Now that we have covered the inevitable basics of cloud computing, let's see what IBM has to offer in the cloud arena. It will come as no surprise that IBM, as a hardware and software vendor, and business and technology services provider, has a lot to offer. IBM in fact has a unique position in the industry— by bringing together key cloud technologies, deep process knowledge, and a network of global delivery centers— and a broad portfolio of cloud software and solutions.
All IBM cloud computing services are bundled in the IBM® SmartCloud® portfolio, which consists of three unique segments as the following IBM image depicts.
Each of the segments—IBM® SmartCloud® Foundation, IBM® SmartCloud® Services and IBM® SmartCloud® Solutions—has a specific set of cloud services and can be loosely mapped to the cloud service and deployment models.
Overlaying all segments are the consulting, implementation, migration, and management services to assist clients in defining their business cloud strategy, either becoming a cloud service provider or adopting cloud services, and start utilizing cloud services.
An important asset for these services is the Cloud Computing Reference Architecture (CCRA), a blueprint or guide for architecting cloud computing implementations. The CCRA, based on years of experience of working with customers who have implemented cloud computing solutions, has captured best practices and patterns for many different cloud computing usage scenarios.
The most recent version of the CCRA, at time of writing Version 3, focuses specifically on four main cloud adoption patterns:
Cloud-enabled data center: How an organization can build a private IaaS solution and hybrid cloud integration
Platform Services: Extending the cloud-enable data center pattern with PaaS solutions
Building SaaS: Build value propositions and use cases for SaaS solutions
Cloud Service Provider: How organizations can build a "commercial" cloud to become a cloud service provider themselves
An interesting aspect of the CCRA is that everyone is free to learn about it and can prove that they have mastered it by certifying as IBM Certified Solution Advisor—Cloud Computing Architecture V3.
Note
Find more on the IBM CCRA at http://ow.ly/kYprq and CCRA certification at www-03.ibm.com/certify/certs/50001103.shtml.
Another thing to note is IBM's commitment to open cloud standards. IBM has a long history of supporting standards and open source initiatives. IBM, for instance, joined the OpenStack Foundation as Platinum-level sponsor in 2012 to leverage extensive client experience and the services in the IBM® SmartCloud® portfolio. Adoption of open cloud standards will ultimately prevent cloud consumers having issues with vendor lock-in which allows cloud consumers to utilize the growing market of cloud services without hesitation.
Note
See more on open cloud standards IBM supports in Chapter 6, Further Developments.
The first segment of the IBM® SmartCloud® portfolio is IBM® SmartCloud® Foundation. IBM® SmartCloud® Foundation refers to a set of hardware and software components available for enterprises or service providers to build their own private or hybrid cloud solutions. IBM® SmartCloud® Foundation delivers a unique set of capabilities to implement integrated cloud service delivery and management. Some examples are, but are not limited to:
Hardware and software enabling technologies to allow the customer to build their own private cloud part-by-part, deploy workloads across multiple cloud deployment models, and integrate applications in the cloud with little effort. Examples of software products are:
Provisioning and life cycle management software products such as IBM® SmartCloud® Entry, IBM® SmartCloud® Provisioning, and IBM® SmartCloud® Orchestration
Monitoring and performance software like IBM® SmartCloud® Monitoring
WebSphere® Cast Iron® Cloud integration software and appliances
PureSystems™ expert integrated systems capture and automate what experts do—from the infrastructure to the application—to make IT easy to deploy and manage. PureSystems delivers integrated and tuned hardware and software resources in ready-to-go, workload-optimized systems.
IBM Cloud Service Provider Platform gives Communication Service Providers (CSP) the ability to rapidlyand cost-effectively create, manage, and deliver high quality services using an advanced, scalable, carrier-grade integrated service management platform designed for CSPs.
The second segment of the IBM® SmartCloud® portfolio is IBM® SmartCloud® Services. IBM® SmartCloud® Services refer to a set of "public" IT cloud services delivered to enterprises. These IT services are covering the infrastructure and platform as a service space. They are specifically targeting large enterprise needs, providing enhanced service level agreement, security, and reliability required to serve production workloads.
