New business model to exploit PLM growth

An IBM Product Lifecycle Management Solutions product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 3, 2005

Dassault Systemes and IBM are implementing a new channel management model designed to improve organisational efficiency.

Dassault Systemes and IBM are implementing a new channel management model designed to improve organisational efficiency and help IBM business partners better capture the growing PLM opportunities in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market.

Although IBM will continue to provide end-to-end, global PLM solutions, Dassault Systemes will be responsible for operation of the sales channel of IBM PLM Business Partners in the SMB market in selected European countries and in the USA.

Midmarket manufacturers will increase PLM spend at 16% CAGR through 2008, according to an AMR report.

The new Channel Management Provider (CMP) organisation has been established jointly by IBM and Dassault Systemes to streamline their support to IBM Business Partners in the PLM market and help accelerate the transition of small and medium sized customers from CAD to full PLM implementations.

In this new organisation, Dassault Systemes will be in charge of the operational management (sales management, channel enablement and marketing programmes) in the USA, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Sweden, Russia and the CIS countries (Commonwealth of Independent States), leveraging the success of the model already in place in France, Belgium, Monaco, and Luxembourg.

This is the first of a series of agreements aimed at strengthening and transforming the IBM-Dassault Systemes partnership to maximise the value of their PLM offerings.

This will help customers, included SMBs, accelerate their on demand business transformation of which product lifecycle management is a key component and will help IBM and Dassault Systemes increase their global PLM market share.

In this new model, the contractual relationship between IBM and its Business Partners in the PLM area remains unchanged as they continue to be IBM Business Partners.

IBM will continue to have the overall responsibility of marketing, sales and support of its PLM portfolio of solutions.

"The SMB market is recognising the tremendous benefits that can be achieved by implementing PLM", said John Gaydac, Director PLM Transformation, IBM Product Lifecycle Management solutions.

"Together with Dassault Systemes, we have agreed on a new and more efficient operational approach for channel management".

"This new level of teaming will allow IBM and DS, along with our business partners to deliver increased value to our SMB clients, enabling them to realise the full value of PLM".

"This new development is a positive evolution of our long-lasting partnership with IBM and demonstrates our continuous mission to provide the channel with best-in-class skills and resources for sales, marketing and technical support", said Etienne Droit, Executive Vice President, Sales and Distribution, Dassault Systemes.

"Together with IBM, we have engineered a lean and efficient model to better capture the growing PLM opportunities among SMBs".

"We see this as a unique opportunity to capture PLM growth opportunities, to expand into new markets, to achieve breakthrough results, and to increase our market among SMBs in Europe and the US".