Partnering With IBM In SMB: Small-Solutions Rundown

The eight individual Start Now Solutions fall into three main categories--Core, e-Business Extensions and Management Solutions. Start Now's Core Solutions, which are based on IBM middleware products DB2 and WebSphere, as well as Lotus applications, encompass infrastructure, e-commerce and CRM solutions. IBM officials say the aptly named Core Start Now Solutions will be the biggest sellers, giving midmarket customers a foundation on which to build.

"These businesses have known for a while that technology can provide them with a competitive advantage, but what they haven't figured out is how to get started," Lautenbach says. "These solutions provide a structured blueprint."

Start Now's e-Business Extension solutions include business intelligence, collaboration and host-integration solutions, which are also based on DB2, WebSphere and Lotus software. The Start Now Management solutions feature content-management and Web-site management solutions, which are powered by Tivoli Storage Manager and Tivoli Web Services Manager. IBM even brought in a longtime partner to help round out the solutions portfolio--Relavis' collaborative Web-based CRM solution, called eBusinessStreams, is featured in the Start Now CRM solution.

IBM also plans to offer Linux-based solutions as part of Start Now; the infrastructure, CRM and host-integration solutions will all support the open-source OS. The other solutions will support Microsoft Windows 2000 and Windows NT, along with AIX. "These solutions are based on open technologies, open standards and open protocols," Lautenbach says.

IBM believes its embrace of open standards will benefit SMBs by allowing them to integrate solutions with systems and applications already in place. For example, Small Business School, an online and televised education program that is itself a small business, turned to IBM when it needed a software solution to power its Web site but didn't want to tear out its existing infrastructure. IBM business partner Globalogic delivered the Start Now Solution for e-commerce, based on IBM middleware, that was easily built around Small Business School's existing systems.

"We're not going to have someone come in and start from scratch," says Hattie Bryant, producer of Small Business School. "Small businesses like us need a solution that is portable."

All of IBM's Start Now solutions are based on scalable server technology. IBM also recently unveiled its new eServer xSeries systems for the SMB market, which offers intelligent-management features that require little human interaction.

In addition to technological flexibility, IBM is bringing down the prices on usually expensive applications and systems. The highest-priced solution is approximately $60,000, but most are well below that figure. "We're always trying to cut two-thirds of the cost in what it takes to build and deliver these solutions," says Jeff Howard, manager of SMB marketing for the IBM Software Group.

Part 1: Partnering With IBM In SMB

Part 3: Bridging the Gap

Part 4: A Study In Contrasts

Part 5: Timing Is Everything