In a move calculated to add value and simplicity to their Business Partner programmes, Lotus Development and IBM have introduced PartnerWorld for Software, a comprehensive programme for e-business marketing, enablement, and support.
The on-line resource will allow new Business Partners to more easily build their business relationship. Meanwhile, current Business Partners will find all programme information on a single Website. ""More and more Lotus Business Partners are asking for a simplified way to access what they need from both Lotus and IBM via a single source, and the PartnerWorld for Software portal is the answer," says Steve Dunbar, Country Marketing & IBM/Lotus Partner Sales Manager, Lotus Development South Africa. "It will give them a simplified e-business model, plus support for an expanded portfolio of IBM technologies."
A key new benefit of the programme is the enablement of Business Partner members to improve their productivity by receiving only the benefits and sales information applicable to their business or level of membership, such as Premier or Advanced.
"PartnerWorld for Software will reward Business Partners for teaming with us to deliver the next generation of e-business solutions," he says. PartnerWorld for Software now includes:
Single electronic Business Partner relationship: entry through a single Web portal, on-line maintenance of a single member company profile, electronic signature on a single agreement, all accessible through a single logon/ID;
Software on Demand: allows Business Partners to order on-line "run-your-business" or "demonstration and evaluation" software in the languages and quantities they require;
Premier Enterprise Option: flexibility to centrally manage the Business Partner relationship with IBM and Lotus for companies with multiple locations within a geographic region; and
Flexible Financing Solutions: IBM Global Financing offers a single source of financing for companies of all sizes, across all industries, for IBM and non-IBM solutions including software, hardware, and services. IGF will even finance software-only solutions.
PartnerWorld for Software also features the Solution Sales Resource, a Web-based repository of sales tools, presentations, and customer collateral to help Business Partners through each step of the solution selling process.
In addition it includes a Web-based Business Partner Directory where customers can locate qualified IBM and Lotus Business Partners who have the skills they need to implement e-business solutions.
Business Partners who want to preserve the brand identity they have built with customers can continue to qualify to carry IBM, Lotus or Tivoli logos.
In addition to the standard benefits available through PartnerWorld for Software, additional benefits are tailored to Business Partners who invest more deeply in a specific technology. Business Partners will migrate to PartnerWorld for Software on a timetable determined by their geographic region "For Business Partners in today`s fast-moving environment, their biggest enemy is time. Being able to find all the Lotus and IBM information they need at a single Web site will increase their productivity significantly," concludes Dunbar.
For more information on PartnerWorld, visit http://www.ibm.com/partnerworld
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