Brief: IBM Plans To Build 15 Data Centers To Expand Its Global Cloud Footprint

On January 17, 2014, IBM announced plans to open 15 new data centers to expand its cloud footprint. Unlike Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google, which built cloud offerings for consumers before targeting enterprises, IBM will focus first on the higher-margin business of the enterprise hybrid cloud market. By the end of 2015, IBM wants to achieve US$7 billion in annual cloud revenue. The US National Security Agency spying fiasco has made enterprise and public sector clients more cautious about hosting their applications and data in the cloud. This report will help infrastructure and operations professionals in Asia Pacific (AP) understand the implications of IBM's announcement and why they should evaluate IBM's hybrid cloud offering before investing in data centers and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) in the cloud.