Like many of its competitors, IBM has been ramping up efforts the past few months to entice Sun customers and channel partners to move their business to IBM. We acted quickly upon Oracle's announcement that it would acquire Sun and because of our swift action, we have gained significant traction in the marketplace. We have engaged hundreds of Sun's top customers and Sun ISVs and channel partners resulting in many wins and a robust pipeline. Many are looking to IBM for a stronger future and a safer, easier and proven migration path.
Industry pundits continue to question the impact of Oracle's planned acquisition of Sun and their ability to turn around Sun's troubled hardware business and deliver profits. News of Sun's less than favorable earnings outlook, the rumored cancellation of Sun's Rock chip, and speculation about which parts of Sun's business Oracle will fully support going forward leave many current Sun customers and channel partners wondering what the future holds.
IBM already had a fair amount of momentum in winning Sun accounts prior to the Oracle/Sun acquisition announcement. The announcement gave us more reason to knock on the doors of our competitors' clients. No company wants to migrate, but clients also want long-term certainty around their IT investments. Long ago, IBM set the industry agenda with its successful Rewards and Migration Factory programs. Our suite of migration and planning tools, services and experts helps clients analyze the business risks, better understand the financial benefits and develop a proven roadmap to make the move to IBM.
The "one-size-fits-all" approach definitely doesn't make sense for today's business models or the IT backbone that drives them. That's why more and more Sun customers are choosing IBM over the competition every week. No other IT provider offers the depth of experience in migrations, robustness of tools, range of system solutions to fit each client's unique needs, breadth of hardware, software and services, industry expertise and financing offerings than IBM.
As uncertainty continues to swirl around Sun, IBM and its Business Partners have an unique sales opportunity. Sun clients can achieve peace of mind by mitigating their risk of migration and knowing what costs can be reduced by consolidating servers through virtualization - all by choosing a trusted leader and partner who's there for the long-term. IBM.
Gain the skills needed to capture 21st century opportunities
10/02/2009
IBM Business Partners are integral members of the IBM sales team. Typically our most successful Business Partners are those who are thoroughly educated and enabled to sell IBM solutions. They take that extra step to differentiate themselves from their competitors by staying on top of marketing trends and strategies, learning new selling techniques, and fully understanding the brand and the benefits it brings to their business.
We want to do everything we can to help you win in the marketplace and education is key. We've raised the bar in partner education by making it more easily accessible by creating the IBM Business Partner Development Series.
What is the IBM Business Partner Development Series (BPDS)?
We introduced BPDS in June with the Business Partner Leadership webcast featuring IBM CEO Sam Palmisano and keynote speaker Fareed Zakaria. Both Sam and Fareed talked about the role technology plays in making our world operate more productively and efficiently. Ultimately, technology is making the world work smarter.
IBM's Smarter Planet strategy is one of the "hot topics" featured through BPDS. Others include a financial selling roadmap, building dynamic infrastructures and selling to the mid-market. Fully understanding and becoming well-versed in these areas will make it easier for you to open up a conversation with your clients and hopefully close the sale more quickly.
As an example, we have all experienced the shift in the economic landscape which has altered the way businesses buy IT. No longer is the CIO the lone decision-maker when it comes to making purchasing decisions. The CFO is now often in the driver's seat determining if the timing is right and how fast they'll see a return on the investment. This new landscape requires a new way of selling, and IBM provides you with specific sales techniques to help make the sale with the CFO.
Our mission is to continue to develop even better educated and higher skilled Business Partners through this integrated program model. Please take a look at the BPDS Web site and continue to visit it frequently for updates to our education line-up. Comprehensive BPDS curriculum is also always available through PartnerWorld University to help you gear up for second half of the year sales opportunities. Taking time out of busy schedules to take a class or listen to a webcast can sometimes be difficult, but the benefits you'll reap in helping the bottom line will make it time well spent.
Let us know what's on your mind Voice of the Business Partner is an online forum where you can weigh in on important business-related topics, share your thoughts, experiences and opinions. There are new results from the last forum available on the Web site, click here, and sign-in to view what Business Partners had to say.
For our next conversation, we want to know what avenues you're exploring to help your business succeed. How do you feel about your current efforts and your future plans, and how can IBM help?
Presenting the IBM Beacon Awards, Sam Palmisano and Fareed Zakaria
06/10/2009
We had a great time in New York City's Times Square announcing the winners of the IBM Beacon Awards. It was fun listening to the crowd cheer each time a name flashed on the digital billboards located in this famous venue. I want to thank all of the IBM Business Partners who submitted nominations for the Beacon Awards. We received hundreds of high caliber entries, and I congratulate each of the nominees for a job well done. Your contributions to the IBM Corporation and the entire IBM Business Partner community are crucial to our on-going success.
