Cleveland-based UrbanCode’s software helps automate the production and delivery of new applications in a way IBM said is aligned with its own SmartCloud and Mobile First initiatives. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the company’s 50 employees will now be part of IBM Software’s Rational group, according to IBM Software director of marketing Randy Newell.

According to IBM’s statement, UrbanCode will work nicely with IBM’s Worklight mobile application development platform:

” … by combining UrbanCode software with the IBM MobileFirst Worklight technology, businesses can now author and deploy an application for any mobile device in hours, versus a previous multi-day timeline. The UrbanCode solution also works with traditional applications including middleware, databases and business intelligence.”

Legacy IT giants like IBM are trying to find ways to strip out overhead of the development process, particularly for mobile and cloud apps, in order to better compete with leaner, more nimbler startups. For example, last August, BMC, which competes with IBM in systems management tools, bought Varalogix to bolster its devops story.

IBM applies devops concepts to the whole software life cycle including planning, development, testing, deployment, monitoring and feedback phases, Newell said. UrbanCode fits into the deployment piece of the cycle , while IBM’s acquisition of Greenhat in January fills in a testing check box and its buyout of Tealeaf in May 2012, figures into the feedback module.

IBM, the 100-year-old IT giant that has managed to stay relevant by changing when needed, is really focusing on cloud and mobile — and the middleware to power those efforts — to such an extent that it is reportedly thinking of selling off its server business to Lenovo.

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Analysts and reporters are speculating that IBM is in talks to sell its server division to Lenovo, the company that IBM sold its PC division to back in 2005. Lenovo has confirmed it is in talks with an unidentified buyer in a filing to its shareholders. From a Wells Fargo analyst note published Friday morning:

We believe an acquisition could give Lenovo greater scale in similar components to its PC business, which could provide greater margin or the ability to pass along the benefits to customers via lower pricing. This, in turn, in our opinion, may cause further competitive pressures in the industry and have adverse impacts on Dell and HPQ. For IBM, it would be in keeping with its historical strategy of divesting commodity-like businesses. While we would fully anticipate some purchase commitments by IBM, this may signal a longer-term trend of moving away from x86 to a greater focus on System P for its solutions-based products.

Getting out of the server business as it moves closer to becoming a commodity — with fewer customers who are unwilling to pad a hardware maker’s margins — makes sense. While Dell tries to go private, and HP doubles down on the enterprise with servers such as its Project Moonshot offering (which isn’t anything a webscale vendor would want), IBM is looking ahead.

And what is Big Blue eying? It’s already told us for the most part: big data and mobility.

IBM has spent billions on analytics. It’s researching ways to push the boundaries of memory chips and new types of processing more appropriate for real-time information flows. It’s even building intelligent systems such as Watson. It also has been buying companies such as WorkLight and CastIron Systems to help tie cloud-based applications together and ensure acceptability in a world of federated apps.

IBM is building two things here. One is a near-term strategy that can be thought of as next-generation middleware that will tie mobile applications, the underlying mobile (and wireline) networks and the cloud together in ways that will give enterprise customers the sense of accountability they need. Things like ensuring that APIs are dependable enough to build service level agreements around and secured if needed isn’t sexy, but IBM is taking it on.

Over the longer term, the company is pursing efforts like IBM’s new memory chip research and new processors that work more like the human brain. Watson, which will be delivered eventually as a cloud-based mobile app and likely rely on some of the middleware related knowledge, is the first of IBM’s longer-term plans. Manoj Saxena, the head of IBM’s Watson division, calls this the fourth wave of computing.

And while there will be servers aplenty in that vision, they won’t look like the boxes of today, and they certainly won’t be the profit-centers. The value will be in the services themselves, the hard work of integration and perhaps the new silicon (or graphene or DNA-based) platform on which these things all rest. Today it’s middleware and tomorrow it will be a revamp of the machine.

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Several other interested parties have surfaced, including billionaire Carl Icahn, and when Icahn gets involved things definitely get more complicated. In a letter to Dell’s board Icahn said the existing offer substantially undervalues Dell’s worth.  Icahn put forward his own suggestion that  the company remain public and issue a $9 per share special dividend, as reported in Bloomberg. Blackstone Group LP has also reportedly expressed interest in Dell.

