I am excited to share with you our announcement about new and enhanced solutions from IBM Rational that continue to break down the barriers to innovation. You might be wondering what that means. Well, you’ll be better able to design and deliver software with higher quality and performance than ever before. Let me explain.

You’ve already heard me talk about software as the “invisible thread” that weaves innovation through software, products, and services. The thought leaders, practitioners, and analysts that I talk to every day all agree -- done right, software can help an organization leapfrog ahead of its competition offering true market differentiation. What’s more, software is becoming a business’s most enduring strategic business asset.

But there are a number of things that get in the way of product and service innovation. One is poor alignment of software and systems with business priorities. This may sound like an obvious, even easy, task. But as software investments evolve and business needs shift, the software infrastructure has to map to those changes as quickly as possible. The new capabilities Rational is announcing can help improve this alignment and bridge the gaps between executives, IT teams, lines of business, product engineering, operations, and development.

We also know that most teams face the challenge of an increasingly dispersed workforce. With varying time zones and incompatible tools, effective communication -- let alone true collaboration -- can be next to impossible. But with enhanced integrations across the development lifecycle, Rational can help you improve in these areas as well.

It’s a matter of continuously improving productivity across the organizational spectrum. It doesn’t happen all at once, but rather through steady improvement beginning at the individual level, and progressing with measurable results toward team enablement, then across the entire organization. All by implementing iterative and adaptive processes.

I’ve just had the chance to test drive the newest electric vehicle to hit the market, the 2011 Chevy Volt. The Volt has an innovative new electric drive system using software to control the interaction of its electric motor and the gasoline engine. Using IBM Rational software, the Volt with its 10M lines of code was designed and engineered in just 29 months, compared to the typical 5-10 year cycle for new power train technology.

You can also read more about my experience with the Volt here.

When you think of software development and delivery as a critical business process, you’re much better prepared to seize market opportunities and outpace your competitors. Take a look at what we have to offer you and your team as you work toward successful and innovative results.