Featured Stories

Extending security and performance from the cloud to the network edge

IBM and Cloudflare are working together to launch IBM Cloud Internet Services, a set of edge network services easily accessed through IBM Cloud and designed to protect and secure websites, applications and APIs against denial-of-service attacks, customer data compromise and abusive bots while enhancing application performance and availability.

According to the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2017, large-scale DDoS attacks have been an issue for many years, and they continue to grow in size and scope. Not long ago, 100 gigabit-per-second attacks were considered unprecedented. Yet according to the report, by 2016, that size attack was considered the norm.

Enterprises need a cloud and edge security strategy that provides high levels of web application protection without sacrificing performance nor increasing latency.

By collaborating with Cloudflare, IBM plans to provide a one-stop shop for security and performance capabilities designed to protect public-facing web content and applications before they reach the cloud.

IBM Cloud Internet Services help manage content and applications that are being accessed by a variety of device types all around the world while working so that users can access that content quickly and malicious visitors can be blocked. Instead of relying on multiple vendors for each of these services, IBM plans to reduce complexity and time by providing a single, simple user experience in the IBM Cloud.

IBM Cloud Internet Services can be configured in just a few steps for customers looking for security for their internet-facing applications from DDoS attacks, data theft and bot attacks. Backed by Cloudflare’s global Anycast network of more than 125 data centers across 65-plus countries, IBM Cloud Internet Services will also enhance the mobile user experience and ensure global responsiveness and availability of internet-facing applications. With IBM Cloud Internet Services, clients are able to use dynamic DDoS protection and turnkey Web Application Firewall security policies to respond to threats identified and mitigated across the more than 7 million websites protected by Cloudflare.

Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare, explained why this collaboration is so important: “By bringing together IBM’s high-value cloud capabilities and security expertise with Cloudflare’s intelligent global network, enterprises can focus on innovation from the cloud to the edge and spend less time worrying about performance issues and security threats. Across the industry, we are just starting to break the surface of the impact that a strong edge and cloud strategy will have in the enterprise, and the results will be staggering.”

Available globally in early access, IBM Cloud Internet Services provides customers with:

  • Domain Name Service
  • Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection
  • Web Application Firewall
  • Global Load Balancing
  • Transport Layer Security/Secure Socket Layer

IBM will continue to work with a broad set of technology partners to enhance IBM Cloud Internet Services and network capabilities to address the evolving security and performance needs of enterprises around the world.

Tune in on Wednesday, 20 March at 11:30 AM PT during the “Building Future-Proof Cloud Solutions with an Enterprise-First Cloud Infrastructure” keynote to hear me discuss the news with Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince at IBM Think.

Early access to new IBM Cloud Internet Services will be available in the IBM Cloud portal on 19 March. Start there to set up a full set of Internet performance and security services with a single plan.