8
IBM Value Advantage Plus IBM Software Group MAXIMIZE BUSINESS PROFITABILITY. INCREASE FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY. ACHIEVE GREATER ROI.
IBM Value Advantage Plus
IBM Software Group
MAXIMIZE BUSINESS PROFITABILITY.
INCREASE FINANCIAL FLEXIBILITY.
ACHIEVE GREATER ROI.
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
Value Advantage Plus is all about enabling trusted Business Partners, like you, to increase business profitability and financial flexibility for greater ROI.
Customers are always searching for innovative technology solutions that address specific IT requirements. Oftentimes, these customers invest in point products and services from a variety of providers in an attempt to piece together a business solution. Business Partners who are capable of providing complete solutions, however, are better able to meet the ever-evolving needs of those customers—while maintaining a competi-tive advantage.
IBM offers substantial rewards to Business Partners who 1) offer and deploy customer business solutions based on IBM Software and, 2) who provide an overall solution that includes value-added applications or services performed by the Business Partner. Based on this model, the IBM Value Advantage Plus incentives program helps to enable Business Partners to more than double potential margins on the resale of IBM software.
IBM has made it easy to participate in Value Advantage Plus!* Simply complete the online application form that is available on IBM PartnerWorld®. Within the online application, you will be asked to provide information about your current business model, your value-add solution and to supply three (3) trusted customer references who can attest to the business value of your solution.
This “Getting Started” guide is designed to help you complete your application so you can participate in Value Advantage Plus. The appli-cation takes approximately forty-five (45) minutes to complete. If you are unable to complete the application in that time, you can save your data for up to fourteen (14) days.
Value Advantage Plus is all about enabling trusted Business Partners, like you, to increase business profitability and financial flexibility for greater ROI.
* In order to participate in IBM Value Advantage Plus, you must be an approved member in IBM PartnerWorld. If you would like to learn more about becomingan IBM Business Partner and the affiliated membership benefits, please visit us at: ibm.com/partnerworld
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
Registration Checklist
A registration checklist is available from the Value Advantage Plus Web site to assist you with the registration process. It is recommended that your PartnerWorld Authorized Profile Administrator (i.e., your designated business contact) use this checklist as a guide throughout the registration process to ensure that all of the steps are completed.
Become an IBM PartnerWorld member.Print and complete the Value Advantage Plus Application Form Worksheet.Review and accept the online Value Advantage Plus Terms and Conditions.Complete and submit the online Value Advantage Plus application.
Application for Value Advantage Plus Membership
The Value Advantage Plus online application is available from the IBM Value Advantage Plus module on the IBM PartnerWorld Web site: ibm.com/partnerworld/valueadvantageplus
An IBM ID and Password are Required
It is recommended that your Authorized Profile Administrator print and complete the Value Advantage Plus worksheet from ibm.com/partnerworld/valueadvantageplus prior to accessing the Value Advantage Plus online application. This will ensure that your answers are readily available and will greatly simplify your online submission. If you would like more details about the registration process, a Value Ad-vantage Plus Registration Guide is available online: ibm.com/partnerworld/valueadvantageplus
When you launch the online application, you will be asked to acknowledge your acceptance of the Value Advantage Plus terms. Once you have com-pleted the application, you will receive a confirmation e-mail and additional information on any next steps.
The online application form is divided into three (3) main sections in the form of multiple choice questions:
Business model and company background (e.g., revenue, target market, distribution in that revenue, view of verti-cal markets, size of business)Solution or services value-add (e.g., primary area, which IBM brands, average cost to end-user)Customer references
The following pages provide an overview of each section.
1.2.
3.
4.
1.
2.
3.
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
Total company revenue for current and previous year. (US Dollar equivalent, full twelve (12) months)
Proportion of revenue from medium businesses (organizations with 100 to 1,000 employees) for current and previous year.
A twenty-five (25) word description of any significant changes to your business model or target markets in the last 12 months. This may in-clude, for example, a migration from hardware focus to software or a shift in market focus from changes in vendor selection acquisitions.
Company revenue distribution. An indication of the proportion of your current and previous years’ rev-enue that was derived from the different elements of your business. Some examples may be:
Revenue from the resale of IBM and non-IBM operating systems and middlewareApplication customization, design and implementation servicesBusiness or application consultingRevenue from hardware resale
Approximate number of current customers.