As for our Beacon Award winners and finalists, my sincere congratulations for creating innovative solutions across the entire IBM brand spectrum. Twenty-two Beacon Awards were handed out on June 9 during the debut of the IBM Business Partner Development Series webcast. As recipients of these distinguished awards, these Business Partners have set the standard for business excellence, innovative solutions, ingenuity and client satisfaction. Winning an IBM Beacon Award is a significant achievement and the culmination of impressive efforts to create an innovative IBM-based solution for your clients. We are extremely pleased to call you an IBM Business Partner.
Please visit our IBM Beacon Awards Web site to learn more about this year's winning firms and their award-winning solutions.
The presentation of the Beacon Awards was one part of our debut showing of the IBM Business Partner Leadership webcast. IBM Chairman, President and CEO Sam Palmisano spoke to us about how IBM and its Business Partners are well positioned to lead the way to creating a smarter planet. There are many opportunities available right now and by collaborating and taking advantage of IBM's education and resources, we can implement new solutions to inject greater intelligence into the world's systems and thus help change the way the world works. In other words, we can help build a smarter planet.
Dr. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International and CNN host, shared his perspective on how the world went so quickly from a "global boom" to a "global bust." It's beneficial for us to understand how our current challenges came to be and the role played by this technologically-connected world. Our business challenge, as Fareed points out, is to leverage technology where it has a society-wide impact. Dr. Zakaria had much more to offer on the topic, and his insight is certainly a cause for conversation.
If you were unable to attend the debut of the webcast, I highly encourage you to take advantage of the on demand replay that is now available. Click here to register for the replay and sit back for 60 minutes to learn more about how we can provide higher value to our clients and the world by working together to build a smarter planet.
There is an exciting IBM Business Partner webcast on June 9 that all of you, as a member of our partner community, are going to want to attend. "The Business Partner Leadership Agenda: Building a Smarter Planet" webcast features IBM Chairman, President and CEO Sam Palmisano and special keynote speaker Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, columnist and CNN host.
Mr. Palmisano will discuss the important role IBM Business Partners play within the company and how building a smarter planet provides all of us with new business opportunities. Dr. Zakaria is widely respected as one of the most influential foreign policy advisors of his generation and for his ability to spot economic and political trends around the world. The webcast also provides me an opportunity for a mid-year touch point with you, our valued partner community.
The webcast is also this year's forum for announcing the finalists and winners of the IBM Beacon Awards. These awards are a central and vital element of IBM’s Business Partner recognition program, and I look forward to recognizing some of the best solutions IBM Business Partners deliver across our business. Please join me as I have the privilege of rewarding some of our most successful Business Partners.
The webcast is also the kick-off to our new Business Partner Development Series. This series was developed in response to our Business Partner community's request for more frequent, specialized education and networking opportunities. The Series focuses on three areas - strategy, education and networking - areas that require continual focus in order to be successful in today's business environment. Through the series' featured online education and in-person offerings, partners will learn more about IBM's hardware, software and services offerings as they relate to integral topics such as building a smarter planet, creating dynamic infrastructures and selling to the midmarket.
I encourage you to visit the Business Partner Development Series Web page on PartnerWorld and take full advantage of the featured educational offerings and networking opportunities. I also hope you will attend the June 9 webcast with Sam Palmisano and Fareed Zakaria. Pre-registration for the 60-minute webcast is required and available through the Business Partner Development Series Web page.
Thank you for your continued collaboration with IBM. I Iook forward to you joining me on June 9.
IBM made a bold move earlier this year when it launched its Dynamic Infrastructure strategy - an approach that helps clients reduce costs, manage risk and improve service levels, while aligning IT infrastructures with business goals.
The strategy strongly differentiates IBM from all other vendors. No competitor can offer clients what IBM can: an evolutionary approach to optimize IT and business infrastructures both today and tomorrow, supported by the most comprehensive portfolio of products, services and financing in the industry. The Dynamic Infrastructure strategy is resonating with clients in every region around the world.
In February, I wrote about the Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty program. Through this program, IBM provides comprehensive skills, training, technical enablement, marketing and business development capabilities to partners who wish to certify. Several partners have already become certified in the Specialty program and with 150 more in the pipeline and a $120 billion market opportunity, this program is a key driver to help partners capture economic stimulus fund opportunities. We have expanded the program and are offering new services and security certifications for Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty Partners with IBM Internet Security Systems (ISS) for Business Resiliency solutions.
With the April Dynamic Infrastructure announcement, IBM is offering solutions specifically geared to the midmarket, widening the selling opportunity for Business Partners who are certified in the Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty Program. Earlier this year, IBM realigned its sales strategy to direct all midmarket sales opportunities through channel partners. Through the IBM Express Advantage program for midmarket solutions, the IBM Dynamic Infrastructure offering portfolio has been expanded to address a broader range of clients. The new, lower cost Dynamic Infrastructure solutions are designed to provide midmarket businesses with offerings that are affordable and simpler to implement.
As the global economy continues to shift, organizations supported by a dynamic infrastructure are uniquely positioned to win. IBM is focused on delivering high-value solutions that enable its Business Partners to meet the needs of clients who are looking to improve efficiencies in their data centers. To learn more about Dynamic Infrastructure offerings and the specialty program, I encourage you to visit the Dynamic Infrastructure Web site.
