IBM hails mid-market strategy
Big Blue pledges to recruit and support more mid-market partners going forward
Strong support: IBM has been praised by partners for its collaborative approach
IBM has claimed a victory in its mid-market strategy as it continues to push its mid-market business through the channel.
Earlier this year the vendor issued a pledge to make partners the primary route-to- market to its smaller customers after unveiling a package of mid-market-
specific channel incentives (ChannelWeb, 13 January).
The vendor told CRN it was still in recruitment mode for mid-market partners and plans to invest even more in its strategy.
Mike Bernard, channels marketing lead at IBM, said: “We want to do everything we can to support our partners. We see it as managing an end-to-end system and delivering the right set of products. We are also offering competitive pricing for both our partners and the end user,” he said.
Initiatives on offer to partners include a business partner sales academy and a software college, as well as a partner marketing university.
He pointed out the success of IBM’s channel marketing campaign, which is done in partnership with a third-party provider called OnChannel. A total of 64 per cent of mid-market partners that have signed up to the scheme so far are new to doing co-marketing with IBM, said Bernard.
“This is not a short-term initiative. We are committed and are definitely in it for the long term,” he added.
One partner that praised IBM’s mid-market strategy is Inca Software, part of Avisen, which has made use of IBM’s co-marketing funds to ramp up its mid-market business and has recently rolled out IBM’s Cognos Express suite at cabling and networking distributor Mayflex.
Nick Waters, pre-sales manager at Inca, said. “When we explained the benefits of Cognos Express to Mayflex, it resonated with them and they were able to pick the product up quickly and see a fast return on investment.
“IBM is very much taking a collaborative approach and is very supportive of its partners in this space.”