IBM Showcases Cloud Technology Innovations

IBM showcased a series of technology innovations this week which it says offer new capabilities in virtualization, image management and cloud computing.

Included among the breakthroughs is software that can virtualize a data center within minutes to dynamically meet business demand. IBM says the software, which is now available in beta, can deploy a single virtual machine in seconds, dozens in a few minutes and hundreds or thousands of virtual machines in under an hour.

In addition to speed, the technology deploys a management system to help organizations install, configure and automate the creation of new virtual machines.

“These new technologies deliver a definitive step forward in simplifying the way IT staff can manage the cloud,” Ric Telford, VP of cloud services for IBM, said in a statement. “They come at a critical time for businesses as the demand for computing resources and new services are becoming nearly insatiable, despite generally stagnant budgets.”

IBM noted that as organizations rely more heavily on the rapid availability of computational resources, the demand for virtual machines increases dramatically. According to research firm Gartner, virtual machines under management will grow tenfold from 2008 to 2012.

The company also announced that its Tivoli Provisioning Manager product now has expanded capabilities, including a federated image library, image mobility and application deployment utilizing composite images.

When combined with the cloud, IBM says clients can use the technologies to rapidly deploy images in high-value applications. A healthcare provider could, for example, leverage the cloud to accelerate retrieval and analysis of medical records.

This story has been reprinted with permission from Information Management.

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