IBM rolls out raft of SMB offerings

IBM next Wednesday in New York will underscore its commitment to small- and medium-sized companies (SMBs) when it unwraps several bundled solutions with the company’s Express line of scaled-down server-based applications at their core.

The new offerings, tailored specifically for SMBs, include various combinations of server and desktop hardware, server applications such as the Express versions of WebSphere, DB2, Tivoli, Notes, and later this year the Express version of Content Manager, along with financing options, according to sources familiar with the company’s plans.

The WebSphere Commerce Express bundle is aimed at SMBs trying to create and manage an e-commerce site.  Its easy-to-use installation process reportedly enables users to build an on-line store in less than an hour, according to sources.

A second offering, called the IBM Wholesale Distribution Solution for SAP Express, features a combination of software, services, and hardware that facilitates quicker design, deployment and participation in customers’ supply chains.

The bundle is anchored by SAP’s Business One line, which is designed to help mid-sized companies address a number of “business process needs,” sources said.

The Personal Computing Express portfolio is new within ThinkPad notebooks, ThinkCenter desktops and ThinkVision monitors from Big Blue’s Personal Computing Division.

On the financing front, IBM Financing Express is a collection of finance offerings from IBM Global Financing that gives mid-sized companies a single line of credit under one contract and invoice, allowing them to better finance various components.

Some analysts think the offerings indicate that IBM has thought through the needs and issues facing most SMBs, rather than rushing ideas to market just to cash in on the momentum building there over the last few years.

“I think [the Express series] looks solid. They really approached it from the mindset of a midsize customer, looking at what their needs might be. They have a really defined set of criteria and characteristics that a product has to meet before they’ll put the Express brand on it,” said John Madden, a senior analyst with Summit Strategies, in Boston, Mass.

The IBM announcement further fuels an already hot market where several archrivals including Microsoft have made major investments over the past year or two. Some analysts’ estimates put the overall worth of the SMB market at $300 billion.

“I think that it’s still something of a battleground. It’s something that’s really poised to heat up in the next year. There’s a lot of market share up for grabs,” Madden said.

All of the Express-based products will be sold largely through the company’s network of solution providers and authorized resellers as well as through the company’s Web site, IBM.com. Providers and resellers will be compensated by IBM for all sales they successfully complete, sources said.

Pricing on the new products will not be set until next week, sources said.