IBM Buys Cloudant Cloud Database

I’ve ranted a couple times about the gaping hole that is database in the cloud.  I say that not because I don’t like Azure’s cloud service in SQL Server or Amazon’s db service.  I say it because on premise solutions that run on a database don’t have an easy way to migrate to the cloud without putting up a machine image to be the database.  That’s a waste of resource and a waste of money. It also makes it harder and more expensive to achieve high availability in the cloud.

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Anything that helps any software vendor get closer to using their portal or web content tools in the cloud is a good.  So while my take is very niche oriented, I like that IBM bought Cloudant.

Anyway, CRN has an article on the acquisition.

The deal, revealed Monday for an undisclosed sum, will allow IBM and developers to more easily create mobile and web apps, the company said. With the acquisition, IBM expands its commitment to develop the NoSQL framework and CouchDB. Previously, IBM had focused on MongoDB as a standard for next-generation web and mobile applications.

…..

Cloudant’s DBaaS runs on IBM’s recently acquired SoftLayer cloud platform, but also runs on competitors’ platforms, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Rackspace and Microsoft’s Windows Azure. Cloudant had made a name for itself developing a new generation of NoSQL databases that don’t require fixed table schemas, which challenged the dominance of traditional relational databases (including the popular MySQL). They include Cassandra, MongoDB and the Apache Software Foundation’s CouchDB.

Note that it already runs on Softlayer.  The easy to manage infrastructure in Softlayer combined with a soon to be db standard in Cloudant make it easier for products like IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM WCM to hit the cloud in a cost efficient manner.