IBM Discounts iSeries Upgrades to Push Sales

It’s the beginning of a new sales year for the iSeries, and that means IBM has to start shaking and moving with deals to help iSeries resellers push new gear into existing and new accounts. To that end, IBM has announced an upgrade deal for smaller iSeries shops with first-generation iSeries Model 820 and 830 machines that cuts the cost of their moving to newer, second-generation Model 810 or 825 servers if they do so by June 2004.

As is usually the case, the latest upgrade deal is complicated and designed to get customers to buy sooner rather than later. The sweetness of the deal depends on what interactive feature customers have on their existing Model 820 or 830 and when they take delivery of their upgrade. The discounts on upgrades are twice as high for buyers who get in gear and acquire the upgrade before March 31, the end of the first quarter. In a generous move, the discounts on the processor upgrades are also applicable to any other features that are added to an iSeries as part of that upgrade.

Here’s the deal. Customers with Model 820 or 830 servers with interactive features 1521 (35 CPW), 1522 (70 CPW), 1531 (70 CPW), or 1532 (120 CPW) can get a 30 percent discount during the first quarter and a 15 percent discount in the second quarter. Model 820 servers with processor features 2395, 2435, 2396, 2436, 2397, or 2437 with either interactive features 1521 or 1522 can acquire an upgrade to either a Model 810 or Model 825. This represents a huge increase in power on the interactive side and a modest increase on the raw CPW side, since the Model 810 offers 750 to 2,700 CPWs and the Model 825 offers 3,600 to 6,600 CPWs. Customers with Model 820 servers with processor features 2398 or 2438 with interactive features 1521 or 1522 can upgrade to any Model 825 that is in the upgrade path, and customers with Model 830 servers with processor features 2400, 2402, or 2349 with interactive features 1531 or 1532 can also upgrade to any Model 825 in the current upgrade path.

In a somewhat uncharacteristic move for IBM, the iSeries Model 820 and 830 customers that have larger machines and who will probably spend less money to upgrade to a new iSeries are getting lower discounts under this deal. Those customers who upgrade a Model 820 or 830 with interactive features 1523 (120 CPW), 1524 (240 CPW), 1525 (560 CPW), 1526 (1,050 CPW), 1527 (2,000 CPW), 1533 (240 CPW), 1534 (560 CPW), 1535 (1,050 CPW), 1536 (2,000 CPW), or 1537 (4,550 CPW) to a Model 810 can get a 14 percent discount in the first quarter and a 7 percent discount in the second quarter. Model 820 servers with processor features 2395, 2435, 2396, 2436, 2397, or 2437 with either interactive features 1523, 1524, 1525, 1526, or 1527 can acquire an upgrade to either a Model 810 or Model 825. Customers with Model 820 servers with processor features 2398 or 2438 with interactive features 1523, 1524, 1525, 1526, or 1527 can upgrade to any Model 825 that is in the upgrade path. And customers with Model 830 servers with processor features 2400, 2402, or 2349 with interactive features 1533, 1534, 1535, 1536, or 1537 can also upgrade to any Model 825 in the current upgrade path.

This deal can be combined with other deals and discounts.