Innovative support package offered to Middle East business partners for new low-cost easy-to-use software
Dubai-UAE, 23rd December 2002-
IBM Middle East announced today WebSphere - Express – a new addition to IBM’s industry-leading WebSphere software family –built for regional mid-market companies and the business partners that serve them. IBM WebSphere-Express offerings are priced dramatically below competitive offerings and are easy to deploy and manage while extending IBM WebSphere's strengths in open standards, security and reliability to companies with 100 to 1,000 employees.
“Capital constrained and risk-averse, mid-market businesses in this region are looking for reliable and easy-to-deploy solutions that leverage the Web to deliver immediate business value, while helping them better serve their customers,” said Bashar Kilani, Software Group Manager, IBM Middle East, North/West Africa. “Their focus is on implementing easy, flexible solutions that can grow quickly.
IBM WebSphere - Express is extremely well suited to this market because it lowers the cost of those initial solutions while establishing a secure platform for continued growth as business needs change."
IBM WebSphere - Express addresses the need of mid-size companies for an open infrastructure that allows information to flow across independent business operations, such as those for managing customer relationships or the supply chain. With WebSphere - Express, a business can build personalized Web sites where users can share documents, monitor inventory in electronic catalogues, or check account or shipping updates. This type of integration is a major ingredient in becoming an on-demand e-business -- able to respond quickly, intelligently and flexibly to customer demands and changing market conditions.
With only five clicks, a business can install a portal or an application server, allowing customers to build and run a Web site with minimal
technical skills. Customers can create and deploy interactive Web content quickly via integrated development tools using the latest Web services standards for Java and XML. A visual page designer and animation tools help developers create attractive, easy-to-use interactive Web sites and connect to back-office applications and data.
The software supports a wide variety of platforms including Linux, the open-source operating system popular with midmarket companies, IBM iSeries eServer, whose predominant customer base is mid-sized companies, and Windows.
Members of the IBM WebSphere - Express family include:
· WebSphere Application Server - Express, software based on the latest Java and Web services standards for a ready-to-go reliable, secure infrastructure.
· WebSphere Portal - Express, enabling mid-market businesses and departments within larger companies to more easily deploy employee, business partner, and customer portals.
· WebSphere Business Connection - Express, an entry-level edition of IBM WebSphere Business Connection software for business-to-business process integration and data sharing among trading partners of all types.
· IBM WebSphere - Express development tools-offering developers greater
productivity to build and deploy applications. The product includes wizards, templates, and step-by-step developer "guides" that make even novice or non-Java-savvy programmers highly productive.
The new softw are gives mid-market companies room to grow, and it provides smooth migration to the rest of the IBM WebSphere family as more advanced development and deployment capabilities are required.
Mid-market businesses implement business solutions, not technology, and IBM research shows that almost two-thirds of those solutions are delivered by channel partners. As part of its mid-market initiative, IBM Middle East is also announcing an Express partner pack for its business partners in the region, which bundles education, training, and porting assistance. In addition, to help facilitate customer pilots, partners receive five free WebSphere Application Server – Express licenses to resell.
The WebSphere - Express partner pack also includes on-line mentoring, demand generation programs that include "call-me" buttons to link partner solutions to telesales specialists, and advanced direct marketing services. The program will be open to any business partner building applications on a WebSphere – Express product.
-End-
About IBM
IBM is the world’s largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable telecommunications service providers and equipment suppliers to take full advantage of the new era of e-business. IBM Global Services is the world’s largest information technology services provider, with 2001 revenues of more than $35 billion. Services is the fastest growing part of IBM, with nearly 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries. IBM Global Services has about 150 data centres around the world keeping thousands of businesses running 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information on IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
© Press Release 2002
