IBM has launched a service for organisations that can integrate hybrid cloud services and on-premise business systems into a simplified interface.

Called ‘Multicloud Manager’ and operated via the IBM Cloud, the service aims to help businesses manage and integrate workloads from other public and private cloud providers, such as Amazon or Microsoft, via an operations console.

Multicloud Manager also makes uses of the Kubernetes container orchestration technology to make it easier to and cheaper to move and manage across both cloud and on-premise environments. An integrated compliance and rules engine helps to ensure those applications remain compliant with security standards.

Prompting this new service, a report from IBM’s Institute for Business Value found that 85% of companies use more than one cloud environment and the hybrid cloud/ on-premise IT model has been a popular choice for many organisations. A report from 451 research suggested that UK firms spent more on the cloud in the past three years than they did on data centres.

“With its open source approach to managing data and apps across multiple clouds, the IBM Multicloud Manager will enable companies to scale their many cloud investments and unleash the full business value of the cloud,” said Arvind Krishna, SVP, IBM Hybrid Cloud.

“In doing so, they will move beyond the productivity economics of renting computing power, to fully leveraging the cloud to invent new business processes and enter new markets.”

IBM expects its new service to be a game-changer for modernising business around the world by integrating multiple cloud services via one simple to use interface.

As an example, if a car rental company uses one cloud for AI services and separate cloud for booking systems, and also financial processes via on-premise computers, ‘Multicloud Manager’ can work across the different computing infrastructures to enable customers to book a car fast via the companies mobile app.

“The old idea that everything would move to the public cloud never happened,” said Stephen Elliot, program vice president, IDC. “Instead, the cloud market has evolved to meet the needs of clients who want to maintain on-premises systems while tapping a multitude of cloud platforms and vendors. The challenge for this approach is integration. Many IT companies have been talking about multi-cloud, but to date, the user experience has been fragmented.”