IBM and partners join at GITEX 2004 to strengthen market outreach

The event took place at the Fairmont Hotel and forms the basis of IBM's push to strengthen opportunities for the reseller channel in the Middle East through channel development, education and training initiatives, as well as expansion of its partner base.

'Broadening access to the IT market will be beneficial for customers and channel members alike. The more support given to the channel, the stronger the market will become in terms of choice, service and product development,' said Johannes Helmreich, Manager of Business Partner Organization, Volume Channel, IBM Middle East. 'And that will, in turn, drive access to richer capabilities for a larger number of companies in the region that today perhaps do not feel so confident in building out their technology resources.'

IBM's Business Partner Information Day provided IBM channel partners support in terms of selling, marketing, research, technical support, training and certification, as well as an open distribution range of products alongside a Value Added Distribution offered by Magirus. Channel Partners also got a chance to witness a service delivery opportunity provided through IBM's well established PartnerWorld Program.

Last March, IBM announced the Middle East launch of the company's global 'PartnerWorld' Marketing enablement programme at its annual 'Business Partners Executive Conference' (BPEC) in Dubai. The program was developed to provide support for resellers, partners and developers across the region through a comprehensive marketing and enablement program designed to build broader access to technology skills, services and capabilities for businesses in the Middle East.

Through its Business Partner Organisation, IBM has actively conducted a number of training sessions and seminars for its business partners across the region, including the first Business Partners Open Day that took place in Dubai in September. As an update to the Partnerworld Enablement program, IBM has also taken the opportunity to introduce new partners as well as expand its reach into the market through hiring new business partners in the IBM Business Partner Information event.

IBM's on-demand technology comes from the way it is integrated, bringing together hardware, software and expertise, solving a business challenge. IBM partners from around the Middle East region are joining IBM to showcase their own on-demand solutions which they have developed using IBM technologies. These include solutions and platforms for a range of vertical industries such as banking, oil and gas, retail, telecoms, media and more, running on eServer xSeries, pSeries and iSeries. IBM also highlighted a new partner-driven strategy that aims to bring the benefits of business on-demand to the Middle East region. Through a number of partners across the region, IBM will demonstrate the industry's broadest range of vertical-specific business technologies that guarantee freedom through open standards, open services and Web services, and how these on-demand solutions are helping IBM channel partners expand their reach in the market by meeting the changing needs of their customers.