IBM To Host Cloud Summit For ISVs and MSPs In Rochester

August 26, 2013 Timothy Prickett Morgan

Big Blue is looking to get managed service providers who are building infrastructure clouds based on the IBM i platform together with independent software vendors who want to run their wares in the cloud together at a IBM i Cloud Summit held in Rochester, Minnesota.

The event, which will run on October 2 and 3, will be free of charge to MSPs and ISVs that want to attend, but they will have to cover their own travel and lodging costs, says Ian Jarman, the long-time IBM i product manager who is now business unit executive for Lab Services in the Power Systems division and who is responsible, in part, for hosting the event. IBM’s ISV and MSP sales team for Power Systems, led by Lashorn Mansel, and the IBM i development team, led by Dave Nelson, are also co-hosting the cloud summit.

Unlike similar cloud summits that IBM has had at its Pulse, Edge, and PartnerWorld events in recent years, this one is strictly dedicated to puffing up clouds on the IBM i platform. It is also interesting, says Jarman, in that it will be hosted a week after the Large User Group, the annual meeting between Big Blue and its largest IBM i customers, is held in Rochester. The LUG is focused on the needs of the biggest IBM i shops in the world, of course, but the cloud is mostly aimed at smaller shops.

“Cloud is clearly a big focus for IBM across the company, and if you look at our segment of the market with IBM i, there is quite a shift going on,” says Jarman.

Specifically, ISVs are using software-as-a-service packaging of their applications running in the cloud to reach smaller accounts, who have sticker shock when they see the cost of any system, whether or not it runs IBM i. In some cases, the ISVs are peddling full suites to customers with modest workloads and a small number of users, or they are selling a pinpoint solution–perhaps customer relationship management–on the cloud to customers who want to keep the rest of their applications in house.

“The majority of ISVs in the IBM i space are either doing SaaS or are planning to do it,” says Jarman. “Many have been doing it for many years, but now it is more acceptable to source applications from the cloud.”

At this point, says Jarman, there are not many large IBM i shops that are interested in hosting applications in the cloud. Although it is fair to guess that they want all the benefits of cloud inside their own data centers, in terms of flexibility, metered pricing, and so on.

The IBM i Cloud Summit is meant to get into the nitty-gritty of how to become an MSP or to set up apps to run cloudy-style if you are an ISV. As such, it will talk about best practices for managing, deploying, patching, security, and otherwise operating cloudy IBM i servers, be they traditional Power Systems machines or the new PureSystems converged boxes. Key MSPs and ISVs who have made the transition to SaaS will be on hand to share their experiences. You can read the agenda for the event here and register for it here. End users and wiseapple editors are not invited.

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