IBM Corp is attempting to push its business intelligence tools – and the hardware that they run on – to the masses. As well as a $30m advertising campaign, the company is offering BI and datamart software bundled with the latest versions of its RS/6000 and S/390 servers, and services tailored to specific market segments and financing deals. Along with its DB2 OLAP server, Intelligent Miner and DataJoiner applications, IBM will offer software from Brio Technology Inc; Ardent Software, SAP AG and others bundled with the BI packages.
IBM is calling the packages ‘Fast Start Solutions’ and claims that they will offer companies a datamart in a box at prices starting from $60,000. Ben Barnes, general manager of global business intelligence solutions, said that this was the first time IBM had offered such a package to small and medium-sized businesses. In a bid to tempt the smaller customer to take the business intelligence plunge, IBM is also offering financing deals that will enable customers to make monthly payments for the packages.
The packages include IBM’s Netfinity, AS/400, RS/6000 or S/390 servers. Barnes said that the newly launched desktop-size, S/390 ‘Multiprise’ server was the first mid-range S/390 box IBM had offered and was a key part of the new strategy. Software options include various versions of the DB2 database, Visual Warehouse and the Intelligent Miner Products as well as query and reporting tools from Cognos Inc, Brio and Business Objects SA. IBM is also offering services tailored to specific vertical segments. These are BI services for telecommunications companies, retailers and for insurance companies.
The $30m ad campaign specifically links BI tools and data warehousing to e-business, highlighting customers such as the NBA and L.L Bean. The ad copy tries to push the connection between using customer data and successful e-commerce with the line: There’s a lot more to e-business than e-commerce. Essentially, IBM is trying to make data slicing and dicing as exciting to potential customers as the idea of trading via the internet once was.
