IBM is going full bore with Enterprise 2.0 and cloud computing, and announced this week that it was opening its Bluehouse social networking software to public beta shows. Bluehouse is based on Lotus Foundations software. According to NetworkWorld, the move also marks a change in marketing language, as IBM embraces the word "cloud" in place of "SaaS" (Software-as-a-Service). Cloud computing and SaaS are synonymous terms referring to hosted software run via a web interface. The customer only purchases a subscription to the service, rather than investing in expensive hardware and services to implement the system.

All of that would seem to counter to the typical IBM sell, which normally includes hardware and plenty of consulting services to make it work, but even IBM sees the writing on the wall. The competition is providing Enterprise 2.0 services on a subscription basis, and in order to compete it must do the same. I wrote in my Editor's Corner [1] last week on how many companies might turn to SaaS (or Cloud Computing; choose a term you like best) as the economy heads further and further south.

For more information:
- see this NetworkWorld article [2]