IBM has completed its acquisition of SoftLayer Technologies Inc., a cloud computing infrastructure company that will join IBM’s new cloud services division.
The new division will provide a range of choices to both IBM and SoftLayer clients, independent software vendors (ISVs), and channel and technology partners.
James Comfort, general manager of IBM’s cloud services division, said the acquisition will make it easier and faster for companies and other organizations to adopt cloud computing services.
SoftLayer will enable IBM to link the security, privacy and reliability of private clouds with the economy and speed of a public cloud. SoftLayer offers cloud capability "on ramp" for born-on-the-web companies, governments and Fortune 500 companies, IBM said.
IBM has made more than a dozen strategic cloud acquisitions since 2007.
IBM cloud revenue grew by 80 percent in 2012. Already one of the world's leading cloud providers, IBM expects to reach $7 billion annually in cloud revenue by the end of 2015.
IBM also announced that Flow, Inc. will stream its real-time data analytics based on IBM SmartCloud and the SoftLayer technology platform.
Flow, based in New York City, transforms the way companies process, publish and consume real-time information. It streams data specifically designed to be accessed and viewed from mobile devices.
IBM will provide clients with integrated solutions based on Flow, SoftLayer technology and IBM SmartCloud. This streamed, integrated real-time data will enable clients to send and receive data from any mobile device that is integrated with enterprise data.
The combination of Flow and SoftLayer software will provide IBM clients with the ability to connect, process and route real-time data to and from any number of enterprise applications, analytics and mobile services. This means real-time information dashboards and mobile apps are deployed in minutes without any IT support.
