IBM targets SMEs

IBM will launch a channel programme to help resellers develop interactive Web sites for small and medium-size businesses at its PartnerWorld 2000 event this week.

IBM will launch a channel programme to help resellers develop interactive Web sites for small and medium-size businesses at its PartnerWorld 2000 event this week.

The Web Self-Service Solutions programme is the latest initiative from IBM's e-business Start Now Programme. It consists of software, hardware, financing and reseller-provided services that enable IBM Business Partners to bring customised functionality to a client's Web site.

The new programme will be introduced to partners attending the San Diego conference. It will also feature in a multimillion-dollar customer relationship management (CRM) awareness and demand-generation campaign, which IBM plans to launch in the US next month.

Resellers can sell the full package, which will be available from distributors, from 1 February.

Jeff Howard, manager of SME marketing at IBM, said: "The type of customers we are encouraging our partners to look at are companies with between 50 and 1,000 employees, that probably already have some type of Web site and are looking for a more dynamic package."

Chad Smith, e-business developer at US VAR Champion Computer, said: "Any client looking to do a commerce solution will be interested in this."

One of the main benefits is being able to offer customers the total cost of the project up-front, he added.

The package is available on IBM's Netfinity, RS/6000, AS/400 and S/390 platforms, and includes the vendor's WebSphere software, DB2 Universal Database, IBM Communications Server, IBM Directory and Lotus Domino R5, Howard said.

Resellers can use IBM's VisualAge for Java and Macromedia's Drumbeat development tools to create applications for their customers. They can also integrate functionality with CRM applications from other vendors, he added.

Matt Reaves, director of software and solutions marketing at distributor KeyLink Systems, said: "A lot of partners have done the dot com thing. Now they can help customers to manage the data on those sites. Even businesses that already have complex CRM systems in place are potential customers."

- IBM is also expected to clarify the role of its new Linux division at PartnerWorld 2000 this week.