IBM hails mid-size Express

IBM has ramped up its global push into the mid-size business space, releasing two more WebSphere Express offerings for Australian companies with 100 to 1,000 employees.

WebSphere Commerce Express and WebSphere MQ Express, re-jigged and scaled-back versions of WebSphere software previously released for larger enterprises, will bring IBM's total number of Express-branded offerings in Australia to six. The releases were announced by IBM in the US on 25 June.

Duncan Hewett, regional manager for SMB & software channels at IBM Software Australia and New Zealand, said WebSphere Commerce Express targeted the large numbers of customers perceived by IBM to be rebuilding their information websites and e-business strategy.

"It provides a Java platform that is very scaleable and easy to integrate with other applications, which speeds up the development process," he said.

Hewett said second offering WebSphere MQ Express would help organisations connect new applications to existing systems. "We have the standard in the marketplace for connecting systems with MQ and it now provides that capability for a medium-size client," he said.

IBM claims WebSphere Commerce Express allows companies to build an e-commerce website in one hour, 30% faster than Microsoft's commerce software and at 25% less cost, while WebSphere MQ Express can be up and running in less than ten minutes.

He said both middleware offerings would help smaller companies create an 'on-demand' business, flexible and adaptable enough to make rapid changes according to customer needs.

The current trend for utility computing meant businesses were increasingly seeking ways of using their IT resources more efficiently. "We all have a set of infrastructure that you're not going to rip and replace, it's just not possible, so [these products] help you use what's there already," Hewett said.

Steven Worrall, GM of the commercial sector at IBM Australia and New Zealand, said the steadily growing range of Express-branded offerings targeting businesses with 100 to 1,000 employees was part of a larger IBM strategy to take a bigger bite out of the SMB market, which he said was growing faster "by a couple of percentage points" than any other sector.

"Businesses with up to 1,000 employees represent about 1/5 of IBM's total revenue so it's pretty important to IBM ... It's growing more rapidly than the rest of the market," he said. "IDC has said that 54% of the total [global] IT spend is going to come out of SMBs."

Although IBM was traditionally seen as focused almost solely on large corporates, Big Blue now has 6,000 people "dedicated to SMB business" in Australia and New Zealand, Worrall said.

As part of IBM's Express announcement, IBM Global Financing is also offering financing packages to medium business Express customers in Australia, using a single contract and periodic invoice. The company claims its preferred rate financing offers below-market rates.

All Express offerings are "Business Partner-enabled", meaning that partners can either sell or recommend IBM Express offerings to their customers and receive lead pass fees or other forms of compensation from IBM, the company said.

Worrall said Australia would see more Express offerings as the year progressed, with the range eventually expected to cross all five IBM brands and include hardware, services, total packages and financing as well as software but the company was moving "step by step".

IBM initially announced the SMB-focused Express portfolio of open-standards-based middleware on 18 February at its annual PartnerWorld conference in New Orleans.