If Dell’s board does not agree to his proposal, Icahn vowed “years of litigation.”  He is not the only disgruntled shareholder. Southeastern Asset Management, which owns about 8.4 percent of Dell shares, maintains that the “take-private” price of $13.65 per share is not enough and reiterated its “demand that the Board of Directors pursue proposals that are more favorable to shareholders,” according to a note from Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um. As of Thursday Dell shares were trading at $14.27, well above the offer price.

DELL data by YCharts

Dell hardware rivals Hewlett-Packard and Lenovo have also taken an interest in Dell, although whether they’re doing so more to get a chance to gather competitive intelligence from Dell’s books or if they’re genuinely interested in an offer is a huge question. The thought of HP buying Dell after its recent travails is mind boggling, but then again it’s done a lot of mind-boggling things over the past few years.

One former Dell executive, speaking on condition of anonymity, has been critical of the buyout from day one. In his view, this deal was done solely to benefit the new owners at the expense of shareholders. “The management team will trim the fat and resell [what's left] in a better operating margin scenario … Dell is playing out the buy low, sell high scheme,” he noted. However, he also maintained that the risk is high for the buyers. Things are changing fast, and the market may be cleverer than they are, he added.

It is somewhat astonishing that Dell, once the world’s largest PC company, finds itself in these straits. But then again, legacy players from the last IT era — HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle and IBM — are all in the same boat. The technology world has shifted under their feet to a world of low-priced scale-out hardware and open source software with substantially lower margins. The advent, first of virtualization and then cloud computing, means that individual companies no longer have to buy nearly as much hardware gear as they used to and  it’s by no means clear that all of these legacy powers will survive, let alone prosper.

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Gaining distribution deals such as this helps increase the odds that BlueStacks will find success. The company says that organically, about 5 million consumers have manually downloaded the Android player app on their own. However, over 100 million pre-installs are on computers thanks to partnerships with computer manufacturers and component builders.

Why even bother with smartphone apps on a PC? Because the market for such apps has exploded and because consumers are engaging more with their mobile devices. BlueStacks illustrates the appeal:

“With the BlueStacks App Player, Lenovo’s end users can now enjoy the same great apps on PC that they already are addicted to on their smartphone. And with BlueStacks unique ability to link the smartphone to the PC via the cloud, Lenovo’s end users can seamlessly sync their favorite apps, data and SMS text messages between their smartphone and PC.”

The latter part of that quote is important and oft-overlooked detail when thinking about how smartphone apps relate to the traditional computer. We want access to all of our information regardless of what device we’re using. Personal data synchronization at the app level is becoming increasingly desired and it sounds like BlueStacks is moving in that direction.

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Asus, Samsung, Lenovo and Dell are the first four companies that will build and sell Windows RT tablets, although others are sure to follow in 2013. The first two choices make perfect sense, No. 3 less so (but is still understandable), and the Dell news doesn’t inspire me. Of the four partners, Dell has arguably seen the least success is trying to crack the consumer market. Yes, we’re talking about Windows PCs with Windows 8, but in my mind the Windows RT tablets are more consumer electronics devices than traditional computers.

Sorry, Dell, it’s not me, it’s you

Dell had a good run with its Axim line of personal digital assistants starting back in 2002, but it eventually left that market in 2007 and made no headway with its few smartphone efforts, such as the Dell Streak, Venue and Aero. The Dell DJ digital audio player came out around the same time as the Axim, but, of course, the iPod swallowed up market share and competing products faded away. Maybe Dell will prove me wrong with some differentiator or fresh design, but even one of the most expensive tablet PCs from the company prompted terrible reviews and cries for a recall.

Again, maybe Dell can change my mind, even if history has shown little to no hope for later this year. But this uncertainty and a lack of consumer focus will be the biggest challenge to Dell. Microsoft has to know that, leading me to think Dell pushed hard to be chosen as one of the first four Windows RT partners. I’d say Dell has the longest of odds of being successful in the Windows RT market.

