Help/Systems Leads New Entries Into IBM i Solution Edition Program

Published: November 28, 2011

by Alex Woodie

A handful of new IBM i Solution Editions have been added to the program recently, bringing the total size of the North American program to 30. Among the vendors joining the regional program recently are Help/Systems, Agilysys, New Generation Software, and UNIT4 Coda. Also, the platform's three major high availability software vendors--Vision Solutions, Maxava, and Trader's--can now sell Solution Edition packages to customers all around the world.

The IBM i Solution Edition program allows customers to save close to 50 percent off the combination of the list price of Power Systems servers and the cost of IBM i application software and services from participating ISVs. Since the latest iteration of the Solution Edition launched about 15 months ago, the program has been a hit, and is credited with helping to spur growth in IBM i-related revenue.

As more ISVs join the program, customers gain new options for saving big bucks on the cost of IBM i solutions. Today, there are a total of 12 qualifying IBM i solutions from IBM and ISVs that are available to customers all over the world. This list includes five IBM i high availability solutions, including IBM's iCluster and PowerHA offerings, and the logical replication and clustering solutions from Vision, Trader's and Maxava. Previously, these ISV solutions were only available in select regions, including North America.

There are currently 30 IBM i Solutions listed for the North American region, not including the ones available worldwide from big ERP vendors like Infor, Oracle, and SAP. Since we last wrote about the program in January, seven new solutions were added to the North American IBM i Solution Edition program, while the solutions from four ISVs--including the three HA ISVs and Swedish ERP maker IBS--were promoted into the worldwide program.

The new Solution Edition members include:

• Agilysys, which develops applications for the gaming and hospitality industry;
• Bellamy Software, an Edmonton, Alberta, company that develops IBM i-based applications for municipal governments and school districts in Canada;
• Help/Systems, the large and well-known developer of systems management, security, and business intelligence tools
• New Generation Software, a California-based developer of business intelligence tools for the IBM i server
• Software Concepts, the Massachusetts developer of the IBM i-based DS90 ERP system;
• UNIT4 CODA, a New Hampshire subsidiary of the Dutch software and services giant UNIT4 that specializes in financial software.

New Gen unveiled a Solution Edition version of its NGS-IQ suite in March, which we covered here. None of the other vendors listed here announced their admission to the program, including Agilysys, which launched an eServer i5 Solution Edition version of its Lodging Management System way back in 2004.

Help/Systems has two listings. The first covers its entire line of systems management and security tools, including its Robot, PowerTech, and Bytware products. The other listing is for its SEQUEL line of business intelligence tools.

Doug Fulmer, who works as channel partner manager for the Minnetonka, Minnesota, company, explained in a recent Webinar how discounting by IBM and ISVs like Help/Systems can benefit customers in a big way.

"In almost every case, the discounts provided by IBM are equal to or greater than the amount of software you have to buy, so it's almost like you get the software for free," Fulmer says. "Now you don't really get the software for free. You have to buy it. But the pricing of the hardware is discounted such that the total price of purchase includes the software as though it was free. So it's really a great opportunity from a customer perspective, because you get world class software, you get world class Power7 hardware, and you get it at a very, very attractive price."

Help/Systems is one of the few tool developers to be admitted by IBM into the Solution Edition program. The vast majority of the program participants develop large line-of-business business applications, such as ERP systems, which commonly drive hardware purchasing decisions (although high availability software deals often drive a considerable hardware purchase, which is why you see IBM pay special attention to the HA companies).

IBM currently offers three choices of hardware, including a four-core Model 720, a six- or eight-core Model 720 server, or up to a 16-core Model 740. The discounts provided by IBM vary depending on the Solution Edition bundle selected. For example, the Model 740 bundle provides free IBM i licenses, whereas the Model 720 bundle knocks 70 percent off the price of user-based pricing. In all cases, IBM provides free processor activation for a certain number of processors, as well as free iSeries Access clients.

For more information on the IBM i Solution Edition, see IBM's program webpage at www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/editions/solutions.html.

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