Communication is key in all business relationships, and we are committed to streamlining our Business Partners’ IBM experience, facilitating collaboration and innovation within the ecosystem while helping to build a smarter planet. I’m pleased to introduce new PartnerWorld services and tools that will open the lines of communication even further.
Enhanced communication between Business Partners and IBM is one of the reasons we have invested in new Web 2.0 and social networking capabilities via PartnerWorld. New community tools have been designed to facilitate collaboration and innovation in an effort to drive revenue growth.
New PartnerWorld capabilities include:
Concierge services that help partners complete key tasks more quickly and easily. These services include new live chat assistance on expanded topics and FAQs. Telephone support also continues to be available.
PartnerWorld Communities, powered by Lotus Connections, provide a broad range of new social networking tools to facilitate communication with other Business Partners making collaboration easier. Forums, blogs, bookmarks, feeds, personal profiling and shared workspaces for collaboration activities are available today with more capabilities being added over time.
Improved Web page designs streamline the process to update your profile. Easy-to-use drop downs provide guidance to help you perform key types of profile updates.
Most of these capabilities are available worldwide in English today. Availability in additional languages will follow later in 2009.
These tools are just the latest in a series of major enhancements made to the PartnerWorld Web site to improve your experience. In first quarter, the News and Announcements section was enhanced and simplified providing access to news via several choices of media and languages. In the last quarter of 2008, the marketing section of PartnerWorld was dramatically simplified with resources grouped under three major phases of marketing activity. A marketing navigator feature provides guidance on resources that partners have ranked as most helpful in generating demand.
My goal is that the availability of these new resources will enable you to leverage the skills and capabilities of other IBM Business Partners and to expand your expertise with partners and IBMers who share your mutual interests. Even the shortest conversations can lead to the creation of innovative solutions and new business opportunities that could potentially lead to growth in your business. Using these new tools is a great place to start a collaborative conversation on ways to build a smarter planet. Who knows where the conversation could take lead!
With the relaunch of the Business Partner Charter, introduction of streamlined incentives and new configuration and ordering tools, these PartnerWorld enhancements are another example of our commitment to simplify how we work together to advance business value and increase growth. I encourage you to explore the PartnerWorld Web site and utilize these new offerings.
While the years bring new and different challenges, one constant remains - IBM's commitment to the channel and its Business Partners. It is our goal to strengthen our partnership with you by fostering an environment based on mutual trust, clarity and commitment.
I am pleased to share with you our recently refreshed IBM Business Partner Charter. Initially launched 13 years ago, this cross-IBM document reaffirms our dedication to provide collaborative, mutually profitable relationships with you as we work together to deliver superior client value.
At the base of all of our business dealings are IBM's core business values: dedication to every client's success, innovation that matters, and trust and responsibility in every relationship. Our Business Partner Charter exemplifies these values through six guiding principles:
IBM Business Partners are vital to IBM's business.
Our relationship is a collaboration of equals.
We invest in IBM Business Partners' success.
We strive to provide the industry's best Business Partner experience, in all respects.
We work with our Business Partners to seize the opportunities presented by a smarter planet.
We ground our relationships in the core values of IBMers.
We have evolved the Charter over time, making adjustments along the way for current market trends. With more than $4 trillion being invested in stimulus packages globally, now is the time for us to target key opportunities to help clients grow and profit through technology and business transformation. The skills, technologies and solutions we have built together put us in a unique position to help our clients during these uncertain economic times.
Our Business Partner Charter also exemplifies our desire to collaborate as we work together to create a smarter planet. You play an important role in this historic opportunity as we bring to bear our joint capabilities to deliver smarter solutions for an increasingly interconnected planet.
In December 2008, we introduced Principles of Engagement for IBM Systems & Technology Group (STG). The STG Principles of Engagement provides additional understanding between IBM's sales teams and IBM Business Partners which is crucial to our mutual success in all client relationships. This document, along with the IBM Global Technology Services Principles of Engagement, is an extension of the IBM Business Partner Charter.
IBM has a long history of success with its Business Partners, and with all of the opportunities that lie before us, I believe that now is the best time to be an IBM Business Partner. Thank you for your business with IBM, and I look forward to our mutual growth and continued success.
As I've met with hundreds of you, I have consistently heard a common theme: you want deeper, more frequent, specialized education to meet your business needs and that of your clients. Based on your feedback, IBM is canceling this year's Business Partner Leadership Conference (BPLC). In lieu of BPLC, we are developing additional regional, online and virtual events that will provide targeted information in a manner that requires less of your time and less of an investment on your part.
We are planning education modules and events worldwide covering a variety of topics including Smarter Planet, Dynamic Infrastructure and mid-market selling. These offerings will be scheduled throughout the year, so we encourage you to frequently check PartnerWorld for opportunities near you.
