IBM Unveils Resources to Help Clients Accelerate Access to Information on Demand

ARMONK, NY - May 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today introduced new industry workshops, expanded solution centers and business partner resources to help clients plan and execute enterprise-wide information on demand strategies that will allow them to use information to innovate, compete and grow their businesses.

The new offerings unveiled today are derived from a powerful combination of market leadership, technical know-how and industry expertise developed in hundreds of software, IT services and consulting engagements. They are designed to help clients address industry-specific business needs such as customer loyalty, globalization, mergers and acquisitions, cost efficiency and risk and compliance, and to accelerate their business optimization efforts.

“Organizations today face business challenges that require more effective use of information,” said Ambuj Goyal, general manager, IBM Information Management. “To succeed, they must make information a strategic asset before they can begin optimizing their business for competitive advantage. IBM’s approach to delivering Information on Demand helps organization unlock the business value of their information and brings value to organizations of all sizes.”

The industry workshops are designed to enable organizations to jumpstart the development of a personalized “Information Agenda,” a comprehensive, enterprise-wide plan that helps them achieve both short-term and long-term strategic changes. The goal is to transform the organization and unlock the business value of information for competitive advantage, enabling organizations to deliver trusted, accurate information to optimize business performance.

IBM is already working with retailers to establish an Information Agenda that will address their need for better integrated, dynamic merchandising and supply chains driven by consumer insights. Similarly, IBM also is helping telecommunications service providers create a strategic roadmap for the use of information to provide targeted services to clients while managing line of business convergence in a market that is going through numerous consolidations.

IBM today also announced the expansion of the IBM Solutions Centers in Barcelona, Spain; La Gaude, France; Rome, Italy and Bangalore, India to showcase industry-specific Information on Demand solutions that clients can use to address their growing information management challenges.

For example, the solution center in Barcelona has been extended to help banking and financial services organizations learn how to improve financial risk insight and deliver enhanced customer care through the use of Cognos, InfoSphere software and other Information on Demand offerings. The solutions center at La Gaude is now providing government and law enforcement agencies with the ability to see the value of IBM’s proven Real-Time Crime Center solution, and helping telecommunications service providers get more insight into how they can enhance the customer experience, improve operational efficiency and address convergence and consolidation challenges. Industry solutions that use IBM’s Information on Demand capabilities will also soon be accessible from the IBM Solution Center in Rome, Italy.

The new Information on Demand Technical Center of Excellence in Bangalore, India joins two other Centers recently opened in Germany and Japan. The Centers enable clients to work with local technical and industry experts to promote more successful IT projects, and deliver better access to information within their organizations.

Information on Demand Business Partners Accredited

With rising demand for information management projects for business intelligence, data warehousing, information integration, master data management and enterprise content management, organizations are increasingly relying upon IBM Business Partners to help them get more value out of their business information. Last fall, IBM responded to this need with the Information on Demand Specialty Program, which combined with the Information on Demand Community Program now consists of more than 2,200 partner members.

Several IBM Business Partners have recently qualified for the IBM Information on Demand Specialty Program designed to provide accreditation of partners across multiple IBM Information on Demand product offerings. Among these partners are Fourth Millenium Technologies, Highweb & Page Group, Novell, Triton Consulting, and xkoto.

In the areas of content and discovery, two partners -- McLaren Software and Thunderhead -- have qualified for the Information on Demand Specialty program. McLaren was recognized for its successful delivery of Enterprise Engineer, a suite of applications for managing engineering documentation and associated business processes on the IBM FileNet P8 content management platform, Thunderhead was certified for its XML-based solution for multi-channel document composition, which is integrated with the IBM suite of content management and business process management products. In addition, Alpine Consulting and independent software vendor Telesis Global Solutions have been recognized for their offerings around a variety of IBM Information Management products.

These and other new industry-specific capabilities to provide clients better insight from their data, improved decision-making and optimized business performance will be unveiled at the Information on Demand EMEA Conference, June 2-6, 2008, the Hague, Netherlands.