The Michigan Municipal League is working in partnership with IBM to create and expand opportunities for the League and our members in the new world of cloud computing. The cities of Howell and Saline have agreed to be among the first communities in the nation to pilot the program. This is a very significant partnership for the League and for our members. This effort is directly in line with the League's Center for 21st Century Communities initiative. The initiative lists eight assets that are essential for vibrant communities and one of those assets is "messaging and technology." This IBM partnership is closely tied to that asset.

The IBM Municipal Shared Services Cloud was officially announced this week by IBM and The League and is all over the web and in numerous media reports worldwide.

A four-minute YouTube video featuring League Associate Executive Director and COO Tony Minghine and others is especially good at explaining what this is all about and what it could mean to municipalities. Here are other related links: Official IBM press release; YouTube video; Wall Street Journal article; Livingston Daily article; WHMI news radio (Howell); Poughkeepsie Journal (New York); PR newswire; Daily Finance; Gov 2.0 news; zdnet.com; Information Week; Politico’s Morning Tech.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317.

The League's Anthony Minghine gets interviewed for a YouTube video about a new League partnership with IBM. Watch the video that also features Howell City Manager Shea Charles.

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