IBM Adds Software To Encourage SMB Apps

At its PartnerWorld Conference in Las Vegas, IBM on Tuesday will officially unveil two products aimed at easing the task of building applications for midsize businesses on its middleware stack. The products, Integrated Runtime for ISVs and Solution Builder Express, target different app builder communities.

Designed for ISVs addressing the needs of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees, IBM's Integrated Runtime for ISVs includes WebSphere Application Server Express and DB2 UDB Express--versions of IBM's software stack previously rewritten for the SMB market. "The plan is to later include the UI [user interface] framework of Portal Express," said Mark Ouellette, vice president of sales and marketing for IBM Software Group.

"This is for customers that want solutions--not technology--as well as local relations with their vendor," said Ouellette. "For that reason, this is an ISV and regional systems integrator play."

According to Ouellette, the 10 ISVs that beta tested Integrated Runtime for ISVs found they could reduce by 90 percent the time needed to produce market-ready applications. Part of IBM's SMB push into vertical industries, Integrated Runtime for ISVs is intended to encourage smaller ISVs to port applications that typically run on Microsoft Windows. To help sweeten the lure, Ouellette said Integrated Runtime for ISVs will be "aggressively priced at about $1,600."

While still targeting what it calls the midsize business, IBM's Solution Builder Express addresses the needs of customers with more than 1,000 employees. Such companies, which tend to have sophisticated technical capabilities, often prefer their applications with a customized flavor. "This segment is mostly served by the reseller community, which is why Solution Builder Express has repeatable assets in the areas of middleware, starter kits and services," said Ouellette.

Ouellette said Solution Builder Express was designed by a revolving stable of "partners in residence" at IBM offices in Houston. The development environment provides a variety of "Solution Starting Points"--different Express products that have been precombined by solution area and industry--on which resellers add customized functions and services.

Both Integrated Runtime for ISVs and Solution Builder Express will be generally available March 27.

For more on PartnerWorld, see CRN.

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