IBM floats big blue clouds

In Wednesday's IT Blogwatch, Richi Jennings watches IBM get serious about cloud computing. Not to mention if Apple made batteries...

Stephen Lawson reports:

IBM and Juniper Networks Inc. [announced Tuesday] ... technology that's designed to let enterprise IT managers easily reallocate computing resources between a private cloud and a public one ... along with several other new cloud-related offerings.
...
Using cloud management software from IBM's Tivoli division and Juniper networking gear, the companies demonstrated a drag-and-drop interface for managing a hybrid cloud infrastructure. It was the first time IBM had shown technology for shifting work within a hybrid setup, which the company believes will be the dominant form of cloud architecture.

William M. Bulkeley adds:

International Business Machines is pushing ahead with “cloud” computing technology ... IBM already has a number of data centers its customers can use to develop cloud applications. Now it will offer a “resiliency service” that customers can use to back up data in an IBM-managed cloud center, and quickly restore operations in case of a crash in the company’s data center.
...
It is working with Juniper Networks to connect all its 13 cloud centers around the world so they can function in unison ... IBM provides cloud services to a number of customers, including the U.S. Golf Association and cosmetics maker Elizabeth Arden.

Cade Metz fluffs it up:

In IBM's world, some clouds are public, and others are private. There's blue sky between them, but high-flying IBM engineers believe they can bring the two together ... [For example,] if a high-priority application needs more resources inside your own data center, you could shift a low-priority app onto virtual machines running inside the data center of a third-party service provider ... all resource migration will occur across a secure VPLS (Virtual Private LAN Service).

Unlike Amazon, which urges businesses to move entire applications onto its cloud, IBM is sweet-talking outfits who may be wary of moving data onto someone else's servers. With Big Blue's drag-and-drop demo, all data storage remains on the private cloud. The public cloud handles nothing but processing.

Stacey Higginbotham gets to the bottom of it:

IBM did announce two important things. The first was via an internal memo that let staffers know that Erich Clementi, GM of enterprise initiatives — otherwise known as the guy heading IBM’s cloud efforts — will report directly to Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano.

With this reporting change, IBM is signaling that cloud computing isn’t a mere services play, but has broad potential for enterprise IT. The other noteworthy item could be found in Big Blue’s press release: It’s chosen Juniper Networks as its partner for overflow clouds. Great news for Juniper, but also an indication that IBM isn’t impressed with Cisco  intruding on its turf with a rumored line of servers, and other jaunts into the data center.

Rich Miller sees the clouds clearing:

What does the “Blue Cloud” look like? There have been times when IBM’s vision for cloud computing seemed diffuse, largely because Big Blue has so many points of entry ... After a year of development and client collaboration, IBM has hired a cloud computing czar and today is rolling out new offerings providing better definition for the Blue Cloud.
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At today’s Pulse 2009 event, IBM outlined four new service offerings: ... A secure platform to allow clients to test cloud applications before deploying them ... A cloud-based managed backup service ... A consulting service to help IBM customers build and manage “private clouds” ... A hybrid “overflow cloud” solution.

Eric Krangel likes it:

What if the entire cloud needs to scale? While it wasn't their cloud servers involved, cloud computing companies Amazon and Microsoft have both seen their serverscreak and groan under heavy loads recently.

Which is why we like this announcement from IBM, which has an interesting approach on how to make its "private clouds" scalable: IBM is introducing a "hybrid" cloud in alliance with Juniper Networks .. Very smart: The Achilles heel of most cloud computing approaches is reliability. From the sounds of things, it seems IBM has figured out how to give the risk-adverse enterprise the rollover or short-term scalability features it needs as this space matures.

And finally...

• The world's most minimal battery?

Previously in IT Blogwatch:

• Google PowerMeter... err, powers your power meter
• Kindle 2 to fan flames for e-books?
• OLPC throws in the towel

Buffer overflow:

• Tom Foremski: 10 New Rules For The New Workforce . . .
• Search Engine Watch: Cisco Projects Mobile Traffic Growth to Grow 131% by 2013
• Mike Masnick: According To Author's Guild, You Cannot Read Books Out Loud
• Layer 8: FAA network hacked
• Lincoln Spector: Electronic Frontier Foundation calls on FTC to fight DRM
• Rough Type: The writing is on the paywall
• Ryan Paul: Open letter to Obama: Uncle Sam should go open source

Other Computerworld bloggers:

• Seth Weintraub: Intel-ARM hybrid Mac coming?
• Mike Elgan: Satellite radio: the end is near
• Preston Gralla: Microsoft: 10,000 patents, $9 billion annually in research...and we get Vista?
• SJVN: Minty fresh Linux
• Michael Horowitz: Installing Firefox in Kubuntu 8.10
• Dan Tynan: Is your cell phone spying on you?
• Mark Everett Hall: From Arhaus to your house safely via SaaS
• Eric Lundquist: The end of the general purpose laptop?
• Shark Tank: Also, a stitch in time may save your job
• Shark Bait: Strange Calls for your Helpdesk

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Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 23 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You can follow him on Twitter, pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.