SoftLayer
SoftLayer, founded in 2005 and acquired by IBM in 2013 for ~$2 billion, operates as part of IBM Cloud—an enterprise hybrid cloud platform providing IaaS, PaaS, serverless, and watsonx AI services for regulated industries globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersDallas, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SoftLayer does
SoftLayer was founded in 2005 in Dallas, Texas as a cloud infrastructure provider offering dedicated and virtual server hosting. The company scaled rapidly through organic growth and acquisitions—including the November 2010 acquisition of ThePlanet—and was itself acquired by IBM in 2013 for approximately $2 billion. Following the acquisition, SoftLayer was gradually rebranded from "IBM SoftLayer" and integrated into IBM's unified cloud platform; as a standalone entity it no longer independently operates and exists as an absorbed subsidiary within IBM Cloud.
The platform now operates as part of IBM Cloud, an enterprise hybrid cloud offering that combines infrastructure-as-a-service (bare metal and virtual servers), platform-as-a-service, serverless computing via Code Engine, and AI capabilities through the watsonx platform. Core technical components include confidential computing (data protection at rest, in transit, and in use), GPU computing with NVIDIA integration for AI accelerators, high-performance computing, Red Hat OpenShift container orchestration on VPC landing zones, SAP HANA on Power Virtual Server, and preconfigured compliance controls for finance, healthcare, and government. The architecture supports hybrid and multicloud deployment across on-premises, public cloud, and multiple cloud providers, with explicit positioning against vendor lock-in.
Revenue is generated through subscription and recurring contracts for IaaS and PaaS, usage-based pricing for serverless workloads, and professional services delivered by IBM Consulting for cloud migration, application modernization, and cloud strategy engagements. Distribution combines direct enterprise field sales, the cloud.ibm.com self-serve marketplace with a freemium tier (40+ Lite plan offerings), IBM Consulting services, and a global partner ecosystem serving channel resellers and service providers. The platform addresses customers across financial services, healthcare, government, gaming, retail, and telecommunications, with global data center infrastructure supporting worldwide deployment.
SoftLayer firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SoftLayer
- Legal name
- SoftLayer, Inc.
- Website
- https://softlayer.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- SoftLayer, founded in 2005 and acquired by IBM in 2013 for ~$2 billion, operates as part of IBM Cloud—an enterprise hybrid cloud platform providing IaaS, PaaS, serverless, and watsonx AI services for regulated industries globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SoftLayer industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cloud Infrastructure Services
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (518), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Computer Communications Equipment (3576)
- akta.pro primary industry
- General-Purpose Compute (VMs & Bare Metal IaaS) (HDABAAAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Hybrid Cloud Compute & Virtualization Stack (HCI/VMs/Kubernetes) (HDABAMAF)
Keywords
Where SoftLayer is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dallas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SoftLayer business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): Bare metal and virtual server provisioning with pay-as-you-go and subscription options. Revenue generated from compute, storage, and networking resource consumption.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS): Cloud platform services for developing, deploying, running, and managing applications including containers, automation, databases, security, and observability services
- Serverless Computing: Fully managed container runtime for running container, application code, or batch jobs with consumption-based pricing
- AI and Watson Services: AI services including Watson Orchestrate, machine learning, chatbots, data science, and InstructLab for custom AI model deployment
- Professional Services: IBM consulting services for cloud migration, application development, cloud strategy, and implementation engagements
- Managed Services: Managed services including Maximo Application Suite, business process management, and enterprise content management
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier with 40+ Lite plan offerings |
| Usage-based | Pay-as-you-go | Pay-as-you-go flexible pricing |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise subscription plans |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels4 records
SoftLayer product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SoftLayer provides cloud-based infrastructure-as-a-service integrating physical (bare metal) and virtual server devices for enterprises. Its portfolio, now delivered through IBM Cloud, includes IaaS, PaaS, Serverless Computing (Code Engine), watsonx AI services, GPU computing, high-performance computing, dedicated hosting, confidential computing, and edge computing, enabling enterprises to run mission-critical workloads across hybrid and multicloud environments with built-in security and regulatory compliance controls.
