IBM announced today the start of its global programme supporting the advance of distributed ledger. As part of it, IBM Blockchain Garages will open in four world capitals to unite experts and developers.

IBM Garages in London, New York, Singapore, and Tokyo will create collaborative environments where app developers could work together with the company's experts to adopt the blockchain technology for businesses and industries.

The initiative results from IBM's decision to foster the adoption of blockchain. The wider programme of support offered by the IT giant includes new blockchain services on the IBM Cloud, an Internet of Things Platform linked to the IBM's blockchain, blockchain consulting and support for clients in the company’s studios.

Additionally, IBM has submitted 44,000 lines of code to the open source collaborative platform Hyperledger Project to help developers design distributed ledgers for various applications. Hyperledger was launched by Linux Foundation in December 2015 and IBM was announced as one of the founding members of the project earlier this month.

“In just a few short months, IBM's vision for making blockchain a powerful new business solution across multiple industries is becoming a reality as our clients begin piloting innovative new code, services and systems optimized for distributed ledgers,” said Arvind Krishna, Senior Vice President at IBM Research.

"These advancements are making it easier for developers to move from understanding the potential of blockchain, to actually using it to change their business processes in powerful new ways," he added.

IBM named two companies, London Stock Exchange Group and Kouvola Innovation from Finland, as its partners in the blockchain development programme. LSEG, a UK-based stock exchange and financial information company, is also one of the members of the Hyperledger Project. Kouvola Innovation is a development company for businesses that provides financial advice, coaching, and innovation consultation. Digitalisation for industry, including Internet of Things, is among its priorities.

Sonya Belova