Looking to match the hottest item on channel partners' agendas this year -- cloud computing IBM will provide a day of cloud content to 1,000 Tivoli partners Feb. 21 at the kickoff to its Pulse 2010 conference in Las Vegas.
It will be the first in a year-long series of cloud computing camps that show partners where the cloud opportunities are, and what they can do to develop services and solutions to capture new business opportunities in industries such as health care, government and energy and utilities.
A recent survey reported that 50 percent of respondents believe cloud computing will be a leading driver of profitability over the next two years, says Sandy Carter, vice president of IBM software channels. And the same percentage ranked consulting services as their top cloud opportunity.
She says IDC data backs up the opportunity, predicting that the total IT spend on cloud computing will reach $44.2 billion in 2013 -- about 10 percent of the total IT spend worldwide. IDC estimates $17.4 billion was last year spent on cloud-based services for server, storage, systems infrastructure, applications development, and enterprise application resources.
Originally IBM planned to launch the cloud computing camps at Impact2010 in May, but Carter says partner demand compelled the company to not only move the launch to February, but also to a bigger venue. "We sold out the room in less than 24 hours and had to move it to a larger room."
Targeted at the Tivoli environment, Pulse focuses on the latest technology and best practices in service management, bringing together customers, business partners, industry experts, and IBMers. Carter, who is co-hosting the partner summit, says this will be the biggest gathering of Tivoli partners ever. "I believe it's because of the opportunity partners see, not just with IBM, but with the cloud."
It's all about making its partners more profitable, she says. "Show me the money is very appropriate here."
The day-long cloud camp will feature a number of presentations, hands-on labs, one-on-one meetings with technical and business experts, and the option to get certified at the event.
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