The open-source group, dubbed Aperi, will also include Brocade, Computer Associates, Engenio, Fujitsu and McData.
However, several storage specialists have not joined the group, including EMC, Symantec and Hewlett-Packard.
Aperi will focus on developing an open-source platform to manage storage devices; it is not the only such group working toward establishing open standards for storage.
The new group plans to build on existing open storage standards, such as the Storage Networking Industry Association's Storage Management Initiative Specification.
The Storage Networking Industry Association's initiative focuses on an interface designed to ease the implementation and management of storage devices from different companies.
IBM will donate a portion of its storage management technology to Aperi; other organisation members have the option to do the same.
In related news, IBM announced on Tuesday its WebSphere Application Server Community Edition. The server software is designed to allow midsized businesses to easily access open source-based technologies.
