cloud. Hybrid cloud is the connection of one or more clouds to on-premises systems and/or the connection of one or more clouds to other clouds.

Successful hybrid clouds deliver:

  • Developer productivity
  • Integration and portability
  • Data and analytics
  • Visibility, control and security

You can enhance developer productivity by enabling seamless delivery.

  • Connect and compose data and services for enterprise, web and mobile apps
  • Develop, refine and deploy apps quickly and continuously with hybrid cloud DevOps

Integration and portability give you the ability to compose and connect apps and services across a hybrid cloud.

  • Connect apps, data and services – and compose new apps and services – across hybrid environments.
  • Secure access to data, apps and services where most optimally located
  • Bring the app closer to the data – or the data closer to the app.

Data and analytics in hybrid cloud are fueling competitive advantage.

  • Data services to replicate and synchronize data
  • Analytics services to refine data and provide insight
  • Cognitive computing services to interact with and change the world

As you move to hybrid cloud you must have visibility, control and security across your environment.

  • Transparency to see all data and apps across infrastructures
  • Control and governance to manage and orchestrate workloads and access
  • A multi-layered approach to ensure security across every interaction point

It is estimated that 80% of new applications will be data intensive. Therefore, data and analytics are crucial components for going above and beyond the competition. A robust hybrid cloud environment allows developers to be empowered, business leaders to innovate and IT leaders to embrace new technologies and change.  A best-of-breed hybrid cloud solution will include software-as-a-service, a digital innovation platform and a world class cloud infrastructure. Here are the benefits for each:.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) (examples: Watson Analytics, IBM Verse, BixFix, QRadar)

  • Accelerate business innovation
  • Engage and collaborate
  • Connect business processes fueled by powerful analytics
  • Deploy best in class security solutions

Digital Innovation Platform (example: Bluemix)

  • Extend existing IT investments into cloud business and delivery models
  • Enable seamless delivery with full DevOps and app lifecycle management
  • Use any combination of public, dedicated and local development and deployment

World Class Cloud Infrastructure (example: SoftLayer)

  • Open, secure, and scalable
    • Cloud infrastructure-as-a-service choices
    • On-premises private cloud and systems
  • Global cloud footprint
  • Secure, high-speed network
  • Expert services and tools

Did you know?

“IBM is ranked as the #1 hybrid cloud provider for the enterprise.” – Synergy Research Group, Wall Street Journal

“IBM Cloud supports 47 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies.” – Fortune Magazine

Only IBM Cloud provides:

  • Full hybrid cloud transparency
  • Fast hybrid app development and full orchestration of business processes
  • The right access and relevant insight across all hybrid cloud data

 

Schedule a consultation today to learn how Flagship can help you design and implement an effective cloud solution.

If you liked this blog, you also might like:  For the Love of Cloud

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IBM Cloud Services

Companies are choosing IBM cloud services to deliver a responsive IT and to innovate the way people work. At IBM we deliver a cloud for business and our cloud services cover all domains and delivery models to help you unleash innovation.

  • IBM Cloud: POV on Hybrid Cloud Computing

  • An overview of IBM Cloud’s point of view on hybrid cloud computing and the hyper-portability that hybrid cloud solutions provide.

  • Infographic: IBM Leads Industry Toward Hybrid Clouds

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  • Jacob Andersson, Corporate Systems Manager at Verisure Innovation AB, explains how IBM Connections Cloud helps integrate business processes and connects people across their organization to innovate faster while helping to secure their valuable business information.Learn more about IBM Connections Cloud at ibmcloud.com/social

  • eBook – Forbes Insight – How the cloud is changing business resilience

  • Resiliency can be a competitive advantage, not merely a technical solution with a cost. The cloud enables a broader set of companies to consider a broader set of applications to grow their businesses in the expanding data universe.

  • Solution Brief: IBM Cloud Maturity Curve

  • Companies that have a mature organisational approach to cloud computing are more focused on business growth than cost reduction—and are more likely to have achieved that growth as well. They use a more diverse range of cloud services and are seeing improvements in the relationship between IT and the rest of the business. But while they say they have the required data-governance measures in place, privacy, security and compliance will continue to challenge even high-maturity organisations in the near future.

    These are the findings from Mapping the cloud maturity curve, an IBM research project conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit. The project defines “maturity” as it relates to the use of cloud computing (henceforth referred to as “cloud”) and measures how mature organisations are today.

    A previous report, entitled The fundamental five, drew on interviews with IT leaders to identify the core components of cloud maturity. Organisations’ progress along this maturity curve was then investigated through a global survey of 784 IT and business executives (see “About the study” for a detailed description of how maturity was scored). This report is an in-depth analysis of the findings of the survey and incorporates further insights from senior IT leaders to identify how they are moving their organisations up the cloud maturity curve. 

  • Presentation: IBM’s Hybrid Cloud Point Of View

  • Presentation: IBM Cloud

  • Report: Is Bare Metal Really “Cloud”?

  • Virtual server flexibility on dedicated hardware

    The cloud computing industry is evolving. Cloud service providers like SoftLayer are finding ways to deliver the scalability and flexibility of virtual machines on bare metal hardware. But can we really call that “cloud”? 

    To tackle that question, Forrester Research put together a detailed report to evaluate bare metal’s capabilities in IaaS. 

    Download this free analyst report to learn about:

    • How bare metal measures up against virtual machines
    • What workloads are best suited for bare metal
      cloud
    • How SoftLayer measures up against other bare
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  • Tangerine Bank uses IBM cloud solutions to enhance customers’ mobile experience

  • Canadian bank Tangerine gathers customer feedback and actionable insight on its mobile banking app. Using IBM Mobile Quality Assurance for Bluemix™ service, Tangerine streamlined QA, sped development and improved the customer experience. http://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/solutionsStay in Touch: http://www.ibm.com/cloud-computing/solutionsSubscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/IBMCustomerReferenceIBM Client References: https://www.youtube.com/user/IBMCustomerReferenceFollow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ibmcloud

  • Hybrid cloud helps IBM clients meet business needs

  • This video describes how IBM’s hybrid cloud solutions can help with three major areas:- Portability of applications to move applications closer to the data or data closer to the applications- Visibility and control to provide robust governance and coordination to prevent, pinpoint and resolve problems across a hybrid environment. – Developer productivity by securely connecting apps, data and services and providing the ability to experiment and rapidly iterate cloud app development for hybrid environments.

  • Building a cloud road map

  • Find out how to strategically move your business towards a more nimble hybrid cloud solution. Cloud expert Tim Vanderham walks through the process of integrating cloud into your existing IT architecture. To learn more, take a look at The Steps to Cloud Expertise Series: http://www.ibm.com/cloud/expertise

  • Solve the Challenges of Mobile App Delivery

  • Cloud and mobile solutions from IBM are inspiring IT leaders to meet all challenges of the mobile app development cycle. IBM enables businesses to quickly deliver quality, high-performing mobile apps, transform customer experiences and empower employees – all with a flexible infrastructure that can scale to handle growing demands.Learn More: http://ibm.biz/mobilecloud Stay in Touch: Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/IBMCloud IBM Client References: https://www.youtube.com/user/IBMCustomerReference Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ibmcloud