IBM PartnerWorld 2013: Big Data Takes Center Stage

IBM (NYSE: IBM) PartnerWorld 2013 runs this week in Las Vegas with some 1,500 of the vendor’s channel partners slated to attend. The confab gives IBM’s business partners plentiful opportunities to go one-on-one with key executives, including a veritable who’s who of the company’s channel intelligentsia.

Beginning with channel chief Mark Hennessy’s opening remarks today and extending to Jim Corgel (ISVs), Susan Jain (Global BPs), Bruno Di Leo (Sales and Distribution), Jon Iwata (Marcom), Steve Mills (Software and Systems), Mike Rhodin (Software), Robert LeBlanc (Middleware), Tim Shaughnessey (Services), Rod Atkins (STG), Kristie Bell (STG) and Mark Register (Midmarket), the speakers lineup leaves no channel corner untouched.

“It’s less of a convention and more of a set of strategic leadership meetings,” said Ed Abrams, IBM Midmarket vice president (pictured).

What’s at the top of the agenda? Big Data, mobile, social media and the cloud—maybe even in that order. Expect growth markets to be a hot topic, especially for Big Data and mobile. IBM has been pushing big data analytics for four years now and last week it rolled out its new MobileFirst platform. Attendees should expect to hear more from IBM execs on both initiatives.

Right out of the gate, IBM will offer its business partners one-year free access to cloud-based IBM Digital Analytics technology that helps businesses analyze Big Data to identify patterns in customer preferences.

“The offer is around a SaaS-based piece of analytics capability that we have directed to new opportunities and trends we see in the market,” Abrams said. “We’re giving our partners access to a SaaS app that helps them to look at market opportunities to identify where and how to grow existing customers, go after new customers, key marketing messages, and key points customers want to hear about.”

IBM will back the promotion with funding to channel partners to help them market the data analytics capability to customers, Abrams said. “This is the tip of a sword in demonstrating to partners IBM’s value and how we can work together to drive a deeper relationship between us.”

On IBM’s new Ready for MobileFirst channel enablement program, Abrams said IBM “wants our partners to be able to build mobile capabilities for the customers.” The program is tied to IBM’s Software Value Plus incentive platform and partners participating in the Ready initiative will receive support scaled to their PartnerWorld level, he said.

As for social media, IBM disclosed earlier this year that it has remade its marketing teams and trained its people to rely heavily on the social stratosphere in its product, brand and channel marketing strategy. For sure, they’ll be a great deal of conversation and strategizing on social business issues.

IBM wants partners to come away from PartnerWorld with a “better understanding of how and where to capture new market opportunities, what IBM is giving them to get there and how best to approach their customers to help them capitalize on Big Data, mobile and cloud opportunities,” said Abrams.