IBM has announced a new program that encourages managed services providers to build their own cloud computing offerings using IBM’s PureSystem technology and SmartCloud software. Big Blue is offering zero-interest loans, allowing service providers to rebrand SmartCloud, and promising marketing assistance.
ZDNet’s Jack Clark notes that this new program makes it appear that IBM’s strategy for challenging Amazon’s cloud dominance is not to tackle the market leader head-on. Instead, IBM hopes to empower a large ecosystem of smaller providers that together could take a bite out of Amazon’s market share. Clark writes, “But will it work? If any company can do it, it’s IBM. With a 500,000-strong workforce, IBM’s value proposition comes not just from its technology, but from the marketing and support services it can give its customers.”
