IBM throws all its SME eggs in the channel basket

IBM RECKONS IT'S well on course to double the number of resellers it can rope into its Integrated Partner Team (IPT) by the end of the year.

The big blue one says it's already signed up 200 new resellers since launching the scheme in February. But, since the corporation won't say how many resellers it was working with in 2005, we may never know whether it manages to double the number by 2007, as it aims.

Jonathan Young, manager of integrated marketing communications for IPT at IBM, says IBM is the only major vendor to concentrate its SME efforts exclusively through the channel. "We're unique among the vendors in directing all our efforts through and with resellers," he told a round table discussion this morning.

Steve Rickless, of Tripleplay Services, piped up to praise IBM after suffering at the hands of former supplier, HP. He said the wider range of services IBM has managed to integrate into its IPT scheme made its offering more attractive.

"We got frustrated with the number of high- profile opportunities HP failed to support us on", he complained. "One customer said the reason we lost a particular bid was the through HP not stepping up. HP is not interested in anything but shifting tin," he said.

IBM is offering a range of managed services focussing heavily on security, to SMEs through its resellers. It says its size, which once hindered it, is now its main asset. Now it is a position to support resellers to serve up "solutions" rather than boxes, offering resellers the opportunity to value-add.

Doubling the number of resellers it does business within 12 months is probably a pretty tall order. The closest Young would come to putting a figure on it was "in the thousands".

As to whether all the newly-signed up resellers will simply be treading on each other's toes, Young said the channel was pretty competitive anyhow. It won't be a problem "as long as we are even-handed an equitable," he insisted. µ