ARMONK, N.Y., May 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new and expanded capabilities to help IBM Business Partners deepen their skills to deliver high-value solutions for clients, while enhancing profitability and creating opportunities for growth.

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New channel investments include senior-level IBM relationship services, market intelligence resources, expanded social media and search tools, and a specialty to help Business Partners deliver solutions based on IBM System x technology. These benefits are delivered at no cost through a simplified IBM PartnerWorld program that features new ways for partners to advance in the program.

"Just as our partners are making an investment in IBM, we continue to invest in our Business Partners through skills development, streamlined processes and new opportunities to collaborate as we work together to create solutions for our clients," said Rich Hume, general manager, IBM Global Business Partners & Mid-Market. "We continue to deliver on our promise to simplify the way we do business with our Business Partners and help them improve profitability and accelerate growth."

These are the latest moves in IBM's long-standing commitment to provide education and incentives that help Business Partners deliver increased value to clients through enhanced capabilities and solutions expertise. This is particularly important as clients seek greater industry insights and a consultative, solutions-led approach to solving their toughest business challenges. The importance of greater insight can be found in IBM's Global CEO Study which reveals how leading companies are using new approaches to manage complexity and find opportunities for growth. In fact, more than 60% of CEOs surveyed cite industry transformation and the information explosion as the most significant factors facing their organizations over the next 5 years.

New skill-building opportunities and benefits through IBM PartnerWorld

• Extended executive relationship coverage: IBM is extending executive relationship benefits to a broader community of Premier and Software Value Plus authorized Business Partners. This benefit is in addition to other established relationships such as the recently expanded Software Lab Advocate program for Software Value Plus authorized Business Partners. The relationship executive will support the Business Partner at their headquarters with strategic initiatives with IBM.
• Market Intelligence: Advanced, Premier and Software Value Plus authorized Business Partners will have access to a new suite of no-cost Market Insights research reports on PartnerWorld from both IBM and external vendors. This benefit provides a wide range of prescriptive, easily accessible market intelligence and industry trend data to improve decision making and gain competitive advantage.
• The IBM Business Partner Locator: This new tool helps clients, prospects and partners more easily identify skilled IBM Business Partners in their local market. The tool replaces previously available locators with a single tool enhanced with new features including the ability to search by capabilities, expertise and Software Value Plus authorized Business Partners. The Locator also features a new interface utilizing Google maps mash up capability and a partner profile comparison solution.
• Expanded PartnerWorld Contact Services: All Business Partners can take advantage of additional phone, web and live chat services for support with marketing, sales support, training, technical support and other areas. This will help Business Partners more easily identify and put into use the broad array of PartnerWorld resources to gain skills and pursue new opportunities.
• A new System x Specialty to help Business Partners expand their System x sales, technical and solutions skills through a comprehensive set of education, testing and learning resources. These skills and related certification are proven differentiators within the x86 market in which the System x platform continues to deliver unmatched performance and cost advantages to companies of all sizes. The System x Specialty prepares partners to pursue high value opportunities and deliver powerful, secure and smart infrastructure solutions to their clients.

Achieving the System x Specialty qualifies partners for a wide range of benefits including enhanced technical support, participation in targeted sales programs, and industry recognition through the System x Specialty mark to be delivered later this year and into 2011.

"These enhancements will simplify our path to gaining the kind of skills and specialties that will deliver high value expertise to the client in a joint effort to build a Smarter Planet," said Daniel Fortin, General Manager of Relavance. "This ultimately helps customers benefit from the in-depth knowledge of a business partner such as ourselves who has committed the time to develop the skills and expertise of our staff. The customer can be assured of our competency in being able to plan, deploy and service IBM technologies and our solutions."

New, simplified PartnerWorld program criteria.

IBM is introducing simplified requirements for advancement through the PartnerWorld levels built around four criteria: Skills, Revenue, Customer Satisfaction and References. The new criteria recognize more ways to advance through the program, have fewer rules and minimum requirements and are designed to provide a clear path to higher PartnerWorld program levels, increased benefits and specialties.

• Skills: IBM has introduced a new system of weighted skill points. In the new system, partners earn points for certification and progressively higher points for deeper skills attainment such as advanced and expert technical certifications. These are the same certifications that are currently used towards other attainments, for example, Software Value Plus authorized. Skills points are also awarded for verified Business Partner solutions leveraging any combination of IBM hardware, software, or services.
• Revenue: IBM has introduced new revenue-based categories and a special midmarket accelerator to earn additional PartnerWorld points. The midmarket accelerator delivers additional points for revenue earned from midmarket accounts to reward Business Partners leading IBM's focus in this critically important opportunity. In addition, total ISV influenced and Application Specific License revenue will now be included in the total revenue calculation.
• Client references: To further recognize the importance of client success stories in the sales process, IBM will now award PartnerWorld points for verified client references.
• Customer satisfaction: Customer satisfaction remains a focus area and the customer satisfaction process for PartnerWorld points is unchanged.

In addition, IBM has simplified the visual design and enhanced the user experience on the main PartnerWorld portal covering sales, marketing and technical support pages. New features include additional live chat support, easier navigation, enhanced search capability and expanded social networking capabilities including industry focused networking groups and a Virtual Summit feature for staging online events with clients.

PartnerWorld program changes will be deployed in phases beginning in July 2010, including the new points system for PartnerWorld level attainment. For more information about these changes to IBM's PartnerWorld program, visit: ibm.com/partnerworld/2010.

    CONTACT:
    Jennifer C. Clemente
    IBM Communications
    jennic@us.ibm.com
    917 992 3147

SOURCE IBM