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IBM System i Initiative for Innovation

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The 2006 IBM Global CEO Study reveals a shift in thinking in terms of how organizations will achieve their goals. Innovation will be the best opportunity for revenue growth. Business model innovation in particular is becoming the new strategic differentiator. And while it is more difficult to accomplish, true business model innovation gives a sustainable competitive advantage.

Innovation that matters has been the focus throughout the history of IBM System i, and it was strengthened in February 2005 when IBM unveiled the IBM Charter for System i Innovation at IBM PartnerWorld. Since then, IBM has brought thousands of new clients to System i and added more than 2,500 new and enhanced applications through the highly successful Initiative for Innovation. ISVs throughout the world are saying that their new and enhanced solutions on IBM System i are helping customers transform their business. Together, IBM and ISVs are helping clients differentiate themselves from their competitors.

IBM is teaming with 3Com to deliver a complete, vertically scalable IP Telephony solution. This open standards-based System i IP telephony solution will help clients simplify operations by running business and telephony applications simultaneously, without investing in a separate, complex environment. System i is one of the first platforms to deliver such integration, enabling clients to recoup cost savings on telephony, drive productivity, and fuel the next generation of business processing applications to exploit the capabilities of IP telephony.

IBM is also working with Zend Technologies to deliver Zend's PHP products and solutions for i5/OS. PHP is the industry's leading Web-enablement environment. PHP for i5/OS will enable clients to easily integrate PHP applications with existing investments in DB2, RPG, COBOL, and other business applications running on i5/OS. It will also make available thousands of existing PHP-based solutions and millions of skilled PHP developers.

These new relationships demonstrate IBM's sustained commitment to delivering and enabling innovation that matters by extending the simplicity, integration, security, and scalability of System i to new areas and creating compelling opportunities for clients to bring additional applications onto System i.

More About the System i Initiative for Innovation

The IBM System i business has always been a solutions business, and ISVs have always been the lifeblood of the business, delivering leading, industry-specific solutions to customers. IBM introduced the System i Initiative for Innovation to provide ISVs with a rich set of enablement and go-to-market resources to help them expand their solutions portfolio, reach new markets, and support even more clients.

The System i Initiative for Innovation includes the following:

• The Application Innovation Program offers enablement support services such as architectural support, education offerings, and testing support to help ISVs extend and strengthen application offerings by adopting new technologies.

• The Tools Innovation Program provides options for System i developers who want to evaluate both IBM's and other vendors' tools for developing, deploying, integrating, and/or managing their solutions.

• The System i Innovation Program is about building community. It gives ISVs a voice in key business solutions requirements by industry, technology, and geography through IBM councils.

IBM PartnerWorld Industry Networks plays a vital role in helping ISVs reach new market places and close business at every stage in the sales cycle. From increasing market awareness and generating leads to closing deals, IBM PartnerWorld Industry Networks benefits are available online. This spring, IBM Systems & Technology Group introduced the IBM Business Partner Activation Kit as a one-stop place for ISVs and all Business Partners to get connected to IBM resources like the IBM PartnerWorld Industry Networks.

During the past 18 months, ISVs around the world have participated in the System i Initiative for Innovation. As a result, IBM revitalized and expanded the System i solutions portfolio to include applications in new and emerging technologies such as biometric verification, RFID, Web portals, security and compliance, and service-oriented architecture (SOA). IBM has clients in multiple industries worldwide integrating these new, innovative solutions into their businesses today.

And from IBM's perspective, the work has just begun.

What's New

Throughout 2006, IBM is delivering new capabilities, additional technical enablement offerings, and more go-to-market resources to help ISVs expand their portfolios and increase their global presence.

The Initiative for Innovation provides a tremendous benefit to ISVs by providing technical assistance and enablement offerings to accelerate the adoption of the latest technologies. IBM is working with ISVs to globalize their applications to enter new marketplaces and geographies. With the expansion of the Initiative to embrace i5/OS, AIX, Linux, and Windows, IBM is bringing even more ISV solutions on multiple platforms to the System i and helping clients to further simplify their IT.

One emerging area for ISVs and clients is in PHP, the leading scripting language deployed on the Internet, found in more than 22 million Internet domains. PHP is open and easy to use, and it gives you access to thousands of PHP-based applications and scripts available today. IBM and Zend Technologies are working together to deliver Zend's PHP offerings for IBM i5/OS, creating an open and integrated platform for Web application development.

Through the System i Initiative for Innovation, ISVs can access new roadmaps for porting PHP-based Web applications to System i and developing System i PHP applications. While the roadmaps are targeted at ISVs, the content is also open to clients and systems integrators.

Another new development traces back to IBM's January announcement of the refreshed System i family. With i5/OS V5R4, IBM introduced a new 32-bit Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that helps lower memory requirements and can help improve performance for Java applications on the smaller 520 systems. IBM expects many ISVs that work with small to mid-sized customers to adopt the 32-bit JVM whether they have a standalone Java application or whether they deploy WebSphere Application Server 6.1 this year. Also, IBM introduced the Accelerator on the 520 Value and Express Editions. The Accelerator enables customers to significantly boost processor capacity dynamically—at an affordable price—to support new applications. It is especially effective for handling the increasing number of processor-intensive, Web-based applications that are written in Java but would also help customers that are deploying Domino or even Linux applications.

As part of the System i Initiative for Innovation, ISVs can learn how to take advantage of these new system features quickly and confidently. In the case of the new JVM, for example, ISVs have access to a full range of technical offerings, including solution assessments, technical assistance, special guides, and hands-on workshops. IBM has recently announced eight new workshops around the world to help ISVs optimize their WebSphere Application Server and Java application performance.

IBM's ISVs' success in the marketplace speaks to the value of the Initiative.

Innovation: One Client, One ISV at a Time

Bernhard Boehrer, CEO at ecom WEBfactory has experienced the benefits of the Initiative. In 2005, a mutual client of IBM and ecom mentioned the System i Initiative for Innovation. At that point, ecom had no relationship with IBM but decided to start using some of the enablement offerings.

"We received support while migrating and testing the code and dedicated attention to our requests. We now have a solution, WEBfactory, that can help customers analyze weak points in their production processes more quickly and run their production processes more profitably," said Boehrer. With a single integrated window, customers can virtualize dozens of production control systems on System i and access the entire production control process by remote web access.

And that's just the start of the success story.

Today, ecom has deployed its solution at Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese, a market leader in the production of frozen baked goods in Germany. The System i/ecom solution is helping Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese realize substantial cost savings through server consolidation. By taking advantage of the centralized database and built-in backup capabilities with System i, Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese has simplified its production reporting process and is experiencing increased production time. The productivity gains have removed the IT "serving the server" roles, and employees have more time to focus on new, innovative ways to grow the business.

Investing in the Future

IBM has made tremendous progress during the past 18 months, but it's just the beginning of the journey:

  • More than 2,500 new or enhanced solutions for System i, including i5/OS, Linux, and AIX operating systems
  • 880 new or enhanced i5/OS applications developed for the System i family by software partners and application tool developers
  • 30 new ISVs have become members of the System i Tools Innovation program in 2006, bringing the total membership to 154.
  • 273 ServerProven products from IBM tool members are now highlighted on the IBM System i Developer Roadmap.
  • Over 1,400 System i ISVs are leveraging the benefits of the PartnerWorld Industry Networks Program.

The combined talents of IBM and its ISVs will continue to provide integrated, all-in-one solutions to help System i clients drive innovation and business growth.

Kurt Bilderback is the IBM worldwide director for System i marketing, including the Initiative for Innovation.

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