IBM to build apps marketplace for SMBs

May 1, 2008, 08:27 PM —  IDG News Service — 

IBM is trying to rally support
for an online applications marketplace for small and mid-sized businesses that
it plans to launch later this year.

On Thursday, it outlined plans to create the Global Applications Marketplace,
where small businesses will be able to browse and purchase applications from
potentially thousands of ISVs (independent software vendors) around the world,
which local IBM channel partners will then install and manage for them.

IBM optimistically compared the marketplace to Amazon.com,
because customers will be able to read reviews of products written by other
customers. It will also be like iTunes,
in the sense that it will be tied to the vendor's hardware: customers who use
the marketplace will have to have an IBM server, just as iTunes customers need
an iPod.

The goal is to make it easier for companies with small or nonexistent IT departments
to adopt new software and services to help run their businesses. For IBM and
its partners it's a way to generate more business from companies with up to
500 employees, a market largely untapped by IBM thus far.

The initiative, also called the Blue Business Platform, was announced Thursday
at IBM's Business Partner Leadership Conference in Los Angeles, where IBM pitched
the idea to resellers and ISVs. Competitors will include Microsoft's
Small Business Center
, Salesforce.com
and, eventually, SAP's
Business ByDesign
.

It will also compete with the Intel
Business Exchange
, which the chip maker announced separately on Thursday.
Intel's site offers bundles of software and hardware for SMBs, including applications
from Salesforce.com, Symantec,
Microsoft, Doculex
and Tripwire.

Small businesses will be able to search for applications at the marketplace
and enter parameters like the number of employees they have. The system will
spit back recommendations, including any IBM infrastructure software that might
be appropriate. When the customer decides on an order, IBM sends it to a local
reseller who will deploy and manage the software, said Matthew Friedman, vice
president of marketing for IBM's Business Systems Division

Sign up for ITworld's Daily newsletter
Follow ITworld on Twitter @IT_world

I like it!
Post a comment
The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
peer-to-peer

Esther Schindler
If the comments are ugly, the code is ugly

claird
SVG a graphics format for 21st century

pasmith
Take Chrome OS for a test spin

Sandra Henry-Stocker
Solaris Tip: Have Your Files Changed Since Installation?

sjvn
64-bits of protection?

jfruh
Android fragments vs. the iPhone monolith

mikelgan
What Gizmodo missed about the Pro WX Wireless USB disk drive

 

Where Google Chrome security fails: the password
I heard mention that the Chrome OS will have some sort of encryption available a la bitlocker. If it's possible to encrypt personal data using another password or key, then it may have potential for very secure data.... And Ubuntu has an 'encrypt home directory' option, perhaps google should follow suit.
- Dann

Join the conversation here

The Daily Tip

The Daily TipQuick, practical advice for IT pros. Made fresh daily.

Hot tips:

Want to cash in on your IT savvy? Send your tip to tips@itworld.com. If we post it, we'll send you a $25 Amazon e-gift card.

Newsletters

Subscribe to ITWORLD TODAY and receive the latest IT news and analysis.

I would like to receive offers via email from ITworld partners.
By clicking submit you agree to the terms and conditions outlined in ITworld's privacy policy.
Featured Sponsor

AISO founders envisioned a Web hosting company that was environmentally friendly. While the company employed energy-efficient innovations like solar panels, its infrastructure produced unacceptable power and cooling requirements. Find out how AISO leveraged AMD technology to overcome their challenge in this case study white paper.

In this whitepaper, Scalar explores the opportunity to change the landscape with respect to mission critical databases built around Oracle. Leveraging technologies such as Linux, high-end commodity processing power and Oracle RAC technology to architect, design, build and maintain database infrastructure that delivers maximum availability, reliability and performance at a fraction of traditional cost.

On a typical day, weather.com, the Web site for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, serves up between 15 million and 20 million page views. But in September 2004, when back-to-back hurricanes ransacked Florida, the peak traffic on one day more than tripled: over 70 million page views by more than 7 million unique visitors. Read the full success story now.

Marketplace