IBM Launches New Bluemix Services for Eclipse, More

IBM today announced a set of new services for its Bluemix Platform as a Service (PaaS), including a set of Eclipse tools for Bluemix.

IBM has tirelessly been building up its portfolio of Bluemix services to include support for several of the most popular open-source development tools, frameworks and services, along with internal IBM technology and tools and services from their-party providers.

These new services enable Bluemix developers to more seamlessly integrate Java-based resources into their cloud-based applications. The new IBM Cloud tools are designed to help developers broaden the capabilities of their applications to give users a more robust cloud experience, by tapping into added security and flexibility to use a vast array of resources for their development.

The new IBM Eclipse Tools for Bluemix offers a new version that that now includes JavaScript Debug, support for Node.js applications, Java 8 Liberty for Java integration, Eclipse Mars support for the latest Eclipse Mars version as well as an improved trust self-signed certificates capability. Additionally, incremental publish support for Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) applications has been expanded to support Web fragment projects.

In addition, IBM includes the Liberty Buildpack, which updates the IBM WebSphere Liberty runtime to make available or preview the latest Java EE 7 Liberty features, and while IBM Java Runtime Environment 7.1 remains the default it is now possible to test and run applications in Bluemix with Java 8. Additionally, among other improvements, the jsp-2.3, el-3.0, and jdbc-4.1 Liberty features, previously in beta, are now available as production-ready.

Finally, IBM also introduced the XPages on IBM Bluemix service, which brings the power of Domino XPages to the cloud, enabling developers to create feature-rich, responsive, and secure applications that can be quickly brought to market on Bluemix.

Developers can access these new services here.

These tools join the developer-friendly, open-standards-based Bluemix catalog that already includes over 100 tools and services. IBM launched Bluemix via a $1 billion investment in 2014, rapidly becoming the largest Cloud Foundry deployment in the world, and was recently shown to be growing 10-times faster than the overall PaaS market by research firm ESG.

Meanwhile, combining Bluemix and IBM Design Thinking methodology, the Bluemix Garage network creates a bridge between the scale of enterprises and the culture of startups, by establishing physical collaboration spaces housed in the heart of thriving entrepreneurial communities around the world, including successful implementations in San Francisco, London and Toronto.

IBM launched the Bluemix Garage in Toronto earlier this month. The company’s Bluemix Garage strategy is meant to meet developers on their home turf and to help enterprises of all sizes to accelerate the development of cloud applications by using IBM Cloud technologies with design thinking methodology and agile development capabilities. Toronto marks the third Bluemix Garage, building on successful implementations in San Francisco and London. Further expansion is planned with the additions of Nice, France and Melbourne, Australia later this year, IBM said.

"Bluemix Garages help enterprises harness the spirit and pace of startups while pouring back into the local community with mentorship and skills development on the latest cloud technologies," said Steve Robinson, general manager of Cloud Platform Services at IBM, in a statement. "Today's rapid app development cycles require developers to use new tools and methodologies from across the ecosystem to quickly turn new ideas into enterprise-class cloud applications at consumer scale and innovate at the speed of cloud."

The Toronto Bluemix Garage will be located at the DMZ at Ryerson University, a university-based incubator in Canada. By combining IBM's cloud ecosystem with DMZ's network of international partners and in-house expertise, the Toronto Bluemix Garage experts will mentor the rising numbers of developers and startups in the region to create of the next generation of cloud apps and services using IBM's platform-as-a-service, Bluemix.