Beefing up distribution for its portal software, IBM today announced a number of partnerships with consulting companies that will result in IBMs WebSphere Portal technology being integrated into–in many cases–vertical market offerings.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Sapient Corp, SBI and Co Inc. and Hitachi Ltds Experio will co-market or incorporate IBMs WebSphere Portal technology into their own portal offerings.
IBM is also looking to extend the WebSphere Portal line with additional tools, which will be announced in the fall. The new tools will target vertical industry sectors and focus on usability and portal customization, officials said.
The consultancies have varying arrangements with IBM, from co-marketing to co-development.
CGE&Y will incorporate WebSphere Portal into its vertical portal offerings for financial services, health care and manufacturing.
SBI will hold seminars during the last week in September for companies interested in adopting portal technology. With IBM, SBI will target manufacturing, retail, telecommunications and transportation industries.
Experio Solutions, Hitachis business and IT consulting subsidiary, will launch a campaign later this month to identify candidates for IBM WebSphere Portal—and then work with IBM to incorporate the technology.
Some consultancies have already incorporated WebSphere Portal into their portal offerings.
Deloitte & Touche recently released its CFO Portal, an analytic tool that provides CFOs and other financial professionals with data from ERP [Enterprise Resource Planning] and financial software regarding operational efficiency and financial performances.
Likewise, Sapient has recently gone to market with a portal offering aimed at the pharmaceutical sector.
Several smaller niche IT consulting firms will also incorporate IBMs WebSphere Portal into their offerings.
Dimension Data, for example, has partnered with IBM to create industry-aligned portal offerings for the financial services, manufacturing, automotive and professional services markets.
IBM, of Somers, N.Y., also formed a relationship with application developer S1 Corp. S1, which develops software for banks, will also use IBM WebSphere Portal in its offerings and resell the technology.
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