Hootsuite and IBM partner for social analytics

World with laptop, phone and desktop around it

Hootsuite has announced it will migrate its social media management portfolio, App Directory, to IBM Cloud in order to help social media managers to learn more about their followers and customers.

IBM's Cloud offers more flexibility in comparison to other cloud services, Hootsuite said, adding it can also stand up to the high performance computing demands required to run the App Directory.

Additionally, IBM Cloud’s IaaS is scalable, allowing that flexibility to be passed onto Hootsuite customers.

“IBM and Hootsuite continue to work together to drive the integration of social and cloud to empower clients with the ability to make data-driven decisions quickly and easily,” said Sandy Carter, general manager of Cloud Ecosystem and Developers at IBM.

Hootsuite's App Directory offers extensions and applications for social media managers to add onto their installation of Hootsuite, allowing them to find out more information about their customers, both from internal and external sources. It also allows marketers to create custom dashboards to display the most relevant metrics for them in one place.

“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 data centers 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.”

Aside from the move to IBM Cloud, Hootsuite has also announced a tie-up with the tech company that aims to educate marketers as part of its Higher Education Program. The programme merges social analytics and cloud training with professional social media skill development. IBM's Academic Initiative will be rolled into Hootsuite's programme to extend the availability of courses into more universities.

Randy Hlavac, a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, and a member of IBM’s Academic Initiative said: "Utilising IBM Cloud and Analytic solutions, students are able to gain deep market knowledge. The Hootsuite tools will utilise this insight and allow students to test messaging immediately and deliver the most engaging content globally.”

Clare Hopping
Freelance writer

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.

Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.

As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.