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IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

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Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#71

Post by pyoung »

vidarh wrote: post #60
josh2600 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IBM can't build a cloud of their own or they wouldn't have needed to buy SoftLayer. Since they don't have this expertise, they pay a ton of money for a company that their perceive as knowing "the cloud". This is doubly ironic because its IBM that introduced the mainframe to the world, but that's another story. SoftLayer and everyone not named Google or Amazon can't drop their prices 40+ times every 5 years because th…

In 2000 , Telia got a single IBM G6 mainframe hosting 1500 virtual Linux images. You'll note that's a tiny, "ancient" model. IBM currently quotes ability to present "thousands" of virtual Linux images on a single current zSeries mainframe. These servers have virtualised storage IO, virtualised network interfaces etc. and management interfaces older than most of the developers on the hipper cloud platforms. So to clai…

Seems like Google and Amazon may not be interested in capturing the entire cloud market? I get the feeling that they offer these services to offset the cost of their data centers/operations.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#72

Post by rudhir-secpanel »

dewitt wrote: post #5

Worth observing that for all the excitement about the recent crop of billion-dollar Silicon Valley startups, SoftLayer is based in Dallas, TX (and founded only in 2005). I suspect, and this will be easy enough to prove one way or the other after a few years so feel free to call me on it, that we'll see a disproportionate number of successful exits come from /outside/ the valley. My gut tells me that high-cost of livi…

Texas has been a magnet for data centers for years.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#73

Post by jborden13 »

clauretano wrote: post #69
jborden13 wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe it was last year that we had 100 days straight of 100+ degree weather. It's a beating... Pretty much Juneish - October are unbearable. The rest of the year is lovely.

The record of days over 100F (not consecutive days, but number of days in the year) was set in 2011, and it was 71 days http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=danncon10 For what it's worth, I wasn't seeking out info to disprove you, rather I was trying to make the argument that no humans should exist in Phoenix so I was collecting data on that. I thought you might like to have the measured figures.

I appreciate the correction. It only felt like 100 days straight. That's what I get trying to go from memory.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#74

Post by lttlrck »

levosmetalo wrote: post #18
nknighthb wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SoftLayer is in Dallas because The Planet, a company dating back to the late 90s, was in Dallas and SL was founded by TP's stupidly-fired COO Lance Crosby. SL ultimately merged with/took over TP after TP had merged with EV1 (another company dating to the late 90s), Crosby continuing as CEO. None of these were startups in the ordinary Silicon Valley sense. They were, fundamentally, managed datacenters (something their…

You say that as like turning a profit is a bad thing. Are only lottery exit aspires allowed to call themselves startups?

It's almost as if you replied to the wrong comment.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#75

Post by air- »

xradionut wrote: post #45
jborden13 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Normally I would agree. But with regards to Dallas, we are a large corporation (and usually energy-focused) first town. The Dallas Morning News, our largest rag here locally, isn't even covering this acquisition: http://www.dallasnews.com/business/ Hard to unseat or even compete with SV if you can't even get local attention or coverage for a big tech/startup win.

DFW has much more than energy. Corporate HQs, semiconductor, banking, technology, etc... (Although the traffic is starting to suck worse than ever with all the folks from the coasts being lost and construction going on...) There's a large number corporate data jobs in the area needing to be filled. (Analyst, programmer, DBA, warehouse, BIG DATA superstars, whatever...) The Dallas Morning Snooze is not exactly a great…

> There's a large number corporate data jobs in the area needing to be filled. (Analyst, programmer, DBA, warehouse, BIG DATA superstars, whatever...)

