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IBM Expands Express Portfolio and Business Partner Relationships for Medium-Sized Businesses

Posted on: Monday, 3 November 2003, 06:00 CST

IBM today announced it has expanded its Express Portfolio of products and services specifically priced and designed to meet the needs of medium-sized businesses with over ten new offerings focused on the integration and information management requirements of on demand computing. The company also announced it has now signed over 100 independent software vendors (ISVs) as part of its ISV Advantage initiative, through which IBM works collaboratively with business partners to build an open-standards based on demand operating environment for their applications.

IBM continues to build momentum behind its strategy to focus on the specific needs of medium-sized businesses. Medium businesses moving into on demand computing are leveraging previous investments in point products and systems that make up their operating environment. These companies are also and are investing in better information management solutions to help them integrate information and processes internally and externally with their customer and suppliers. IBM estimates that medium business customers at the "integration" stage of e-business will $100 billion on integration technologies and services within each of the next three years.

Today's new Express offerings are the latest set in the growing portfolio of Express offerings, designed to meet the needs of medium-sized business and include new IBM WebSphere* software for integrating business processes, a services offering for information management through Web analytics, ERP optimization and ISV implementation solutions and Express Ready eServer* systems, storage solutions and ThinkPads*. More than 2,000 Business Partners have been through the Express early enablement program with 350 ISV applications produced and enabled for Express as a result of the program.

Over 100 ISVs Partners to Deliver on demand to Medium-Sized Businesses

More than 100 ISVs worldwide have joined IBM's ISV Advantage initiative, a significant milestone that further strengthens the company's commitment to deliver customized, open solutions to medium sized business customers across multiple vertical industries. As a key delivery channel for IBM's Express product portfolio, ISV Advantage is designed to help ISVs increase their revenue opportunities and grow marketshare on IBM middleware by providing extensive technical, marketing and sales support. ISVs that enable their applications on IBM's infrastructure software can provide medium-sized businesses with solutions that span multiple computing platforms, including Linux, a flexibility that contrasts with other proprietary approaches. Currently, more than half of the ISV Advantage participants are actively supporting IBM's software running on Linux.

The latest group of ISVs to join the ISV Advantage initiative include: Ascendant Technology, DST, GeoSpatial Solutions, GridNode, Gruppo Formula and hybris GmbH.

New Express Portfolio Offerings

Medium business customers are looking beyond their own business processes to see where integration with their suppliers, partners and customers can help meet their business objectives. IBM market research indicates medium business spending on integration is growing faster than the market as a whole, and more than half of midsize companies are making investments in connecting to their customers and suppliers in real time. In fact, 70 percent of medium-sized businesses are today supporting multi-vendor systems -- for example, Microsoft Windows**, UNIX, Linux

One example of the external business pressures driving these investments is the value chain driven by many large enterprises. Medium-sized customers that want to thrive in this value chain need open, industry-standard technologies that enable them to cost-effectively interoperate outside of their own business. More and more large retailers and distributors are reassessing their entire value chains to see where cost can be eliminated through the streamlining of key business processes. To assist with this, IBM is launching:

 --  WebSphere Business Integration -- Express for Item Synchronization -- 
 specifically designed to help medium-sized businesses link their supply 
 chain information to the UCCnet GLOBALregistry which further automates the 
	

 codes used to identify and describe products.  Many large retailers are 
 requiring their suppliers to conform to UCCnet standards. The solutions 
 include a process integration collaboration mechanism that sends and 
 receives data to the third party registry.  WebSphere Business 
 Integration -- Express for Item Synchronization is standards-based meaning 
 it can also be used to integrate item information to other emerging 
 standards retailers may conform to.   Starting at $7,000 the new offering 
 will be available next week on the Microsoft Windows platform and on OS/400 
 and Linux in December this year.  IBM is a UCCnet certified solution 
 provider. 

Alco Industries, Cranbury, NJ, is a mid-sized importer of home accessories with a product catalog of over 11,000 items and supplies several major retailers across the United States. Working with IBM Business Partner Tri- Bry Information Technology Solutions, the company had begun to invest in IBM WebSphere open middleware to connect their legacy systems data to Web enabled applications which allow them to connect to their customer's supply chain. "We see that being responsive to our customer's requirements is an important part of doing business in the on demand era," said, Warren Vogel, chief financial officer of Alco Industries. "The new WebSphere Business Integration -- Express for Item Synchronization is the type of solution we've been looking for as we move forward with connecting to the UCCnet."

Another significant challenge for medium-sized businesses is the management of business data and digital assets. Tapping into this information and pulling out vital insights, along with ensuring that essential knowledge is shared across the enterprise, is becoming vital for growing companies looking to expand their market presence. IBM has developed several new offerings designed to assist medium-sized businesses with this, and is teaming with leading application partners to deliver industry-specific offerings:

