<p>International Business MachinesCorp. (IBM:US) is expanding its cloud services to lure customers to itsSoftLayer Technologies Inc. business, which it's counting on tohelp reverse seven quarters of falling sales (IBM:US).</p><p>IBM is making it easier for developers to build and adjustapplications in the cloud, where information is delivered onlineinstead of stored on local servers, said Danny Sabbah, chieftechnology officer of IBM's Next Generation Platform. TheArmonk, New York-based company plans to spend (IBM:US) more than $1billion on cloud-software development through 2015, a double-digit percentage increase from the past two years.</p><p>The move increases IBM's bet on SoftLayer after acquiring (IBM:US)the company for $2 billion last year and committing $1.2 billionin January to add 15 new data centers. As customers rely on thecloud rather than buying their own servers, a slump in hardwaredemand has contributed to IBM's declining revenue.</p><p>"This is crucial to expanding the potential audience andhelping them get benefit and value from using SoftLayer,"Sabbah said in an interview. "This is not just about IBM'sconventional enterprise customers. There will be a lot ofemerging companies in different areas."</p><p><a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-02-24/ibm-boosts-investment-in-new-cloud-services-to-attract-customers">Keep reading...</a></p>