By Staff Writer for IBM South Africa
Johannesburg, 24 Nov 1998
IBM has announced a performance-warranty programme for customers who install its hardware and Baan`s enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
The two-year, no-charge programme provides performance safeguards for first-time ERP customers who buy IBM`s Unix-based, mid-range RS/6000 server line.
Industry analysts said the bundling of hardware, software and a performance warranty was "a competitive missile launch", giving IBM an immediate advantage over Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems, two other Unix-based hardware vendors that compete in the ERP market.
IBM intends to extend the concept to other ERP vendors and IBM server products. The bundling offer leverages IBM`s strong IT services business. More than half of IBM`s 240 000 employees work in services and its global-services division had revenue of $19 billion last year.
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