It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since we announced the general availability of Bluemix. But, in honor of our first anniversary, we’ve got some big news to share. The exciting updates that went live late last week include:
Official release of IBM Containers making it easier to deliver production applications across hybrid environments
Addition of service keys to facilitate connecting to services from outside of Bluemix
Usability improvements to the Bluemix UI’s header and dashboard
It’s been a couple months since my last Bluemix Updates blog. But, the team has kept working, and on the eve of Cinco de Mayo I thought it was time to share some great new features and functions that have recently gone live. These include:
Unveiling of a new and improved Pricing page.
Introduction of a Labs section in the Bluemix Catalog.
Overhauled Bluemix Docs, including the ability to leave inline feedback.
Improvements to SSL certificate support for custom domains.
Ability to communicate with live IBM representatives via text chat and video chat.
Addition of Korean to the list of translations for the Bluemix UI and the Bluemix Docs.
Enhancements to catalog services (e.g., API Management and IBM Insights for Twitter) and boilerplates (e.g., Node-RED).
Updates to IBM Eclipse Tools for Bluemix.
Miscellaneous usability improvements and fixed defects.
I’m writing this edition of the blog from Las Vegas as IBM InterConnect 2015 enters its final day. It’s been a great week with lots of exciting news, and I can’t help but reflect how far we’ve come since Bluemix was first announced about a year ago at IBM Pulse. As Bluemix continues to mature and gain momentum, I’m excited to share details about the awesome Bluemix updates that went live in the UI this week:
Integration of Container and Virtual Machines as first-class citizens in the Dashboard.
Introduction of a Guided Experience section in the Dashboard to help you get started.
It’s definitely pretty cool to be watching an NFL playoff game between your home state Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos (not to mention Peyton Manning), then see a 30-second commercial for your product come on the screen. That was the case a little before 4:00 pm CST this afternoon when the new IBM Bluemix ad aired. And, more than just Bluemix as a whole being featured on TV — the Bluemix UI was also shown prominently!
That’s especially exciting for me because I’m the lead dev architect for the Bluemix UI and have been involved with it since we started the first prototypes two years ago. During that time, we’ve released the open beta last February, reached general availability at the end of June, and added a lot of awesome functionality over the rest of 2014. Along the way, there’s been lots and lots of IBMers (from both development and IBM Design) who have shed a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to make it all happen. Now, as we prepare for the upcoming IBM InterConnect 2015, it’s really gratifying to see these ads!
So, with that intro, I mainly wanted to share some of my favorite captures from the YouTube version of the video:
How to Build a Smarter App (0:02)Bluemix UI Banner and Catalog (0:11)Bluemix UI Catalog for Business Analytics (0:13)Bluemix UI Catalog for Watson (0:16)Bluemix UI Dashboard (0:20)With IBM Bluemix Developers Can Work Better, Faster, Smarter (0:27)
And, finally, I wanted to share a link to the video itself:
