IBM has acquired Blue Box Group, a managed private cloud provider built on OpenStack.
The acquisition will support IBM to deliver flexible cloud computing models. Customers aim to move to data and applications across clouds and meet their needs across public, private and hybrid cloud environments.
IBM’s strategy to by Blue Box strengthens a recent IT report by Gartner that said that 72 percent of enterprises will be pursuing a hybrid cloud strategy this year.
The Seattle-based Blue Box provides a private cloud as a service platform, based on OpenStack to assist customers to easily deploy workloads across hybrid cloud environments. IBM did not share financial details.
Through the acquisition of Blue Box, IBM will assist businesses to integrate cloud-based applications and on-premises systems into OpenStack-based managed cloud. Blue Box strengthens IBM Cloud’s existing OpenStack portfolio. A remotely managed
OpenStack offering to provide clients with a local cloud and increased visibility, control and security will be launched.
IBM said it has 500 developers dedicated to working on open cloud projects. Forrester Research says more than twice as many firms use or plan to use IBM Cloud as their primary hosted private cloud platform than the next closest vendor.
This acquisition will enable IBM to deliver a public cloud-like experience within the client’s own data center, relieving organizations of the burden of traditional private cloud deployments.
IBM General Manager of Cloud Services Jim Comfort said: “The acquisition of Blue Box accelerates IBM’s open cloud strategy making it easier for our clients to move to data and applications across clouds and adopt hybrid cloud environments.”
IBM plans to continue to support Blue Box clients and enhance their technologies while allowing these organizations to take advantage of the IBM portfolio.
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