Arrow ECS IBM Group Newsletter

Retail Briefing in RTP - August 18 - 19

IBM will hold a Retail Executive Briefing titled Innovative Solutions for Mid-Market Retailers on August 18 - 19, 2009 in the Raleigh Retail Innovation Center.  Invite end-user clients to attend the IBM RSS Business Partners. The attached PDF will be helpful to encourage clients to attend this briefing.

Download Briefing Invite August 18-19

Build your pipeline with the NEW Five-Touch Lead Nurturing Campaign

5 Touch Program - A NEW demand generation offering now available on the MPower SmartCart.

"True lead nurturing, a long-term approach to building the pipeline, has become even more critical to integrated marketing.  Traditional lead generation campaigns, while an effective method of building the sales funnel, tend to be more focused on the short-term sale.  With the saturation of the market for key technology solutions, it has become even more critical for vendors to truly understand their prospect base and target audience, opening up the opportunity for more targeted, relevant messages and solutions to be provided.  It's not "what can you do," but "what can you do for ME?"  In turn, and especially in the current economic climate, companies are slower to commit to spending on new solutions unless there's a strong ROI presented.  More time is spent on evaluating and analyzing the options.  With a solid lead nurturing program, the likelihood that name recognition, both from the solution and vendor side, will remain in the purchaser's mind when the time comes time for organizations to make that critical choice."  - Alan Feldman, Regional Sales Manager, Winn Technology Group

By following up and nurturing your targets, valuable prospects can be identified, cultivated and delivered to your sales team for action. Click here to see the Lead Nurturing and Cultivation 5 Touch Program

To become an MPower Partner click here.

ISS Opportunities

Do you need an additional 13% on ISS Opportunities?

ISS Deal registration process and guidelines:

• The Business Partner must be an IBM ISS approved Business Partner to participate
• Business Partners must be BP-enabled to access PartnerWorld / GPP
• Business Partners will not be paid on previously closed opportunities
• ISS GPP Registered deals are valid for 365 days                   
• Only valid on “NET NEW” opportunities greater than $25K (IBM ISS List Price) qualify
• The Business Partner is the opportunity identifier / the first to register
• IBM or Another Business Partner has not already submitted or registered the opportunity
• The opportunity must be remarketed
• Business Partners will receive an e-mail notification within 5 business days (approval or rejection)

• CAM’s (Channel Account Managers) for ISS will be notified via email
• If purchasing through a Distributor, the Distributor will also be notified via email

“T2” Business Partners must provide GPP registration # & PO to their VAD

• Deal Registration is utilizing Contracts On Line, which gives Business Partners a view to order status as Arrow ECS rolls out IBM COL to all ISS Business Partners beginning July of 2009.
• Deals closed as “special bids” will not apply

Reminder Notice: August 1 Change for Penalties if SARs/TDAs are not Properly Completed

REMINDER:  Effective August 1, 2009, IBM Business Partners will be subject to a penalty of $2,500 for each transaction found noncompliant with Solution Assurance requirements. This penalty will be assessed only for noncompliance on mandatory Pre-sale and Pre-install TDA requirements as outlined in the TC/DP List.
In addition, a penalty of $25,000 will be assessed for any transaction where the failure to perform a mandatory Expert TDA is responsible, in part or whole, for a critical situation being opened with IBM.

Please contact Arrow if you have questions about TDA requirements.

IBM Systems Consolidation Tool - New Off-line Version Available

IBM is pleased to announce the availability of the IBM Systems Consolidation Evaluation Tools off-line version, known as Pack-N-Go. This off-line version requires that you have a valid and active user id / password on the host site:

https://roianalyst.alinean.com/stg/

prior to downloading and installing. This off-line version, once installed, will allow you to access and utilize the tool without the need for an internet connection. Additionally it will allow you to synchronize the local system version with the host system thus ensuring continuity between the two locations. Note that right after installation you'll want to proceed with the first synchronization event which may take a while depending on how many analysis you have previously run. We believe you'll find this new flexibility option very valuable in your usage of this financial tool.

To access the off-line Pack-N-Go version please go to this site:

 

http://png.alinean.com/IBM_STG/Alinean EnterpriseROI Desktop.html

Note that you'll have two options for installation:

Install Alinean EnterpriseROI - this is for your standard Windows environment

 Install Alinean EnterpriseROI (x64) - this is for your 64 bit Windows environment

Supported environments are: Windows XP or Windows Vista

Growth through Skills

New certification preparation and product training

Arrow continues to strive to provide our valued partners with the most up to date information regarding Growth Through Skills, IBM's new controlled distribution program. Here, you will find new services available to you to receive the most up to date information about Growth Through Skills preparedness and product group training.

In this tough economic climate, it's essential that we offer you world-class selling, training and development resources -all accessible anytime, anywhere and with little or no charge. With that in mind, we've added new training resources to help you: build product skills, prepare for technical and sales certification exams and deliver greater client value.