Lenovo has shown promise but hasn’t delivered yet

Lenovo hasn’t had much more success, but what it has had are some entries into the Android tablet market that provided it with some useful experience here. And as far back as 2010 when smartbooks were still a possibility — a category I suggested Apple’s iPad quickly killed off — Lenovo had some impressive designs that were precursors to the Windows RT tablets arriving soon.

Back in late 2009 I saw some of those first designs: Lenovo partnered with Qualcomm to show off its smartbook device, but it never came to market. A few months later Apple announced the iPad, and it was back to the drawing board for Lenovo. The company dropped a custom Linux build for the next iteration, called the U1 Hybrid (shown), and went with Android instead. The laptop-like device had a removable display that became an Android tablet, but it was a Windows 7 notebook when docked.

Again, even though this device never went on sale, the point is that Lenovo has created interesting designs it can learn from when building its Windows RT products. You can see that in the Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga, likely to be the company’s debut product when Windows 8 launches in late October. That laptop has a patented hinge to allow the device to stand up and be used as a convertible tablet.

Asus and Samsung are the leaders, with the former having a slight edge

Why would I suggest Asus and Samsung have a shot to lead the Windows RT market? First, there’s relatively little competition, and second, both have proved they can design, build and sell consumer slates. We know that neither is competing well with Apple’s iPad, but of the tablets that are worth a look, they’re all built by Asus and Samsung.

I give Asus the slight edge here though. While Samsung has focused on various-sized slates for different markets, Asus has kept its product line a little more manageable with 7-inch and 10-inch slates. It was also chosen to build the Nexus 7 tablet for Google.

A standard size allowed for what I think is the most innovative product feature in this market: a dock that doubles as both a keyboard and a second battery. I’m talking about the Asus Transformer that I reviewed earlier this year; the form factor and features were excellent. And Asus is wisely reusing the concept for Windows RT with its Tablet 600.

Samsung could take a similar approach with a keyboard dock, or it might simply focus on the slate device itself. Regardless, the company knows how to make a good tablet, plus it has a rich history of making Windows notebooks as well. The first Samsung iteration for Windows RT should be serviceable, but I still think Asus will be seen as the bigger innovator.

Don’t forget about Microsoft’s Surface

The other new factor is that Microsoft is competing against its own licensees with the Surface. My first impressions are fairly positive here: Microsoft has designed a compelling choice for this market, and the product has some of the sexiness equated with the iPad. The cover with integrated keyboard in particular looks not only useful but also to be an extension of the Surface tablet itself.

Although Microsoft’s Zune player fizzled, the Surface looks to sizzle. And outside the Zune debacle, Microsoft does have some consumer-electronics wins, most noticeably with one of the best-selling game consoles of all time: the Xbox 360. Perhaps Microsoft will be the biggest surprise here and end up leading the pack when it comes to the Windows RT market.

Update: The original article incorrectly stated that the Xbox was the best-selling game console of all time. The copy has changed to reflect that it is one of the best-selling.

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That could have big impact on non-aligned hardware players. BusinessWeek looked at the deal through the Dell lens — EMC and Dell had a long-time if uneasy partnership that started to unravel with Dell’s acquisition of storage player Equallogic five years ago. Per EMC’s positioning, the Lenovo-EMC servers will compete most directly with Dell at the low end, but HP stock also took a hit after the news.

Cisco is another party to watch in the fallout from all this. EMC and Cisco, the networking giant that entered the server market with the Unified Computing System in 2009, are parents (along with VMware) of the VCE Co. The VCE company offers Vblock bundles of EMC storage, Cisco UCS, and VMware virtualization. But there are signs that this alliance is stretched thin, especially since VMware, 80-percent-owned by EMC, decided to buy software-defined networking specialist  Nicira. Cisco also has a storage partnership with EMC competitor NetApp.

In a research note issued after the EMC/Lenovo news dropped,  Wells Fargo Senior Analyst Maynard Um wrote:

EMC’s answer to portions of the stack it did not own was to partner – namely Cisco for its networking and servers via its VCE [joint venture]. With the speculation the ties are loosening following VMW’s Nicira acquisition (software-defined networking), the Lenovo deal may be a backup plan on the server-side, given the major server vendors are also competitors. For Lenovo, the transition is logical given some scale benefits on components from its PC business, its enterprise relationships, and the need for expansion.

