IBM has introduced a Smarter Commerce validation programme for its business partners to expand solutions or build new applications aligned with its Smarter Commerce initiative, first announced in May last year.
The company says the initiative itself is growing at triple the rate of the IT industry as a whole, worth $90 billion overall and reflecting the rapid growth of this new category.
Smarter Commerce applications are aimed at enabling companies to adapt and capitalise on new digital buying patterns that have emerged through the growth of online, mobile and social technologies, says IBM.
The validation programme recognises business partners working to provide solutions focused on improving customer experience, including integrated supply chain management, collaborative business-to-business networks and business-to-consumer solutions.
Business partners in the Smarter Commerce validation programme will be entitled to participate in IBM's new Smarter Commerce software as a service (SaaS) incentive, which enables them to earn extra fees for submitting a Smarter Commerce lead that results in a closed business. Products offered through the programme include IBM Coremetrics, IBM Sterling Commerce, IBM Unica, IBM WebSphere Commerce, and IBM ILOG.
The SaaS incentive programme enables business partners to co-sell IBM Smarter Commerce SaaS solutions to their clients with IBM and obtain up to 15% of the annual contract value.
The goal of the programme is to accelerate cloud adoption by encouraging new partner business models such as cloud service solution providers to incorporate Smarter Commerce SaaS capabilities into their solution, explains IBM.
The company has worked with over 2 000 brands on Smarter Commerce implementations, with the aim of adjusting their business strategies to help meet the needs of tech-savvy consumers.
“These days, the technology in the hands of the customer outweighs the technology in the enterprise, said Craig Hayman, GM of industry solutions for IBM, speaking at the PartnerWorld Conference, in New Orleans. “What customers say to each other regarding products outweighs anything the enterprise can say.
“You can't convince people of anything anymore, you have to build a legion of followers and fans.”
With this in mind, IBM set out a Smarter Commerce path in early 2011, as a route organisations could follow to better serve their customers, said Hayman.
After 2 000 engagement cases, IBM realised there were two areas it needed greater expertise in - procurement and pricing of goods. It subsequently spent $2.5 billion on acquiring companies that would help it strengthen these capabilities. It plans to grow this year to working with 3 000 global brands on Smarter Commerce solutions.
Hayman said the demand for Smarter Commerce solutions is so great IBM doesn't have enough business partners to keep up, hence the increased incentives.
He added that partners enrolled in certification programmes would also be eligible for online training to get their staff skilled in Smarter Commerce capabilities, in four overarching fields of buy, market, sell and service.
(Lezette Engelbrecht is hosted in New Orleans by IBM SA.)
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