IBM Launches Direct Link Cloud Service on SoftLayer

DALLAS, TX–(Marketwired – Jun 10, 2014) – SoftLayer, an IBM Company, today unveiled Direct Link, a new service that allows customers to establish a dedicated network connection from their own IT infrastructure to the SoftLayer private network and cloud services. With faster and more consistent network performance, and higher data security, Direct Link brings customers new opportunities for creating hybrid-computing solutions that merge private infrastructure with the SoftLayer platform.

“The power of a company’s private infrastructure and internal applications increases exponentially when they are able to scale out onto the cloud. We have customers ranging from startups to enterprises, from SaaS providers to financial institutions that want to do just that,” said Matt Chilek, chief technology officer for SoftLayer. “Direct Link helps them optimize their workloads and get more value out of their data. They can move both to and from SoftLayer as easily as if our bare metal and virtual servers and storage were part of their local area network.”

“Services like Direct Link afford customers a broader range of options as they explore how to best leverage hybrid cloud,” said Brad Casemore, IDC director of research, Data Center Networks. “Enterprises welcome choice and alternatives, and direct high-speed access can accommodate various hybrid workloads, while also offering use cases for backup, disaster recovery, and business continuity.”

Direct Link consists of a physical, dedicated network connection from a customer’s data center, office, or colocation facility to SoftLayer’s data centers and private network through one of the company’s 18 network Points of Presence (PoPs) around the world. These PoPs reside within facilities operated by SoftLayer partners including Equinix, Telx, Coresite, Terremark, Pacnet, InterXion and TelecityGroup, providing exceptional access for SoftLayer customers with infrastructure collocated in the same facilities.

By eliminating the role of the public Internet for customers when connecting to the SoftLayer private network, Direct Link enables customers to completely control access to their infrastructure and services, the speed of their connection to SoftLayer, and how data is routed, providing:

• Higher network performance consistency and predictability
• Streamlined and accelerated workload and data migration
• Improved data and operational security

Direct Link is immediately available to all SoftLayer customers, with pricing starting at $147.00/month for a 1Gbps network connection and $997.00/month for a 10Gbps network connection. For more information on the service, including how to order, please visit http://www.softlayer.com/direct-link.

About IBM Cloud Computing
IBM has helped more than 30,000 clients around the world with 40,000 industry experts. Since its acquisition in 2013, IBM SoftLayer has served 4,500 new cloud clients. Today, IBM has 100+ cloud SaaS solutions, thousands of experts with deep industry knowledge helping clients transform and a network of 40 data centers worldwide. Since 2007, IBM has invested more than $7 billion in 17 acquisitions to accelerate its cloud initiatives and build a high value cloud portfolio. IBM holds 1,560 cloud patents focused on driving innovation. In fact, IBM for the 21st consecutive year topped the annual list of US patent leaders. IBM processes more than 5.5M client transactions daily through IBM’s public cloud. For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/cloud. Follow us on Twitter at @IBMcloud and on our blog at http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com. Join the conversation #ibmcloud.

About SoftLayer, an IBM Company
SoftLayer, an IBM Company, operates a global cloud infrastructure platform built for Internet scale. With 100,000 devices under management, 14 data centers in the United States, Asia and Europe and a global footprint of network points of presence, SoftLayer provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service to leading-edge customers ranging from Web startups to global enterprises. SoftLayer’s modular architecture provides unparalleled performance and control, with a full-featured API and sophisticated automation controlling a flexible unified platform that seamlessly spans physical and virtual devices, and a worldwide network for secure, low-latency communications. For more information, please visit softlayer.com.