EMC execs pooh-poohed any notion that the Cisco relationship is imperiled by its new BFF. Under the agreement Lenovo will also sell EMC networked storage to its customers, first in China and then elsewhere, and the companies formed a joint venture to provide network-attached storage  systems to small and medium businesses and “distributed enterprise sites.”

Company CEO and chairman Joe Tucci told The Wall Street Journal he didn’t foresee the new partnership interfering with the Cisco alliance. “Cisco’s making these big heavy data centers, so the area where Cisco is in and Lenovo is are miles apart.”

Jeremy Burton, CMO and EVP of EMC, reiterated that stance via mail.

The Cisco UCS business is at the high-end (as is Vblock).  This is the complete opposite end of the market (think high volume commodity x86 servers).  At that end of the market we often fight “server-storage affinity” i.e. The server vendor is able to sell the storage because they can bundle and offer a deal.  Lenovo plans to enter the server business from the bottom up …  they also have a big brand in China… a place where we’ll prove out the partnership and hopefully provide some upside to our business there.  In addition, Lenovo servers will start to be embedded in our appliances, replacing DELL.

Still, EMC is nothing if not a survivor, and its willingness to shed partners that are no longer useful is just part of that package. Analysts privately say they are amazed that this old-line storage hardware company has managed to stay relevant and powerful by virtue of canny acquisitions and sheer competitiveness.  If Cisco and EMC interests are no longer aligned, look out.

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Here’s a breakdown of the shorter-term service offerings, which thanks to a single SIM card in the laptop, is available in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands: 30 minutes (up to 30 MB of data) for $1.95 and one day (up to 200 MB of data) for $8.95. Lenovo also offers a full month of service — available with either a 2 GB or 6 GB data limit — with prices varying by region. The Lenovo Mobile Access dashboard software explains the terms and pricing at the point of purchase on a ThinkPad.

I think the idea is brilliant because while many rely on Wi-Fi hotspots for mobile connectivity, there’s always the chance that Wi-Fi isn’t there when you need it. Having a mobile broadband MiFi or USB dongle alleviates that risk, but can often come with a lengthy contract or high, per-month charges for a bucket of data. And sometimes you only need a sip of data, not a bucketful. I wouldn’t expect many ThinkPad owners to go for the monthly plans as the prices for no-contract data is likely to be less expensive with a carrier. A 30-minute or day pass, though? What a great option for enterprise workers and consumers on the go.

Lenovo’s new service is powered by Macheen, an Austin, Texas startup we featured last year, which jointly announced the Lenovo news. The young company is thinking outside the box as traditional data plans came from a time where many had a single device and broadband was considered a service similar to voice: Buy a bunch, whether you use it all or not. In a blog post today, Macheen points out the difference today and where the market for broadband is headed: “Connectivity is going from “one-size-fits-all” and “off-the-rack,” to constantly connected devices with tailored access for any device, any application and any user.”

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The key hint is the IdeaTab’s 9.7-inch screen resolution of 1024 x 768. As new Android tablets go, this resolution is relatively low. Most of the larger Android tablets costing $399 use higher resolution screens. The IdeaTab’s screen is also the same resolution — if not the exact same IPS display — as Apple used in the original iPad and iPad 2.

Lenovo also has a little bit of product history to support a relatively low price on this new tablet. The company introduced a 7-inch slate last year, the A1, with a starting price of $199. The specifications were lacking in a few areas, but the capable tablet undercuts competing 7-inch slates from Samsung, HTC and others.

As Apple has proven with its successful iPad, however, consumers are willing to pay more for an overall premium experience. For most tablet buyers, Android hasn’t yet provided that at any price; if it did, multiple Android tablets combined would likely be outselling the iPad.

Once Lenovo’s new IdeaTab hits the market — with a starting price of $299 to $349, is my guess — we’ll see how Android 4.0, combined with with a low investment, affects the tablet market. Without a dedicated ecosystem to offer, however, Lenovo may still be hard pressed to sell slates at any price.

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