Deep Dive into IBM Cloud Pak Solutions

It is more than a decade since commercial cloud brought transformation into businesses still only 20% workloads are on cloud. Factors such as data residency, skills gap, integration issues, legacy applications not supported in cloud and vendor lock-in is another concern from businesses. Then came a major catalyst which drove a transformation, containers made application integrations and modernization faster and easier. 

In today’s topic we will learn about IBM Cloud Pak solution, how IBM Cloud Pak technology helps in application development and management and we will also look at some real-life case studies which implemented IBM cloud Pak successfully to reap its benefits.

What is IBM Cloud PAK 

Containerized applications require significant investment in cloud resources, and management tools along with skills. Customers look for an enterprise grade and pre-integrated software and technology for seamless digital transformation. IBM cloud Pak is an Artificial intelligence (AI) powered software meant for hybrid cloud environments. IBM cloud Pak helps in building intelligent workflows across multiple stakeholders to streamline project management and communication. Some of key features of IBM cloud Pak are:

• Highly Portable – solutions built on IBM Pak cloud are portable and capable of running across any hybrid cloud environments. They can run in multi-fold environments, be it on premises, public hybrid cloud infrastructure or in an integrated system to leverage a common set of Kubernetes capabilities.
• IBM Certified – it is an IBM certified solution having high standards and up to date vulnerability scan software to provide cloud security total protection to customer sensitive data and full stack support for hardware to software.
• Priced and Packaged for Cost Savings – pre-integrated to deliver use cases related to application development and automation of processes for DevOps teams 

Figure below depicts a typical architecture of IBM cloud Pak solution.

IBM Cloud PAK: Application Development and Management 

Application development and management requires DevOps practices to be applied throughout the application journey to help teams in streamlining their applications. DevOps practices emphasize on automation, collaboration and integration between software development, operations teams and security. IBM cloud Pak for Applications or CP4Apps and IBM DevOps automation can help in continuous testing, delivery, monitoring and management by helping teams to deliver software and services quickly.

CP4Apps facilitate modernization of applications by reshaping the landscape of application via re-platforming and refactoring onto Red Hat OpenShift as containers. IBM DevOps automation provides seamless support to ensure application security, expedite delivery and reliability. The below figure depicts how IBM cloud Pak can be used in application development and management.

• It assists in planning and management of project tasks
• Architecture generation with code changes
• Test evaluations help in determining reliability and performance of code changes via UI testing, API testing, and performance testing. 
• Code movement is coordinated along with its dependencies to ensure governance and orchestration of large-scale application deployments 
• Identification of potential risks and bottlenecks in the initial stages of development, refactoring or re-platforming. 

Types of IBM Cloud Pak Solutions

There are several IBM Cloud Pak solutions, each designed for specific business needs:

IBM Cloud Pak for Data

• A data and AI platform that helps organizations collect, organize, and analyze data.
• Enables AI model development and data governance.
• Includes Watson AI, data virtualization, and governance tools.

IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation

• Provides automation solutions for workflows, decisions, document processing, and robotic process automation (RPA).
• Helps businesses improve efficiency and reduce manual efforts.

IBM Cloud Pak for Integration

• Offers API management, messaging, and application integration.
• Supports event-driven architectures and secure data transfers.

IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation

• Focuses on automating network operations for telecommunications and enterprise networks.
• Helps optimize network performance and security.

IBM Cloud Pak for Security

• Provides a security platform for detecting, investigating, and responding to threats across hybrid cloud environments.
• Includes SIEM, SOAR, and threat intelligence capabilities.

IBM Cloud Pak for Applications

• Helps modernize, develop, and deploy applications across hybrid and multicloud environments.
• Supports microservices and DevOps practices.

IBM Cloud Pak for AIOps

• Uses AI and automation to optimize IT operations and improve system reliability.
• Helps identify and resolve incidents faster using machine learning.

Each Cloud Pak is modular and can be integrated with existing systems to enhance digital transformation efforts.

IBM Cloud PAK: Case studies 

Grupo Pinsa

Grupo Pinsa is a forty-year-old company which covers the entire supply chain for the Tuna, Sardine and Fishmeal industries including fish capturing, storage, processing, distribution and its sales. The company has production facilities which house more than 13 production lines, 23 Tuna and 14 Sardine fishing vessels and two additional manufacturing and production locations.

Most of Grupo Pinsa’s companies operate independently, selling and buying from each other as products move into the supply chain. The volume of interactions, systems and applications both internally and with partners is humongous. This company is using IBM Cloud Pak® for Integration and IBM Cloud Pak for Business Automation to manage integrations and standardization of automated processes.  They implemented application integration capabilities to connect its internal and external applications with each other. 

• API management to manage APIs for shared services with internal and external parities such as inventory or order services for supermarkets 
• API gateway management for secured and controlled access to API transactions
• Message queuing to send messages securely between systems 

SOCAR Turkey

SOCAR Turkey the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic purchased PetKim, the only petrochemical producer of Turkey. Operating with 13 subsidiaries including a power wind plant, fiber optic lines, largest container port in Aegean region and a pipeline project to carry natural gas to Turkey and beyond.

They deployed IBM cloud Pak solution to manage SOCAR Turkey Corporate level documents from their creation to archival. It uses solution for information classification, organization and access grants. Large amount of correspondence received and processed by subsidiaries is managed via IBM Pak solution. Internal and external contracts are also handled in similar manner.