A Plan For Palmisano

Congratulations, Sam. You've been a friend to the channel and to CRN for many years, and we're all thrilled about your promotion.

As you prepare for the new role and all the challenges it entails, I thought I'd throw a few channel action items onto your plate.

The first,and most difficult,task is defining how IBM Global Services can leverage and work with IBM business partners in the field.

IBM Global Services is the envy of every high-tech com-pany in the market, and you, personally, are credited with its success. But just imagine the potential and opportunity if you could get your services arm, which has billions of dollars worth of business backlog, to work with the tens of thousands of solution providers in the field.

While successful, IBM Global Services lacks the cost structure to compete effectively in the midmarket. Solution providers today are competing with and winning bids against IBM Global Services. IBM also has difficulty when it comes to solution selling. It lacks the expertise to offer very specialized or vertical solutions. Again, this is where the channel comes in. Just imagine the opportunities for IBM products if there was synergy between the company and the channel.

The other agenda item: Be consistent in your support to the channel. As CRN Industry Editor Craig Zarley reports on page 3, by eliminating channel field sales reps, IBM could suffer when it comes to channel loyalty. Sure, PCs are commodity products, but let's not forget they are integral to many solutions. Eliminating that high-touch relationship in favor of telesales could cause your business partners to look at other brands.

Winning in the SMB space is all about VARs and their relationships with their vendor field sales reps. Personal relationships go a long, long way.

I know these tasks are daunting. But, Sam, if you could figure out a way to solve both of these problems, it could pave the way for unbridled success. Hey, it could even be your legacy.

And if anyone can do it, you can.

Do you have any other requests for Sam Palmisano? I can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].