Despite the proliferation of technology products and services, many companies still encounter obstacles with purchasing and procurement processes. Many of these obstacles can be attributed to geography, where some regions benefit from a more streamlined sales mechanism than others.
Beyond this, the volume of products and complexity of purchasing requests often drive procurement executives to focus on a handful of trusted platforms and resellers that they know can deliver what they need using a process they are comfortable with. And then there are the loyalty benefits that often lead to lower costs.
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In light of these factors, IBM recently expanded an initiative that enables IBM channel partners in the United States to resell IBM software that’s available on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace. The program has been extended so that channel partners in several European countries can also resell software from the AWS Marketplace.
Strong Start
With high adoption rates in the reselling initiative’s first phase, IBM has expanded it to cover the UK, Germany, France, and Denmark. It’s also enabling customers to leverage AWS consumption commitments, working with IBM partners, so that European customers will be able to procure IBM software through the AWS Marketplace more efficiently.
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From the reseller side, IBM partners are finding broader markets and streamlining the sales process. David La Rose, GM, IBM Ecosystem, Sales, discussed the expansion in a recent blog post. “This is particularly exciting because, with this initiative, we’re creating a terrific opportunity for members of the IBM Ecosystem to work alongside one another, unlocking collaboration between a hyperscaler, resellers, and IBM — all for the benefit of clients.”
“And it creates additional opportunities for partners to support clients along their hybrid cloud and AI journeys, leading to new routes for growth for partners operating in the US and EMEA.”
Ultimately, the expansion of this initiative is about IBM’s customers, supporting their needs and requirements regardless of geographic location.
Partner Benefits
While demonstrating the company’s commitment to focusing on its global client base, this news from IBM highlights its relationships with resellers. Benefits that business software resellers can bring to customers include:
- Lower administration costs and management commitments
- Direct access to new client bases
- Delegation of onboarding and implementation responsibilities
There is also a wide range of benefits to customers:
- Direct access to industry professionals with expansive product knowledge
- Consolidated procurement activities
- Contextual understanding of customer business strategy and pain points
Tony Albanese, Director of Alliances, SoftwareOne, said the following about its role as a company providing software sourcing solutions: “The ability for SoftwareOne customers to purchase IBM solutions through the AWS Marketplace supports our model of providing our customers the best experience possible and enabling them to maximize the value of technology. It allows our customers a choice in acquiring software while still benefiting from the value SoftwareOne provides as an IBM partner.”
