IBM South Africa says small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need not be overtaken by e-business traffic on the information superhighway and has launched an e-business solution for this sector.
A ballooning expedition near Johannesburg provided an ideal setting and descriptive analogy for the launch of its starter pack solutions.
IBM South Africa and Lotus launched their product packaged in yellow suitcases, containing the tools to allow SMEs to immediately compete on the same level as other organisations.
So what`s inside the suitcase? According to IBM, it offers a choice of several solutions on the Web, such as e-mail and teamwork on the Web, and selling on the Web. Both options are supported by features such as IBM DB2 database, a 12-month NetActive ISDN Internet connection, as well as a hotline and Web-based training and education.
The solutions can run on a range of IBM servers such as IBM Netfinity, AS/400 and RS/6000.
According to Carlos de Figueiredo, IBM South Africa e-business executive, barriers to creating competitive advantage based on computerisation have fallen dramatically on the back of the growth of the Internet and relentless advances in technology.
"Medium to large companies have always had access to the resources needed to build large-scale IT infrastructures in an effort to enhance productivity, increase efficiency and reduce the cost of doing business," he says. "Historically it has often been difficult for small businesses to justify many of the costs associated with these computer systems, particularly those that promised vaguely-defined benefits at some stage in the future."
IBM has identified two key elements to successful applications, namely the internal network or intranet and the sharing of data, processes and systems with the outside world.
The IBM/Lotus partnership represents a combination of experience in enterprise applications on the Internet on the one hand, and experience in e-mail and workgroup applications on the other.
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