IBM Attracts New Developers To ISeries 2IBM Attracts New Developers To ISeries 2

IBM's effort to reinvigorate its iSeries server product line is gaining momentum, thanks in part to growing support from third-party software and tools vendors and a focus on the midmarket, the company said last week.

"The iSeries has struggled on and off for the last few years," says Peter Bingaman, VP of IBM's eServer iSeries. "This initiative is a clear signal that we're aggressively putting ourselves back in the game. We're seeing momentum by reconnecting with software developers who had previously thought we had abandoned them."

IBM launched the iSeries Initiative for Innovation in February, aimed at increasing the contribution of software and tools vendors that target midmarket applications and customers. IBM will invest about $125 million this year in support of developers of software and tools for the midmarket, Bingaman says.

To date, IBM has worked with more than 1,600 software providers to determine what's needed to move their applications to the iSeries, and nearly 300 have requested a free detailed analysis to help them develop a plan to port their applications to iSeries servers. An additional 16 new Linux software vendors support the iSeries, more than 1,100 software developers have enrolled in IBM PartnerWorld Industry Networks, and about 150 new co-marketing agreements have been signed.