IBM activates 18 new cloud availability zones

IBM Cloud continues to build out its cloud footprint with 18 new availability zones in Europe (Germany and UK), Asia-Pacific (Tokyo and Sydney), and North America (Washington, DC and Dallas, Texas).

An availability zone is an isolated instance of cloud inside a data center region, with independent power, cooling and networking to strengthen fault tolerance.

IBM Cloud already operates in nearly 60 locations. This expansion gives it more capacity and capability in these key centers. Additionally, clients will be able to deploy multizone Kubernetes clusters across the availability zones via the IBM Cloud Kubernetes Service, simplifying how they deploy and manage containerized applications and adding further consistency to their experience.

IBM also announced several marquee customers for its cloud platform, including ExxonMobil, Bausch + Lomb and Westpac.

"The world's biggest companies work with IBM to migrate them to the cloud because we know their technology and unique business needs as they bridge their past with the future," said David Kenny, senior vice president, IBM Watson & Cloud Platform. "Our continued cloud investment and growing client roster reflect that companies are increasingly seeking hybrid cloud environments that offer cutting edge tools including AI, analytics, IoT and blockchain to maximize their benefits."