Top Ten Solution Provider Complaints About IBM

1. IBM Can't Get Timely Special Bid Product Price Quotes
It has been an issue for years. It's still an issue that comes up time and time again: VARs say IBM is slow to respond to any special bid pricing. "Being a $90 billion company, the process of trying to get price quotes in a timely fashion has been very, very difficult," says one IBM partner complaining about the IBM bureaucracy. "If I order some X Series open system servers for a customer, I put in for pricing with IBM, and wait for the pricing, which could take a week to two weeks. Meanwhile, if [the customer] calls CDW, HP's largest business partner, [the customer] can set up a configuration and in less than 20 minutes CDW gets a price back to customer. It goes to the integration center and it can be on a truck that afternoon and arrive at the customer the next day."

2. IBM Is Arrogant
VARs frequently use the word arrogant to describe IBM reps and executives in the field. They say IBM representatives are not doing a good job of listening and responding to VAR complaints and concerns. One VAR decided to pull the plug on his IBM relationship after what he called a "pompous" and "arrogant" IBM rep demanded an additional $10,000 to $15,000 investment from the solution provider in certifications and training without any offer for support or assistance.

Another large partner complained of a hard nosed IBM executive that was simply not interested in listening to solution provider complaints. Solution providers say IBM needs new channel talent. "They have the same 30-year veterans they have always had," complained one IBM partner. "They need a new mindset and new blood: someone who knows how to get the channel involved."

3. IBM Pricing is Not Competitive With HP And Dell.
Solution providers say that IBM's pricing remains 10 to 15 percent higher than Hewlett Packard's or Dell's. This occurs at a time when rival Hewlett Packard has replaced IBM as the number one technology company in the world. VARs say the pricing premium is another sign of IBM's tendency to position itself in the often less price sensitive enterprise market segment rather than in the heart of the small and medium business (SMB) market.

4. IBM Offers A Limited SMB Product Line
VARs say IBM's small SMB product footprint may be the biggest hurdle the computer giant has to overcome as it attempts to double its SMB market share. The IBM Thinkpad and desktop computers often opened doors into the SMB that led to more profitable hardware and software sales. VARs say IBM appears to be pushing them to sell System I and System P products rather than Intel based System X products. "Ever since they got rid of Lenovo, they can't handle resellers that sell just low end blade servers and low end storage," complained one SMB VAR. "They would rather you sell high end stuff." IBMers publicaly scoff at HP's desktop and printer products, particularly consumer offerings, but those products are opening the door to more sophisticated small business solution sales.

5. IBM Lacks Highly Visible Executives That Understand The SMB Channel
Many VARs say that IBM simply does not have a lot of executives that have a deep knowledge of the small to medium systems (SMB) channel. They say former IBM Vice President of Distribution Channels Frank Vitagliano's decision to leave IBM last March and take the top channel job at Juniper Networks has left the company without a highly charged and visible advocate in the SMB channel. "IBM may say they are channel friendly but they don't have the experience to engage the channel properly," says one large IBM hardware partner whose IBM sales are down 30 percent this year. "They need to have a channel presence and relearn how to engage with the channel." So just who is IBM's US Channel Chief? Manys VARs say they have no idea who that is.

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