200 Partners Sign on to IBM's ISV Advantage Initiative for SMB in First Year

Latest Partners Include SSJ K.K. (Japan), TCI Solutions, Inc. (USA) and SuperOffice ASA (Norway)

HostReview.com
Wednesday, February 25, 2004; 12:00 AM

SOMERS, NY -- Feb 25, 2004 -- IBM today announced that 200 independent software vendors (ISVs) have joined its ISV Advantage Initiative in the program's first year. ISVs dedicated to providing open solutions to customers across all vertical industries have committed to go to market with IBM for a majority of their business in the $300 billion small-medium business (SMB) technology market. This includes many developers who have migrated from proprietary offerings to Linux and IBM's Express middleware for the SMB market.

ISV Advantage provides ISVs with comprehensive technical, marketing and sales support to help meet the specific needs of medium sized businesses. ISVs that enable their applications on IBM's industry-optimized infrastructure software can provide customers with flexible and secure solutions that span multiple computing platforms, including Linux. Currently more than 70 percent of ISV Advantage participants are actively supporting IBM's software running on Linux.

Unlike other companies that develop applications that compete directly with their partners' offerings, IBM collaborates with ISVs to deliver solutions designed to meet specific customer requirements. AlphaNova, a London-based CRM vendor and new ISV Advantage partner, recently migrated from Microsoft technology to IBM.

"We moved away from the Microsoft environment because of its ever increasing cost to deploy, which makes it prohibitive for SMBs. CRM requires universal access by almost all employees and partners of an organization, and Microsoft's closed and holistic attitude to use all their products makes cost of ownership very high," said Andros Papageorgiou, CEO, AlphaNova. "We chose J2EE and WebSphere to provide our SMB customers openness, choice and lower cost of ownership. IBM's commitment to Linux, which is strategic for us, and the completeness and robustness of the WebSphere platform were other important factors we took into account."

The combination of the ISV's vertical applications with IBM's middleware provides medium-sized customers with unmatched solutions that are reliable and cost effective. In addition, customers are provided with industry-specific solutions that will help them automate and manage the business processes that are unique to their needs, enabling them to respond to customers, partners and suppliers faster.

"Developers recognize the need to adopt an open foundation on which to build industry solutions for medium sized business customers, and we have reached a significant milestone surpassing 200 partners within this unique program's first year," said Buell Duncan, general manager, ISV & Developer Relations, IBM. "IBM is committed to working with the ISV community to develop solutions that free both customers and developers from the tyranny of a single operating environment."

ISVs spanning multiple industries worldwide have joined ISV Advantage, including:

RETAIL
KhiMetrics, Inc., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., is a global leader in retail revenue management solutions. KhiMetrics' Retail Revenue Management Suite helps retailers improve profitability without sacrificing sales or competitive price image by addressing key business processes for demand forecasting and optimizing prices, promotions and markdowns. Customers include Albertsons, PETsMART, Big Y, Safeway Plc and ShopKo Stores.

Based in Toronto, Triversity offers customer-centric retail solutions that enhance the Customer Experience and improve operating efficiencies. Triversity's customers include the Children's Place, Discovery Channel, Dollar General, Hallmark, The Shoe Company and Williams-Sonoma.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Telecommunications companies using Exstream Software's solution are able to build lasting customer relationships that drive profitability and maximize customer retention. Customers include AT&T, Croatia Telecom, Bouygues Telecom, KPN Telco and Verizon Wireless. Exstream is based in Lexington, KY.

HEALTHCARE
Birmingham, AL-based Emageon provides enterprise access to visual medical content using advanced visualization tools, health information management and clinical workflow. Customers include Sisters of Mercy, Sutter Health, Allina Hospitals and Clinics, Baptist Health System, Aurora Health Care, BJC Health Care and Kaiser Permanente.

Based in Cleveland, OH, Noteworthy Medical Systems provides a total system for medical data management that extends beyond electronic medical recordkeeping. The Noteworthy EMR is a comprehensive point and click ambulatory clinical documentation system for use at the point of care. The user interface is intuitive and easy to learn with many features to support best practices and promote quality care. Noteworthy EMR is highly regarded for 100% physician adoption, unparalleled capture of structured data, unprecedented implementation success and accelerated ROI. Customers include Roswell Pediatrics Center.

FINANCE
NSS Corporation products address financial institutions' traditional retail delivery requirements, sales tracking, incentive compensation and customer relationship management needs. Customers include First Victoria National Bank in Victoria, TX and Provident Bank in Montebello, NY. NSS Corporation is based in Bedford, NH.

Based in Dublin, Ireland, FINEOS Corporation is a leading innovator in banking and insurance software. The FINEOS customer base incorporates many of the world's leading financial institutions, including Allianz, Fortis Inc., Skandia and the Zurich Financial Services Group.

CROSS INDUSTRY
Tailor Made Systems (TMS), is an Australian software developer that specializes in the development of integrated ERP solutions with a particular focus on solutions for niche industries. TMS' Powermaster ERP system is used by distributors of a wide variety of goods such as lifestyle products, homeware, hardware, kitchenware, beds and stationery. It also incorporates several industry-specific modules designed specifically for consumer electronics distributors. The Bookmaster ERP system is used in more countries around the world than any other book publishing and distribution system.

About IBM
With 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate, IBM is the world's largest information technology company. IBM is a leading provider of e-business solutions and is dedicated to helping companies, Business Partners and developers leverage the potential of the Internet and network computing across a wide range of businesses and industries. The company offers a host of cross-industry and industry specific solutions designed to meet the needs of companies of all sizes. For more information on partnering with IBM, please visit: http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld.