IBM’s Developer Community Achieves Record Growth in 2006 and Advances Open Source Development

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that its developer community has grown at an unprecedented rate this year, with nearly 1,700 worldwide developers joining its growing community per day. Throughout the year, developerWorks noted several trends, as illustrated by the high demand for content and community-based resources. Java, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web 2.0 community offerings, and growth in emerging markets were among the key themes this year.

In 2006, growth in emerging markets such as Russia, China, India and Brazil were key drivers for developerWorks, accounting for almost 20 percent of the site’s unique visitors each month. Growing at a rate of 52 percent year-to-year and hitting an all-time peak of 450,000 unique visitors in September, developerWorks China is at the forefront of this growth and supplies the country’s developer population with localized and translated content.

“Earlier this month, leading analyst firm IDC named IBM the industry leader in worldwide partner programs,” said Buell Duncan, general manager, ISV & Developer Relations, IBM. “Our commitment to the developer community was a core component of this success. Throughout the years, developerWorks has built a thriving interactive network around the world, further strengthening its position as a highly regarded community for developers to collaborate with one another and build their skills.”

The developerWorks Java technology zone remains the most popular area on developerWorks, with nearly a 30 percent increase in traffic this year. The developerWorks Java technology zone gives software developers — from novice to expert — access to hundreds of articles, tutorials, and tips to help them make the most of the Java platform and related technologies.

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