IBM Cloud Business Enjoys Breakthrough Year; Stock Rises

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International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) gained after the company saidt its cloud computing business is enjoying a breakthrough year in 2014.

IBM’s stock was trading $155.81 per share, up by 2.52% at the time of this writing, around 12:47 in the afternoon in New York.

In an interview with Reuters, Angel Luiz Diaz, vice president in-charge of the cloud computing business of IBM said, “We have a really good year. We would call it a breakthrough year in cloud.”

IBM generated $4.4 billion in revenue from its cloud computing business last year. Last October, the company reported that its revenue from the business rose more than 50% in the first nine months of 2014. It is one of the fastest growing businesses of IBM. The company is is expected to generate $94 billion in total revenues this year.

IBM to expand data centers worldwide

IBM is planning to expand the number of its data centers by 25 percent worldwide to meet the rapid demand for internet-based services.

Yesterday, the IT giant announced the continued expansion of its global cloud computing network to 40 cloud centers with 12 new locations in Frankfurt, Mexico City and Tokyo. According to IBM, these new cloud centers marks the latest delivery of its $1.2 billion investment to increase its cloud presence worldwide to meet local mandates with performance, security and built-in data controls.

IBM also entered a strategic partnership with Equinix for nine more cloud centers in Australia, France, Japan, Singapore, Netherlands and United States. Its agreement with Equinix provides direct access to the full portfolio of SoftLayer cloud services through the Equinix Cloud Exchange.

The IT giant explained that SoftLayer allows customers to easily move their production workloads in and out of the cloud. It enables customers to fully realize their hybrid cloud strategies.

IBM simplifies cloud computing contract

Today, IBM announced its decision to radically simplify its cloud computing service agreements with customers. The IT giant created a standard, two-page contract that replaced its longer, more complex contracts that normally requires long negotiations and reviews.

Neil Abrams, vice president and assistant general counsel at IBM said, “It’s ironic that cloud computing represents a faster and more innovative approach to doing business, yet lengthy and complex cloud business contracts from most vendors remain an obstacle.

“By dramatically simplifying and accelerating how clients contract for cloud services, IBM is making it easier and faster for companies to reap the benefits of cloud,” added Abrams.

IBM received the 2014 Innovation Award for Operational Achievement from the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM) in recognition for its accomplishment.

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