At its InterConnect 2015 event, IBM announced a new set of hybrid cloud computing services. “Today, we are launching a new class of cloud innovations that extend open standards capabilities for the enterprise,” said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president of IBM Cloud. “This will break down the barriers between clouds and on-premise IT systems, providing clients with control, visibility and security as they utilize the public clouds. Data location across an ever-growing number of clouds is an increasing concern for customers, and we are unveiling new application portability and developer services to make this easier to manage.”
For enterprise application development teams, the most noteworthy part of the announcement is the ability to run IBM’s BlueMix PaaS on premise. Other significant cloud development tools that are part of the release include Secure Passport Gateway, which makes it easy for developers to connect to BlueMix without sidestepping IT controls; API Harmony, a searchable knowledgebase for APIs; and Data Shaper, a tool for managing and manipulating big data in the cloud.