IBM has announced the general availability of IBM Hybrid Cloud Mesh, a multi-cloud networking solution engineered to deliver app-centric connectivity in minutes, whenever and wherever it’s needed, according to the company. Born from a need to revamp traditional CloudOps and DevOps models, IBM propels the future of hybrid cloud to adequately underpin the distributed software applications that enterprises depend on.
Hybridity has become commonplace since the Covid pandemic transformed the way enterprises in every industry operate. As the digital world evolves, strategies to accommodate and empower this environment must change in tandem.
The traditional methods of CloudOps and DevOps have outstayed their welcome, being fundamentally incapable of delivering an application experience that is always-on, secured, responsive, global, and accessible, according to IBM. With these needs at the forefront of application operation, IBM has developed a strategy and solution for driving modern application success: application-centric connectivity.
As Murali Gandluru, VP, software networking and edge, IBM, puts it, “our vision for hybrid cloud is clear: to help clients accelerate positive business outcomes by building, deploying, and managing applications and services anytime, anywhere.”
With application-centric connectivity, enterprises can do just that, all while simultaneously granting improved visibility and optimization for CloudOps teams, greater business flexibility for DevOps teams, and better team collaboration that benefits everyone.
Announced earlier this year, IBM Hybrid Cloud Mesh’s general availability brings organizations one step closer toward achieving application-centric connectivity. As a SaaS-based, multi-cloud networking solution, IBM Hybrid Cloud Mesh allows CloudOps and DevOps teams to seamlessly manage and scale network applications while helping enterprises to adopt simple, scalable, and secured application-centric connectivity.
Hybrid Cloud Mesh’s architecture is formed by two major components: the Mesh Manager—a centralized management and policy plane with observability—and gateways—which implement the data plane of Hybrid Cloud Mesh and act as virtual routers and connectors managed via Mesh Manager.
These components allow for the delivery of the following Hybrid Cloud Mesh capabilities:
- Continuous infrastructure and application discovery with Mesh Manager, automating the discovery of deployed applications as well as surfacing changes in cloud assets
- Seamless connectivity for DevOps and CloudOps via UI or CLI, connecting specific workloads regardless of where it resides
- Robust security through zero-trust principles, enabling communication based on user intent only with gateways signed and threat surface addressed by default
- Extensive observability via the Mesh Manager day0/day1 UI, which delivers insights on deployment environments, gateways, services, and connectivity metrics
- Traffic engineering capabilities which can optimize paths for cost, latency, and bandwidth for improved app performance and security
- Integrated DevOps, NetOps, SecOps, and FinOps workflows through end-to-end app connectivity centralized in a single pane of glass
“We’re just getting started on our journey building comprehensive hybrid multi-cloud automation solutions for the enterprise,” said Gandluru. “Hybrid Cloud Mesh is not just a network solution; it’s engineered to be a transformative force that empowers businesses to derive maximum value from modern application architecture, enabling hybrid cloud adoption and revolutionizing how multi-cloud environments are utilized.”
To learn more about IBM Hybrid Cloud Mesh, please visit https://ibm.com/us-en.