Cloud computing is becoming an integral part of many companies’ business and technology strategies. There are many different delivery models. But two foundational services are essential for cloud computing to become a strategic part of the overall computing infrastructure: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for access to compute and storage resources in an on-demand model and Platform as a Service (PaaS), which sits on top of IaaS and enables you to build applications to support the business.

For business leaders, cloud computing is a cost-effective way to leverage IT resources to prototype and implement strategic change. For your IT organization, the cloud allows it to be significantly more proactive and responsive when it comes to supporting strategic business imperatives. Learn how to take advantage of IaaS and PaaS to create flexibility for your business. Read the ebook “Cloud Services For Dummies” now.

One out of five organizations has discovered a secret source of competitive differentiation which allows them to serve customers in new ways, reimagine their business models, gather valuable insights from their data and tap expertise across the enterprise. The secret: Cloud computing -- their engine for growth. Cloud computing can help companies respond more rapidly to changing customer needs and market shifts, expand into new markets and target new segments. It's not just an IT decision; it's a business decision.

Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Today, employees expect the workplace to come with them wherever they go and on whatever device they use. This anytime, anywhere “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) mindset poses a dilemma for organizations. If these challenges sound familiar to you, read this solution brief to learn how IBM® SmartCloud™ Desktop Infrastructure, built on pay-as-you-grow IBM System x® servers and powered by the latest Intel® Xeon® processors, can provide more cost-effective and manageable virtual desktop capabilities to help increase business flexibility and staff productivity while reducing IT complexity and simplifying security and compliance.

Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

What are the key drivers of private cloud, and the requirements for effective deployment? This paper from IDC describes how IBM® System x® cloud solutions, featuring the latest Intel® Xeon® processors, offer a wide range of entry points to each individual customer, from those new to cloud computing and just getting started, to experienced users seeking higher-level capabilities.

Intel, the Intel logo, Xeon, and Xeon Inside are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

In today’s rapidly evolving business climate the need to turn information into action is paramount. As the shift to highly virtualized and hybrid cloud environments accelerates, enterprises need to adopt cloud-based infrastructure strategies that support the increasing need for a zero-downtime world. Achieving these lofty availability levels has not been easy, but that may be changing as new cloud-based approaches allow organizations to virtualize disaster recovery to reduce both RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) that may eventually enable “dial-tone” levels of availability for mission-critical and customer-facing applications.

This IT Managers Journal will discuss the key trends and best practices in achieving these new “RAS” goals and highlight research papers from key industry analysts that demonstrate how to architect for today’s business needs – and why you should start planning today for tomorrow’s changes.