The alliance extends BellSouth’s ePlatform strategy and state-of-the-art hosting centers in Atlanta and Miami, and builds on IBM’s leadership in the eBusiness marketplace to bring reliable and cost-effective eBusiness Infrastructure solutions to new markets. The alliance includes sales, marketing and business development initiatives that will leverage IBM’s and BellSouth’s extensive network of distribution partners who sell to businesses in the region.
Together, BellSouth and IBM will offer channel partners network-based solutions that combine IBM’s market leading eServer family and eBusiness software with access to BellSouth’s extensive data network and its full portfolio of eBusiness services. BellSouth’s e-Platform initiative offers a combination of high-speed broadband networking transport to ASPs, ISPs and eBusiness services companies. The result will be a powerful eBusiness turnkey solution that enables small and midmarket businesses to gain a presence on the Internet, and at the same time extend channel partners the ability to tap into a several billion dollar market opportunity.
Through their distribution network of solution providers and agents, BellSouth and IBM will provide midmarket customers with 24 X 7 monitored solutions based on two recognized brands. These offerings will provide a solution that customers in this market don’t often have the technological resources in-house to provide themselves. Many of these solutions will be provided on a monthly lease basis. In addition, BellSouth will support IBM’s eServer family as part of its current hosting offerings to customers. The companies will also be developing new managed hosting offerings based on IBM technology.
IBM is a recognized worldwide for its leadership in the eBusiness marketplace, so this is an ideal relationship for BellSouth, said Dick Anderson, president of BellSouth Customer Markets.
