IBM and Amazon Web Services signed a multi-year deal to offer IBM automation, artificial intelligence, security, sustainability, and other software-as-a-service offerings through the AWS Marketplace. According to an IBM statement Wednesday, the move will give users faster, easier access to IBM software built on Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS (ROSA) and cloud-native to AWS. This story is from CRN.
Is IBM giving up on the IBM cloud? That’s the reason to care. While IBM dropping out of the cloud wouldn’t be a massive market share loss, it would cede that a handful of companies can only provide this offering. I found this alliance notable.
I’d also be remiss if I didn’t highlight the marketplace play here. IBM sees the value in the AWS marketplace. Jay McBain, now of Canalys, discussed marketplaces in an interview on the show recently and continues to focus on their future. Here’s a piece of evidence of their value.