IBM’s Canadian channel partners will be among the beneficiaries of the vendor opening its first SoftLayer data centre in Toronto this week.
Its part of Big Blue’s $1.2 billion extension of its SoftLayer platform and infrastructure as a service (PaaS, IaaS) offerings around the world and, with many customers concerned about data residency when it comes to cloud solutions, the Canadian location should be a positive in this market.
IBM has been making a strong push for SoftLayer in the channel. It was a frequent topic at IBM’s PartnerWorld Leadership conference in February, with global channel chief Marc Dupaquier telling CDN that partners should be excited about SoftLayer, a recent IBM acquisition.
“We acquired SoftLayer because we felt they have this unique approach, not cloud on virtualization but on baremetal data. They own their own network and they always know where the data is, unlike some other providers. Go try selling cloud to banks if you don’t know where their data is always,” said Dupaquier. “We believe SoftLayer will emerge as a leader, pushed by IBM, because their technology is very strong. It’s not just another cloud provider, but truly one of the leaders.”
In April, IBM boosted SoftLayer incentives for channel partners, including improved margin opportunities with richer earned-volume discounts for SoftLayer business partners without requiring a prior commitment and creating a new SoftLayer Services & Solution Provider program.
The new SoftLayer Toronto facility has the space for 15,000 physical servers. New customers are eligible for a $500 discount off the first month of service.
RESD MORE: IBM opens SoftLayer data centre in Toronto
