IBM Works On Deal Registration With ASP BlueRoads

The company is piloting a deal-registration system that will be hosted by BlueRoads, an ASP based in San Mateo, Calif., that focuses on the channel.

IBM contracted with BlueRoads to complement an effort to consolidate the various partner network databases within IBM's product groups, according to Donn Atkins, general manager for Global Business Partners at IBM.

To make it easier for IBM Business Partners to find each other, IBM is consolidating databases from different organizations into a common database that will be built atop IBM's Lotus Domino software, Atkins said. The partner network then will be tied to a deal-registration system built and managed by BlueRoads, said Axel Schultze, CEO of BlueRoads.

Solution providers said that although a cross-company deal-registration program would be a welcome addition, they're more interested in having IBM be more responsive to inquiries for bid quotes and configuration approvals.

"I hope this helps," said William Abram, president of Pragmatix, an Elmsford, N.Y.-based solution provider. "But what we really need is for them to be able to turn around requests from us on behalf of customers in a couple of days."