IBM will underline its companywide commitment to SMBs
when it introduces versions of DB2, Notes and Tivoli at its
PartnerWorld conference in New Orleans.
The ''express'' versions of the server-based products contain
the core functions necessary for SMBs to run an e-business
effectively, as well as making it easier for them to create a range
of on-demand computing strategies.
"These are not the fully featured versions, they include only
the stuff that is important for mostly mid-cap companies. They are
trying to extend out their express brands like they have done with
WebSphere," said one business partner.
Last year, IBM introduced WebSphere Express, a pared-down
version of WebSphere.
At next week's conference, several top IBM executives will be
stressing the importance of pursuing SMB's as part of their
respective overall product strategies, including Marc Lautenbach,
the general manager of IBM's SMB group.
With a mandate coming from the highest reaches of IBM
management, IBM redoubled its efforts more than a year ago to
pursue opportunities in the SMB markets. Many analysts agree the
financial worth of those markets is about $300bn (£186bn) a
year.
Last year, IBM's product divisions planned to invest $100m in
marketing efforts to promote the fact that its business partners
and solution providers would focus hard on solutions to users both
large and small and not on selling individual products.
Some analysts believed IBM's redoubled effort to go after the
SMB space was well timed, given that market has been largely
untapped by the top-tier suppliers. They also believed many smaller
companies needed more comprehensive solutions that a large company
like IBM could offer.
"Looking at their Portal and WebSphere Express offerings, this
is a very natural extension of that. If you look at the deployments
of many small and mid-market customers, they have a hodge-podge of
different solutions. I think IBM can help bring some order to
that," said RedMonk analyst Stephen O'Grady.
IBM will also introduce its Solutions Grid optimised to work
with DB2, WebSphere, Domino, Tivoli and IBM's eServer line of host
systems. Corporate users and developers can use the Globus Toolkit
to develop applications that will work across multiple operating
environments.