The new ‘innovation centers’ are intended to offer access to IBM’s technical expertise to help developers and business partners build, deploy and optimize customized platforms based on IBM’s open middleware and hardware technology. They are also expected to provide education, technical resources and testing capabilities in an attempt to help business partners be more successful in the marketplace with open standards-based offerings.
According to Buell Duncan, general manager, ISV & developer relations, IBM, the announcement comes as governments in emerging markets such as Brazil, China and India continue to move away from proprietary technology infrastructures to Linux-based business solutions. It is hoped that IBM’s open standards offering will enable business partners to go to market faster while reducing development costs.
By investing in an open infrastructure, companies can compete more effectively, enter new markets and globalize faster with the ability to share business processes and interact within and among other enterprises, Duncan added.
It is thought that the centers will be launched in Brazil and China and expanded in Russia over the course of the next three months.
