IBS Wants to Build Up Its Global Channel
December 1, 2008 Timothy Prickett Morgan
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Swedish ERP software maker International Business Systems is trying to get some traction in the midrange, and is looking to embrace and push the Windows platform without abandoning its installed base of i customers. As all midrange shops know, success in the midrange is usually driven by success in the channel, and that is why IBS has announced that it is looking to build out its global channel. To that end, IBS has announced that as part of its strategic restructuring back in September (see IBS Picks Windows Instead of i as Strategic ERP Platform for more on that), the company has launched a global alliance partner program for recruiting local, regional, national, and global partners to push the IBS Enterprise. As we previously reported, IBS is working on its Windows/Intel port of its Java-based applications and is also creating a version of IBS Enterprise that can be sold as a service product. (This SaaS version of the IBS apps has been in beta testing for a while and is expected to launch in the United States in a few weeks.) “The Global Alliance Partner Program is a key component of the IBS strategy as we look to enter new markets as well as strengthen our existing market position by partnering with leading IT companies, consultants, and infrastructure providers to provide customers IBS distribution management software solutions,” explained Mark Cockings, senior vice president of sales and marketing for IBS. “The program will enable IBS to provide customers a more agile delivery of our solutions while increasing IBS routes to market in 2009 and years to come.” IBM said that it has promoted Brett Poternoster, a channel executive with experience with IBM and Microsoft that has built the IBS Americas channel from zero to 80 in the past three years, to head up the global partnerships as director of global partners and alliances. IBM is counting on being able to push its IBS Enterprise suite into Eastern Europe, Asia, and other fast-growing markets where manufacturers and distributors are just starting to modernize and computerize their operations. While growth is slowing in these areas in recent months, there is still more growth in Eastern Europe, India, China, and Brazil than elsewhere in the world when it comes to IT sales. And IBS, like all other IT players, has to run where the money can be caught. RELATED STORIES IBS Under Pressure in Q3, Divests Brasilian Unit IBS Picks Windows Instead of i as Strategic ERP Platform Volvo IT Partners to Operate ERP Apps for IBS Customers IBS Issues New Shares to Raise Capital, Reorganizes Operations IBS Has Strong Software License and System i Sales in Q4 Utah Distributor Picks IBS for Supply Chain Management IBS to Port OS/400 Apps to Unix, Windows, and Linux IBS Spins Off English Unit, Buys Australian Developer of ERP for Publishers IBS Partners to Move into the Russian Market
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