IBM Strengthens SOA Business Partner Community Through Opportunity-Driven Programs and Resources

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new and enhanced tools, programs, and incentives to support and accelerate the success of its Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) Business Partner community of consultants, integrators, and resellers.

Since the introduction of its SOA Business Partner programs in June 2005, IBM has also realized significant milestones in the growth and success of its community of SOA Business Partners. The IBM SOA Community, which began with 50 Business Partners, has grown to more than 4,200 members. Additionally, the SOA Business Catalog, which initially included less than 300 reusable Web services in June 2006, now features more than 4,600 services, over 74 percent of which are contributed by IBM Business Partners. The SOA Business Catalog is a comprehensive online directory featuring a combination of software code, intellectual property and best practices that solve specific business problems.

The IBM SOA Business Partner offerings provide partners with the tools and resources to further develop the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience that will contribute to the success of their customers on their SOA journey.

The new and enhanced offerings designed to help IBM SOA Business Partners uncover new opportunities include:

Greater visibility through SOA Business Catalog: IBM has opened access to the SOA Business Catalog to the entire SOA Business Partner Community to give partners greater visibility among IBM customers, other Business Partners, and sales representatives. The SOA Business Catalog now includes a new, friendlier user interface using Web 2.0 technologies and community building tools such as customer ratings and reviews to allow users to engage and share experiences using the technology in the catalog.

IBM Business Partner StrikeIron has recently contributed 100 services to the SOA Business Catalog for reuse among the community. These news business services include Real Time Stock Quotes and Country Calling Codes as well as a MapQuest-based Web service that helps reduce shipping costs and provide quicker delivery of products by determining the best route and warehouse for shipping.

The WebSphere Knowledge Center: a new one stop resource that provides WebSphere and SOA Business Partners with relevant information, tools and resources to help market WebSphere and SOA strategy, products, and solutions, featuring demos and Webcasts from IBM.

Using IBM WebSphere and Information Management software, Business Partner KLG Systel created “Connectgaia.com.” Connectgaia.com is an SOA-based tool that connects businesses and consumers with their energy provider through the Internet to proactively control and monitor energy usage and spending.

IBM Solution Podcasts are designed to provide Business Partners with the information and learning they need to lead with IBM SOA solutions accurately and confidently. New topics include SOA and Web 2.0, SOA Governance, and Business Process Optimization.

Localized SOA Events: IBM has teamed with Business Partners to create one day workshops designed to further educate local audiences on the business and technical value of an SOA. These full day events, known as “Impact Comes to You” are being held in more than 66 venues throughout the world and are hosted by IBM and Business Partners. More information and registration about the upcoming events can be found at: http://www-306.ibm.com/software/solutions/soa/events/icty.html#america

“IBM’s enablement programs and resources provide us with a strong blueprint for equipping our employees with the tools they need to accurately and effectively position SOA while ensuring our clients’ success,” said Ivo-Paul Tummers, director, Eniac.

The IBM Virtual Innovation Center provides IBM Business Partners with easy, personalized access to technical development, sales and technical training and sales support 24 hours a day. The Virtual Innovation Center offers over 800 on-line courses specific to 45 software, hardware and services offerings as well as dedicated guidance for application development and upgrades. New features in the Virtual Innovation Center include an improved user experience that makes navigation and accessing technical support easier, a new cross-IBM SOA Zone featuring the latest offerings from across the company, Japanese tutorials for WebSphere Application Server v6.1, WebSphere Everyplace and WebSphere MQ, and a new certification preparation area that provides practice tests and instruction for SOA certifications.

“Adding to an arsenal of software, marketing programs, and resources is only valuable to the Business Partner community if resellers and integrators can actually use these offerings to help ensure the success of their customers,” said Sandy Carter, vice president, SOA and WebSphere strategy, channels and marketing, IBM. “The continued growth of the IBM SOA Business Partner community and proven results of customers further illustrate the increasingly important role of an SOA strategy among companies of all sizes.”