Curious, how are you hearing about these jobs needing to be filled? Asking as I am also based in Dallas and looking to move my career that direction.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#76

Post by josh2600 »

vidarh wrote: post #60
josh2600 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IBM can't build a cloud of their own or they wouldn't have needed to buy SoftLayer. Since they don't have this expertise, they pay a ton of money for a company that their perceive as knowing "the cloud". This is doubly ironic because its IBM that introduced the mainframe to the world, but that's another story. SoftLayer and everyone not named Google or Amazon can't drop their prices 40+ times every 5 years because th…

In 2000 , Telia got a single IBM G6 mainframe hosting 1500 virtual Linux images. You'll note that's a tiny, "ancient" model. IBM currently quotes ability to present "thousands" of virtual Linux images on a single current zSeries mainframe. These servers have virtualised storage IO, virtualised network interfaces etc. and management interfaces older than most of the developers on the hipper cloud platforms. So to clai…

Perhaps it was facetious to say that IBM can't build clouds. A more realistic viewpoint is that they don't have significant expertise building large commodity infrastructures.

There are definitely places where IBM plays well, but commodity clouds aren't one of them, at least to my mind. If you need a high-end computing cluster that's bigger than the max Amazon instances, that would definitely be a place where IBM could play, it's just not a place I see SoftLayer playing.

You're right though; There is more than one way to skin a cat or a cloud.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#77

Post by arbuge »

bradleyjoyce wrote: post #22
dewitt wrote: post #5

Worth observing that for all the excitement about the recent crop of billion-dollar Silicon Valley startups, SoftLayer is based in Dallas, TX (and founded only in 2005). I suspect, and this will be easy enough to prove one way or the other after a few years so feel free to call me on it, that we'll see a disproportionate number of successful exits come from /outside/ the valley. My gut tells me that high-cost of livi…

The Dallas startup scene is exploding right now, especially for B2B companies. Geographic convenience to both coasts, low taxes, low living costs, high concentration of Fortune 500s and a lot of good talent itching to leave their cubicles. http://launchdfw.com/

Quite so. Add to that list an increasing willingness of the SV venture community to invest outside the Valley - alot of that money is finding a home in the DFW area. Used to be that only companies that could exist independent of venture funding for most of their life cycle could get going here, but that's starting to change.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#78

Post by frakkingcylons »

clauretano wrote: post #68
reddit_clone wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about the weather? I hear it is really hot in summer. Is it comparable to Pheonix?

It's comparable to Phoenix, if your point of reference is somewhere very mild like SF. While Dallas may have had a hot year, they only average 18 days > 99F[1], whereas Phoenix averages 109 days[2]. When you look at just the last handful of years, Phoenix has been having more than 30 days with a high above 110. [1]: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/fwd/?n=d100info [2]: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/climate/xmacis.php?wfo=psr All th…

I'd thought I'd add a bit about the Phoenix heat as someone who lived in Phoenix until moving to Austin for university.

Saying Phoenix is a 'rough place to be' is an exaggeration. Yeah it gets pretty hot in the dead of summer, however the low humidity makes being outdoors far more tolerable (on average) compared to most places in the southern United States (such as Texas). Even then, I wouldn't think of it as a big deal other than the larger-than-average electricity bill for air conditioning.

You're definitely right about the tech scene though, it's why I came to Austin.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#79

Post by adventured »

bradleyjoyce wrote: post #22
dewitt wrote: post #5

Worth observing that for all the excitement about the recent crop of billion-dollar Silicon Valley startups, SoftLayer is based in Dallas, TX (and founded only in 2005). I suspect, and this will be easy enough to prove one way or the other after a few years so feel free to call me on it, that we'll see a disproportionate number of successful exits come from /outside/ the valley. My gut tells me that high-cost of livi…

The Dallas startup scene is exploding right now, especially for B2B companies. Geographic convenience to both coasts, low taxes, low living costs, high concentration of Fortune 500s and a lot of good talent itching to leave their cubicles. http://launchdfw.com/

And tons of oil money flowing around Texas right now and into venture capital, courtesy of the fracking boom.

Re: IBM to Acquire SoftLayer

#80

Post by angersock »

kmasters wrote: post #43

This really only strengthens AWS, a self service cloud that anyone can manage. IBM is chasing a dying consulting model "we know best". But they dont. You yourself with the knowledge can outscale IBM using AWS. IBM's business is profiting from enterprise ignorance. Your mileage may vary...or be nonexistent.

Yeah, you're wrong. IBM--if you can afford them--can beat the everliving christ out of problems you throw their way.

Consider the Cell chip, or any number of e-commerce platforms they power.

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