Armonk, N.Y. – 02 Aug 2012: As organizations
around the world increasingly look for ways to reduce IT complexity
and overcome the growing worldwide skills shortage, IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced growing
momentum of IBM PureSystems among global clients and business
partners. In addition to education and technical guidance, IBM is
also announcing new financing options as well as increased support
from more than 700 of its Business Partners.

According to industry experts, approximately three-quarters of
global employers cite a lack of experience, skills or knowledge as
the primary reason for the difficulty filling IT positions. As
a result, organizations are searching for new
computing models that don’t require the additional
commitment of significant resources or employee training to set up
and maintain. [1]  

IBM PureSystems meets this demand by providing patterns of
expertise – a new technology model that builds on the
experience of thousands of IBM clients and radically streamlines
the set-up and management of hardware and software
resources. 

Global Clients Embrace IBM PureSystems
 

Since launching in April,
clients around the world are using IBM PureSystems to reduce IT
cost and complexity. For example: 

·        
BPTP, a leading Indian real estate company,
selected IBM PureSystems to streamline its IT infrastructure to
improve the overall home buying experience for its customers.
Established in 2003, BPTP has experienced rapid growth over the
last decade. Sustaining and building upon this growth required BPTP
to find a better computing and storage solution. To meet these
challenges, it selected IBM PureSystems for all of its
processing and storage requirements. 

·        
PCCW, a leading information technology outsourcing
company based in Hong Kong, has selected IBM
PureSystems as the foundation for its new Enterprise Solutions
Superstore – an online environment for Independent Software
Vendors (ISVs). As a result, they are now able to offer customers
applications on the cloud using a Software-as-a-Service
model. 

·        
ValeCard, a multi-industry conglomerate based in
Brazil, has achieved 40 percent growth annually over the past
three-years. Facing rapid expansion of its business, ValeCard
turned to IBM PureSystems to manage thousands of transaction
records from contracts with large companies and government
entities. Additionally, ValeCard is using IBM PureSystems to help
it meet an increasing set of new regulations and standards for data
availability.  

“One of the driving factors behind ValeCard’s growth
is our ability to provide clients with customized solutions,”
said Jose Geraldo Ortigosa, ValeCard Operations Manager. “IBM
PureSystems provides us with the latest Cloud technology and other
key capabilities we need to maintain and accelerate this
growth.” 

IBM’s Ecosystem of 700 Partners Drives PureSystems
Adoption 

For IBM Business Partners, PureSystems creates a new opportunity
to help clients solve the complexity of enterprise IT, reduce costs
and encourage innovation. From resellers to distributors and
Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), more than 700 Business
Partners are supporting IBM PureSystems. PureSystems currently run
tens of thousands of existing ISV applications across four
operating environments including Windows, Linux, AIX, and IBM
System i. Additionally, Business Partners have created more than
160 new solutions and applications that are optimized to run on
PureSystems. These patterns of expertise, which span 20 industries,
can be accessed through the
IBM PureSystems Centre. They include leading
solutions from some of the world’s largest ISVs, including
ERP systems and applications for the banking, marketing, healthcare
and energy industries.  

Numerous partners are also installing PureSystems in their own
datacenters. For example Computer Gross, a managed service provider
in Italy, and OneTree Solutions, an ISV from Luxembourg are both
using the cloud capabilities of IBM PureSystems as a way to more
easily meet the needs of their customers. 

“Because IBM offers all this technology in one solution,
PureSystems provides benefits that are more than the sum of the
parts,” said Denis Avrilionis, Managing Director, OneTree
Solutions. “Using the new expert integrated system and the patterns
of expertise, OneTree Solutions was able to slash deployment of our
PriceLenz software from three weeks to eight minutes. In our
understanding, PureSystems is the most advanced integrated cloud
solution in the market.” 

To help address the new opportunity that PureSystems presents,
IBM is also providing training, marketing, certifications and
technical validation support to business partners. For
instance, dozens of IBM Innovation Centers in cities such as
Bangalore, Dublin, Johannesburg and Shanghai are helping Business
Partners develop and test their applications using IBM PureSystems.
Business Partners can also bring their clients to IBM Innovation
Centers to see PureSystems technology at work.  

In addition, more 1,300 business partners — ISVs, managed
service providers, resellers, system integrators and distributors
– have been showing their support and interest in PureSystems
by attending Business Partner Day and training events in 27 cities
around the world. PureSystems cloud capabilities are also drawing
interest, with 500 developers using the PureSystems
Cloud Trial to create applications through IBM’s
SmartCloud that are ready to run on IBM’s new expert integrated
systems. 

IBM Offers New Financing Options for
PureSystems     
 

While technology options for businesses are growing rapidly,
companies are also searching for strategic solutions to help them
shift spending away from maintaining infrastructure and toward
innovative investments.  

For example, to help credit-qualified clients easily acquire IBM
PureSystems, IBM Global Financing is making available a range of
financing options. As a result, clients will be able to avoid
paying cash up-front, while lowering their total cost of ownership.
This is the first time that clients can lease the entire value of
the system, including hardware and software. 

Credit-qualified clients that elect financing can see immediate
benefits with PureSystems while deferring their first payment for
90 days. Additionally, IBM Global Asset Recovery Services can buy
back servers, including those made by HP and Oracle, for clients
migrating to IBM PureSystems.  

Several clients are already taking advantage of this new
financing as they deploy their new IBM PureSystems. For instance,
BPTP chose to finance the PureSystems solution with IBM Global
Financing, which assures them a faster return on investment and
lower ownership risk.  

PureSystems,
the result of $2 billion in research, development and acquisitions
over four years, has been designed to help change the economics of
IT and help organizations meet skills shortages by reducing IT
costs and complexity so they can put more resources towards
innovation and growth. With PureSystems, IBM has taken the
unprecedented step of completely integrating all of the technology
components – virtualized servers, storage, networking and
cloud management software – needed to enable a customer to
turn on a private cloud system within minutes. In addition, the
highly scalable PureSystems cloud is delivered with built-in
security. 

There are two models of the PureSystems family available –
PureFlex System and PureApplication System. PureFlex System enables
organizations to more efficiently create and manage an
infrastructure, while PureApplication System allows organizations
to quickly deploy and reduce the cost and complexity of managing
applications. Both have already shipped to leading clients in 5
continents. 

For more information on IBM PureSystems visit: www.ibm.com/press/pure
 

### 

1.  ManpowerGroup, 2011 Talent Shortage Survey
Results.  

IBM Global Financing offerings are provided through IBM Credit
LLC in the United States and other IBM subsidiaries and divisions
worldwide to qualified commercial and government clients. Rates and
availability are based on a client’s credit rating, financing
terms, offering type, equipment and product type and options, and
may vary by country. Other restrictions may apply. Rates and
offerings are subject to change, extension or withdrawal without
notice and may not be available in all countries. 

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All other company, product or service names may be trademarks or
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Reseller prices may vary.