Rational Permeates IBM`s Software DNA - Developer-Focused Events (
Page 2 of 3 )
With developers being a core group among Rational's customers, the Rational
software division conducts all sorts of developer-focused events and programs,
including the developerWorks and alphaWorks Web sites, as well as international
events, where Rational targets some 13,000 developers annually. At least 3,000
developers annually attend the
IBM Rational
Software Development Conference.
Sabbah noted that more and more enterprises are realizing the value of their
software and how their code impacts their bottom line. At the same time,
companies are looking to do more with less by squeezing more productivity out
of fewer employees.
So
IBM Rational introduced
business-driven development as an integrated approach to software development
that aligns line-of-business, development and operations teams to improve
business performance. Sabbah said that when development is managed as a
business process, it becomes a driver of competitive advantage.
IBM's Software Group is expected to
account for 50 percent of
IBM's overall
profit by 2010. And since 1995
IBM Software
Group has invested almost $18 billion on 66 acquisitions that have helped the
company expand its range of offerings and gain share in existing markets.
More importantly, these acquisitions have allowed
IBM
to enter new markets and drive growth by adding new revenue streams, Sabbah
said. Moreover, nine of the Fortune 10 companies, 45 of the Fortune top 50
companies and 87 out of the Fortune top 100 companies all use Rational
software, Sabbah said.
IBM Rational's effort to simplify team
development, known as the Jazz project, is poised to redefine the
process-plagued world of software development. On one front, Jazz brings teams
of developers together in a transparent development environment—allowing each
to perform his or her task and visibly see its progress and potential impact on
the broader project’s goals.
On another front, Jazz technology, in the form of Jazz.Net, is being used in
an open software community of software developers, customers and partners to
develop and contribute to the next generation of software development. While
Jazz is effectively bringing individual developers together in a team
environment to accomplish project goals, Jazz.Net is taking it one step further
by bringing together allies from various organizations to work as a team and
create innovative customer solutions.
IBM Rational's Lee Jackman
talks Jazz. Read more here.
IBM is pursuing what Sabbah calls an
"open, commercial" strategy with Jazz.Net, where the company is
enabling the community at large to help shape the development of Jazz and
Jazz-based products.
"What I expect to be the norm is that it [the open, commercial
strategy] will give our partners a chance to develop things we will not have
the time or resources to address," Sabbah said.
Application Development 
/ 8 
