Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Infor to Make Products Available on the IBM SmartCloud

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and  Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, today announced an expansive agreement for Infor to offer its software through IBM’s public, private and hybrid SmartCloud services.

 Many organizations are eager to leverage the advantages of cloud computing to run business critical applications on the cloud, but may require around-the-clock customer service, security and high availability, as well as greater resiliency for mission-critical operations.

 To address this, the two companies have agreed that Infor’s industry-leading CRM, ERP, financial management, human resources, business intelligence and other offerings will be available on the IBM SmartCloud, which is optimized for mission-critical, enterprise workloads. These include popular applications such as Infor LN, Infor M3, Infor Lawson, and Infor HCM.

 “This is a tremendous opportunity for Infor clients to extend the value of their industry-leading enterprise apps on IBM’s cloud with its built-in resiliency and redundancy to protect mission-critical operations,” said Ali Shadman, senior vice president of Business Cloud and Upgrade/S, Infor. “We think it’s especially well-suited for clients who are looking for more enterprise-class cloud support and assurances.”

 This agreement, announced at Infor’s annual user conference Inforum, will provide clients with Infor’s software across the broadest range of systems -- Windows, Linux, AIX, System i and z –on IBM’s open standards-based SmartCloud portfolio, leveraging IBM’s global cloud footprint across five continents.  Infor will offer its software portfolio as Software-as-a-Service and Platform-as-a-Service through IBM’s standard public cloud and premium managed cloud services, as well as IBM’s private cloud solutions such as PureSystems and SmartCloud Orchestration, which tap OpenStack.

 Many clients can benefit from running Infor’s software on IBM SmartCloud Enterprise+ (SCE+), a managed Infrastructure-as-a-Service cloud. IBM SCE+ is built with superior infrastructure resilience for cloud-enabled applications, leveraging IBM hardware and software. IBM developed SCE+ based on decades of hosting experience gained by being the world’s largest provider of IT sourcing services with more than 1,000 clients.

 “Today’s agreement will help businesses looking to put the power of cloud at the fingertips of their line-of-business teams,” said Michael Healy, vice president, IBM Cloud Computing. “Cloud is driving a massive transformation in the way users consume IT and the business innovation they deliver.”

 IBM SmartCloud can help extend the life of an organization’s Infor software investments by enabling an upgrade of legacy apps to current versions via the cloud.

 The service is expected to be available starting May 1, 2013.

 About IBM Cloud Computing

IBM has helped thousands of clients adopt cloud models and manages millions of cloud-based transactions every day. With cloud, IBM helps clients rethink their IT and reinvent their business. IBM assists clients in areas as diverse as banking, communications, healthcare and government to build their own clouds or securely tap into IBM cloud-based business and infrastructure services. IBM is unique in bringing together key cloud technologies, deep process knowledge, a broad portfolio of cloud solutions, and a network of global delivery centers. For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/smartcloud. Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ibmcloud and on our blog at http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com. 

About Infor

Infor is fundamentally changing the way information is published and consumed in the enterprise, helping 70,000 customers in 194 countries improve operations, drive growth, and quickly adapt to changes in business demands. Infor offers deep industry-specific applications and suites, engineered for speed, and with an innovative user experience design that is simple, transparent, and elegant.  Infor provides flexible deployment options that give customers a choice to run their businesses in the cloud, on-premises, or both. To learn more about Infor, please visit www.infor.com.