The Beacon Awards remain a central and vital element of IBM's Business Partner recognition programs, and we are looking forward to identifying and rewarding our most successful Business Partners at a virtual event in second quarter. Winners of these distinguished awards set the standard for business excellence, innovative solutions, ingenuity and client satisfaction.
Nominations for the Beacon Awards are now open to PartnerWorld Premier and Advanced members. Click here to learn more and submit your nominations by Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at 11:55 p.m. EST (New York). You can nominate your solutions for awards within seven categories covering a range of areas, including hardware, software, services and many cross-brand solutions that differentiate your offerings.
Winning a Beacon Award can result in worldwide industry recognition and promotional opportunities that increase your visibility. Past winners have said the awards help create competitive advantage, drive more business and raise their profile in the industry. The IBM Beacon Award is your opportunity to shine the spotlight on your business as a true innovator, especially as we work together to build a smarter planet. I encourage you to nominate your solution(s) for this prestigious award.
Clients tell us their infrastructures are hard to manage, their energy costs are too high, they're running out of floor space, and they're not getting the best use of their systems and services. In the past, they've had to make trade-offs and settle for "good enough" solutions. That all changes -- starting now.
IBM has launched its Dynamic Infrastructure initiative -- our company's point-of-view on how organizations of all sizes can create streamlined, self-managing infrastructures. Dynamic Infrastructure is the intelligent information technology foundation that will help your clients be more resilient, better positioned for growth and full participants in a smarter planet.
Teaming together, we can help clients build secure, easy-to-use, automated solutions that reduce costs, improve service levels and better manage risk. In fact, several client pain points offer a perfect opportunity to start a conversation about Dynamic Infrastructure solutions.
As the global economy continues to shift, organizations supported by a dynamic infrastructure are uniquely positioned to win. As our Business Partner, you can garner a unique selling advantage by becoming a Dynamic Infrastructure Specialty Business Partner, formerly the New Enterprise Data Center Specialty program. Participation in this program brings you to the forefront of an elite group of Business Partners leading the charge for business and IT infrastructure modernization. Through the Specialty Program, you'll gain valuable skills and have the ability to qualify for business development funds which translate to real dollars for you. Most importantly, you are growing your business with higher value sales leading to higher margins.
This is a significant moment in time. IDC estimates the market opportunity for software, servers, technologies and services to manage the world's converged IT and physical infrastructure to be $122 billion by 2012. And, with nearly $1 trillion being invested in stimulus packages in countries around the world to invigorate our global economy, this is a great opportunity for us to collaborate. Let's seize this opportunity and help our worldwide clients move toward a dynamic infrastructure so they can operate a smarter, more efficient business. Your expertise and skills will make the difference.
Dramatically simplifying Business Partner incentives
02/04/2009
As we continue our quest to dramatically simplify the way we do business together, we are also extremely focused on helping your business grow and profit in this challenging economic environment. One important example of how we're helping you accomplish this is our aggressive streamlining of the IBM Business Partner incentives.
The revamped incentives are fewer in number and simplified which makes them much easier to understand and will reduce administrative overhead. We've focused on providing predictable earnings both at a transaction level and through our target programs which will help improve your cash flow and margins. In addition, the simplified target programs provide incremental earnings for each dollar of incremental sales rather than a "make/miss" approach. An added bonus is you can spend your time selling instead of tracking incentives - your earnings will be visible faster than ever.
Several improvements are being introduced to help your business grow and profit:
Quality trumps quantity: The number of incentives will decline significantly, with an emphasis on new account acquisition, the mid-market, solutions and competitive wins.
Fewer, more focused promotions: Strong, simple, and easy to manage promotions.
An improved line-of-sight to earnings: As you sell, you will know what you are earning - allowing you to "plan and manage" your own business investments in resources and skills.
New KYI (Know Your IBM) incentives: More rewards for Business Partner sellers for IBM midmarket products across our offerings - hardware, software and services. In addition, when you sell more than one qualifying product to a customer - you receive even more rewards. More participating IBM products means sellers can earn more points and therefore bigger rewards.
Consistent investment incentives: PartnerRewards benefits will continue to help customer-facing partners drive growth by providing marketing funds and significant savings on IBM education.
New NEDC funds: A range of business development funds are available for NEDC Specialty Business Partners who achieve the Expert/Specialty or Specialty/Elite level.
The changes we've made in the way we reward our Business Partners is proof of our ongoing commitment to your success and leadership with our mutual customers. I am confident you will agree the improvements will make our partnership better than ever.
The adrenaline rush of year-end sales is like no other, and I'm sure all of your energies are focused on taking advantage of the many opportunities year-end can offer. As I look back on my first eight months working with IBM's Business Partner organization, I can say with confidence that we are fortunate to be engaged with some of the best and hardest-working partners in the industry. Thank you for your on-going dedication and commitment to IBM.
In the weeks and months ahead, look for an even stronger commitment from IBM as we continue to collaborate to deliver higher client value. Through new plans and programs, our goal is to strengthen our partner relationships by fostering an environment based on mutual trust, clarity and commitment. Together, our combined technology, solutions, expertise and services will continue to be a differentiator in the marketplace.
