Integrator takes email management to the masses

IBM integration partner Synergy Plus expects a reap several million dollars in sales revenue from a 10-month project, which has seen it take Big Blue's Content Management Commonstore enterprise software and package it for the SME market.

S+ Inbox is an integrated email and archiving package which combines Commonstore (including IBM Content Manager and Records Manager); Windows 2000 Server; an IBM XSeries server; tape unit; monitor and services delivered by Synergy for a fixed price of $55,000.

Bill Votsaris, CEO at Synergy Plus, said he approached IBM with a view to package Commonstore in way that it could be mass produced and sold to small and medium businesses. 'We've taken out the components that make it [the solution] impossible for SMEs to access,' said Votsaris.

These components could include the requirement to employ consultants to do the integration and implementation work which small and medium businesses can't afford, he said.

'We've taken all of that out. Every question [for installation] is multiple choice style as opposed to building a 50-page consulting document. Using those answers, we [Synergy Plus] implement the software which is configured to suit the business case.'

There was no training required and it was the first 'out-of-the-box' email archiving solution, he claimed. Already, Synergy Plus has installed the package at Sara Lee and Guild Insurance and has a further dozen prospects ready to close, he said.

Votsaris said the the software is not just about saving money for organisations, but it brings discipline to an organisation and its requirement to easily store and retrieve electronic documents for legal and compliance reasons.

He said the Synergy has identified around 900 products in the IBM software portfolio which have the potential to be 'commoditised' for the SME market.

Synergy expects to on-sell the software to other channel partners and has already signed Tardis Services to sell the package, Votsaris said.

In the meantime, Brett Vincent, business unit executive, data management at IBM, said Big Blue was encouraging other channel partners to follow Synergy's lead and 'commoditise' the company's enterprise-level software packages.

'We're open to the channel to come to us with a solution to take to market,' he said. Other IBM subsidiaries around the world have also taken note of Synergy's work and are evaluating whether to rollout similar projects, IBM said.