The cloud decision may be the easy part. For most businesses, the benefits promised by cloud computing - including agility, process optimization, speed to market, and cost reduction - warrant a closer look, if not a test drive. At least at the decision-table, curiosity and hope in the potential for transformation are winning out over caution. This practical guide offers steps for moving your company into the cloud, at whatever pace you prefer, with a focus on the SmartCloud Services portfolio offered by IBM and its partners.

For a network that better supports your cloud and brings the most value possible to your business, its design has to be considered in the early stages of cloud planning. Read the white paper "Networking for cloud computing" to discover specific networking considerations for public, private and hybrid clouds.

"According to a survey by the IBM Center for Applied Insights and Oxford Economics, business leaders are becoming increasingly focused on the business value of cloud. Although the participant's cloud strategies differ in terms of scope, platform and delivery models, the chief takeaway from the survey is that cloud is not just about cutting costs and driving efficiency - cloud fuels growth."

IBM PureSystems offers highly integrated solutions that can help you deploy and tune applications for cloud architectures with ease. Read the research report to take a deeper look at PureFlex Systems within the PureSystems family and learn how PureFlex Systems can help you streamline management and accelerate client time-to-value with a new integrated and modular system/subsystem.

The IBM SmartCloud™ Entry on Power Systems™ solution provides a cost-competitive, entry-level private cloud solution that helps speed time to value of your service deployments on your IBM Power Systems servers.

Cloud computing offers new possibilities and new security challenges. These challenges range from governance, through to securing application and infrastructure. Fundamentally it is important to be able to assure the security of these new models in order to build trust and confidence. IBM has extensive experience of delivering in shared environments, a common characteristic of cloud. This experience ranges from managed services, through to infrastructure as a service and platform as a service. This paper introduces IBM's approach to delivering cloud security for infrastructure services.

Speed, simplicity and affordability: 3 capabilities businesses need from their warehousing environment. IBM DB2 with BLU Acceleration gives organizations a complete, multipurpose environment to rapidly distill insight from their data, make timely decisions and capitalize on opportunities.

Informix ebook highlighting benefits of making decisions 'at the speed of business'; and discusses optimizing warehouse performance; and simplifying resources.

There's no such thing as "the cloud", says this Frost & Sullivan executive brief. It's more useful to think of the cloud as shorthand for a range of service and deployment models. This practical guide offers steps for moving your company into the cloud, at whatever pace you prefer, with a focus on the SmartCloud Services portfolio offered by IBM and its partners. Read the executive brief for usable advice on selecting the right cloud computing vendor to maximize your chance for success–one that allows you to build on your cloud strategy as your company grows.

This white paper discusses the ongoing challenges of cloud, the issues to consider before migrating to it, and the benefits that a migration can bring. The white paper also describes what to look for in a managed third-party cloud: Automation/standardization capabilities Configuration options Security levels Client control features Management features Ability to fulfill client organization's business needs

As a small or medium-sized business, knowing which infrastructure investments you need to make to improve your business is easy. The struggle is being able to apply your finite resources for long-term benefits when the day-to-day demands of your business keep your IT assets more than busy. A private cloud is one of those solutions that deliver immediate and impactful benefits with minimal pain. Read this brief e-guide to see how a private cloud on IBM® System x® servers, powered by the latest Intel® Xeon® processors, can accelerate the journey to smarter computing for your enterprise.

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