 --  DB2* Content Manager Express -- enables customers to capture, manage, 
 store, and protect all forms of business information while delivering 
 content to users when and where they need it. The new software helps 
 simplify and automate content management requirements such as installation 
 and configuration to help ease the burden of administration for smaller IT 
 departments, and ensuring lower long-term costs.  IBM's DB2 Content Manager 
 Express can be installed with one easy click and incorporates self-managing 
 capabilities to help customers simplify and automate many of the tasks 
 required to manage a content management environment.  The new software is 
 generally available as of October 14, 2003 and is priced at $9,375 per 
 server and $1,630 per concurrent user. 
 --  DB2 Everyplace Express Edition -- addresses the needs of small and 
 medium-sized businesses for a simple and affordable mobile application 
 infrastructure.  Developed on the same code base as DB2 Everyplace 
 Enterprise Edition, DB2 Everyplace Express provides resource-constrained 
 small and medium-sized companies access to critical data enabling them to 
 make intelligent business decisions anywhere and anytime. The new offering 
 delivers an entry point to mobility on demand and the ability to grow as 
 business expands. 
 --  IBM SurfAid Express -- medium-sized businesses are becoming 
 increasingly reliant on business intelligence to determine future 
 investments and strategies.  Many of these businesses use their public Web 
 site as a tool to collect vital information about their customers and their 
 buying habits.  IBM has introduced a new service call IBM SurfAid Express 
 which allows medium-sized businesses to understand and track buyer behavior 
 and loyalty on the Web.   The new service provides rapid feedback on site 
 traffic, marketing campaigns, visitor geographies, site navigation, site 
 design effectiveness, visitor loyalty and site stickiness. IBM SurfAid 
 Express is available now starting at $100 per month from IBM Global 
 Services. 
 --  IBM Life Sciences Express Portfolio Solution for SAS -- geared to 
 emerging companies focused on delivering new life sciences breakthroughs to 
 market quickly.  Mid-sized Life Sciences firms are dealing with growing 
 amounts of data and are looking for efficient ways to better manage this 
 vital business information.  IBM has teamed with SAS a market leader in 
 providing a new generation of business intelligence software and services 
 that create enterprise intelligence to deliver a complete packaged solution 
 which helps these companies to perform complex analysis of research data 
 which will expedite their discoveries being brought to market. 
 Specifically designed for mid-sized Life Sciences firms, the IBM Life 
 Sciences Express Portfolio Solution for SAS is a combination of SAS's 
 application software coupled with IBM eServer pSeries* and xSeries* 
 servers, IBM TotalStorage* disk and FAStT* storage, as well as installation 
 and implementation services from IBM Global Services.  The offering is 
 available immediately in the United States only. 
 --  IBM Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Express -- today's medium-sized 
 manufacturers are challenged with increasing delays in responding to their 
 customers and high product development costs due to a lack of coordination 
 between internal teams located remotely coupled with a global supply chain. 
 The IBM PLM Express offering expands its benefits beyond the engineering 
 department enabling medium-size manufacturers to reuse parts, simplify 
 product complexity, streamline bid preparation, improve cost estimating and 
 provide improved product maintenance after the sale.  PLM Express has been 
 expanded to include new packaged total solution offerings based on SMARTEAM 
 from Dassault Systemes tailored to specific industry requirements and 
 business processes.  These offerings come complete with everything a medium- 
 sized manufacturing company needs to get PLM implemented quickly for a fast 
 return on its investment including IBM WebSphere Application Server -- 
 Express, IntelliStations, eServer systems, and IBM or PLM business partner 
 services for implementation, training and support.  Low rate financing is 
 available from IBM Global Financing for qualifying customers. 
 --  New IBM Global Services Express Offerings for ERP -- according to 
 industry analysts about 70 percent of all companies that have installed an 
 ERP system are not satisfied with the solution and/or the return on 
 investment.  To help address this IBM is launching two new offerings.  IBM 
 Smart Business Solutions for SMB is an end-to-end integrated solution based 
 on MySAP All In One, and is designed for businesses that want to improve 
 their revenue, profitability, and capital utilization through ERP.  IBM is 
 also unveiling IBM ERP Optimization Services, a consultant-led approach to 
 help clients get more value out of their existing ERP implementation in 
 order to identify, drive, and deliver a better ROI. 
 --  IBM Express Ready Offerings -- an essential part of any solution in 
 the mid-market is reliable, innovative and affordable hardware platforms. 
 IBM has introduced Express Ready hardware which is engineered for the mid- 
 market and will be incorporated into IBM and Business Partner solutions in 
 the broader IBM Express portfolio. These systems include eServer systems 
 like the xSeries 225. pSeries 615, iSeries* 800 and storage hardware like 
 the FAStT200.   In addition, IBM's Financing for Express Solutions is 
 available for most Express products, including those announced today. 
 --  IBM Think Express Program -- includes Express models of ThinkPad 
 notebooks and ThinkCentre desktops that are configured and priced with 
 medium business customers in mind and available for quick and easy ordering 
 and delivery.  The new ThinkPad R50 and T41 notebooks offer ThinkVantage 
 Technologies designed to support mid-market companies with limited IT 
 budgets and resources. These include the new Active Protection System, an 
"airbag for notebooks" that helps protect data if a notebook is dropped, 
 and Rapid Restore Ultra, which quickly restores data, applications and 
 settings after a software failure. ThinkPad Express models start at $1099, 
 with new Express models of the recently announced ThinkPad R50 and T41 
 notebooks starting at $1579. ThinkCentre Express desktop models start at 
 $699. 

About IBM

With 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate, IBM is the world's largest information technology company. IBM is a leading provider of e-business solutions and is dedicated to helping companies, Business Partners and developers leverage the potential of the Internet and network computing across a wide range of businesses and industries. The company offers a host of cross-industry and industry specific solutions designed to meet the needs of companies of all sizes. For more information on IBM, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/businesscenter.

*Indicates trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

**Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

 Contact: Michael Rowinski IBM Media Relations 646-598-6170 rowinski@us.ibm.com

SOURCE: IBM

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