Features - Storage Innovations:

IBM RALLIES LightSand, OTHER VENTURE BACKED FIRMS

LightSand, a leading provider of storage connectivity products, announced it was among a select group of companies chosen to participate in IBM's Innovation Forum for e-business on demand.

The Innovation Forum's purpose is to provide promising companies with an introduction to the e-business on demand model and explore various opportunities, including: establishing new markets, developing a partner ecosystem around IBM's on demand environment tailored to meet the needs of customers in specific industries, and gaining access to the services and offerings that will help developers achieve competitive advantage.

"The IBM Innovation Forum participants play a critical role in influencing the direction of e-business on demand -- helping companies transform their businesses to achieve automation, virtualization and new levels of integration within and between enterprises," said Buell Duncan, IBM's general manager of Developer Relations. "The Innovation Forum builds on IBM's existing programs to help the development community find and serve new markets effectively, and drive breakthrough technologies needed to realize the full potential of e-business on demand."

IBM offers a broad range of programs and resources for the development community, including:

• A network of Venture Capital firms seeking to fund promising developers with sound business models.
• PartnerWorld for Developers, a worldwide program designed to help software developers reach broader markets, lower their costs of doing business, and take their products to market faster.
• The Strategic Alliance initiative represents IBM's highest level of commitment to software providers.
• ISV Advantage, a worldwide initiative that provides developers with technical and marketing support to better serve small and medium business (SMB) customers.
• The Initiative for Emerging Technology Developers is a special community designed to help meet the needs of software companies and entrepreneurs focused on emerging technologies and marketplaces. This select group of developers has access to the resources and support needed to take their products and solutions from concept to market.
• developerWorks is IBM's resource for developers, providing relevant technical information online regardless of their platform of choice.