IBM in mobile computing pact with 10gen

IBM and 10gen, the company behind MongoDB, the leading NoSQL database technology, have announced a collaboration on a new standard that will enable the Global 2000 to more easily embrace mobile computing.

"Driving this standard will help to unlock all of the data that exists within an enterprise and simplify the creation of next generation mobile and web apps for all platforms," IBM said in a statement. 

Since its inception, four million developers have downloaded MongoDB, the leading NoSQL database technology, to design mobile and web apps. By embracing this new standard, the two companies are providing mobile developers with the ability to combine the critical data managed by IBM DB2 systems with the next generation mobile apps that are being designed using MongoDB.

This will enable organisations to seamlessly create sophisticated apps without having to invest in new skills or tools that they do not currently possess. MongoDB adoption is already broad across enterprises of all sizes, according to a number of indices, and by working together the two companies expect that adoption to grow.

This collaboration would further extends the IBM MobileFirst strategy to enable the quick and easy development of mobile apps for the enterprise.

As the first new technology platform for business to emerge since the world wide web, mobile computing represents one of the greatest opportunities for organisations to expand their business, wuith companies like GE Capital announcing plans to expand the markets for its dedicated sales intelligence mobile app Genius (See: GE Capital to launch Genius sales intelligence mobile app in Australia).

Based on nearly 1,000 customer engagements, more than 10 mobile-related acquisitions in the last four years, a team of thousands of mobile experts and 270 patents in wireless innovations, IBM MobileFirst provides the key elements of an application and data platform with the management, security and analytics capabilities needed for the enterprise.

10gen leads the MongoDB development, supports the large and growing MongoDB community, provides commercial subscriptions including support, and offers consulting and training.

The new collaboration would also complement IBM's recent announcement of its intent to acquire SoftLayer Technologies Inc., the world's largest privately-held cloud computing infrastructure provider, making it easier for developers to access the technologies that support this new style of app development (See: IBM to buy cloud-computing storage provider SoftLayer for a reported $2 bn).

With the help of this new standard, the widely adopted MongoDB query language and API will evolve to give developers and data administrators flexibility and choice when deploying modern apps. Using IBM Eclipse tools with IBM Worklight Studio, developers can now integrate MongoDB APIs for a consistent app development experience from device to the back end.

According to a 2012 survey by IDG Research, 86 per cent of IT decision makers view enterprise app projects as a critical or strategic priority, but two-thirds of respondents indicate it is extremely or very challenging to deliver these apps on time or on budget. By ensuring that mobile apps have access to all relevant data, an organisation can now create new apps that were not possible before.

''As companies face the next era of computing, they must embrace the transformation that technologies such as mobile, big data, cloud and social business are driving in the industry,'' says Jerry Cuomo, IBM Fellow, and WebSphere chief Technology officer.

''Through its support of MongoDB, IBM is marrying the database world with the new world of mobile app development. Now, millions of developers will be able to deliver new, engaging enterprise apps that leverage the vast data resources managed by organisations around the world,'' Cuomo adds.

Max Schireson, chief executive officer at 10gen, says his company recognises the importance of open governance models for developing projects for the community. "IBM has played a critical role in bringing important new technologies to the enterprise, including inventing the relational database and popularising Structured Query Language (SQL) and Linux. We are excited to collaborate with IBM and other interested parties in evolving the standards for interacting with MongoDB.''

By joining the MongoDB community, IBM will bring its experience in collaborating on an open standards governance model to ensure MongoDB will be developed in the spirit of the open source world. To help propel the MongoDB community, IBM will also contribute its expertise in security and international languages to ensure the standard can be used in any geography.

IBM will standardise on the MongoDB wire protocol BSON and the MongoDB query language in two key application technologies - the elastic, in-memory WebSphere eXtreme Scale data grid platform and the DB2 database platform. 10gen will work with IBM, and other interested parties, to develop these standards. Customers can begin to use these new features in the third quarter of 2013 by pairing eXtreme Scale with MongoDB, and by running their MongoDB apps on DB2 directly.

Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions, which has partnered both 10gen and IBM,  views the 1IBM - 10gen collaboration as "incredibly positive for the open source community."

''IBM has been a critical contributor to the adoption and success of open source technologies, including playing a big role in the growth of Linux," says Paul Cormier, president of products and technologies at Red Hat. ''We share IBM's excitement about the emergence of MongoDB in mobile and web apps, and we're excited to see IBM join the MongoDB community.''