IBM Chair and CEO Ginni Rometty is staking the future of IBM (NYSE: IBM) on “cloud” computing and Watson supercomputer applications from recipes to developing a cure for cancer while the “Internet of Things” links all. Part of that Rometty strategy is based in Research Triangle Park.

As IBM continues its shift away from hardware, its campus is on Big Blue’s radar with a recently opened data center for cloud development. Now comes news that IBM has opened its first cloud computing lab, or “dojo,” in RTP.

The focus is on open source, collaborative application development with IBM’s “Bluemix” software program. And Bluemix is hot. Enterprise Strategy Group reported in survey last week that Bluemix was the fastest growing “platform as a service,” or PAAS, for use in cloud development.

IBM also is a popular choice for overall cloud service. Last month, research firm 451 Research said Big Blue was the top choice among companies looking for a cloud services vendor.

RTP has quickly evolved as a Bluemix hub, from holding a variety of meetings and programs to developing a cadre of programmers (You can watch an introductory video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR_jDitw0Sc/)

“Use a combination of the most prominent open-source compute technologies to power your apps,” IBM explains.”Then, let Bluemix handle the rest.”

IBM says Bluemix enables “developers to create cloud applications for mobile, Internet of Things (IoT), supply chain analytics and intelligent infrastructure solutions.” More than 100 services are already available with a host of new ones unveiled Monday. Some include analytics, which is key to the Watson program.

IBM is a major supporter of the Cloud Foundry project, which is focused on development of open source developed solutions as opposed to proprietary.

Other Cloud Foundry backers/users include SAS, which is based in Cary, as well as Cisco and EMC. Both have major RTP operations. (Interestingly, Red Hat, which also is betting on open source cloud solutions, is not listed as a supporter.)

Part of that support from IBM is the opening of its first “Cloud Foundry Dojo” in RTP. IBM disclosed the opening and the first team of 12 “graduates” from that dojo at the Cloud Foundry Summit in California on Monday.

Here’s how Cloud Foundry describes the dojo program to develop what are called “committers:”

Cloud Foundry Dojo: Open Source, Open Cloud, Open Door

“It can typically take upwards of a year for a developer to gain committer status on an open source project. In some cases, even longer. The Cloud Foundry Foundation offers a unique approach to gaining committer in as little as six weeks, which we call the Cloud Foundry Dojo. The program is derived from the Pivotal labs Dojo program. It allows developers to master Cloud Foundry by working shoulder to shoulder on the open-source project with other Cloud Foundry engineers. Qualified engineers from the Cloud Foundry community can participate in pair programming with committers on a Cloud Foundry project team, gain invaluable experience with the core technology and the unique agile development environment, and make direct contributions to the codebase. Participation typically lasts 6-12 weeks.”

RTP full-time team of nine

IBM describes the dojo as “a physical place open to all developers where IBM will help accelerate skills on the Cloud Foundry Code base and mentor developers to dramatically increase the number of code committers to Cloud Foundry.”

Big Blue has established a team of nine full-time developers whose mission is to work “solely” on Cloud Foundry projects.

Early focus has been on a variety of cloud related programs such as: Elastic Runtime, Diego, Services, BOSH, CLI and Eclipse Tools for Cloud Foundry.

IBM has been struggling financially, is getting rid of hardware (such as x86 servers to Lenovo and its chip foundry business) and has invested heavily in Watson, Bluemix and the “cloud.” The company notes that its cloud revenue was $7.7 billion over a 12-month period ending in March.

Maybe IBM’s silver lining is in the cloud.