IBM has announced new incentives to its thousands of business partners. This will help the partners to deliver technology based on IBM solutions to their client and drive growth in key markets such as ‘smarter cities, smarter commerce and social business’.
Business partners will play a key role in strengthening IBM’s 2015 strategy that focuses on cloud computing, business analytics, growth markets and smarter planet, said Mr Mark Hennessy, General Manager, Global Business Partners, IBM.
The IT giant has a network of 1.2 lakh global business partners, including 1,500 in India, and over IBM employees dedicated to work with the channel. Over 45 per cent of IBM’s 1,000 ‘smarter planet’ references have come through the partners.
The IBM Solution Accelerator incentive is a new channel incentive for selling combined software and systems and/or business solutions. The incentive has two elements:
— software and systems reward — a 5 per cent incremental rebate for selling eligible IBM systems and a 15 per cent incremental rebate for selling eligible software together to a single client.
— business solutions reward — an additional 10 per cent rebate for selling a solution aimed at a particular IT challenge on the eligible software content for the solution. The eligible solutions cover client needs such as turning information into insights, managing risk, security and compliance and social business.
In addition, about 1 per cent in fees can be earned when clients finance their solution through IBM Global Financing.
The incentives are designed to help partners grow their businesses and continue to work with IBM to deliver simplified approaches to the complex challenges clients are facing, Mr Hennessy told reporters on the sidelines of IBM PartnerWorld Leadership Conference 2012.
The incentives are not about economic environment but customer interest as small and medium size companies want a quick and simple solution, he said.
Smarter cities incentives
To help cities solve key challenges in urban planning, environmental compliance, energy and water transportation, education, social welfare and health, public safety, government and agency administration represent a $57-billion market opportunity.
IBM is turning to its business partners to help make integrated solutions accessible to cities globally. The company is launching incentives to partners including SaaS Referral, global financing and government and industry expertise.
At an estimated $20-billion opportunity for software alone, IBM is enabling eligible business partners to sell SaaS solutions for smarter commerce to their clients with IBM and obtain 15 per cent of the annual contract value.
(The reporter is in New Orleans at IBM’s invitation)