A new set of IBM initiatives aimed at developers and resellers is designed to leverage their investment in industry-specific technologies.
The world is getting more complicated, and it seems that developers are being called upon to make it simpler—for everyone. IBM says it's trying to make things simpler for developers, who are shouldering the responsibility for making a complex world manageable. As technology accelerates at an ever-increasing pace, developers may feel a little overwhelmed by what is expected of them.
Last week in Barcelona, Spain, IBM hosted what it called the Smarter Industries Symposium in which it rolled out a number of solutions for specific industries. These are designed to reduce costs for businesses in bringing new products and services to market while providing their customers with a better, more personalized "experience."
The name of the marketing game today seems to be one in which you break the world up into little bite-size pieces, identify the desires and needs of those smaller groups, and sell them exactly what they want, which may be slightly different from what their friends of a different age or socioeconomic group prefer. The problem is there are more than 6 billion people in the world, and they all need toothpaste—and bank accounts, and cars, and clothes. (Well, a lot of them don't even have enough to eat, much less money to buy manufactured goods, but these people generally fall outside most marketers' target groups.) Nevertheless, there is a real problem in marketing to thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of people whose tastes change with the weather. Enter computer systems, the database, and business analytics.
A shining example of how today's advanced solutions can help companies survive and thrive in a stressed economy was highlighted at the Symposium. Cell phones, of course, are now big business. Everybody needs one, particularly in countries where the wired infrastructure is a bit thin. Vivo, Brazil's largest cell phone company, with more than 57 million users, wanted to increase return rates on every contact. To do that, it needed to automate its marketing processes and better coordinate its products and services offerings with its marketing campaigns.
The company already had perfected personalized marketing campaigns to its users, but each took about 30 days to complete. After installing IBM's Unica Campaign and Unica Marketing Operations solutions to help manage its marketing resources, Vivo was able to deploy a personalized campaign in a single day. The result was a 90 percent reduction in operating costs for campaign development and execution. Today, Vivo executes no fewer than 180 campaigns a month—nine every single working day.
What this story seems to indicate is that industry-specific and process-specific software solutions can have a dramatic impact on a company's bottom line. In a recent IBM developerWorks survey of more than 2,000 IT professionals in 87 countries, some 90 percent indicated they believe it is important to possess vertical-industry-specific skills. Regrettably, the vast majority—63 percent—concede they lack the industry knowledge necessary to stay competitive.
The problem for ISVs, Business Partners, and developers in general goes beyond staying abreast of new tools and technologies needed to build and deploy applications across multiple platforms and on the Web; it involves staying abreast of advances in specific industry groups.
In 2008, IBM introduced what it called IBM Industry Frameworks. There are nearly a dozen or so frameworks for different industries, including the Banking Industry Framework, Insurance Industry Framework, Retail Industry Framework, etc. These frameworks are intended to bridge the gap between regular middleware and industry-specific business applications. Because Industry Frameworks are based on specific usage patterns, they are highly repeatable and can help Business Partners leverage their value. Since their introduction, more than 1,000 of IBM's customers have taken advantage of the Frameworks to help streamline and grow their businesses. In the meantime, more than 150 ISVs have brought applications to market that are based on them.
A few years back, IBM introduced its Vertical Industry Program (VIP), a simple approach to sell more hardware and software. It was so successful that IBM has since refined the concept and figured out ways to group hardware, software, and consulting services into packages that are unique to specific industries and markets. And the company is not alone in realizing that this is the way to not only sell more products but also be of more benefit to customers. Avnet, one of IBM's largest (if not the largest) Business Partners, has been offering what it calls the SolutionsPath methodology, in which it helps its own business partners develop industry expertise in key vertical markets such as energy, financial services, healthcare, and retail. For Avnet, its investment in specific vertical markets has paid off handsomely and provides a distinct advantage in meeting its customer's needs.
In Barcelona, IBM rolled out three new initiatives designed to help Business Partners leverage their unique position to participate in what IBM says is a $2.4 trillion information technology opportunity over the next few years. It introduced an industry-specific program for software developers and expanded support for software resellers. The initiative focuses around opportunities in specific industries, including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, retail, energy, and utilities. In response to an increase in security requirements across all these industries, Business Partners can now obtain cross-industry authorization to sell IBM security solutions. The new initiatives are focused on providing developers and business partners with training, sales and marketing, and technical resources to help grow their businesses when serving these industries.
Dubbed the IBM Industry Solutions Specialty, IBM Software Value Plus Industry Authorization, and IBM Software Value Plus Security Authorization, the new initiatives promise to give ISVs and other Business Partners access to a vast array of technology resources for cloud and mobile application development, dedicated IBM experts and technical advocates to help speed up application development and delivery, as well as financial incentives and even funding for industry-specific marketing campaigns.
The catch is that not everyone may qualify for these benefits. IBM helps those companies that help themselves. Remaining static and doing the same old thing this year that worked last year simply isn't going to get you entry into the club. IBM Business Partners who meet program requirements for, say, the Software Value Plus Industry Authorization may need to pass IBM industry mastery tests, demonstrate that their solution aligns with IBM Industry Frameworks or strategy, and show that their solution has successful client implementations.
Clearly, the world is changing and becoming more complicated. For those who accept the challenges, are willing to invest in training, and meet added requirements to assimilate new technologies, there is a lucrative rainbow of rewards awaiting them as the Third World becomes more industrialized—and wealthier.
as/400, os/400, iseries, system i, i5/os, ibm i, power systems, 6.1, 7.1, V7,
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
LATEST COMMENTS
MC Press Online