Product overview
IBM Cloud is an enterprise hybrid cloud platform that combines infrastructure, platform services, AI, and automation capabilities. The portfolio includes Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) with bare metal and virtual servers, Platform as a Service (PaaS) for application development and deployment, and Serverless Computing (Code Engine) for fully managed workloads. AI capabilities are delivered through the watsonx platform including generative AI via RAG patterns, natural language processing through Watson-powered chatbots, and process automation. The platform integrates specialized infrastructure services including GPU computing, high-performance computing, dedicated hosting, and edge computing solutions. Enterprise workload solutions include SAP on IBM Cloud, Maximo Application Suite, and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform deployment. The architecture supports hybrid and multicloud deployments across financial services, healthcare, government, gaming, retail, and telecommunications industries.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Bare metal and virtual servers for enterprise, mission-critical workloads with scalable compute, storage, and networking infrastructure.
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) Flexible, scalable cloud platform for developing, deploying, running, and managing applications with containers, automation, databases, and security services.
- Serverless Computing (Code Engine) Fully managed container runtime for running container, application code, or batch jobs without managing infrastructure, with consumption-based pricing.
- IBM watsonx AI and data platform for building and deploying machine learning models and generative AI solutions, including watsonx Orchestrate, InstructLab, and Watson-powered chatbots, across hybrid cloud environments.
- GPU Computing NVIDIA GPU provisioning on IBM Cloud servers for AI accelerator workloads and compute-intensive applications.
- High-Performance Computing Compute-intensive problem solving on IBM Cloud for demanding technical and scientific workloads.
- Dedicated Hosting Total isolation and control for critical workloads with dedicated cloud infrastructure.
- Backup and Recovery Automated cloud backup and disaster recovery systems for business continuity.
- SAP on IBM Cloud SAP workload running and security management on IBM Cloud infrastructure, with dedicated infrastructure ensuring availability for SAP HANA environments.
- Maximo Application Suite IBM asset management suite deployed in Red Hat OpenShift clusters on IBM Cloud for enterprise asset management.
- Red Hat OpenShift on IBM Cloud Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform workload clusters on secure VPC networks via IBM Cloud for enterprise container orchestration.
- Confidential Computing Data protection at rest, in transit, and in use for sensitive workloads via advanced security architecture.
- Edge Computing Management and deployment of edge computing resources for distributed architectures.
Companies that use SoftLayer
Customer profileSegments13 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
SoftLayer technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability7 records
Feature8 records
SoftLayer partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Red HatcoreRed Hat OpenShift Container Platform is available on IBM Cloud VPC landing zones. Red Hat AI solutions are delivered across hybrid cloud environments through IBM Cloud. Deep integration between IBM Cloud and Red Hat technologies for enterprise container orchestration and AI workloads.
- NVIDIAcoreNVIDIA GPUs are available as GPU computing and AI accelerators on IBM Cloud servers for compute-intensive AI and machine learning workloads. Technical integration providing access to NVIDIA GPU infrastructure.
- SAPcoreIBM Cloud supports SAP workloads with dedicated infrastructure ensuring security and availability. Deployable architectures for Power Virtual Server with SAP HANA. SAP applications run on IBM Cloud infrastructure.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SoftLayer competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Customer concentration
SoftLayer social profiles
Digital presenceSoftLayer financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SoftLayer leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
SoftLayer funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SoftLayer M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SoftLayer
What does SoftLayer do?
SoftLayer provides cloud-based infrastructure-as-a-service integrating physical (bare metal) and virtual server devices for enterprises. Its portfolio, now delivered through IBM Cloud, includes IaaS, PaaS, Serverless Computing (Code Engine), watsonx AI services, GPU computing, high-performance computing, dedicated hosting, confidential computing, and edge computing, enabling enterprises to run mission-critical workloads across hybrid and multicloud environments with built-in security and regulatory compliance controls.
Is SoftLayer a public or private company?
SoftLayer is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was SoftLayer founded?
SoftLayer was founded in 2005. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is SoftLayer based?
SoftLayer is headquartered in Dallas, United States, in the North America region.
How does SoftLayer make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is the primary driver. The others are platform as a Service (PaaS), serverless Computing, AI and Watson Services, professional Services and managed Services.
Does SoftLayer have an API?
No public API is recorded for SoftLayer.
What industry is SoftLayer in?
SoftLayer's product category is Cloud Infrastructure Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAAAA, General-Purpose Compute (VMs & Bare Metal IaaS), with a secondary code of HDABAMAF, Hybrid Cloud Compute & Virtualization Stack (HCI/VMs/Kubernetes). Its NAICS code is 518 and its SIC code is 7370.