It is our top priority to make it as easy as possible for Business Partners to work with IBM. It is our ultimate goal to be your partner of choice, and I deeply appreciate your creativity and hard work in order to better serve our mutual clients. We cannot succeed in our work without your dedication to IBM.
Thank you for all you have done for IBM and our clients in 2008 and for all we will achieve, together, in 2009. Your commitment to IBM's portfolio is what makes this company and its partners special. Congratulations on your many successes and enjoy all these last days of 2008 have to offer.
We know that as an IT solutions provider there are a multitude of IT firms you can associate with. We also believe that a true partnership with IBM offers a differentiation in value that other companies simply can't come close to delivering. It starts with the leadership of the IBM brand. According to Interbrand's Best Global Brand 2008 study, this year the IBM brand was rated the second most valuable brand in the world, second only to Coca-Cola and ahead of Microsoft.
What does the IBM brand mean to you and your business? I firmly believe that our brand differentiation is grounded in how we deliver superior client value. Some of our recent client research indicates that clients place the highest value on three things -- an innovative partner, a trusted advisor, and value for price -- and this is exactly what we strive to deliver by partnering with you. On the other hand, we are also deeply committed to your success and to helping you drive more profitable growth through industry-leading solutions-based offerings, as well as identifying new growth opportunities for you. This is why we opened up the midmarket segment to our Business Partners with a host of midmarket-focused resources and programs, and why we recently launched the Business Partner New Enterprise Data Center Specialty program -- which has been recognized by analyst Charles King of Pund-IT, Inc. as "ahead of the curve" to help partners develop the deep skills needed to deliver these solutions.
With one of the strongest technology portfolio's of any vendor, IBM provides a broad range of offerings for companies of all sizes and industries. Our award-winning family of hardware, software, services and financing allows you to grow, innovate and capture market opportunities. Our IBM PartnerWorld program, offers a host of membership benefits including:
A wealth of expertise available through our education, marketing and technical support.
Rich incentives with higher retained margins help drive maximum bottom line profitability.
Our IBM Value Nets program and other collaboration tools help you make connections and expand your ecosystem.
An integrated IBM Team at the territory level to help you identify, progress and close deals.
IBM Global Financing provides a range of solutions to help make your business more profitable and competitive. IBM offers customizable financing, as well as offerings like the new "Why Wait" for midmarket customers acquiring IBM Systems.
Speaking of closing deals, this year we improved our lead management process so we can pass more and better leads to you. However, to ensure you're receiving the right leads from us, you need to keep your IBM Business Partner profile current. Take a few minutes to review your profile and everyone's in your company as well -- it's simple and quick. While you're at it, make sure your firm is enrolled in our Global Partner Portal because that's where you'll receive your IBM leads along with other mangement tools about your sales with IBM.
Thank you for choosing IBM as your Business Partner. We are continuously working to become and remain your partner of choice.
It seems we hear it on the news more often these days--businesses of all sizes are vulnerable and more at risk today than ever before for security breeches. Your clients may be asking how safe is their infrastructure and perhaps even more important, can the IT company they do business with help them be more proactive in dealing with security challenges?
IBM was recently recognized as the Managed Security Services market leader by industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan.(1) We understand this growing concern across multiple businesses -- and that's why we have leveraged recent acquisitions to broaden our IBM Security portfolio that spans software, hardware and services to help address your clients' security threats.
For example, IBM's Internet Security Systems offers security applications and services which are available as stand-alone solutions or together in a modular, integrated system — all providing 24x7 comprehensive protection and monitoring. And, its Proventia Network Multi-Function Security(MFS) offers the only unified threat management tool in the industry that is certified to help clients meet PCI compliance by independent testing from NSS Labs.
IBM also recognizes how controlling expenses, especially those businesses with smaller staffs and tighter budgets, could often affect clients' decisions to make their IT infrastructure safer. With our Internet Security Systems Security Without Compromise initiative you can provide your clients, large or small, an industry-leading security portfolio to implement scalable solutions designed to help balance the cost of today's complex security infrastructure without compromising operational and financial risks.
We continue to focus on delivering resources to you, our Business Partners, to help deepen your expertise in this area and increase your ability to bring the best security solutions to your clients. You'll find more about our leadership in this area in this white paper, "IBM security technology outlook: An outlook on emerging security technology trends" -- it outlines nine security trends in today's IT environment.
Let me hear from you on how we can work together on delivering increased value to your clients with the industry's leading security portfolio.
(1) Frost and Sullivan, "North American Managed Security Services Market, November 2007"
You've been hearing it more and more: Your clients face many IT challenges and are looking for help to address their total solution needs versus a single product area.
Market research consistently confirms it. Demand for solutions is on the rise, and that's where the biggest growth opportunity is, as many channel partners can attest. In fact, last year Crimson Consulting Group's Solution Provider Business Practice survey revealed that the term "VAR" is quickly fading: Over two thirds of survey respondents preferred to think of themselves as a Solution Providers.
