LAS VEGAS, Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM InterConnect 2016 -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Bitly today announced that Bitly has selected IBM Cloud as its preferred cloud platform. Bitly will migrate its platform of 25 billion data-infused links to the IBM Cloud to leverage its high-speed network, global scale and reach. The move will help give Bitly customers a faster, more responsive experience when using the Bitly platform.

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Bitly's API, used by developers who embed more than 300 million links into their products and applications each month, will also move onto IBM Cloud. IBM's globally dispersed cloud network and load balancing options will allow developers' embedded links to load even faster--regardless of an end user's location. This speed is crucial, as more than 70 percent of Bitly links are delivered internationally.

Bitly is best known for shortening URLs, making them easier to share across all channels, including text messages, emails and social media posts, where words and characters are at a premium. Bitly's links garner more than 12 billion clicks per month, generating over 250 billion unique data points. Through the company's Link Management Platform, marketers create branded links, add mobile deep linking capabilities, track user interactions and analyze audience data in order to better engage with customers.

"Migrating our workloads onto IBM Cloud enables us to better support our expanding global user base," said Mark Josephson, CEO of Bitly. "Not only can our customers experience even faster performance thanks to IBM's worldwide network of interconnected data centers, but we will also have a scalable, secure cloud platform to support our rapid business growth."

Under the new deal, IBM and Bitly will combine their technology and marketing expertise to provide an unparalleled link management experience in the cloud:

    --  SCALE AND PERFORMANCE: Bitly will migrate all its workloads onto IBM
        Cloud, a network of 46 globally dispersed cloud data centers, so that it
        can scale its infrastructure based on business needs and roll out new
        features for its Link Management Platform even faster. The company will
        also leverage IBM's geographic load balancing and high-speed network to
        help give Bitly customers a seamless, fast and responsive
        experience--regardless of their location.

    --  NEXT-GEN DEVELOPERS: Each month, 11,000 developers access Bitly's API to
        create 300 million links to embed into apps and products. Migrating the
        Bitly API to IBM Cloud gives developers a worldwide cloud platform that
        helps to improve the API experience and loads embedded links even
        faster.

    --  EMPOWER MARKETING: IBM and Bitly are collaborating to support data
        publishing via Universal Behavior Exchange and incorporate link
        management into the IBM Marketing Cloud to help marketers better
        understand and engage customers. The IBM Marketing Cloud powers the
        delivery of exceptional experiences for customers across the buyer
        journey by leveraging customer data, providing analytical insights and
        automating relevant cross-channel interactions--all through the reliable
        IBM Cloud platform. Customers will be able to access Bitly's services
        and insights through the IBM Marketing Cloud.

"Together, IBM and Bitly are improving the development experience across the Bitly API," said Sandy Carter, general manager of the developer ecosystem and startups at IBM. "Developers will still have everything they love about Bitly, but now they'll get a faster, more responsive experience."

Bitly's Link Management Platform has more than 10 million monthly users, with more than 500,000 active user accounts. Its clients include more than half of the Fortune 100, including Under Armour, Etsy, eBay, Zulily, Pepsi, Keurig, Dunkin' Brands, Ben & Jerry's, Monster.com, Wall Street Journal, Samsung, BuzzFeed, Spotify, PBS, Kaiser Permanente and the American Medical Association. Bitly links are clicked in every country in the world and more than 200,000 times each second. The company tracks clicks from more than 5 billion browsers each month.

About Bitly:
Bitly is used by the best marketers in the world to build stronger connections with their customers across every digital channel. Originally known for its world-leading link shortening service, Bitly now provides an enterprise-grade Link Management Platform that connects every component of the modern marketer's software stack and every major integrated Marketing Cloud. The company is privately held and has offices in New York, San Francisco and Denver.

About IBM:
For more information on IBM Cloud visit www.ibm.com/cloud.

Contact:

Betsy Rizzo
IBM Media Relations
1 (214) 356.2036
betsy.rizzo@us.ibm.com

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SOURCE IBM