IBM has announced "Ready for UniData UniVerse, the latest addition to the "Ready for..." program in the Information Management family. Designed specifically for IBM Partners with an industry solution, the program is intended to help partners demonstrate their commitment to quality in the IT industry and also show customers that their solution meets key IBM integration standards for UniData or UniVerse data server software for Linux, Unix and Windows.
"This is a program that IBM has started for all of our data servers and the idea was to provide a logo that could be used by our partners in their marketing efforts," to highlight the fact that their solutions run on IBM technology, Susie Siegesmund, director, U2 Data Servers & Tools, IBM Information Management, told DBTA. One of the ways a vendor can promote itself at IBM is as an IBM Business Partner, but the Business Partner logo usage has some requirements, observed Siegesmund, noting, that the Ready for UniData UniVerse program offers an opportunity for smaller partners and newer partners who want to highlight that they are using IBM technology. To participate, a vendor must be a member of IBM's PartnerWorld Program, "but any partner can join PartnerWorld and it is free,” said Siegesmund.
The new Ready for UniData UniVerse program offers U2 Business Partners the ability to leverage IBM and U2 brand equity and market to a broader customer base, as well as additional IBM-initiated visibility, since business partners accepted into the program will be prominently displayed in IBM’s U2 Solution Portal. Partners will also gain access to a "Ready for UniData UniVerse" mark.
After a partner lists a solution in the Global Solutions Directory and nominates it for validation, IBM will verify the results and notify the partner of the outcome. Once a solution is validated, the vendor can display the mark in the packaging and marketing materials of the qualified offerings. “It is something that can be used by the newest kid on the street as well as our long-established partners,” Siegesmund said.
For more on the U2 Solution Portal, go here. http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/u2/portal
For more on IBM’s PartnerWorld Program, go here. http://www-01.ibm.com/partnerworld/pwhome.nsf/weblook/pub_join_allBPs.html