IBM on Thursday announced a new IBM Cloud Computing Competence Center in Ehningen, Germany, which will provide a broad range of cloud solutions and services to clients locally and internationally.  Located in Ehningen, Germany, home to IBM's largest data center in Europe, the new facility will host a range of technology platforms and optimized service delivery processes, enabling its clients to harness the immense potential offered by cloud computing.

The center will also provide clients access to IBM's emerging portfolio of standardised cloud services.  These include:

• IBM Smart Business Desktop Cloud - The service provides anytime, anywhere access to applications, information and resources, and deliver a resilient and secure, standards-based desktop environment behind a client's firewall.
• IBM Smart Business Desktop on the IBM Cloud - A fully managed pre-priced subscription service that delivers desktop virtualization in a hosted environment reducing total cost of ownership, easier management and enhanced data security.
• IBM Smart Business Development and Test on the IBM Cloud - The service allows clients to expand internal development and test efforts with instant access to resources through IBM's secure, scalable cloud delivery model, software and image lifecycle management capabilities.  IBM's enterprise-friendly approach to cloud complements clients' existing data center and development investments.

IBM is working with a range of business partners across cloud management, security, software development and testing support.  As a result, IBM can offer clients flexibility, scalability, enterprise-grade security and control for development and test on the IBM Cloud.  By co-operating with Novell for example, IBM has SUSE Linux enterprise components available and can offer its enterprise customers a full range of Novell capabilities for smart development and workload testing services.

In March 2008, IBM opened its first European Cloud Computing Center in Dublin, Ireland, focusing on client innovation and cloud research activities.

IBM predicts that the market for cloud computing will grow by around 28 percent a year in the period 2008-2012, from $47 billion to $126 billion US dollars.