IBM’s Global Net Generation (NetGen) Business, a division that draws on resources from across IBM and 90,000 IBM Business Partners, has already been on the Pacific Northwest scene since last January.
However, according to NetGen City Manager Carolyn Vock, it is only in the past few months that they have begun to get actively involved in the local dotcom/VC scene.
The local NetGen team, consisting of some 25 members, consists of a variety of IBM experts ranging from client reps to product specialists.
According to Vock, NetGen’s target company is one that was “born on the web”. It is already working with about 20-30 companies in the Pacific Northwest region through its Quick Launch program.
IBM’s Quick Launch is a “Go To Market” program within IBM’s Global Net Generation Business. It involves a suite of products and services geared to start-up companies (including hardware, software, services, financing, education and infrastructure support).
“Our advantage is that we offer companies an end-to-end solution, we bring in the platform and take care of execution,” says Vock.
One such company, is Portland-based TeliSmart. Beginning with just two guys and an office last October, IBM was able to get them to market quickly. Within just a few months, TeliSmart was on the road to bringing buyers and sellers together for the real-time exchange of used, surplus and decommissioned carrier-class telecom equipment.
“As a startup, time to market is everything. By reducing the number of vendors we were dealing with, we were able to maintain focus on our core business objectives,” says TeliSmart CIO Jeff Miller.
According to Miller, getting hooked up with IBM was as easy as picking up the phone and calling the company’s Portland office. Although, that important call was the beginning of a relationship that would free TeliSmart from having to deal with the day-to-day risks of the technology side of their operations, it did not distance them from developments in that area.
“We have enjoyed a great relationship with both our eBusiness Specialist Carolyn Vock as well as our IBM Global Services project manager Eva Kearns. They worked with us closely during the initial build-out phase of our company, and they continue to keep us updated on trends and events that are relevent to TeliSmart,”
says Miller.
According to Vock, IBM’s relationship with internet companies is not just about getting them to market quickly. The company also offers a variety of educational tracks for the continued growth of companies. While most companies first focus on the U.S. Market, IBM is later available to help a company go global.
In fact, IBM will be launching in September an educational program titled: Going Global. The three-day educational series will teach selected dotcoms the necessary steps toward international e-business success. Topics to be addressed in the Going Global Series range from the Technology issues for internationalization to International branding and marketing.
One of the latest offerings from IBM’s Global Net Generation Business is the IBM Incubator Series. It provides customized solutions for the benefit of incubators and their portfolio companies.
Also, later this month Vock and her team will be hosting a seminar together with IBM’s CRM partner Siebel Systems on how to effectively capitalize on customer relationships and manage your partner and reseller’s interactions.
Vock is very excited about the opportunities in the Pacific Northwest for IBM Net Generation.
“It is very satisfying to watch a small company be able have access to the right infrastructure and watch them grow.”
