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IBM is ramping up its commitment to open source technologies by releasing a new platform which enables developers to build cloud applications.

The platform, called developerWorks Open, allows developers to not only download the code but have access to blogs and videos, comprising a global network to accelerate development projects.

IBM has had more than 20 years in the open source computing biz, becoming a main player in projects such as Apache, Linux and Eclipse. Big Blue is a platinum member of the OpenStack foundation, which announced a partnership with Google earlier this month.

The company is also spearheading a project called Academic Initiative for Cloud, where the next generation of developers will be equipped with IBM’s platform as a service offering Bluemix. More than 200 universities in 36 countries have signed up for the initiative, meaning cloud development curricula can potentially reach more than 20,000 students.

Evidently, there is a benefit for IBM – if the next generation are good, and used to Bluemix technology, then Big Blue can snap them up. It’s similar to Rackspace, another big open source advocate, investing in a data science boot camp for PhD students last year.

But developerWorks Open is also about giving something back. IBM is open sourcing a number of its MobileFirst apps – 10 more of which quietly hit the stands this week as part of IBM and Apple’s ongoing partnership – for a variety of industries, including healthcare, retail, insurance and banking.

IBM argues developerWorks Open comes at “an important time” for cloud developers, stressing the need to simplify implementations. Dr Angel Diaz, VP cloud architecture and technology, said: “IBM firmly believes that open source is the foundation of innovative application development in the cloud.

“With developerWorks Open, we are open sourcing additional IBM innovations that we feel have the potential to grow the community and ecosystem and eventually become established technologies,” he added.