IBM Invests $300M in Backup Centers

IBM (NYSE: IBM) said Wednesday that it plans to spend $300 million this year to expand data backup facilities at several locations around the world.

The 13 Business Resilience service delivery centers, as IBM calls them, will be built within existing IBM sites in 10 countries, including India, the U.K., China, Italy and the United States.

The centers will feature so-called cloud computing infrastructure, through which customers will be able to tap various services designed ensure the continuity of their computing operations in the event of a power outage, disaster, or other contingency.

The centers will host rack-mounted storage appliances, or "vaults," capable of storing multiple terabytes of data on behalf of IBM's customers. The vaults will be powered by software IBM gained through its acquisition earlier this year of Arsenal Digital Solutions. ASD's platform enables users to create a network of remotely-managed data protection systems.

"Continuous and resilient business operations are an imperative" for IBM's customers, said Philippe Jarre, IBM's general manager for Global Business Continuity and Resiliency Services, in a statement.One company that's already using IBM's existing Business Resilience centers is Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which operates a chain of automobile rental agencies throughout the U.S. Richard Bozada, Enterprise's manager for business continuity, said the company is relying on the service to manage "event-driven risk."

In early trading Monday, IBM shares were up .24% to $122.86.

Paul McDougall, InformationWeek