Today’s topics include Salesforce acquiring MuleSoft to start its own integration cloud and IBM building a Power9 ecosystem to compete with Intel.
On March 20, Salesforce acquired infrastructure-as-a-service company MuleSoft for an estimated $6.5 billion. MuleSoft provides Anypoint, a platform for building application networks that connect enterprise applications, data and devices across any cloud and on-premises.
MuleSoft will provide the engine for the new Salesforce Integration Cloud, which will enable enterprises to quickly and easily identify and retrieve data for a user. More than 1,200 customers, including Coca-Cola, Barclays, Unilever and Mount Sinai, use MuleSoft to innovate faster, deliver differentiated customer experiences, and increase operational efficiency.
Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce, said, “Together, Salesforce and MuleSoft will enable customers to connect all of the information throughout their enterprise across all public and private clouds and data sources—radically enhancing innovation.”
IBM originally developed its Power chips to run only in its proprietary Power servers, but four years ago the company pivoted to help launch the OpenPower Foundation, enabling third parties to license the architecture to create their own Power-based systems.
Ken King, general manager of OpenPOWER for IBM’s Systems Group, said, “When IBM had a closed architecture, it was IBM against the world. Now it’s an ecosystem; you win with an army.”
A mere three months into Power9’s existence, the main message from OpenPower Summit 2018 is that Power9 works as well as advertised, and the ecosystem is using it to great advantage.
IBM is seeing numerous projects under way with both Power8 and Power9, and on March 19 published a list detailing more than 100 solutions developed through company partnerships.