IBM has announced that Bluemix, its cloud computing platform, will be available in China via a collaboration with 21Vianet Group, Inc., a leading carrier-neutral internet data center services provider in China.  This collaboration will usher in a new era of hybrid cloud-driven innovation and next-generation cognitive, analytics and IOT app development for developers and enterprises in China. 

As part of the agreement, IBM will provide access to Bluemix technologies, while 21Vianet will provide the infrastructure and be responsible for the end-to-end operation of Bluemix in China. Both companies will also use this collaboration to build and expand a strong Bluemix ecosystem in China, with the goal of driving other developers and large enterprises to adopt similar models of hybrid cloud-based development to efficiently build new apps and technologies.

China is home to 10% of the entire global population of developers, according to analyst firm IDC.¹ This explosive growth puts developers in a key position to answer the Chinese government's call to grow and nurture local entrepreneurship and innovation. 

IBM launched Bluemix with a $1 billion investment in 2014, and since then it has grown rapidly to become the largest Cloud Foundry deployment in the world. The open-standards-based Bluemix catalog includes over 120 tools and services spanning categories of big data, mobile, Watson, analytics, integration, DevOps, security and Internet of Things.

"Cloud computing is the cornerstone for helping organizations drive innovation and entrepreneurship in China. We believe that the launch of Bluemix will help China's burgeoning community of developers create apps that have the power to impact and change industries throughout the country," said Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president, IBM Cloud. "The collaboration with 21Vianet Group builds on the growing global adoption of Bluemix, and we are excited to bring it to the rapidly expanding developer population of China." 

Josh Chen, chairman and CEO of 21Vianet Group, Inc., said, "IBM is a global, leading enterprise-level cloud computing provider.  Today's news is the extension of IBM's collaboration with 21Vianet in 2014 on Cloud Managed Services. 21Vianet will now also work with IBM to promote the development of enterprise cloud computing in China. Using Bluemix, we'll provide more open enterprise cloud computing development environments, and build a complete enterprise cloud computing ecosystem with other domestic and foreign services providers throughout the country." 

¹ Source: IDC 2014 Worldwide Software Developer and ICT-Skilled Worker Estimates, #244709, December 201

This article was originally posted “IBM Brings Bluemix Cloud Platform To China” from Cloud Strategy Magazine.