IBM and Hootsuite are teaming up on social media skills development

Hootsuite will deploy its App Directory service on SoftLayer infrastructure, the companies announced this week. The two companies also intend to team up to create a university programme aimed at fostering social media analysis skills development.

The social media tool provider has previously teamed up with IBM in the past – it integrated IBM’s marketing automation service, Silverpop, with App Directory – but the latest deal will see Hootsuite move its service onto SoftLayer’s IaaS.

“IBM Cloud offers high performance, granular control and flexibility. When you couple that with its globally integrated footprint, we will have the ability to move data between datacentres efficiently which will provide resiliency, flexibility and control,” said Aaron Budge, vice president of operations and IT at Hootsuite.

“We have had a great relationship with IBM for more than two years and are excited about expanding our relationship with new product integrations and the ability to leverage IBM technology,” Budge said.

The two companies are also joining forces to develop a no-charge university program that pairs IBM’s Academic Initiative with Hootsuite’s Higher Education Program, which blends analytics and cloud training with social media skill development. The move will see the two companies offer students and faculty at participating universities access to IBM and Hootsuite technical experts and technology.

“The partnership between IBM and Hootsuite will blend analytics and social technologies to provide students and professionals the skills they need for social marketing,” said Randy Hlavac, a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and a member of IBM’s Academic Initiative.

“Utilizing IBM Cloud and Analytic solutions, students are able to gain deep market knowledge. The Hootsuite tools will utilize this insight and allow students to test messaging immediately and deliver the most engaging content globally,” Hlavac said.