System x - KYI Offer

Are you familiar with the Know Your IBM (KYI) Rep Reward program?  If you aren't, this is a great opportunity to get engaged by registering at www.ibm.com/partnerworld/knowyouribm!  And if you're already registered, it's an easy way to add 150 points to your account balance!

For all registered participants, complete the Systems Connect eXpert Overview module located on the home page of the Systems Connect eXpert Web site and earn 150 KYI Reward Points. The IBM Systems Connect eXpert education Web site provides IBM Business Partners with easy-to-follow, flexible roadmaps to entry and advanced certification for both sales and technical employees. Online roadmaps, education pools and other resources will help you develop your IBM System x, BladeCenter and Storage skills ... and ... grow your sales.

To access the Systems Connect eXpert Overview module, go to www.ibm.com/partnerworld/systemsconnectexpert, enroll by completing five easy enrollment questions, then select and successfully complete the Systems Connect eXpert Overview module located on the right nav of the home page of Systems Connect eXpert. The overview module delivers a concise summary of the education, resources and benefits contained in the Systems Connect eXpert education offering.

This offering is available from July 24, 2009 through December 31, 2009 to all KYI participants.

Download 090724 CC0907-227 Earn KYI points for completing overview class

Announcing the Q309 Storage Sales Academy (SSA) program for North America: "Selling Data Protection and Information Availability Solutions".

The Q309 Storage Sales Academy (SSA) will focus on “Selling Data Protection and Information Availability Solutions” as part of another new, joint three-day session to be held in conjunction with our Tivoli Storage and Tivoli Security Sales Enablement teams.   Our first 1.5 days will drill down into why this topic is often top of mind for so many customers today, and help you better understand what is involved in building a cost-effective strategy that delivers more consistent availability for their most important asset – their data.   We will feature separate, in-depth modules on how to sell Backup/Restore, Rapid Data Recovery, and Continuous Availability solutions that highlight both new and established tools and technologies from our storage hardware, Tivoli software, and GTS services offerings.   We’ll look at best practices for protecting some leading application environments with IBM Information Availability solutions, as well as how IBM services can be deployed to help many companies execute on a new data protection plan.   We’ll also highlight how some of our midrange disk products can play a key role in a comprehensive, high availability solution, and introduce a major new enhancement to the DS5000 portfolio coming in Q3.   The afternoon of Day two will continue with additional solutions and recent updates that will help you sell our industry-leading, Tivoli storage software portfolio, while Day three will focus heavily on critical Tivoli security topics of interest to many of our sellers.

Three-day agendas will be presented at six regional locations across North America according to the following schedule:

August 05-07                San Francisco
August 11-13                New York
August 17-19                Chicago
August 19-21                Toronto
August 24-26                Dallas
August 26-28                Atlanta

The Q309 SSA registration website is now available for your use at the URL below.    There may be some space limitations, so please do not hesitate to submit your enrollments as soon as possible.

https://www-03.ibm.com/servers/eserver/zseries/education/topgun/enrollment/esfldedu.nsf/LUWebClasses/Selected_Storage_Programs%7C%7CQ309_Storage_Sales_Academy_(SSA)_-_%22Selling_Data_Protection_and_Information_Availability_Solutions%22?OpenDocument

Summer savings - take 20% off Technical Sales Mastery tests

Beginning August 1, 2009 and ending on September 30, 2009, IBM is offering a 20% discount on all* IBM Technical Sales Mastery tests.

Starting August 1st, when scheduling an IBM Technical Sales Mastery or Technical Mastery test, use the promo code 20free4me to receive a 20% discount off the test price. This promo code only applies to Technical Sales Mastery tests taken at an authorized Prometric Testing Center and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers.

Promotional code: 20free4me
Date: August 1, 2009 - September 30, 2009

*IBM Tivoli Technical Sales Mastery tests are not part of this promotion. Tivoli is running a separate promotion which you can find on the Tivoli Knowledge Center under "Training."

Visit the mastery site and click on News and Announcements.

BP Advantage Newsline call Aug. 5 - Cool Marketing Tools

Join the IBM BP Advantage Newsline webcast on August 5 to learn how PartnerWorld University Systems College can help you, what tools are available to become a Systems eXpert, and what IBM Internet Security Systems certifications are needed.

Agenda

• Welcome
• PartnerWorld University Systems College - new for you
• How to be a Systems eXpert
• IBM Internet Security Systems certification
• Q&A

Access and call-in details
Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Time: Noon - 1:00 p.m. ET. No registration required.

Webcast: //sametimeunyte.com. Select "Join a Meeting"
Webcast ID: 3163634
If you have not used Sametime Unyte previously, we recommend that you complete a system check beforehand: Unyte Meeting System Check

Audio Dial-in: (800) 475-4945 or (773) 799-3307. Passcode: NEWSLINE.

Presentations can also be found on the day of the call at: www.ibm.com/partnerworld/mem/newsline

Details: https://www-304.ibm.com/jct01005c/partnerworld/mem/chcomm/pageDisplay.jsp?doc=/sales/ssi/rep_bm/n/9/CN0907-329USEN/index.html