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IBM’s Master Data Management Software Products Are Analyzed and Placed in Two New Gartner Magic Quadrants


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IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Gartner, Inc. has evaluated two of its Master Data Management software products -- WebSphere Customer Center and WebSphere Product Center -- in its 2Q07 Magic Quadrants for Customer Data Hubs and Product Information Management.

IBM’s Master Data Management products help companies address their growing information management challenges, which include delivering a single view of “master” data -- the information on which a business’ operations and critical business decisions are based. Master data is a mix of disparate, yet interdependent information on customers, products, agreements, accounts, vendors, suppliers, and inventory -- typically stored in silos across an organization.

In Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Customer Data Integration Hubs, 2Q07*, IBM’s WebSphere Customer Center v. 7.0 was evaluated and IBM was placed in the “Leaders” quadrant. WebSphere Customer Center helps companies solve their customer information management issues by creating a single view of customer information. This allows businesses in any industry to manage accurate and complete customer data within operational transactions, enabling them to put the customer at the center of their sales, service, and operational business processes.

Designed to be integrated with all business applications and process-management tools in a Service Oriented Architecture, WebSphere Customer Center is one of the most robust, fully functional and proven customer data integration solutions available today.

In its Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management Software**, Gartner positioned IBM in the Challengers Quadrant. IBM believes WebSphere Product Center has helped position IBM in the Challengers quadrant and as the leading product in the ability to execute through its ability to address the need for an accurate and comprehensive repository of product information. The software allows businesses to turn disparate silos of product information into strategic business assets, powering enterprise-wide sales, marketing and supply chain initiatives including new product introduction, ecommerce, and multi-channel management.

Several companies including Bell Canada, Bongrain, Carlson, Cooperators, Honeywell, Irish Life, IRI, Neiman Marcus, and REI have selected IBM software to establish and enable a single, up-to-date repository of master data that can be used throughout their organization to achieve a competitive advantage and accomplish strategic business initiatives.

“Our global customers increasingly regard master data as one of their most important, strategic assets,” said Paraic Sweeney, vice president, product management, information platform and solutions. MDM is a business strategy, not a technology project. To take full advantage of master data, companies must have the ability to manage a full range of data domains, including products, customers, and accounts"

Gartner reports that the Customer Data Integration hub market grew more than 56 percent in 2006 over the previous year, with a “major upswing in interest and investment in Europe.” The firm expects the market to be worth nearly $1 billion in software revenue alone in 2011.

According to Gartner, the product information management market grew by nearly 50 percent from 2005 to 2006 -- from approximately $214 million in total software revenue (license and maintenance) in 2005 to more than $300 million in 2006.

WebSphere Product Center and IBM WebSphere Customer Center are key elements of the company’s broad portfolio of Information on Demand software offerings that are helping companies of all sizes and industries unlock the value of their business information.

For more information, please visit: http://www-306.ibm.com/software/data/masterdata/

*Magic Quadrant for Customer Data Integration Hubs, 2Q07, June 29, 2007, John Radcliffe.

**Magic Quadrant for Product Information Management 2Q07, June 21, 2007, Andrew White.

The Magic Quadrants are copyrighted 2007 by Gartner, Inc. and are reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner’s analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the “Leaders” quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.



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