Cloud computing is a comprehensive solution that delivers IT as a service and simplifies IT infrastructure without sacrificing customization
and integration capabilities. Computers in the cloud are configured to work together; the various applications use the collective computing
power as if they are running on a single system.
Learn about cloud computing
Cloud computing enables efficiency, flexibility, and collaborative computing models. Follow these knowledge paths to learn about cloud computing service models.
Start with these basic guides
Find more advanced topics
Cloud computing and SOA
If you're wondering what part SOA plays in cloud computing, these articles explain how SOA and cloud each provides flexibility to business, the role that SOA plays in main cloud delivery models, and how cloud fits into a SOA Governance process.
Teach your students about cloud computing
We have course material and cloud solutions for you to use in your classrooms and at your schools — so that your students can get practical experience in all aspects of cloud development, deployment, and management.
Use our course materials
If you are an Academic Initiative member, you can download our Cloud Computing courses from our Courseware Repository.
Set up your own private cloud
We offer two compatible solutions for you to set up and run a private cloud environment at your school. IBM SmartCloud Provisioning offers a quick, easy entry into the cloud space, while the Virtual Computing Lab (VCL) is suited for a more extensive campus-wide implementation. With special plug-ins provided by IBM, the VCL can manage and deploy the IBM SmartCloud Provisioning IaaS solution, as well as seamlessly access hosted IBM SmartCloud services.
IBM SmartCloud Provisioning is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) solution that enables you to quickly build and easily manage a low-touch, highly scalable cloud for your students to use. It runs on the Linux OS, can be deployed within hours, and includes automated provisioning, parallel scalability, integrated fault tolerance, comprehensive image management, and analytics capabilities.
IBM SmartCloud Provisioning Demo IBM SmartCloud Provisioning Information Center
Search for part number CRGF5ML in our Academic Initiative Software Catalog. The Information Center explains how to plan, install, configure, administer, and use this cloud solution.
Academic Initiative Software Catalog
The Virtual Computing Lab (VCL) is a cloud computing solution optimized for the educational and research needs of the academic community. It operates as a cloud management stack with a self-service portal that supports a number of custom or commercial cloud services and solutions, including IBM SmartCloud Provisioning. The VCL began in 2002 by North Carolina State University, with support from IBM, and in 2009 it became available as a free, hardware-agnostic Apache open source project. There are now similar education clouds based on the VCL in California, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and other US states, as well as within the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) community.
Get the VCL open source code from the Apache incubator project. The VCL Cookbook explains what the VCL is, why you should use it, and provides various VCL implementation scenarios.
VCL Apache incubator project VCL Cookbook
Encourage your students to get certified on IBM Cloud solutions
These certification tests are available to students and professors at Prometric centers around the world.
