When IBM acquired Softlayer in 2013, it created a ripple in the IT community. The cloud platform industry had largely been dominated by Amazon Web Services (AWS). IBM’s acquisition was risky but secured IBM’s dedication to entering the cloud market. It’s been 3 years since the acquisition and although it’s unlikely IBM Softlayer will surpass AWS in revenue, IBM Softlayer has secured itself as a strong competitor in the cloud industry.
Datasmith uses IBM Softlayer for our cloud infrastructure offerings. Infrastructure As A Service, or IaaS, allows a third party (Datasmith) to create a virtual computing environment for you business. It encompasses hardware, software, servers, storage and other infrastructure components hosted on behalf of its users. You pay a fee for the third party to host these services. The biggest benefit to IaaS is its scalability. You can grow and shrink your infrastructure in minutes. You also don’t have to worry about maintenance as Datasmith handles all maintenance.
So what do you need to know about IBM Softlayer? We’ve gathered 5 things you need to know now:
- Size Isn’t Everything
As we mentioned above, Softlayer isn’t the biggest revenue generator in the industry. That’s intentional on IBM’s part. IBM is committed to providing value to its customers. Although choosing to stop scaling their business means less pricing options for clients compared to AWS (AWS offers endless pricing options), it allows IBM Softlayer to quickly make changes, provide excellent customer service, and deliver a higher value product. This is why Datasmith chooses to work with IBM Softlayer. We can easily, and quickly, make changes and create an IaaS environment.
- Services
IBM Softlayer offers a variety of analytics services that allow companies to proactively manage and analyze their cloud needs. Companies can use services to help them enter the IoT and track cognitive functions. Although the IoT isn’t huge now, it’s the direction the business world is heading. Companies know that by investing in IBM Softlayer now they are setting themselves up for success in the future. IBM’s commitment to providing value adding services, is another reason Datasmith chose to partner with them.
- IBM Is Invested At All Levels
The cloud operates in 3 layers: the hardware, the cloud platform that runs on top of it, and the software you, the user, ultimately gets to use. IBM is invested in each layer. They have a full understanding of how each layer needs to work to optimize performance and efficiency. IBM has also begun to add it’s own power processors to hardware elements. IBM’s investment in not just the cloud, but understanding the cloud, guarantees a superior product and value to the client.
- It’s Faster
The key to having any successful cloud platform is to have strong data centers. You can’t run a cloud platform off one server. It takes multiple data centers with high performing servers scattered across the world. IBM has 13 data centers across the world. This allows for fast processing, secure data processing, and fast recovery should something happen.
- You Can Access Softlayer from Your Phone
IBM Softlayer’s mobile application allows you to access your IaaS anytime from your mobile phone. You can view the performance details of your servers, monitor their bandwidth usage, raise tickets for a support request, and even turn servers on and off. This provides fast response time for you. Datasmith can access your IaaS at anytime from virtually anywhere. So if you ever have a problem or challenge, we can easily overcome it.
We know that IaaS and the cloud can be confusing. But the benefits for your business are limitless. The amount of value IBM Softlayer can add to your business processing is priceless. Contact Datasmith to begin crafting your custom cloud environment today.
