IBM launches new Cloud Private software built on Kubernetes
IBM rolled out its new Cloud Private software platform Wednesday aimed at tech-companies that want on-premise cloud capabilities to deploy and launch applications.
Many companies intend to migrate to the public cloud, but are hesitant to abandon their legacy infrastructure. Private and hybrid clouds provide a middle ground, allowing businesses to reap the benefits of the public cloud while maintaining in-house infrastructure and data management. IBM’s newest private cloud is aimed at organizations that want the benefits of the public cloud while maintaining the privacy of their networks.
“Private cloud is a must for many enterprises such as ours working to reduce or eliminate their dependence on internal data centers,” said Tyler Best, Hertz Chief Information Officer. “A strategy consisting of public, private and hybrid cloud are essential for large enterprises to effectively make the transition from legacy systems to cloud. Hertz is an early adopter of both public and private IBM cloud and we could not accomplish our technology goals without private cloud as part of our overall cloud portfolio.”
The software is based on the container orchestration platform Kubernetes, and supports both Docker Containers and Foundry. This allows for the integration and portability of workflows as users move from one cloud environment to the next, including IBM’s public cloud.
Features of the private platform encompass multi-cloud management automation for deploying, monitoring and managing network services, in addition to abiding by security protocols regularly. It also comes with a Security Vulnerability Advisor, which scans containers across the cloud to pinpoint vulnerabilities or threats. Moreover, IBM Cloud Private can encrypt all data in flight and offer strict access control to users within a cluster, according to the company.
“Innovation and adoption of public cloud services has been constrained by the challenge of transitioning complex enterprise systems and applications into a true cloud-native environment,” said Arvind Krishna, senior vice president for IBM Hybrid Cloud and director of IBM Research. “IBM Cloud Private brings rapid application development and modernization to existing IT infrastructure and positions it to be combined with the services and experience of a public cloud platform.”
IBM Cloud Private is compatible with major manufacturers like Cisco, Dell EMC, Intel, Lenovo and NetApp. The platform also optimizes for IBM Z, IBM Power Systems and IBM Hyperconverged Systems made for artificial intelligence (A.I.) and intelligence workloads, and IBM Spectrum Access data management and infrastructure from IBMStorage. Furthermore, it includes integrations with database services like IBM Db2, PostgreSQL and MongoDB, to use data and obtain company insights.
IDC reports both public and private cloud deployments are on the rise; although, the former is outpacing the latter. Such estimates are reinforced by last week’s third-quarter earnings reports for big tech companies. The cloud division of Amazon reported a 42% increase in revenue in comparison to the year before, while Microsoft reported its Azure business nearly doubled year over year, growing by 90% in the latest financial period.