On the other hand, the better we help clients understand the value of their investment and address their business needs in a holistic approach, the more successful we both are. That is why we are delivering on the promise made at the 2008 Business Partner Leadership Conference -- to help you grow and offer increased client value through solutions expertise. Through our New Enterprise Data Center Specialty, part of IBM's New Enterprise Data Center strategy, IBM Business Partners can develop and deepen their solution competencies and skills in three specific areas: virtualization/consolidation, energy efficiency and business resiliency. We're also planning to offer a New Enterprise Data Center solution specialty for the recently announced Information Infrastructure portfolio of systems, services and software.
Developed in close collaboration with our IBM Global Business Partner Advisory Council, this initiative has received enthusiastic responses -- we are providing a complete program that no other vendor can match. Once you obtain accreditation, you're eligible to receive a Specialty mark, qualify to receive up to 100 thousand dollars in business development funds, and gain access to a broad portfolio of education, marketing and sales benefits that support your go-to-market activities.
And, speaking of solutions, we recently announced a new and refreshed portfolio of Express Advantage offerings specifically designed to meet mid-sized clients' needs around security, and IT optimization, helping your clients maximize business value and performance. Learn more about it here.
All the resources and support we provide are aimed at helping you grow and become more profitable, while providing the most innovative range of IT solutions that your clients need and value.
Gone are the days of selling individual product lines; solution selling is where the market has shifted and where the most profitable business growth can be attained. And, it's in the midmarket where most of this opportunity is found. According to IDC, midsize (100-999 employees) IT spending is predicted to represent over 60% of total SMB spending in 2008.*
How do you capture your share of this mega opportunity? Given the scope of business and infrastructure solutions, it is rare that one single company has the ability and expertise to fully meet midmarket customers' requirements for integrated IT and services solutions. This is why the most competitive winning customer proposals usually happen when Business Partners collaborate, rather than work individually. In fact, in our experience we see a 70% improvement in win rates when ISVs and System Integrators work with resellers up front.
IBM helps its Business Partners address customer solution requirements by building those one-to-one and many-to-many relationships between ISVs, System Integrators, Distributors and Resellers, in a way that lets them respond to specific transactions. Wherever you may be, PartnerWorld Value Nets can help you get matched with the right Partner, get IBM-assisted business planning, go-to-market resources, and technical skills and support.
In China we have been piloting our Ecolink incubation model where we identify high-growth industries, link up Business Partners, and "sell by listening" -- to really understand midmarket customer issues, needs and solution requirements, then custom tailor solutions for them. Quite simply, IBM first identifies large geographic industry clusters in sub regions in various territories in China and then helps our Business Partners build winning Value Net Connections to meet client needs and deliver client value. The focus is on penetrating clusters of industry areas that are currently serviced for basic technology requirements, but are not addressing integrated solution needs. So far, the numbers add up: hundreds of partnerships have been established with this model, with Ecolink partners developing more than 400 new applications, and generating thousands of new solution transactions. One SMB-focused Ecolink solution -- for data backup -- has created over 300 opportunities in just two months time.
In today's global economy, collaboration and nurturing your ecosystem will help you remain competitive. IBM is focused on helping you grow profitably, reaching new markets and new growth opportunities -- while bringing the totality of IBM's resources, portfolio and capabilities together to deliver the solutions your clients need. Use the "Ask Rich" feature and let me hear from you on how we can help you get better connected in your ecosystem.
*
IDC: Global Small and Medium-Sized Business 2008-2012, Forecast: SMB IT Spending by Category and Region, Doc # 210984, March 2008.
My previous column refered to how "data rules" and how businesses of all sizes need to rely on secure, accessible data, 24x7. These requirements demand flexible and secure data storage. IBM responded to this challenge with exciting innovations in information infrastructure that integrate three IT building blocks -- storage hardware, software and services -- heralding a new technology era of massive growth and mobility of data. The integration of these exciting new technologies enables us to deliver the world's most flexible, integrated, scalable, efficient and secure information infrastructure.
An important announcement in this growing information infrastructure space is a brand new array of offerings from several of our key storage acquisitions, including XIV, Diligent, FilesX, Softek, NovusCG and Arsenal. Learn more on how you can benefit from these leading IBM storage offerings and from an expanded New Enterprise Data Center portfolio of solutions, to best address your client's IT transformation needs.
And, speaking of the importance of having pertinent data at your finger tips, make sure you review IBM's recent midmarket findings from our 2008 Global CEO Study, the largest study of chief executives ever conducted. Midsize companies report that they are investing in strategic areas to help them succeeed in today's rapidly changing environment, including growth through globalization, customer service for a new breed of more demanding and informed customers, and increased corporate social responsibility activities. Learn more.
Whether it is helping you leverage the exploding data growth demands for the information infrastructure or providing you with market insight to help you target profitable growth, you can count on IBM to deliver innovative IT solutions. Let me know how we can work together to solve your clients' needs in this growth opportunity.
