Hallmark Selects IBM for On Demand Services

IBM's Flexible Infrastructure Lets Hallmark Focus on Core Business and Manage Spikes in Holiday Demand

HostReview.com
Friday, December 19, 2003; 12:00 AM

KANSAS CITY, MO and ARMONK, NY -- Dec 19, 2003 -- Hallmark has selected IBM to build an on demand technology infrastructure that will allow the company to accommodate seasonal surges in customer demand -- like the year-end holiday rush -- while improving reliability.

As part of the agreement, IBM will create, host and manage Hallmark's consumer web site. IBM will optimize transaction capabilities for the company's online sales and deploy leading-edge technology that continuously monitors performance to prevent service disruptions.

"We experience significant transaction spikes for our online business, especially around major holidays," said Jeff Gragg, I/T solution delivery director, Hallmark. "This agreement will provide access to improved technology through IBM without having to make heavy capital investments."

Hallmark chose IBM for its ability to offer flexible costs, along with an innovative IT usage model that allows the company to pay only for the computing capacity it uses. IBM's Business Consulting Services rewrote Hallmark's web applications, which now run on IBM's WebSphere and DB2 middleware and pSeries servers.

"By selecting IBM's on demand services, Hallmark is taking advantage of flexible, scalable and resilient technology that can benefit its customers," said Jim Corgel, general manager, e-business Hosting Services, IBM Global Services. "The bottom line is that IBM is taking care of Hallmark's IT requirements, so they can focus on their core business, that's what we're all about."

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Kansas City-based Hallmark is known throughout the world for its greeting cards, related personal expression products, and television's most honored and enduring dramatic series, the Hallmark Hall of Fame. The company's Hallmark Entertainment, Inc. subsidiary is the world's leading producer of movies and miniseries for television; its Binney & Smith subsidiary, maker of Crayola® crayons and markers, is the leading producer of art materials for children and students. Through licensing leadership and joint ventures, Hallmark continues to expand its product formats and distribution avenues. The company publishes products in more than 30 languages and distributes them in more than 100 countries through a multi-national strategy. In 2002, Hallmark reported consolidated net revenues of $4.2 billion.

About IBM Global Services
IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services and consulting provider, generating over $36 billion in 2002. Approximately 180,000 professionals serve customers in over 160 countries, providing the entire spectrum of customers' e-business needs -- from the business transformation and industry expertise of IBM Business Consulting Services to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. IBM Global Services delivers integrated, flexible and resilient processes -- across companies and through business partners -- that enable customers to maximize the opportunities of an on-demand business environment.