IBM Corp is convinced the fun-and-games end of the business promises its salvation, and its latest move is to form Fireworks Partners as a separate unit to foster worldwide development and deployment of advanced multimedia applications and services for the commercial and consumer markets within IBM Personal Systems. Fireworks is chartered to co-ordinate varied but related businesses to ensure early marketing of leading-edge multimedia systems; create joint ventures and alliances with other firms; put up initial funding for promising, pioneering multimedia services under development by entrepreneurs outside IBM; and take responsibility for IBM’s worldwide multimedia marketing strategy and co-ordinate it across lines of business. It includes IBM’s multimedia development and marketing organisation in Atlanta, Georgia, and will oversee IBM’s Multimedia Publishing Studio and Kiosk Solutions, and will manage IBM’s involvement in Kaleida Labs, HomeView Realty Search Services and NBC Desktop News joint ventures. It is based in Somers, New York.