In today's global market, businesses of all sizes depend on their technology infrastructure to be available 24x7. And, even more important is having access to their data and recovering quickly after outages whether due to scheduled maintenance or from an external environmental disaster. IBM knows that data is a client's lifeline and continues to invest in initiatives to help you and your clients prepare for and recover from virtually any disruption.
And, we all know how competitive today's market is -- without data, even if only for a couple of hours, it could impact you or your clients' ability to succeed. That is why IBM continues to focus on business continuity and resiliency solutions that you can leverage with your clients. Solutions such as IBM Express Advantage Services provides our IBM Business Partners with the tools and resources needed to sell profitably in the small and mid-sized business (SMB) segment. These offerings can help you to sell more and close deals faster in the lucrative SMB space.
There's also an opportunity to differentiate the value you can deliver by partnering with IBM through these initiatives:
IBM Business Continuity and Resilience Services Centers: IBM recently announced a record investment of $300 million with plans to construct 13 new centers in 10 countries this year--located in every geographic region of the globe in both emerging and mature markets.
The New Enterprise Data Center (NEDC): As businesses, governments, and other organizations are faced with a data center crisis today -- in which they are running out of power and space, as well as skyrocketing energy costs-- IBM is helping Business Partners leverage the New Enterprise Data Center opportunity. Very soon we will offer a new IBM Business Partner specialty program for the New Enterprise Data Center with a focus on Virtualization/Consolidation, Energy Efficiency, Business Resilience and Information Infrastructure. Learn about our New Enterprise Data Center here.
Solutions that leverage strategic IBM acquisitions like Internet Security Systems and Arsenal Digital Solutions.
IBM Storage and Data Services with solutions that provide our Business Partners the solutions they need to address client IT transformation.
IBM Business Partner Innovation Centers (BPIC) and BladeCenter and Storage Solution Centers (BSSC): These state-of-the-art facilities address the needs of Business Partners' clients who require complete solutions consisting of hardware, software, and services customized to meet their needs; visitors have the opportunity to see IBM Business Partner solutions in action and work side-by-side with highly skilled IBM-certified teams. More on these centers and other IBM initiatives here.
Only a partner like IBM can offer this depth and breadth of resources, helping you and your clients integrate critical business and IT priorities into a comprehensive continuity and resiliency plan. No one else in the industry can match the expertise, experience and service delivery innovation we can provide across the globe.
Services is growing from year to year with small and medium business. A Forrester survey from late 2007, interviewed over 1000 SMB IT managers in North America and found that they are focused on upgrading their disaster recovery capabilities: 28 percent of respondents indicated it was a "high priority" and 20 percent called it a "critical priority" -- combined it's four percent above Forrester survey results from one year earlier. Read more about it in this April 2008 Channel Web article.
Let's work together on bringing these much needed solutions to your clients around the globe. As always, thank you for your commitment in choosing IBM.
Since I was named general manager of IBM Global Business Partners about four months ago, I’ve traveled a fair amount and talked with many IBM Business Partners. In fact, I recently returned from China where I met with several Business Partners and discussed exciting opportunities in this enormous emerging market.
Everywhere I go, I ask the same questions – it’s a refrain from country to country: How are we doing as your partner? And, what can IBM do to help increase your success – to boost your profitability? If you’ve read this column before, you know that’s a kind of mantra for me. My objective is to help our Business Partners grow profitably across industries and in the midmarket, the enterprise space – wherever we do business together. And, as an extension of this objective, I want to make IBM the partner of choice – to raise the bar on satisfaction.
This means connecting our Business Partners to others in valuenets that extend their reach around the world. It means helping to market services with solutions using a cross-selling kit that can increase deal size. Ultimately, just about all of the resources and support we provide are designed to increase our Business Partners' value to clients and, thus, to improve profitability.
I recently received feedback on how we’re doing from a Business Partner in Australia, Independent Systems Integrators. “ … after working with well over 30 IT firms during my ISI experience, there is one Business Partnership that stands out from the rest, and you will be please it know that it is the IBM Business Partnership,” writes Andrew Matler, chief executive officer, ISI.
Comments like these affirm that we’re moving in the right direction – and I couldn’t be more pleased. Do we have more work to do? Yes, and we continue to learn from how we can improve and what's needed to increase our Business Partners' profitability. Business Partners, for instance, are sharing their thoughts and ideas through a new online forum, Voice of the Business Partner, and are helping to shape the direction we take together. And that’s the key word – together. We are in this together. If our Business Partners succeed, we succeed. If clients find value in the solutions we deliver together, we all succeed. That’s the nature of teaming. And, it’s what makes this business so exciting.
Expanding and growing business in a shifting global economy may sound like a tall order. But our collaboration creates many opportunities for growth – for you and the clients we serve together. Technology has never been more pivotal to clients’ success – and this will not change. The mid-market continues to flourish. And the world has never been smaller with global opportunities accessible to firms with reach and the right solutions.
