Event
Summary
"At IBM's PartnerWorld 2000 in San Diego this Monday (24Jan00), SAS Institute
and IBM will announce a new business intelligence relationship that will include
the formation of consulting practices focused on SAS solutions, and further
development of e-business intelligence solutions that integrate IBM's DB2 database
product family and SAS software.
The
announcement between the two business intelligence leaders is the latest in
a select group of key strategic relationships forged by IBM as it refocuses
its partnering efforts to provide world-class e-business applications. Recent
announcements have included partnerships with other leading software providers
such as Siebel Systems and SAP AG.
The agreement between IBM and SAS Institute and the planned joint development
efforts will result in:
*
Creation of a consulting practice in IBM Global Services specializing in SAS
solutions. These consultants will work with joint customers to integrate the
powerful decision support capabilities of SAS solutions with existing transaction
systems and other e-business applications.
*
Closer integration of SAS solutions and DB2 Universal Database to enhance performance
for all IBM server platforms, including Netfinity, AS/400, RS/6000, NUMA-Q and
S/390.
*
IBM Global Services' access to a wide range of SAS Institute solutions for business
intelligence, data warehousing, and decision support.
The relationship will initially focus on three primary areas where IBM and SAS
Institute will offer end-to-end solutions to enterprise customers. IBM Global
Services will provide the analytical services, systems integration and industry-specific
consulting expertise. SAS Institute will provide software solutions for Customer
Relationship Management (CRM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Supplier
Relationship Management (SRM). IBM and SAS Institute plan to more tightly integrate
and thus enhance performance of DB2 Universal Database and SAS software."
Market
Impact
The existing customer base for IBM DB2 Universal Database should be strongly
interested in this development. The ability to access solutions for customer
relationship management and extended supply chain solutions should be especially
intriguing. We believe that the combination of SAS's strong business intelligence
solutions and IBM's global sales and consulting forces will make a powerful
combination. The question for customers will be whether this is just a marketing
alliance or an actual combination of powerful products at the code level, allowing
customers to seamlessly integrate the products.
User Recommendations
Customers investigating CRM, ERP, and SRM solutions should give a strong look
at the combined IBM/SAS solution. Questions that the vendors should be asked
include:
How tightly will the code bases of DB2 and the SAS products be integrated?
What increases in database throughput to DB2 on MVS will be provided by this
integration? (i.e. how will database throughput be improved?)
Will
IBM's consultants be trained and certified on this solution set before they
work at customer sites?
What
vertical markets are the vendors intending to focus on given their statement
of "industry-specific consulting expertise"?
IBM
has stated that it is "refocusing its partnering efforts to provide world-class
e-business applications". What is the long-term direction of this program?
Is
this just marketing hype about a joint venture or an actual product and consulting
combination?