IBM has announced its IBM Smart Business Development and Test on the IBM Cloud, a free public cloud beta for software development that provides compute and storage as a service. At the same time, the company announced Rational Software Delivery Services -- a set of ready-to-use ALM tools for developing and testing in the IBM Cloud -- to help application developers and testers speed the development and delivery of software applications.
IBM Smart Business Development and Test on the IBM Cloud is designed to augment and enhance software development and delivery capabilities, particularly in large enterprises where IT departments handle hundreds of development projects every year. Unlike traditional development environments developers can log on to IBM Smart Business Development and Test on the IBM Cloud and get access to customizable virtual machines in minutes.
This new environment provides compute and storage as a service, IBM Rational Software Delivery Services, WebSphere, and Information Management to help application developers and testers speed the development and delivery of software applications. To help customers leverage existing investments, these new services support development across heterogeneous environments, including Java, Open Source, and .NET. In addition, pre-configured integrations of some of the Rational services are available based on the Jazz framework, which dynamically integrates and synchronizes people, processes and assets associated with software development projects.
IBM is also extending its IBM Rational Software Delivery Services for Cloud Computing to a private cloud infrastructure for enterprise customers who prefer governance and control of their own cloud environment. Behind a client's own firewall, these services can provide users with additional development options and customization needed to deploy applications in a private cloud.
"Enterprises are looking for optimal business models to lower the cost of developing and deploying software while maximizing existing investments. Cloud-based models offer flexible, instant sourcing options based on teams' needs while enhancing control of their delivery models," says Daniel Sabbah, general manager, IBM Rational Software. "With more and more customers treating software as a strategic business asset, the combined value of the new offerings can help them gain the utmost value from their investments in IT across the application lifecycle."
IBM Rational Software Delivery Services for Cloud Computing feature a set of services optimized for delivering software throughout the enterprise, including:
- Agile development services to enable collaborative development and test: A set of best practices to achieve desired agility in an enterprise.
- An integrated set of services for Test Management, Test Planning and Test Lab Management: Increases productivity by automating processes that traditionally required long wait times, and even longer time for setup, procurement and installation.
- Tools to help develop for the cloud: For example, IBM Rational Asset Manager eliminates rework and improves collaboration of extended teams.
