IBM has landed a major cloud computing deal. The company announced that it will provide cloud computing infrastructure to SAP and that SAP’s HANA Enterprise Cloud is now available through IBM’s cloud service. In addition, IBM will offer consulting services to SAP customers.
“This announcement is a significant milestone in the deployment of enterprise cloud,” said IBM chairman, president and CEO Ginni Rometty. “It builds on our two companies’ long history of bringing innovation to business, and extends IBM’s position as the premier global cloud platform. Our secure, open, hybrid enterprise cloud platform will enable SAP clients to support new ways to work in an era shaped by big data, mobile and social.”
“The unique point of the deal between IBM and SAP is its size,” added Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. “Both companies are major players in the enterprise IT space ? some would say the biggest in their relative markets ? and share numerous large global enterprises that stand to benefit from the SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud. The deal should benefit SAP by offering the company access to potential new customers and markets, and by presenting HANA in its best light. Given the magnitude of the agreement — the service will eventually be available in 40 IBM cloud data centers worldwide, plus the other successes of its SoftLayer cloud infrastructure services, the company can rightfully claim to be the cloud platform of choice for global enterprises.”
