Just as rumors that IBM is considering an acquisition of Sun Microsystems cropped up Wednesday, Sun announced a new cloud computing service that will compete against Amazon's online storage and computing platforms.
It's not clear how the Sun Storage Cloud and Compute Cloud would fit into a larger IBM/Sun company, if the rumored acquisition does occur. But cloud computing services and the infrastructure needed to support them will likely be crucial to both companies going forward, whether they enter into an acquisition deal or not.
"Clearly, cloud is very important to IBM," says analyst Judith Hurwitz of Hurwitz & Associates. "And I think it's going to be one of the primary ways that IBM goes to market."
[ Related: IBM in talks to buy Sun Microsystems. | The potential merger also has major implications for Oracle, SAP, and other companies that rely heavily on Java. ]
Despite Sun's move to offer its own cloud compute and storage services, the company's large hardware business could make it an important player in the market to provide infrastructure to cloud providers -- including its own competitors.
IBM also has a dual role in the cloud market. Big Blue offers a hosted version of Lotus and is building cloud computing centers that will let customers store data remotely.
Similarly to Sun, though, IBM also sees itself as the provider of server and storage infrastructure to all sorts of cloud services that deliver highly virtualized, massively scalable IT infrastructure over the Web. Moreover, IBM is pushing the idea of private clouds, in which very large enterprises deliver services to end-users in a model emulating the self-service capabilities widely available on the Web.
"The companies have a similar view of the cloud," says Pund-IT analyst Charles King. "Frankly, both IBM and Sun are basically plumbing suppliers for IT. They're very much focused on the infrastructure offerings."
Neither King nor Hurwitz thinks that IBM owning Sun would make it difficult to sell infrastructure to the cloud providers that Sun will be competing against. Both IBM and Sun have stressed the importance of openness and interoperability among different cloud services.
"What I see is a company [IBM] that is trying to say 'we'll collaborate with Amazon and Google and all of the vendors out there who have cloud capabilities,'" Hurwitz says. "I don't see them trying to say 'we're going to replace Amazon.' ... I do think you're going to see them focus a lot on interoperability, and private clouds."
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
1 Recommendation
