Bell teams up with IBM to bring new hybrid cloud capabilities to Canadian market

Easy access to IBM Cloud services over Bell's secure and reliable private broadband network

MONTRÉAL, Feb. 8, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell Business Markets and IBM today announced a new partnership to expand the cloud computing services available through Bell Business Cloud. This partnership will give businesses across Canada access to the IBM Cloud via a secure, high-speed private connection from Bell, simplifying the way customers adopt and build out their hybrid clouds.

More and more organizations are looking for a reliable and secure connection to the cloud, that doesn't rely on sending data over the public Internet. Bell Business Cloud addresses this issue by enabling enterprises to plug into the IBM Cloud, giving them direct access to a wide range of on-demand computing and storage options.

These new services include:

Bell Cloud Connect: connecting the largest and most advanced IP network in Canada to IBM Cloud for end-to-end performance, security and reliability
Bell Cloud Compute: running on IBM Cloud to offer a secure, scalable, self-serve environment for managed virtual machines that improves operational performance while reducing costs
Backup & Restore: providing access to IBM Cloud to protect customer data and applications through a secure backup location as well as ensuring availability of data and applications.

"Bell is an established leader in data hosting and cloud computing, providing customers with exceptional support from an expert nationwide team," said Tom Little, President, Bell Business Markets. "With businesses of all kinds increasingly relying on cloud services for their mission critical applications, adding IBM Cloud services to Bell Business Cloud provides customers with the seamless integration, security and dependability they expect and require."

"The world's appetite for data is increasing and with this comes a greater need for organizations to support cloud workloads. IBM Cloud is the leading platform for data-driven cloud and analytics that enables organizations to open the doors to more responsive and innovative ways of doing business," said Nevil Knupp, VP of Cloud, IBM Canada. "IBM Cloud supports Bell's new client offerings to help companies gain more control of their data, improve application performance and efficiencies with enhanced collaboration, centralize IT management, reduce costs and achieve greater efficiencies."

IBM is equipped with one of the highest performing cloud infrastructures available to offer organizations speed, power, and flexibility, while delivering a high degree of customization, transparency, predictability, and automation. According to analyst findings from Synergy Research around Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service, and private cloud, IBM is positioned as a top performer and leader in the private and hybrid cloud space.

IBM Cloud delivers fast, easy and automated access to a public, private and hybrid cloud services that enable companies to lower their overall IT costs while increasing agility and productivity. IBM offers a complete portfolio of cloud services, with over 40 data centers in every major financial market around the world, supporting a wide range of applications including big data, analytics, mobile and cognitive.

As Bell's Business Cloud ecosystem continues to evolve through new partnerships, customers will benefit from additional solutions, enterprise applications and business tools, with the ability to increasingly acquire their technologies on a utility basis.

Driven by industry-leading innovation and supported by a strong expertise, Bell Business Markets offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services including data centre solutions, unified communications, security and professional services supporting all the customer's ICT needs.

Bell's Business Cloud in partnership with IBM is available across the country to all mid and large businesses. For more information, please visit bell.ca/businesscloud.

About Bell

Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing a comprehensive and innovative suite of broadband communication services to residential and business customers under the Bell Canada and Bell Aliant brands. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company. It has assets in television, radio, out of home and digital media, including CTV, Canada's #1 television network, and the country's most-watched specialty channels. To learn more, please visit BCE.ca.

The Bell Let's Talk initiative promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns, like Bell Let's Talk Day, and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research, and workplace initiatives. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

About IBM

For more information on IBM Cloud visit www.ibm.com/cloud.

Media inquiries:

Caroline Audet
514 391-5263
caroline.audet@bell.ca
@Bell_News

SOURCE Bell Canada