Contributed by Pete McCaffrey
Director, IBM Application Platform Portfolio Marketing

The cloud environment is providing dramatic changes, delivering greater efficiencies and agility to explore new ways of working and interacting with Customers.  To help organizations capitalize on all that cloud can offer, IBM has recently expanded a new promotion that leverages the public cloud with no extra software license cost.

This “2-for-1” promotional offer allows existing IBM WebSphere Application Server (WAS) clients to use their current WAS licenses on SoftLayer with no additional license charges during the six-month promotion period, which is underway now and continues through September 26, 2015. To make this offer even more attractive, SoftLayer is also offering a 30 day free trial and you can learn more about that offer here. Originally available in North America, the “2 for 1”  promotion is now available in most  countries worldwide where Softlayer is available.  

The offer is easy to use. Simply upload and execute eligible WebSphere programs onto your SoftLayer public cloud infrastructure using the Bring Your Own Software and License (BYOSL) option.

Here are some additional details on the offer: 

• No restrictions on use. Support through your subscription and support (S&S) agreement.
• No need to contact IBM or “order” anything. Clients track “dual usage” of processor value units (PVUs.)
• Cost of the cloud infrastructure is not included as part of the promotion.
• Requires SoftLayer. PureApplication Service on SoftLayer is optional.
• Please see more details on this promotion as well the complete list of IBM software that participates in the promotion in addition to WAS here. 

Hybrid cloud offers wonderful opportunities for more flexible, cost effective application development and deployment. These new promotions from IBM offer a great opportunity to get started quickly and inexpensively!

Pete McCaffrey
Director, Application Platform Marketing
IBM Corporation