IBM has unveiled a cloud platform — Bluemix Local — to address a problem it says enterprises have: They are spending too much time moving data and apps between disparate cloud environments. Bluemix Local will allow enterprises to build apps and deploy them across public, private, and on-premises environments.

The new platform builds on the existing Bluemix platform-as-a-service (PaaS), which IBM launched in 2014 with a $1 billion investment.

Key features of Bluemix Local include:

• Relay technology that ensures all cloud environments remain current by syncing updates across environments.
• Access to IBM's catalog of more than 120 services, including services from both IBM and third-parties.
• A single admin console for enterprises to view their public, private, and on-premises Bluemix environments.

IBM says Bluemix Local will be especially useful for organizations in regulated industries such as banking, healthcare, and financial that must follow strict mandates and internal policies for how data is handled outside of their private network.

In other IBM news, the Nordic IT services company EVRY has signed a 10-year, $1 billion deal to use IBM's SoftLayer as its primary cloud.

EVRY will start running services on SoftLayer infrastructure in a data center in Fet, Norway (just outside Oslo) later next year. While handing a lot of responsibility to IBM, EVRY will still manage its own customer relationships and delivery of services.

The agreement is subject to approval from Norwegian competition authorities.