23
Mon, Dec
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. News
  4. Programming News
  5. Development Tools / Utilities
  6. IBM Expands Cloud Offerings for Software Development and Testing

IBM Expands Cloud Offerings for Software Development and Testing

Development Tools / Utilities
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

The multi-tenant open cloud now includes support for Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 Data Center editions; enhanced environment includes additional performance and resiliency.

IBM has expanded its Smart Business Development and Test on the IBM Cloud with support for Windows and new enhancements to better serve teams of developers. IBM is also introducing an integrated development and test environment and new software and services to allow developers to improve quality and speed across the application life cycle.

According to a recent IBM survey of 2,000 IT professionals worldwide, cloud computing and mobile will emerge as the most in-demand platforms for software application development and IT delivery over the next five years. With today's enhancements, IBM is extending its environment to allow more enterprise developers to take advantage of the Cloud for development and testing.  

Announced earlier this year, the IBM Smart Business Development & Test on the IBM Cloud allows enterprise clients to expand and enhance internal development and test processes with instant access to resources through IBM's secure, scalable cloud delivery model. The multi-tenant open cloud now includes support for Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 Data Center Editions. The enhanced environment includes additional performance and resiliency and features, allowing developers to:

  • Rapidly configure environments and easily share them across development teams for more consistent application deployment
  • Assign multiple internet protocol (IP) addresses to a single virtual instance, so they can implement security zones and enhance availability in the IBM Cloud
  • Attach combinations of storage sizes to a virtual instance at the time of provisioning, ensuring higher performance and resiliency.

New Integrated Development and Test Environment for Cloud

IBM is introducing an Integrated Development and Test Environment, an end-to-end solution approach that integrates tools, processes and cloud infrastructure to enable clients to conduct more robust and complex testing earlier in the application development life cycle, while also reducing the cost of identifying and fixing software defects.    

The following software and services are now available in North America and Europe on the IBM Cloud:

  • IBM Testing Services for Cloud - application virtualization: Clients rapidly create multiple virtual test environments customized for each development and testing team.  By providing testing teams with 24/7 availability without dependencies on back-end systems and data stores, the service gives testing teams the ability to test more thoroughly throughout the life cycle without worrying about data or service availability. A North American company using this service experienced a 22 percent reduction in the Function and System Test cycle and a 100 percent return in ROI within 90 days.
  • IBM Testing Services for Cloud – performance testing: Brings together automation and performance testing tools to significantly reduce time by as much as 50 percent, the service provides flexible, utility-based testing that delivers on-demand performance testing, and offers robust, large-scale performance testing services to enterprises, via Cloud hosting.  This service identifies defects earlier in the cycle where they are less expensive to fix and eliminates performance-related bottlenecks.
  • IBM Rational Load Testing on the IBM Cloud: Helping to address issues with infrastructure acquisition, maintenance and configuration for large scale performance testing by leveraging the IBM Cloud, IBM is announcing a technical preview of IBM Rational Load Testing on the IBM Cloud. The solution allows testers using IBM Rational Performance Tester to automatically provision virtual test agents and generate virtual users on IBM Smart Business Development and Test on the IBM Cloud on a pay-as-you-go basis, significantly reducing infrastructure, software and test set up costs.
  • IBM Deployment Planning and Automation: Taking advantage of existing IBM Rational and IBM Tivoli software tools, the new solution manages the automation and planning of software deployments into the cloud and other environments. Designed for organizations that need to deploy applications in a consistent manner, the suite of software supports the entire deployment lifecycle from environment discovery through deployment planning, to deployment automation and governance.

New Partners and Developer Resources

IBM is continuing to build an ecosystem of partners to deliver the most complete and comprehensive cloud computing solutions to clients. This ecosystem comprises existing and new cloud partners: Cohesive Flexible Technologies Corp (Cohesive FT) allows customer controlled networking in a cloud, Servoy provides a rapid application development and deployment environment for creating and building high-end enterprise applications on the cloud.

"Cloud users have been waiting for an enterprise-grade cloud infrastructure from a recognizable and trusted vendor.  IBM is clearly the answer.  Now customers can take advantage of application layer network control and security with VPN-Cubed inside the IBM's Smart Business Development and Test Cloud," said Patrick Kerpan, CTO of CohesiveFT.

IBM has also added online workshops, skills tutorials, cloud computing technical resources and social networking tools that enable users to build online relationships, share content, and grow a worldwide network of peers to drive innovation.  For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/cloud/resources.html.

Details and availability

Smart Business Development & Test on the IBM Cloud allows clients to work with their own images as well as images from across IBM Software Group including exciting offerings from the Rational, Information Management, WebSphere, Lotus and Tivoli brands, available in a variety of flexible licensing models.  

Smart Business Development & Test on the IBM Cloud is now available in North America and Europe with the Raleigh, North Carolina, USA and Ehningen, Germany data centers supporting the IBM clouds.

For more information on IBM's cloud services, visit www.ibm.com/services/cloud

For more information on Smart Business Development &Test on the IBM Cloud, visit www.ibm.com/cloud/solutions/development.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: