IBM credits PC sales to PartnerWorld

European sales enjoy 10 per cent increase

Just over a year since joining Big Blue's PartnerWorld channel programme, its Personal Computer Division (PCD) has seen European sales increase by 10 per cent.

IBM last year claimed it had reinforced its commitment to the channel by putting its PCD in its PartnerWorld Programme.

The move made extra marketing funds and support available to partners selling IBM ThinkPad, Netvista PC products and xSeries Intel-based servers.

Karen Williams, marketing manager for PCD north region, said: "The increase can be wholly attributed to the channel.

"We are looking to build on PartnerWorld over the next 12 months by offering more benefits to partners and helping them drive business to customers."

Partners choose from three levels of accreditation: Member, Advanced and Premier, each with different levels of support.

Williams added that over the past year IBM has run over 30,000 training sessions both online and face-to-face and launched a 'know your IBM' skills improvement and sales incentive programme.

IBM has also stated on its web site that PC products can only be obtained through the channel, effectively abolishing online direct PC sales.

It also launched it Express programme recently, which allows partners to compete closely with rival online direct vendors by selling PCs at more competitive prices.

Steven Bomberg, technical director at Advanced partner Net400 Solutions, said: "The benefits of PartnerWorld, such as the rebates we receive, allow us to plough them back into marketing, and having an account manager gives us access to valuable help and IBM resources."

Bomberg added that Net400 is working to become a Premier Partner under the scheme.