As we have learned previously, a one-size-fits-all solution does not exist. IBM, therefore, differentiates two different types of cloud service, aligned to two different types of workloads: cloud-enabled workloads (system of record) and cloud-centric workloads (system of engagement).
Each workload has different characteristics, requiring a different infrastructure to support it:
Systems of record are passive, storing data and provide access/processing capabilities to interact with it
Systems of engagement encompass data and processing capabilities that include active stimulus/response functions
The following image from IBM shows the two types of workloads and depicts some of the unique characteristics:
Note
More on the difference between systems of record versus systems of engagement can be found in the Forbes blog post at www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2012/08/16/the-move-from-systems-of-record-to-systems-of-engagement.
Continuing with the IBM® SmartCloud® Services, let's look at the infrastructure services offered. The infrastructure as a service offerings consist of:
IBM® SmartCloud® Enterprise, designed and built for cloud-centric workloads, enables enterprise clients to expand on internal development and test efforts, or accelerates new development and test projects via the cloud, with instant access to computing and storage resources, and IBM middleware and application life cycle management capabilities through IBM's secure, scalable cloud delivery model. In July 2013, IBM further strengthened its cloud-centric capabilities by acquiring SoftLayer Technologies, refer to Chapter 6, Further Developments, for more details.
IBM® SmartCloud® Enterprise+ is purposefully built for cloud-enabled workloads and offers a complete hosted and managed self-configurable cloud infrastructure service. This service contains multiple levels of isolation and 99.9 percent availability, ideal for migration of mission critical and strategic workloads, supported with cloud ITIL processes.
On top of the preceding infrastructure as services offerings, the following platforms as a service are available:
IBM® SmartCloud® Application Services offers platform services on top of SmartCloud Enterprise to provide customers with an end-to-end suite of tools for application development, deployment, and integration. It will offer integrated, team-based development environments on the cloud, application resources like database as a service, application deployment and management with purpose built services, and integration to synchronize data and processes across applications.
IBM® SmartCloud® for SAP Applications is a private shared cloud solution for business critical SAP system landscapes with production and non-production SAP systems. Certified SAP specialist for all relevant SAP products and technologies support the SAP systems in a 24 x 7 mode and ensure the highest service quality which are also defined in service level agreements.
IBM® SmartCloud® for Oracle applications is also a private shared cloud solution, but for business critical Oracle applications. It offers Oracle-managed services in a platform as a service (PaaS) mode for the full range of Oracle products on all VM options of the IBM® SmartCloud® Enterprise+ offering. As you might expect from a cloud service, it offers a flexible pricing model and payment options and significant improvement in time to service as compared to traditional deployments.
Tip
More on these PaaS solutions will be covered in more detail in Chapter 6, Further Developments.
Finally, the IBM® SmartCloud® Resilience suite offers a flexible, automated backup and recovery-managed service for all critical data, located onsite or offsite, using public and/or private cloud technology.
Last but not least, IBM® SmartCloud® Solutions refer to software and business processes delivered by IBM as a service. The solutions are grouped into specific verticals: business analytics and optimization solutions, social business solutions, smarter commerce solutions, and smarter cities. Example services are, but not limited to the following:
Business analytics and optimization solutions such as IBM Cognos®, IBM SPSS®, and IBM BAO Strategic IP Insight platform
Social business solutions such as IBM® SmartCloud® for Social Business, which has over 18 million users worldwide collaborating in the cloud, within and across company firewalls
Smarter Commerce™ solutions such as the suits of IBM DemandTec®, IBM Coremetrics®, IBM Emptoris®, and IBM Unica® offer great functionality right from the cloud for buying, selling, marketing, and servicing
Smarter Cities® solutions such as IBM Intelligent Operations Center provide leaders the tools to analyze data for better decisions, anticipate problems to resolve them proactively, coordinate resources to operate effectively, drive sustainable economic growth, and prosperity for their citizens
BPaaS offerings are also part of the IBM® SmartCloud® Solutions segment, offering for instance, service desk, payment, and expense reporting solutions.