My mission is to help you extend your reach with offerings and resources that seed greater growth – and to help you drive demand for the solutions you deliver based on IBM technology. IBM is uniquely committed to giving you access to new markets – in different regions of the world, in new industries and through new areas of opportunity.
We just launched a Cross-Border Product Certification program that enables you to apply already-certified skills to service clients in multiple countries. Our Integrated Product Export program also helps extend your reach, globally. You can source the IBM products in your solution, integrate and test them locally, then export to end-users in another country. The result is easier access to new markets and greater profitability as your go-to-market costs are reduced.
Our Vertical Industry Program wraps co-marketing, and sales and collaboration support into integrated, industry-specific hardware solutions. This is one example among countless other initiatives designed to help you drive business in the mid-market.
Then there are new opportunities we’ll help you pursue – like the New Enterprise Data Center. There are many ways we’ll help you participate in this new service-oriented model so that you can help your clients drive more efficient IT delivery and, at the same time, inspire innovation.
And these are just a handful of ways we are helping you grow and expand your reach.
Together we have a collaborative advantage – one that benefits you and IBM, and our clients. As I see it, our responsibility is to help fuel your growth into new markets – whether it’s going global, acquiring new skills or winning new clients in an industry outside of your traditional customer base. My commitment to you is to help you make that happen.
The breadth and depth of IBM's portfolio is one of our greatest strengths - and one of the chief reasons you team with IBM. No other technology company offers more to help enable your success.
Yet, that same breadth and depth makes IBM more complex - and doing business with us is not always easy. Over the last several years we've invested in simplifying how we work with you - and we've made many improvements. Recently, for instance, to help boost your profitability and save time when submitting and tracking rebates and incentive claims, we deployed the Claims Tracking Tool (CTT) and eClaimer . CTT allows you to electronically claim rebates and incentives, and track workflow and cycle times; eClaimer provides a Web-based interface for submission of incentive claims.
But we still have a long way to go - and we know this. The refrain I've heard from many of you since becoming general manager is this -- make it simpler to work with IBM. Cut the red tape. Provide support that makes it easier and more profitable to deliver IBM-based solutions.
I want you to know that my team is focused on making it easier for you to work with IBM. Everything we do should pass a kind of simplicity test – answer the questions, 'Is this simple enough? Does this make IBM easier to work with?'
Simplicity and satisfaction go hand in hand. And I want to increase your satisfaction. I know there are a lot of companies you can and do team with - but I want IBM to be the first one you turn to for technology, solutions and support. It's that simple.
So if you have any ideas on how to simplify the way we work together, send me a note at gmgbp@us.ibm.com. I'd really like to hear from you.
Companies are rushing to green because it has a measurable effect on their bottom line and it makes for good corporate citizenship.
IBM offers superior technology that also provides green benefits, and clients don't have to pay extra for it. And, using IBM green offerings, a client can expect to reap additional rewards in cost savings and increased productivity.
Our 2008 CEO study confirms it. More and more clients are concerned about going green, world renowned authors are talking about it, and IBM can help you expand and grow with a green IT strategy.
Day Esty, Hillhouse professor of environmental law and policy at Yale University and author of Green to Gold, (He was also one of our speakers at our 2008 IBM Business Partner Leadership Conference), found in his research that smart companies are becoming more innovative, and growing their customer base when they tie their business strategy and decisions to socially responsible actions, and provide business value in the products they sell.
IBM has created a green page on the PartnerWorld site and has many green and energy-efficient solutions. There's also an Active Energy Measurement tool that helps you measure your clients' green IT efficiency, along with the IBM Energy Efficiency Sales Kit. Take a look at how we're helping businesses of all sizes become more energy efficient with green IT.
Global CEO Study: Five traits of successful businesses
6/01/2008
On the heels of the Business Partner Leadership Conference, IBM published the results of its 2008 Global CEO Study, the third such study conducted over the last decade. We surveyed more than 1,000 CEOs from around the globe about their plans and challenges. What was found in this year's study were five traits of successful businesses that we believe will be necessary to remain competitive today and into the future, and that present opportunities for us as we work together to help clients keep pace with change:
Hungry for change -- open to and welcomes change.
Innovative beyond customer imagination -- investing more to meet increasingly more sophisticated and demanding customers.
Globally integrated -- to access resources wherever you need them around the world.
Disruptive by nature -- proactive by creating new business models to reinvent itself, addressing current market trends and competition.
Genuine not just generous -- going beyond philanthropy by demonstrating genuine concern for society in all actions and business decisions.
Some of these shifts in the marketplace were featured during our Business Partner Leadership Conference by some great keynote speakers and in breakout sessions. IBM is a leader in innovation and delivers the broadest capabilities to help you adapt quickly and, in turn, help clients grow. We can do great things together to expand our mutual growth and lead in a global marketplace.
The CEO Study findings can be a catalyst for discussions around how together we can become more innovative and help our mutual clients more quickly adapt their business models. I encourage you to read more about this study.
