IBM Preparing Self-Service Software Infrastructure

IBM has been investing in cloud computing for several years, although Willy Chiu, VP of IBM Cloud Labs, acknowledges it may be difficult for those outside IBM to develop a picture of what its cloud initiative will finally look like.
That's because so far IBM has chosen to make point announcements of limited cloud products. Its CloudBurst appliance was announced in June, a blade server that can be loaded with IBM software and used as cloud building block.
At Structure 09, the June 25 cloud computing conference sponsored by GigaOm in San Francisco, Chiu said: "Cloud computing is a new way of consuming IT." That's a radical view, a step ahead of the evolutionary view that the cloud will start out as an IT supplement. That is, it will absorb specific workloads, such as business intelligence or a new consumer facing application. In the long run, Chiu said, it will host many IT activities and services.

In a recent interview, Chiu elaborated. IBM systems management software, Tivoli, has been given a set of services to administer the cloud. They include: Services Automation Manager, Provisioning Manager and Monitoriong Manager. So far these services are designed to provision and manage workloads running in VMware virtual machines, but there is no restriction that limits Tivoli to VMware file formats

AMD’s channel programme now called Fusion too

It's now clear how serious AMD was when it changed its slogan from "Smarter choice" to "The future is fusion". With Fusion already the company mantra, as well as the name given to AMD's plan to combine the CPU and GPU on one chip and several types of software, AMD has decided it pretty much sums up its channel programme too.

The new partner programme was presented by worldwide channel marketing VP David Kenyon in a teleconference chaired by AMD's effusive EMEA corporate PR manager Chris Brown. Kenyon started by explaining the background for the new programme: "We did a very detailed analysis of the performance of our current component channel," he said.
The long and short of it is that AMD realised the vast majority of its channel sales go through the little guy, and yet it was devoting relatively little of its time and resources to smaller channel partners. "We weren't spending enough time with our smaller channel partners," confessed Kenyon.

UPDATE 1-Abu Dhabi state fund offers $1.8 bln for Chartered

*ATIC offers S$2.68 a share to buy Chartered Semiconductor
* Chartered's major shareholder Temasek supports the deal
* Second major investment by Abu Dhabi firm in chip sector
* Chartered shares suspended, have more than doubled in 2009
(adds detail on bid, ATIC)
SINGAPORE, Sep 7 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's state fund ATIC has offered S$2.68 a share in cash to buy Singapore chip-maker Chartered Semiconductor (CSMF.SI: Quote, Profile, Research) (CHRT.O: Quote, Profile, Research), valuing the firm at $1.8 billion.

This would be the second major investment by Advanced Technology Investment Co (ATIC )in the global microchip industry after it agreed in March to pay $2.1 billion for 55.6 percent of a joint venture with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (AMD), creating Globalfoundries.

Chartered ranks alongside China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (0981.HK: Quote, Profile, Research), and trails larger rivals TSMC (2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) and UMC (2303.TW: Quote, Profile, Research), which own about a two-thirds share of the $20 billion chip foundry market

Toshiba eyes outsourcing chips to Chartered -Nikkei

TOKYO, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Toshiba Corp (6502.T) is in talks with Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor (CSMF.SI) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.N) spinoff Globalfoundries about outsourcing production of its cutting-edge 28-nanometre system chips, the Nikkei business daily said on Monday.

Toshiba is shifting its focus to stable revenues in its power and infrastructure business.
It will begin contracting out production of the chips, used in flat TVs, game consoles and other gadgets, in the business year starting April, the paper said without citing sources.

Toshiba officials said they were checking on the report.
Company president Norio Sasaki said last month that Toshiba would consider outsourcing production of the chips, developed in conjunction with an IBM-led (IBM.N) consortium. (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)