24
Sun, Nov
1 New Articles
  1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. MORE
  4. Commentary
  5. Analysis of News Events
  6. IBM Expands the Express Solution Portfolio

IBM Expands the Express Solution Portfolio

Analysis of News Events
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

Last Tuesday, IBM added over 20 new offerings to its Express portfolio of products and services for mid-sized companies. Just as importantly, the company discussed how it is using the portfolio to encourage more mid-market solution providers to sell IBM products and services. The strategy should put extra muscle behind the IT vendor's efforts to boost sales among mid-market firms.

Among the many announcements that IBM has made since it launched the Express portfolio three years ago, the current one stands out in its emphasis on vertical industry solutions. Most of the new offerings address specific challenges faced by the manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and life sciences industries. Since many iSeries users are manufacturing or retail firms, several of the new offerings for these industries could be of interest to them.

Another distinguishing feature of the latest announcement is its focus on IT services that IBM manages and hosts. While the Express portfolio already contains several managed services, the new offerings significantly expand both the number and the sophistication of such offerings.

With these thoughts in mind, let's look at some of the new Express offerings that will generate the greatest interest among iSeries users. As you will see, many of the offerings integrate IBM products with services.

  • The IBM Express Supply Chain Diagnostic Solution helps companies to optimize their supply chains to improve return on assets, operating margins, and customer satisfaction. During a two- to four-week engagement, customers work with IBM Global Services to benchmark their operations, develop "what if" scenarios, and create a road map for supply chain optimization. A typical two-week engagement costs $50,000.
  • IBM's Express RFID Services family of offerings now has a "slap and ship" service. Under the service, IBM helps companies comply with their customers' RFID requirements by deploying on-site RFID printers and scanners. The equipment links to an IBM hosting center that not only manages the RFID data that is generated, but also enables companies to send advanced shipping notices to customers. IBM is pricing the offering at $20,000 plus a $750 monthly fee.
  • Through IBM's Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Express for Business Integration, companies can integrate their PLM systems with their enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications. The offering combines hardware, software, and services from both IBM and qualified Business Partners. By integrating their PLM and ERP systems, companies can significantly reduce production costs, improve product quality, and reduce cycle times.
  • The IBM Express Online Backup for Distributed Servers enables companies to back up data from multiple servers to an IBM hosting center on a continuous or scheduled basis. Besides providing companies with an off-site disaster recovery solution, the offering could help some firms comply with records management regulations. IBM is pricing the offering on a "per gigabyte" basis and expects that the average contract will cost around $4,000 per year.

While IBM is heavily marketing its products and services through the Express portfolio, it is also promoting Business Partner solutions that run on Express products. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a program under which partners can put a "Built on IBM Express Portfolio" logo on their solutions that run on Express products. As part of the program, IBM promotes the solutions through advertising and demand generation campaigns. Last week, IBM pointed out that over 150 partner products now carry the new logo. The company also pledged to make it easier for more Business Partners to build solutions that incorporate Express products and services.

Expanding the Express Franchise

By convincing Business Partners to build their businesses around the Express portfolio and brand, IBM is doing something that could prove to be a stroke of genius. Years ago, entrepreneurs in the fast food industry realized that they could achieve explosive growth by franchising their products and brands to local businesses. In much the same way, IBM is letting partners use its Express products to whip up their own solutions for local consumption. As a result, the number of products and services that bear an Express logo could expand exponentially. In the process, the Express portfolio could become not so much a line of IBM products as an industry-wide franchise with an overarching brand identity.

While IBM could benefit immensely from becoming the McDonald's of mid-market IT solutions, it could also damage the Express brand in the process. Unlike fast food companies, IBM can influence but not strictly control how its technologies (or "ingredients" in fast food parlance) are used to create solutions. As such, the resulting "Built on Express" products could vary widely in their packaging, ease of deployment, and ease of use. This could negatively affect how mid-sized companies perceive all Express products and services.

To avoid such negative consequences, IBM will need to expand its Express franchise with one eye on marketing and the other on quality control. By offering the right tools and incentives, IBM could do much to help its Business Partners adhere to the same Express product criteria that the company sets for itself. While some of those tools and incentives are already in place, more will be needed to ensure that partner products meet mid-market requirements. In the meantime, potential buyers of "Built on Express" solutions should not assume that the offerings will deliver the same experience as the IBM products upon which they are built. As is true when evaluating almost any product, it pays to look beyond the logo.

Lee Kroon is a Senior Industry Analyst for Andrews Consulting Group, a firm that helps mid-sized companies manage business transformation through technology. You can reach him at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LEE KROON
Lee Kroon is a Senior Industry Analyst for Andrews Consulting Group, a firm that helps mid-sized companies manage business transformation through technology.
BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More 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.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY 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.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms 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.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA 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:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA 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.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra 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: