IBM joins attack on SMBs

AFTER INTEL ANNOUNCED yesterday that it would be launching its e-shop and portal to help relieve small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) of their cash, IBM jumped on the bandwagon to do the same.

The company has said that it will be launching an online marketplace, to allow SMBs to browse IBM or IBM compatible products and applications from various independent software vendors (ISVs).

IBM reckons that its new venture, which it has dubbed Blue Business Platform, will be comparable to the likes of Amazon.com and Itunes, in that there will be customer generated product reviews, and that, just as one needs an Ipod to use Itunes, all products will require users to have an IBM server and hardware.

IBM says that its aim is to help small companies choose the right software to match their needs, and provide them with the services they need, but of course, IBM’s real goal is to move in on the lucrative and as yet unexploited SMB market, which include companies with up to 500 employees. The big vendors have long been looking for ways to corner the SMB market, thought to be worth over $500 billion, and apparently online marketplace portals are the way to do it.

The company faces serious competition, not only from Intel’s Business exchange, but also from the Vole's Small Business Center, Salesforce.com and SAP's Business ByDesign. µ

L’Inq
PC WORLD