IBM, 10gen partner to bring mobile to the enterprise
The rise of mobile applications and BYOD schemes has caused a number of headaches for IT professionals in the corporate world.
10gen works with IBM to provide MongoDB cloud images for the IBM SmartCloud Enterprise, an enterprise-ready infrastructure as a service (IaaS). The firms have announced a new collaboration to establish a standard for the Global 2000 to more easily embrace mobile computing.
There is a disconnect between rapid scalability of databases used to handle mobile data and the often rigid structures of legacy databases used within the enterprise -- the gap that 10gen and IBM hope to bridge. If successful, then businesses will be able to harness new, mobile technology without negative impact on databases which already handle corporate data.
MongoDB, NoSQL database technology, is used to design mobile and web apps and has been downloaded by over four million developers. The standard, which goes beyond IBM's DB2 product line and the WebSphere eXtreme Scale data grid platform, will make handling mobile and web-based application data easier considering the need to scale depending on workload.
Merging IBM DB2 systems with the next generation mobile apps that are being designed using MongoDB lets "organizations to seamlessly create sophisticated apps without having to invest in new skills or tools," according to IBM. MongoDB adoption is expanding within the enterprise, but the tech giant believes that by increasing collaborative efforts, adoption will grow.
IBM plans to standardize the MongoDB wire protocol on BSON, in addition to the MongoDB query language in the WebSphere eXtreme Scale data grid platform and the DB2 database platform. Businesses will be able to use these new features in the third quarter of 2013.
The collaboration signals IBM's push into mobile technology and is part of the company's IBM MobileFirst strategy. In addition to this announcement, IBM recently said it plans to acquire SoftLayer Technologies, a privately held cloud computing infrastructure provider -- which should assist developers in accessing technologies which support this new style of app development.
"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," said 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 organizations around the world."