For over a decade, the AS/400-iSeries organization has been the only IBM hardware group that works closely with mid-market independent software developers (ISVs). In 2003, however, the iSeries team will finally get some company. That is because the pSeries organization is mounting its own initiatives to woo mid-market ISVs. The group's efforts could have important implications for iSeries customers.
As I discussed in an article two months ago, the pSeries organization is shipping aggressively priced AIX and Linux servers for the mid-market, including the four-way p630 and the eight-way p650. What I did not discuss at that time was the initiatives that the pSeries team is mounting to get mid-market ISVs to support the pSeries. These initiatives will take the pSeries organization into what is essentially new territory for it. Historically, the group has concentrated virtually all of its recruitment efforts on the world's biggest ISVs--that is, the ones that large enterprises use. While mid-size companies purchase software from these ISVs, they also rely on hundreds of smaller regional and industry-specific ISVs. For years, most of these vendors have flown under the pSeries organization's recruitment radar.
In 2003, this state of affairs will change dramatically because of three initiatives that the pSeries organization is launching. Here are some details about the initiatives.
Initiative #1--Identify and recruit the leading mid-market ISVs in key regions and industries. During the last half of 2002, a pSeries task force spent hundreds of hours to identify those countries that have substantial numbers of mid-size companies. It then identified the key industries in which those mid-size companies participate and the regional ISVs that those industries rely upon most heavily. Much of this information was derived from ISV lists that the iSeries organization and IBM's Global Sales and Distribution division have compiled over the years. Indeed, many of the ISVs on the pSeries' "must call" list already support the iSeries.
As this article goes to press, IBM is starting to contact ISVs on its new list to determine how it can help them build their business on the pSeries. For selected ISVs, the pSeries organization may offer codevelopment and comarketing funds to help them make the migration decision.
Initiative #2--Support migrations to both AIX and Linux on the pSeries. Today, many ISVs see Linux as a bigger growth market than any version of Unix. In response, the pSeries organization will support mid-market ISVs that want to migrate to Linux running on POWER servers as well as to AIX. To make Linux an appealing choice to ISVs, the pSeries organization is offering Linux-only versions of its midrange servers. It is also migrating many of the reliability and systems management functions of AIX--such as support for hot-swappable PCI cards and logical volume management--into the microcode of the pSeries. This will enable future Linux for pSeries distributions to take advantage of these functions so that they can deliver the higher quality of service levels that business applications require.
In addition, the pSeries organization is working with IBM's Software Group to migrate key IBM middleware products and development tools to pSeries Linux during 2003. These products include DB2 Universal Database, DB2 Connect, WebSphere Application Server (WAS), WebSphere Portal Server, WebSphere Commerce Server, the Java Software Developers Kit 1.3, and VisualAge compilers for C, C++, and FORTRAN. IBM also plans on shipping several Tivoli products on pSeries Linux, including the group's Storage Manager, Enterprise Console, Access Manager, and Configuration Manager products. As these products become available, IBM intends to post them to its Speed-Start Your Linux Application site, where ISVs and customers will be able to download them for free. IBM's Linux Integration Center located in Austin, Texas, will assist developers who want to build pSeries Linux applications around the products.
Initiative #3--Use pSeries Express Configurations as vehicles for increasing ISV sales. IBM is also holding discussions with both enterprise and mid-market ISVs to determine how they can comarket their solutions with the pSeries Express Configurations--discounted standard configurations of midrange servers like the p630 and p650. It is likely that in the coming months, several ISVs will announce that their solutions are certified for the Express Configurations. Some of these vendors may also offer discounted solution packages for AIX and Linux versions of the Express Configurations, and they will do so with IBM marketing support. While the details of such cooperative ventures are not yet complete, the pSeries organization is eager to help ISVs leverage its servers to reach mid-market customers.
The pSeries Mid-Market Offensive--iSeries Implications
As the pSeries organization pursues these initiatives during 2003, mid-market ISV interest in the pSeries will undoubtedly pick up. Depending on other steps that IBM's Server Group (recently renamed the Systems Group) takes, this could have several implications for iSeries customers. First, many ISVs that support the iSeries may opt to expand their support to the pSeries on either AIX or Linux. This could allow iSeries customers to migrate applications to the pSeries--or in 2004, to an AIX partition running on an iSeries--if it made financial and technical sense to do so. The iSeries' new AIX capabilities could also enable it to support any new applications that mid-market ISVs port to the Unix operating system.
Second, if mid-market ISVs who do not support the iSeries migrate to pSeries Linux, they may become more inclined to support iSeries Linux as well. Since iSeries and pSeries Linux distributions are essentially the same (both are based on POWER processors), certification in both environments is nearly an effortless matter. However, this ease of migration may disappear if the systems management and middleware environment for pSeries Linux becomes markedly different than that for iSeries Linux. If the iSeries Linux environment does not support the same IBM software that will ship on pSeries Linux this year, ISVs that port to one environment might pass on porting to the other environment. As such, we should all keep an eye on IBM to see what it does or does not do to keep its two POWER Linux environments in lockstep with each other.
Finally, there is a good chance that the pSeries' newfound enthusiasm for mid-market ISVs could lead it to work more closely with the iSeries organization on ISV recruitment efforts. Indeed, with the two servers converging with each other during 2003 and 2004, such coordination makes sense. Moreover, since ISVs are attracted to server vendors with the largest customer bases, a combined iSeries-pSeries recruitment effort would carry more clout. Such a joint campaign could help the iSeries, which has struggled in recent years to attract new ISVs. So if you're wondering where I stand on the pSeries' mid-market initiatives, I can tell you that this is one IT analyst who is cheering them on.
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
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