 IBM overpowered two competitors in the app—lication integration tools category, earning the highest composite scores on both technical and channel criterion and an overall satisfaction rating of 75.5 in the 2004 CRN Channel Champions Survey.
While Microsoft was IBM’s closest competitor in channel areas, BEA Systems was the vendor to beat in technical areas. And it was in technical areas that IBM’s WebSphere Business Integration suite earned its widest margins of victory, besting BEA by 3.1 points on product reliability and 4.1 points on product scalability. “We wouldn’t be this engaged with IBM if its products weren’t reliable,” said Addie Bourne, vice president of marketing communication at Systar, McLean, Va. “They are the most reliable, and the same goes for scalability, especially with the large customers we have,” she said.
On the channel criteria, meanwhile, IBM faced tougher competition from Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft, which trailed behind the champion by only two-tenths of a point. While IBM took firsts in the areas of vendor support, return on investment, consistency of programs and responsiveness, Microsoft took top marks in technical education, visibility and upselling opportunities. BEA lead the pack in sales margins. IBM’s best showing in channel areas was in return on investment for customers, where it finished 2.5 points ahead of Microsoft. “IBM spent a lot of time analyzing and quantifying the ROI for us and our customers,” said Laurent van Huffel, executive vice president at Systar. “They have a methodology and even tools that model and monitor our ROI in hours.” IBM’s worst showing was in technical education, where it fell 3.2 points behind Microsoft. “The one thing we don’t do is force our partners to do certification and training,” said Scott Cosby, program director of WebSphere Business Integration at IBM. “We offer it, we encourage it, we provide it, but we don’t dictate it.
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While IBM, Armonk, N.Y., earned high ratings in five of six technical areas, BEA, San Jose, Calif., edged ahead of IBM by four-tenths of a point on the criteria of support for standards and multiple vendors.
Published for the Week Of April 26, 2004
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