IBM is in the process of migrating a large part of its software on the SoftLayer cloud so they are accessible in the form of services within a common, open architecture. At the IBM Impact 2014 event, IBM is introducing 30 new BlueMix services to help organizations quickly integrate applications and speed deployment.

Built on industry standard components, IBM’s BlueMix offers ‘mix-n-match’ building of apps including DevOps, data analytics, cloud integration and the Internet of Things. The new services have ready-built services for quick-starting mobile and web applications. It also has DevOps modules that build out the complete developer lifecycle.

The combination of BlueMix software patterns and services with big data processing using open standards and open APIs provides the foundation on which next-generation web and mobile businesses can be built. This is a major move by IBM, which will appeal to developers who are using JavaScript with Node.JS and Ruby on Rails, as well as the enterprise, with investments in Java and Microsoft technologies.

SoftLayer is key to BlueMix

 .

The cloud is now on the radar of companies and CIOs, and the timing aligns for IBM. If SoftLayer is part of the most formative in material acquisitions, it also holds over a billion dollars injected to expand the global reach of data center park.

In this context, IBM announced at Pulse 2014 in February a new billion dollar play in the cloud, and this time for developers. As part of this initiative, Big Blue has finally shown its implementation of Open Source Cloud Foundry PaaS project called BlueMix, which form the PaaS layer above SoftLayer. Specifically, IBM’s idea is to expose some form of services and middleware components of the application layer.

The goal of BlueMix is ​​to give developers a way to build cloud applications quickly whether they are with IBM, a third-party or open technologies.

Extending developer reach, IBM announced BlueMix Garage, a collaborative space for developers, startups and large companies to work side by side with IBM to rapidly develop innovative applications. Based in San Francisco, the first such Garage will be located at Galvanize, a community providing startup hubs to more than 150 companies and 450 members.

IBM intends to support Agile approaches within this framework and take into account mobile, big data and DevOps in an open environment.

Building a DevOps ecosystem in the cloud

.

With the acquisition of SoftLayer, IBM has made cloud hosting an anchor to build many of their PaaS and developer solutions on top of cloud-based functionality. This enables an end to end solution as a service for developers.

Also announced at the Impact event is new Cloud Integration BlueMix services to securely connect and integrate developer apps in the cloud. The service uses pre-defined connectors and custom APIs for developers to securely tie back both a cloud-based PaaS and an on-premise installations into systems of record behind their firewall.

Given the close connection between mobile and cloud applications, the need for a single, automated DevOps strategy for both technologies is essential. The new BlueMix service is DevOps Continuous Integration services that integrates the entire DevOps lifecycle, from business planning and creation to delivery and feedback. IBM says developers will be able to host their code using Git on BlueMix web IDE and other development environment. The service helps businesses address the full lifecycle of software delivery with a common approach regardless of the type of application being developed.

“The adoption rate of BlueMix has been nothing short of phenomenal since being announced only a few short weeks ago,” said Steve Robinson, General Manager of IBM Cloud Platform Services. “Tens of thousands of beta participants are embracing our model of extending their existing assets and services into a cloud-based, open-source development platform, allowing our clients to bridge between the tools they are planning for the future and the workloads and services they use today to get them to market faster.”

IBM also introduced new services including mobile application security, Cast Iron Live, application auto-scaling, TimeSeries Database and services from third-party partners including RedisLabs, SendGrid, BlazeMeter and New Relic. The company is also announcing a Cloud App Store in which developers and companies can select and launch their applications and services.