Apple Inc.’s popular open-source programming language Swift received major backing from IBM Corp. Thursday when the information technology giant announced a new runtime, or set of reusable programs, that allows Swift to be used on IBM’s Bluemix cloud applications platform.

The announcement of the Bluemix runtime gives Swift a lot more credibility in the enterprise and bolsters its appeal as a complete development language.

Apple decided to open-source Swift back in December 2015, and IBM immediately began work on bringing Swift to the server, IBM said in a blog post announcing the news. According to Big Blue, the Bluemix Swift runtime, which supports Swift 3.0, includes options for dedicated, local and public deployments. That means Swift can be used to build apps on both the client and server side of IBM’s cloud.

Swift has long been seen as a programming language for mobile developers, but the new runtime allows it to be used in the cloud as well, which is clearly something IBM is hoping will happen.

In its blog post, IBM cites a study by the IBM Institute for Business Value, which suggests that 72 percent of global executives are planning at least five enterprise mobile initiatives over the next year, with 21 percent expecting their enterprises’ revenue to increase at least 10 percent as a result of these initiatives. However, a second IBM study revealed that 42 percent of executives are also interested in adopting hybrid cloud as well.

According to Natasha Murashev, founder of NatashaTheRobot, try! Swift and This Week in Swift, said that Swift’s popularity on the server was growing rapidly due to a demand from developers for a language that can be used across mobile and web apps.

But the real enterprise appeal of Swift goes beyond that, because IBM’s Swift tools now support new Swift-based packages for a variety of enterprise offerings, including IBM Watson services, IBM Cloudant and Apache Cassandra. According to IBM, this enables additional “speed and scalability for Swift developers especially at the enterprise-level.”

The ability to use one language across the front and back-end is especially appealing due to the shortage of tech talent in almost every aspect of the industry, IBM argued, adding that developers will become much more valuable to their employers as Swift’s flexibility gives them a much broader skillset.

“With the Swift runtime in Bluemix, your developers will use the same language client side and server side, allowing them to repurpose their skills, share their code and rapidly deliver on the app and API backlog in most organizations,” the IBM post said.

The integration has the potential to deliver big benefits to enterprise IT. Speaking to Computerworld, Mike Gilfix, IBM’s vice president of MobileFirst and Smarter Process, related how City Furniture Inc. created an application to handle clearance furniture, using Swift to build both the front and back ends.

“They were able to build that in an incredibly short time, a few weeks,” he told Computerworld. “They had one developer and we helped them a bit. That one developer was also able to contribute to the project.”

A Swift Path to Productivity from ibmmobilefirst