“IBM Corp. is once again reaching out to small software
developers but this time with a twist. Big Blue confirmed today
that it will launch a developer portal–along with a major
advertising campaign–to offer hot technology, developer resources,
and “unbiased information” about building e-business
infrastructures, all free of charge.”
“Called developerWorks, the portal is set to launch September 28
in San Francisco and is part of a larger move inside IBM to
consolidate services and programs in an effort to become more
efficient and more attractive to new partners. IBM is
emphasizing Java, XML and Linux at developerWorks, with additional
information on security, Unicode and Web architecture, but is not
pushing any particular platform. Developers who get so deeply into
the technology that they need technical support must sign up for
one of IBM’s standard partner programs.“
“This is a shift for IBM, but it’s indicative of the environment
here that [IBM Chairman] Lou Gerstner has given us the go-ahead,”
says Dirk Nicol, developerWorks development manager. “Technology is
changing so quickly now that the classic decision maker–the CIO or
CEO–is often not the only one involved.”