Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud

Large organizations often have software running on multiple cloud platforms. The differences between platforms force teams to spend extra time creating one-off solutions. OpenShift creates a uniform environment for deploying software to any cloud platform. Our challenge was to enable users to quickly and easily create Red Hat OpenShift clusters on IBM Cloud. Previously, users could manually set up an OpenShift cluster and maintain it over time, but both tasks required hours of work from a skilled system administrator. Our solution needed to reduce the technical barriers to entry and overall time required to create and maintain OpenShift clusters.

We worked closely with users of OpenShift and our engineering partners to define the desired results for this initiative. User feedback helped us understand key areas where users were underserved such as the creation and maintenance of OpenShift clusters. These insights informed the experience we designed for enabling users to easily create managed OpenShift clusters on IBM Cloud. We designed and built a system that enabled a novice system administrator to accomplish the same work in a few clicks that previously required a skilled system administrator hours of hands-on attention.

This product launch was a strategic first win for IBM after closing the 34 billion dollar acquisition of Red Hat. Our designs and user centered guidance led to the successful integration of OpenShift technology through an improved user interface for cluster creation and management on IBM Cloud. This experience enables users to adopt modern software delivery practices, to run applications that operate across the boundaries of cloud platforms, and to avoid cloud vendor lock in. Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud is the cornerstone of IBM’s broader cloud strategy moving forward.

A few specific features of the user experience to highlight include: - Users can easily select between a variety of cloud hardware depending on their specific use case. For Banks or Hospitals with strict compliance rules, this is a critical feature that allows them to move applications to the cloud saving them money and decreasing the chance of their applications going down. - The cluster creation flow provides a transparent order summary that updates in real time as the user customizes their cluster, a differentiating feature not included in the experiences of competitors products. This prevents teams from accidentally exceeding their spend limits without insight into the monthly cost of clusters they are creating. - The OpenShift version running on a user’s clusters can be updated to the latest version available with the click of a button rather than manually making changes to a variety of configuration files. - Users can easily monitor the high level health of multiple clusters through the status information provided on the cluster list and detailed overview dashboard for each cluster.