A fifty (50) word (or less) description of your company’s overall value proposition. This may also include your mission statement.
Key vertical markets you participate in with approximate revenue distri-bution for the current year. Some examples of vertical markets include:
Banking Health Retail Wholesale
The optional checklist has a more detailed “pick list” to help you com-plete this section.
Who is your designated software distributor? A list is available for selection.
1.
2.
3.
4.
•
•••
5.
6.
7.
••••
8.
Section 1—Business Model
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
Is this value-add an application, a service practice or services, or combination of the two?
What is the primary solution area? A few examples are:
Business IntegrationCollaborationContent Managemente-CommerceInfrastructure
What is the solution or service practice name?
What is your solution’s primary value-add (100 word description)?
What is the name of the person in your company who is most familar with this value-add solution and/or service?
What IBM software brands are used in this solution?
What is the average solution cost (US currency) to end-user (excluding hardware)?
What is the cost of the IBM middleware as a percentage of the total cost of the Business Partner solution (excluding hardware and operating sys-tems)?
If services are included in your value-add, what are the types of ser-vices that either include IBM software or are certified to run on IBM software? These could be (but are not limited to):
Business ConsultingNetworking & Connectivity ServicesProduct Design ManagementSystem Integration ServicesTechnical Support Services
What is the number of people with skills or certifications on the IBM software you sell with your solution?
How many solutions do you think you will sell in the next twelve (12) months?
1.
2.
•••••
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
•••••
10.
11.
Section 2—Solution or Service Value-add
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
You will be required to enter three (3) references for the value-add solution and/or service for which you are applying for approval. IBM will contact each reference. Each reference should be able to speak to your value as a business partner and be able to describe the solution and/or service for which you are applying.
Important:For Business Partners new to IBM, it is not a requirement that refer-enced solutions be built on IBM software.Each additional value-add solution and/or service for which you are applying will require only (1) one customer reference.
Company Name:
Country of the Reference:
Contact Name:
E-mail Address:
The following fields are optional but would be beneficial:
Title:
Department Name:
Phone Number:(with area code and extension)
Providing the optional information will shorten the time required to contact the reference and thereby shorten the time to approve your application.
Reference Activity A brief description of your activity at the reference account, which utilizes your services or solution.
Date:
1.
2.
Section 3—Customer References
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
Submitting the Application
When all information has been entered into the application online, you may submit the application for approval.
You will receive notification, in the form of a Change Request number, when your application has been completed successfully.
In the event your application cannot be completed successfully, you will receive notification of the problem with guidelines on how to proceed.
Application Approval ProcessIBM will make every effort to approve your Value Advantage Plus applica-tion within three (3) weeks.
When all required information has been supplied and verified and two (2) positive end-user customer references have been obtained, your applica-tion will then be presented for approval. Notification of the application ap-proval will be sent to both your Authorized Profile Administrator (APA) and the business contact of your value-add distributor (as defined in your busi-ness partner profile). This notification will provide the information needed to place an order.
If your application is not complete at the time of submission, your APA will be contacted to provide any missing information.
If, after two (2) weeks from the time your application is deemed complete, there has been no response from your end-user customer references or your APA (if applicable), you will be sent a final reminder notice giving you an additional seven (7) days to respond.
Thank you for your interest in the Value Advantage Plus incentives program. Remember, this program helps to offer a substantial financial reward to those IBM Business Partners who create total solutions using IBM software. Sign up today!
Getting Started with Value Advantage Plus
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008
International Business Machines Corporation
Route 100
Somers, NY 10589 U.S.A.
Published in the United States of America
September 2008
All Rights Reserved
IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, and PartnerWorld,
are trademarks or registered trademarks of
International Business Machines Corpora-
tion in the United States, other countries, or
both. These and other IBM trademarked terms
are marked on their first occurrence in this
information with the appropriate symbol (® or ™),
indicating US registered or common law trade-
marks owned by IBM at the time this information
was published. Such trademarks may also be
registered or common law trademarks in other
countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is
available on the Web at ibm.com/legal/copy-
trade.shtml
Other product, company or service names may
be trademarks or service marks of others.
References in this publication to IBM products
or services do not imply IBM intends to make
them available in all countries.
