Middleware Consulting International

ARMONK, N.Y., July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Microsoft announce strengthened cybersecurity collaboration to help clients simplify and modernize their security operations, and manage and protect their hybrid cloud identities.

As organizations embrace hybrid cloud and AI to drive innovation, they require advanced security capabilities to protect their most valuable data. By combining IBM Consulting’s industry-leading cybersecurity services with Microsoft’s comprehensive security technology portfolio, the two companies are providing clients the tools and expertise needed to help them simplify and modernize their end-to-end security operations, harness the power of the cloud, protect data, and drive business growth.

“To successfully navigate the ever-evolving and increasingly complex digital landscape, security can no longer be an afterthought – it must be a foundational part of every organization’s core operations,” said Mark Hughes, Global Managing Partner of Cybersecurity Services, IBM Consulting. “Our collaboration with Microsoft provides clients with a simplified, efficient, and cost-effective approach to protect cloud workloads, and effectively manage the proliferation of threats organizations confront on a regular basis.”

Modernizing security operations
IBM’s Threat Detection and Response (TDR) Cloud Native service brings together Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender XDR and Microsoft Defender for Cloud with the AI-powered security technologies that underpin IBM’s TDR Cloud Native service to help accelerate threat detection and response for clients.

As part of the service, IBM Consulting’s global team of security analysts provide 24/7 monitoring, investigation, and automated remediation of security alerts across clients’ hybrid cloud environments. IBM Consulting can also help clients transform their security operations to maximize the value of Microsoft’s end-to-end security solutions.

By leveraging the full range of Microsoft’s security portfolio, the TDR Cloud Native service effectively protects Microsoft cloud environments for clients. In recognition of its tight integration with the Microsoft Security platform, the service achieved Microsoft MXDR verified solution status.

Managing and securing cloud identities
Cloud identity is becoming an increasingly important cornerstone of any organization’s cyber strategy, but it’s complicated by the wide range of tools, services, and approaches available. To assist clients in navigating this complex environment, IBM Consulting and Microsoft collaborated on a comprehensive solution based on the foundation provided by the Microsoft Entra® suite of tools and enhanced by IBM’s range of automation, accelerators and industry domain knowledge. The solution is designed to protect the cloud journey, while also optimizing the identity landscape and costs associated with running multiple identity tools and services, resulting in a more optimized, cost effective, and secured service for clients.

“As digital transformation accelerates across every industry, organizations require a comprehensive, unified approach to cloud security that protects their entire enterprise from the chip to the cloud,” said Alym Rayani, VP Security Marketing, at Microsoft. “Our partnership with IBM Consulting makes it easier for clients to securely harness the power of the cloud and AI to drive business innovation.”

Co-investing in skilling
The IBM Consulting and Microsoft collaboration builds on the companies’ long history of joint development and delivery of enterprise-class cloud and security solutions. IBM Consulting and Microsoft are investing in joint go-to-market initiatives and reskilling programs to support the new offerings and help clients bring security to the forefront of their cloud and AI journeys.  For example, IBM Consulting’s 1,300 Microsoft certified security practitioners have been trained on natively embedding Microsoft-based security tools, including the Microsoft Defender suite and services, throughout clients’ complex cloud and application landscape.

Demonstrating client success
Vale, mining company: “At Vale, our cyber defense centre team orchestrates protection, detection and response functions with the support of two industry-leading cybersecurity partners, combining the best of Microsoft security technology with the continuous improvement from IBM Consulting’s Threat Detection and Response Services,” said Dan Harif, Global CISO, Vale.

ARMONK, N.Y., July 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has completed its acquisition of StreamSets and webMethods from Software AG after receiving all required regulatory approvals. The acquisition brings together leading capabilities in integration, API management and data ingestion.

The acquisition builds on IBM’s extensive software portfolio, with StreamSets adding new data ingestion capabilities to IBM’s AI and data platform, and webMethods bringing Integration Platform as a Service (iPaas) capabilities to IBM’s Automation solutions. IBM’s clients and partners will now have access to one of the most modern and comprehensive application and data integration platforms in the industry to drive innovation and prepare business for AI.

Organizations are facing an explosion of apps, APIs, events and data spread across hybrid cloud environments worldwide. In fact, IDC estimates that 1 billion new applications are expected by 2028 due to the rapid emergence of generative AI¹. As organizations continue their digital transformation journeys, application and data integration solutions are critical for application modernization and effectively deploying AI across the enterprise.

StreamSets and webMethods currently serve more than 1,500 companies across the globe and will provide additional integration technologies for next-generation AI applications that require data and connectivity to everything, everywhere. And, the industry is continuing to grow, with IDC predicting the worldwide integration software market to exceed $18.0 billion in 2027².

“This is an important acquisition for IBM as we help our clients turn complexities into competitive advantage,” said Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President, Products, IBM Software. “StreamSets and webMethods bring new capabilities to our clients to embrace data and AI to better manage the growth and complexity of applications. We will empower integrators, developers, and line of business IT to build and manage integrations at an even greater and more impactful scale.”

StreamSets adds cloud-based, real-time data ingestion capabilities for various types of data to watsonx, IBM’s AI and data platform.  Data ingestion helps move massive amounts of data from multiple sources to a centralized storage center where it can then be utilized by other systems/applications. When that data moves between sources and targets, streaming tools like StreamSets provide updated data in real-time to target destinations. This hybrid and multi-cloud ready product, which IBM plans to embed as a premium feature in watsonx.data, makes it easier for users to ingest, enrich, and harness the potential of streaming data enabled through features like offset handling and delivery guarantees.

StreamSets will also further extend the breadth and depth of IBM’s Data Fabric and Data Integration capabilities through enabling the design of streaming data pipelines. It will complement IBM DataStage and Databand into a deeply integrated offering for data engineers, catering to multiple patterns of data integrated, infused with data observability capabilities. IBM plans to make StreamSets available across all major hyperscalers, including GCP (current) and Azure/AWS (in-progress), as well as on-premises.

webMethods helps organizations manage the tangled web of systems, applications and data silos within business environments. The webMethods Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS) enables users to deploy and execute integrations anywhere, while still including outputs in unified integration flows. This helps global organizations meet local data sovereignty requirements while driving enterprise-wide innovation and taking advantage of centralized management.

IBM plans to extend the webMethods iPaaS to support the IBM integration products, giving current customers a path to multi-cloud hybrid integration.  By supporting various patterns of integration, including applications, APIs, events, and B2B, IBM will help enable users to compose modern, unified, and seamless applications and services.