Advanced Computing in the Age of AI | Thursday, March 28, 2024

IBM Cloud Gets a Boost with Box Deal 

IBM's partnership this week with Box, the enterprise collaboration software vendor, extends the reach of IBM's cloud services such as Bluemix along with its Watson artificial-intelligence technology to another large service provider.

IBM and Box (Los Gatos, Calif.) said the global partnership announced Wednesday (June 24) targets worker collaboration in the cloud. The partnership combines the Box cloud-based content collaboration platform with IBM's analytics and security platforms. It also adds another large enterprise customer to its global cloud infrastructure that includes its Bluemix application development platform.

The partners said the deal would enable application developers to integrate Box APIs on the Bluemix developer cloud to build new web content and mobile apps.

The Box deal also signals that IBM, having built out its SoftLayer public cloud, is positioning itself to compete with other public cloud vendors like Amazon Web Services, Google Compute Engine and Microsoft Azure.

IBM stressed in announcing the deal it would seek to help move Box cloud-based storage service from the network edge "into the center of the enterprise workflow."

Along with integrating Box APIs into IBM's developer platform, the partners said they would collaborate on data analytics using IBM Watson to sift through content stored on the Box file-storage platform. Box also will integrate IBM's content management system.

As mobile apps emerge as a larger percentage of datacenter workloads, the partners also said they would jointly develop new content management approaches and incorporate Box technology into some IBM MobileFirst for iOS apps.

Along with Box and Apple, IBM has also forged cloud partnerships with Facebook, Twitter and the Weather Channel.

The cloud alliances allow IBM's partners to apply its app develop and data analytics tools to create new products and services while boosting security. Another selling point is the breadth of IBM cloud infrastructure, which helps its partners deal with local data governance and other regulatory issues. The data privacy and "localization" features are a key selling point "for international customers who want the option to keep their data in country," IBM stressed.

Box users were already able to access Watson Analytics, but this week's deal "will enhance that capability," IBM said in a blog post.

Earlier this month, Box reported revenue of $65.6 million in its first fiscal quarter but continues to lose money with a first quarter operating loss of $46.6 million.

Market watchers said the alliance would extend Box's reach while IBM gets a significant new cloud customer. The partnership gives Box customers access to IBM’s global datacenters and services, allowing them to build "mobile apps with IBM technology that leverage Box capabilities and APIs, and a lot of stuff in between," said Al Hilwa, IDC's director of software development research.

"IBM is able to make such partnerships because of its investment in Softlayer, MobileFirst and Bluemix, which really change its abilities to play with new companies." It remains to be seen, however, whether Box will move all of its services to IBM’s cloud infrastructure, Hilwa noted.

About the author: George Leopold

George Leopold has written about science and technology for more than 30 years, focusing on electronics and aerospace technology. He previously served as executive editor of Electronic Engineering Times. Leopold is the author of "Calculated Risk: The Supersonic Life and Times of Gus Grissom" (Purdue University Press, 2016).

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