IBM could be the best cloud foundry in the world but they refuse to open their gates to hobbyists, ignoring that they will become influencers and influencers bring more users to their platforms.
If I was a Bluemix head honcho I'd create a twin foundry 'Hobbymix' free for all, no questions asked, no credit cards, no resource limits, watson enabled, just play and get addicted with all the cool toys. Then when you're ready, just transfer it all to our enterprise-ready, pro-version at Bluemix with pro level support.
That's how MS took the world by storm. That's how Android is taking it from Apple who's ignoring the poor bases focusing only in the 10% which in the long run will cost them the whole market. That's how Whatsapp took the messaging markets.
Technology is a winner takes all approach, like Google or Facebook. You have to have the whole world using your services no matter what, whether they bring money in or not. Then you can figure out how to milk them, how to show them your new toys and convince them to pay for them, or at least how to praise you for being the cool guy on the block. They have the resources, they need the vision.
I still have test pages I developed on Google App Engine a decade ago. It costs them nothing for I seldom use them, but they have a loyal follower and I go to them for my quick hacks. Instead, Bluemix first didn't allow me to have test pages, now they allow me but with a warning that they will be deleted after a year, plus they charge me for everything I try to use like databases. Bye Bluemix, moved to Heroku now for my tests with free space and free databases. Now you want me to use your new free database? Too late. See? Make it all free, everything, and I may give it a last try once again.
Some may say they focus on enterprises because hobbyists are an annoyance. Sure we are, but we also are the ones who write blogs, twits, who shake the social webs. And people listen to us.
Do you want to know why I learned Python? Because it was free on Google App Engine. Why I learned Go? Free on Google. Why Java? Free on Google. So with the tools I know, where do you think I'll go to try my next ideas? Yep. Google. Now, let me try Swift on Bluemix, then Kotlin, then Rust, then DB2, then Watson, then I'll go to build whatever new project I need on your platform, with your tools. I won't go before, I'll go during and after I learn them. But not on your platform if you won't let me try it.
So, tl;dr; open Bluemix for the whole world to try with an eternal free tier without limits or expiration dates and I'll go with you to try all your new toys. Then we'll help you conquer the world, again.
That's exactly the wrong mentality in the business. How much does it cost to allocate a million dockers for a million developers to play? A million dollars? Take it as a huge advertisement billboard that will pay a million fold when they tell their bosses how cool that platform is.
But developers, too? I mean are you really going to pick DB2 when it's much easier to trial Postgres or MSSQL? (Never mind the fact that IBMers themselves can barely get hold of DB2 internally, and when they do it's impossible to install yourself) Same with MQ vs RabbitMQ? Ditto WebSphere, Rational Tools etc. Of course not!
But even if you do, the horrible documentation, bad configuration and sheer technical debt apparent in those products will make you run for the hills ASAP. Because that's what happens when you're best devs leave, and then you fire the average ones to keep your stock price up.
If I was a Bluemix head honcho I'd create a twin foundry 'Hobbymix' free for all, no questions asked, no credit cards, no resource limits, watson enabled, just play and get addicted with all the cool toys. Then when you're ready, just transfer it all to our enterprise-ready, pro-version at Bluemix with pro level support.
That's how MS took the world by storm. That's how Android is taking it from Apple who's ignoring the poor bases focusing only in the 10% which in the long run will cost them the whole market. That's how Whatsapp took the messaging markets.
Technology is a winner takes all approach, like Google or Facebook. You have to have the whole world using your services no matter what, whether they bring money in or not. Then you can figure out how to milk them, how to show them your new toys and convince them to pay for them, or at least how to praise you for being the cool guy on the block. They have the resources, they need the vision.
I still have test pages I developed on Google App Engine a decade ago. It costs them nothing for I seldom use them, but they have a loyal follower and I go to them for my quick hacks. Instead, Bluemix first didn't allow me to have test pages, now they allow me but with a warning that they will be deleted after a year, plus they charge me for everything I try to use like databases. Bye Bluemix, moved to Heroku now for my tests with free space and free databases. Now you want me to use your new free database? Too late. See? Make it all free, everything, and I may give it a last try once again.
Some may say they focus on enterprises because hobbyists are an annoyance. Sure we are, but we also are the ones who write blogs, twits, who shake the social webs. And people listen to us.
Do you want to know why I learned Python? Because it was free on Google App Engine. Why I learned Go? Free on Google. Why Java? Free on Google. So with the tools I know, where do you think I'll go to try my next ideas? Yep. Google. Now, let me try Swift on Bluemix, then Kotlin, then Rust, then DB2, then Watson, then I'll go to build whatever new project I need on your platform, with your tools. I won't go before, I'll go during and after I learn them. But not on your platform if you won't let me try it.
So, tl;dr; open Bluemix for the whole world to try with an eternal free tier without limits or expiration dates and I'll go with you to try all your new toys. Then we'll help you conquer the world, again.