Some Vertical Vision

Now, the company is preparing to embrace an even more fundamental change to its sales habits,one that accentuates the fundamentally vertical nature of business and illustrates that one size does not fit all when it comes to business technology.

Come next month, IBM plans to start reorganizing the way it goes to market with its software. Instead of pushing its brands, it will concentrate on how its products address the specific needs of about a dozen different industries and look to assemble solutions that address those needs. It's a dramatic move, one that will also have major ramifications for the way that business partners align themselves with the giant company.

Truth be told, IBM's PartnerWorld program on the SMB side is already organized around industry interests including banking, health care, industrial, insurance, life sciences, retail, services industries and wholesale. Its move on the sales side will reinforce this approach. It will also force IBM software partners that don't today have a particular vertical bent to rethink their fundamental business strategies.

The days when a VAR could reap oodles of margin based on its expertise in some mysterious infrastructure technology are fast coming to an end. This is not to suggest that these skills aren't necessary. But they've become, in essence, table stakes.

IBM's move will be echoed by virtually every other software company, regardless of whether it is targeting enterprise or small-business accounts. The fact is that customers are sick of letting technology dictate their processes, and they expect their technology solution providers to accommodate them.

If you haven't thought about adding industry experts to your team, a great year-end exercise would be to consider whether it isn't time to do so. Chances are, you are already a vertical expert, even if you don't market that message. It's also time for software companies to rethink the way they train and qualify partners,certifications based on single-product knowledge just won't cut it anymore. Expect a whole lot more on this theme in 2004.

What's your favorite vertical? HEATHER CLANCY, Editor at CRN, appreciates your feedback at [email protected].