IBM has put forth a plan to commit over $1.2 billion to expand its global cloud footprint, a move that it says will give its business customers more flexibility in how they manage their data and IT operations in the cloud environment.
Under its proposed plan, IBM this year will be delivering cloud services via 40 data centers in 15 countries, including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. It will open 15 new centers to complement its existing global footprint of 13 data centers from its acquisition of SoftLayer and the existing 12 from IBM. The newest data centers were launched in China, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, London, Japan, India, Canada, Mexico City and Dallas.
In 2015, IBM plans to expand its data center reach into the Middle East and Africa.
IBM continues to increase its presence in the cloud and data center space, which was bolstered by its $2 billion acquisition of SoftLayer last year. Through that acquisition, IBM immediately gained 2,400 new cloud customers.
Erich Clementi, senior vice president of IBM Global Technology Services, said in a release that this new investment is "another major step in driving a global expansion of IBM's cloud footprint and helping clients drive transformation."
For more:
- see the release
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