Looks like this is one of the benefits of working with IBM to build hardware solutions for the enterprise and homes use. According to eWeek, IBM provides a variety of resources to their partners.

One such idea that IBM has come up with in the area is the Virtual Innovation Center for Hardware. While it may not take all of the pain out of development, it certainly helps partners with the hardware side of things.

IBM announced Monday a set of offerings from its Virtual Innovation Center for Hardware, including “how-to” guides and a solution sizing toolkit, all aimed at helping the company’s business partners build and deploy applications on IBM technology. IBM’s Virtual Innovation Center for Hardware is a portal for IBM business partners where they can receive assistance building, porting and deploying solutions. In addition to the new guides and sizing kit, IBM also has expanded its Virtual Loaner Program to support AIX, Linux and Power5. The program supports application porting, testing and validation support for AIX 5L Version 5.3 and SuSE Linux (SLES9) on Power5, said Adam Tumas, program manager for the Virtual Innovation Center for Hardware.