Darryl K. Taft

IBM launched new Power Systems servers, based on its POWER8 chips, which enable data centers to tackle big data in high-performance environments with an open-server platform. With the OpenPOWER Foundation, IBM is bucking the trend of other chip and server manufacturers’ proprietary business models and has released detailed technical specifications for its POWER8 processor, inviting […]

IBM’s Watson Group announced that it has invested in retail application provider Fluid Inc. to empower online shoppers with Watson’s expertise and personalized advice. Fluid was among the early partners IBM trotted out to showcase how Watson had become available to developers to build apps around. IBM and Fluid are working to accelerate development of […]

Development tools maker Telerik recently announced the release of Telerik Kendo UI Core, a package of free and open UI tools and JavaScript framework features, including Telerik Kendo UI Mobile. Kendo UI Core is a jQuery based JavaScript framework that brings HTML5 to all browsers—back to Internet Explorer 7—both desktop and mobile, according to Burke […]

IBM launched a series of new initiatives to bolster its SoftLayer cloud computing effort, including providing new resources to support SoftLayer ecosystem members as well as adding new disaster recovery and security services to the SoftLayer cloud platform. With an eye on beefing up its channel for cloud computing services, among the moves IBM announced […]

Tesora, provider of a database-as-a-service (DBaaS) platform on OpenStack, announced the latest release of the Tesora Database Virtualization Engine. Version 1.5 of the Tesora Database Virtualization Engine establishes a new customer performance benchmark, posting an 80-fold increase in capacity while providing reductions in latency. Tesora 1.5 delivers adaptive multitenancy, elastic scale-out and a Web-based intuitive […]

An emerging class of “citizen developers” equipped with tools and capabilities unique to this era is changing the landscape of business software by building and using their own homegrown apps as opposed to apps developed by IT departments or off-the-shelf solutions. According to a new report from TrackVia, these developers are backed by more powerful, […]

While continuing to move to transform its portfolio to higher-value businesses, IBM saw its first quarter of 2014 earnings slide–the eighth straight quarter of revenue decline for the company. IBM’s net income for the quarter was $2.4 billion, down 21 percent from the same period a year ago. Total revenues for the quarter were $22.5 […]

IBM and The Hartford insurance company announced a new six-year, $500 million technology services agreement to implement a new service model that includes a private cloud infrastructure. The Hartford will move to a private cloud-based infrastructure on IBM’s PureFlex System. Under the agreement, IBM will also provide a number of other services related to mainframe, […]

Microsoft announced a limited public preview of the Microsoft Azure Intelligent Systems Service (ISS), a new service that targets the Internet of Things (IoT). This new Azure service helps customers embrace the Internet of Things and securely connect to, manage and capture machine-generated data from sensors and devices, regardless of the underlying operating system. In […]

StrongLoop, a provider of Node.js solutions, has announced the general availability of StrongOps 2.0, a Node.js-specific application lifecycle management (ALM) solution that includes both monitoring and DevOps capabilities for Linux, Windows and Mac. Node.js continues to gain popularity for the creation of “front edge” APIs that mobile applications use to connect to backend data to […]

IBM has announced a series of deals that build on its recent cloud investments, including a new, five-year multimillion dollar cloud agreement with Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), which operates in the Asia-Pacific region. The cloud project will streamline CCA’s operations and processes across the South Pacific region and is expected to drive significant operational costs out […]

A week after releasing its Node.js Tools for Visual Studio 1.0 Beta, Microsoft announced availability of Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS) 2.1 Beta. Microsoft officials said Python Tools for Visual Studio provide a great development experience for general scripting, web programming and technical computing. The new tools also support new web frameworks including Bottle […]