IBM is on the forefront of the open-source web and also in the web services department where they have made available a very useful collection of tools that allows web-based services based on Linux to benefit from the latest trends and technologies that makes the internet do most of the working. Businesses have long been working to decentralize the way they work which is better for them and their staff for they get more done with little cost. From Java to Linux and many other open languages, they have them in the AlphaWorks site fro all to see and test for business applications.
They offer them as part of their commitment to the open-source community which they have supported and played a part of, bringing the promise of cheaper apps for enterprise that needs help in terms of less cost to get them through tough times like the one we are in today with the financial crisis that has shaken the world. IBM has alaways been in the forefront of the IT industry, one they have always played part in when they invented the IBM-PC which was one of the earliest desktops that was for the common man.