IBM/Lotus fuel channel?s fears

Distributors and resellers have expressed fears that there will be a culture clash within IBM and Lotus as more details emerge about the consolidation of the two firms? channels.

As predicted in PC Dealer last week (30 July), IBM?s software arm and its network management systems house, Tivoli, merged their sales and marketing operations into Lotus, creating a single global channel infrastructure.

Lotus EMEA channel sales manager Jes Miller has become worldwide manager for channel sales, reporting to Larry McMenamy, Lotus and IBM VP for worldwide partner sales.

The finer points of the sales and marketing infrastructure have yet to be decided, but Miller said the company would create a global umbrella marketing force, which will oversee units, focusing on distribution, corporate resellers, business partners, OEMs and ISVs.

Miller said partners would benefit from single points of contact for account management. IBM US officials also claimed accreditation requirements would be simplified.

But a source warned that the channels of IBM and Lotus were ?fundamentally different?. ?Broadline distribution, which has worked for Lotus software, is simply not suitable for IBM software. If you look at IBM server businesses, such as DB2, we need focused channel partners and they are not the same channels that Lotus uses.?