New IBM Bluemix Services Boost Cloud App Development

IBM has launched new Bluemix services which speed up app development in the cloud by giving developers access to pre-configured toolchains using popular DevOps tools.

Toolchains support app development, deployment and operations tasks, but are often difficult to integrate and deploy as they are typically comprised of tools from multiple vendors and open source platforms.

IBM Bluemix Continuous Delivery solves this problem by giving developers a central hub to create, manage and scale toolchains.

Bluemix boosts speed and scalability

IBM claims Toolchain templates can quickly be provisioned enterprise-wide, reducing costs and making it easier to scale.There are already a range of templates available for microservices, containers and cloud-native apps, with integrations to platforms such as GitHub, Slack, PagerDuty and Sauce Labs.

“Millions of developers use GitHub to build personal projects, support their businesses, and work together on open source technologies,” said Todd Berman, head of engineering at GitHub.

“GitHub is a powerful addition to IBM’s Bluemix Continuous Delivery service that builds on our strategic partnership to dramatically advance the development of next-generation cloud applications for enterprise customers.”

Bluemix Continuous Delivery also taps into IBM’s Availability Monitoring Service, running simulated user tests to detect problems in web applications and ensure that apps are always available when developers send out updates.

Dave Lindquist, IBM Fellow and Vice President of Development, IBM Cloud DevOps and Analytics said: “One of the biggest challenges developers face in today’s cloud-led world is quickly building and deploying applications to stay competitive.

“With the introduction of Bluemix Continuous Delivery, developers can not only rapidly create, integrate and share DevOps toolchains using their favorite tools, but also quickly add powerful new services like cognitive computing with Watson or data and analytics services from The Weather Company.”

IBM recently opened its first data centre in Norway giving customers in the region access to a range of cloud services – including Bluemix – as well as launching a plethora of systems and services aimed at tackling the hybrid cloud environment.

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