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Comprehensive Program Arms IBM's Global Ecosystem to Deliver A Simplified Approach to IT
WALTHAM, MA -- September 26, 2012 -- IBM today announced a broad set of global initiatives to better position clients to take advantage of cloud opportunities. This effort is aimed to further expand IBM's cloud ecosystem, enabling organizations to develop solutions and services on IBM SmartCloud and PureSystems, built on open standards. As cloud becomes increasingly important for clients to drive efficiency, they are looking at local technology providers, known as Managed Service Providers (MSP) to help them quickly develop cloud based services in a more simplistic, secure and economical way.
A managed service provider delivers a defined set of technology solutions or services to clients with a pay-as-you-go model. These MSPs are largely leveraged by companies who want to take advantage of technologies but lack the internal IT skills, resources and time. For example, smaller hospitals are still challenged with adopting electronic medical records. Many healthcare providers are turning to the MSP model, where an MSP can quickly help the small healthcare provider to build and manage a cloud service to process patient data and make that information available securely in the cloud, freeing up the healthcare provider to focus more on the patient.
As part to today's news, IBM is taking its collaboration with MSPs and the global ecosystem one step further by enabling them to build innovative solutions and services on IBM's advanced technologies such as SmartCloud, PureSystems, and analytics. IBM will also provide MSPs access to IBM experts with deep technical skills at global centers of excellence, offer an unmatched set of programs to support MSP marketing efforts to help them build their brand, generate demand for their services, and grow their marketing skills. Additionally, IBM will offer affordable financing options through IBM Global Financing to help MSPs acquire new technologies.
- Access to Global Centers of Excellence: IBM is launching new Global Centers of Excellence in Shanghai, Tokyo, Ehningen, Germany, and New York to provide MSPs access to IBM's deep technical expertise to develop innovative cloud services and solutions on IBM's open stack to address industry-specific client needs. This will enable MSPs to get hands-on technical expertise in building skills on technologies such asIBM SmartCloud, PureSystems, storage, security, and collaboration MSPs will also have access to IBM's 40 IBM Innovation Centers in 33 countries for joint client engagements and will launch a virtual briefing center that will provide an ongoing forum for MSPs to share ideas and knowledge around industry challenges clients are facing today. This community will enable ongoing engagement of MSPs as well as IBM experts to share best practices.