Armonk, New York, Sept.16, 2015: Earlier this week, IBM announced its acquisition of California-based StrongLoop Inc., a move that comes after it had recently launched an Internet of Things division. The two steps are being seen as a concerted effort to cement its entry into the marketplace where, for one, adoption of smart city technologies will be galvanized. Terms of the deal of acquisition remained undisclosed, though.
The clearly stated aim with this move is to help developers create Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable smoother kinship to enterprise systems, microservices, and mobile backend applications. Making cities smarter, with more specific controls over water and food supply chains is an avowed goal. As per some estimations, worldwide, every second, 2 people move into urban areas. This results in overuse of available resources, and the management and dissemination of data becomes crucial. Not surprisingly, new technology which allows interaction between systems in cities, just like connectivity between departments, vendors, & users in big corporations, is set to take centre stage.
IBM had launched Bluemix in 2014. By helping users connect their IoT devices to it, users can run advanced analytics, utilise machine learning and tap into additional Bluemix services. For example, data storage, predictive modeling and geospatial analytics can help users to better understand the data on their devices and also help to accelerate the IoT ecosystem. Some analysts now see the acquisition of StrongLoop as a bid to strengthen Bluemix.
StrongLoop’s Node. js software has quickly gained a positive reputation in the world of developing APIs. In a Cloud environment, connections between front end applications and back end enterprise systems through APIs are easily achieved. The partnership between IBM and StrongLoop will help connect IoT, mobile and Web apps to the enterprise. Node. js has matured into a leading platform for APIs.
Jerry Cuomo, IBM Middleware Chief Technology Officer said in a blogpost, “StrongLoop Node.js solutions can help aggregate existing services, jumpstart API creation – and advance your JavaScript skills.”
Enterprise applications are the big ticket, given the fact that they deal with big business. They can be deployed over varying platforms, new business models, across specific missions, over the Intranet, corporate networks, & the Internet. Myriad separate requirements need to be taken into consideration while developing these interfaces. Security is a major player, as is maintenance and precision in use. Sometimes the complex nature of the enterprise application is enough to make developers gnash their teeth in frustration. After all there are a million notes to manage in order that the music be harmonious.
Marie Wieck, General Manager of middleware for IBM Systems said, “APIs are a critical ingredient. By bringing together StrongLoop’s Node.js capabilities to rapidly create APIs with IBM’s leadership in Java and API Management on our Cloud platform, we are unlocking the innovation potential of two vibrant development communities.”
IBM is offering StrongLoop as a 30 day free trial initially. After that, it will be licenced for commercial use. The two companies have been working together on the Node Foundation for a while now.
Image Credit: StrongLoop