IBM expands its wings in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) space by acquiring Blue Box Group, a managed private cloud provider built on OpenStack. Blue Box is a privately held company based in Seattle that provides businesses with a simple, private cloud as a service platform, based on OpenStack, enabling customers to easily deploy workloads across hybrid cloud environments. IBM currently plans to continue to support Blue Box clients and enhance their technologies while allowing these organizations to take advantage of the broader IBM portfolio.
According to IBM, through Blue Box, it will help businesses rapidly integrate their cloud-based applications and on-premises systems into OpenStack-based managed cloud. Blue Box also strengthens IBM Cloud’s existing OpenStack portfolio, with the introduction of a remotely managed OpenStack offering to provide clients with a local cloud and increased visibility, control and security. This acquisition will enable them to deliver a public cloud-like experience within the client’s own data center, relieving organizations of the burden of traditional private cloud deployments, added IBM.
IBM General Manager of Cloud Services Jim Comfort
IBM is dedicated to helping our clients migrate to the cloud in an open, secure, data rich environment that meet their current and future business needs. The acquisition of Blue Box accelerates IBM’s open cloud strategy making it easier for our clients to move to data and applications across clouds and adopt hybrid cloud environments.
Blue Box Founder and CTO Jesse Proudman, COO, NPAW
Blue Box is building a similarly respected brand in OpenStack. Together, we will deliver the technology and products businesses need to give their application developers an agile, responsive infrastructure across public and private clouds. This acquisition signals the beginning of new OpenStack options delivered by IBM. Now is the time to arm customers with more efficient development, delivery and lower cost solutions than they've seen thus far in the market.
