"IBM WebSphere Application Server - Express allows the EchoMail Direct solution to be delivered at a more
affordable price point to the small and mid-market. By partnering with IBM on WebSphere - Express, EchoMail
is positioned to leverage industry leading WebSphere technologies like Web services, Portal and Commerce.
The brand reach of WebSphere - Express can help EchoMail Direct reach
new audiences in the Enterprise and Small to Medium business market."
- V.A.Shiva, President and CEO, EchoMail
IBM Announces WebSphere - Express For On-Demand e-Business In The Midmarket
Low-Cost, Easy-To-Use Secure Software Backed By Innovative Partner Support Package
SOMERS, NY - (INTERNET WIRE) - November 12, 2002 - IBM today announced WebSphere* - Express -- a new
addition to IBM's industry-leading WebSphere software family -- built for mid-market companies and the business
partners that serve them. IBM WebSphere - Express offerings are priced dramatically below competitive offerings
and are easy to deploy and manage while extending IBM WebSphere's strengths in open standards, security and
reliability to companies with 100 to 1,000 employees.
IBM WebSphere - Express addresses the need of mid-size companies for an open infrastructure that allows
information to flow across independent business operations, such as those for managing customer relationships
or the supply chain. This type of integration is a major ingredient in becoming an on-demand e-business --
able to respond quickly, intelligently and flexibly to customer demands and changing market conditions.
Typically capital constrained and risk-averse, mid-market businesses are looking for reliable and
easy-to-deploy solutions that leverage the Web to better serve their customers. With the WebSphere - Express
offerings, IBM is providing an entry point to on-demand e-business with enterprise-class security and the
ability to grow as business needs change.
"Mid-market businesses are demanding solutions that deliver immediate business value," said Jocelyne Attal,
Vice President of Marketing, IBM WebSphere Software. "Their focus is on implementing easy, flexible solutions
that can grow quickly. IBM WebSphere - Express is extremely well suited to this market because it lowers the
cost of those initial solutions while establishing a secure platform for continued growth."
Priced dramatically below competitive offerings, the IBM WebSphere - Express platform is easy to deploy
and manage. With simple, consistent pricing across the family, IBM WebSphere - Express offerings can be
purchased on a per-user basis or by processor. For example, the new WebSphere Application Server - Express
is priced as low as $25 per user, or $2,000 per processor when supporting an unlimited number of users. This
is less than half the price of competitive products and includes everything needed to build and deploy Web
applications, including the application server, development tools and templates, and support and maintenance.
IBM WebSphere - Express Offers Fast Installation, Integrated Tools, Partner Incentives
With only five clicks, a business can install a portal or an application server, allowing customers to
build and run a Web site with minimal technical skills. Customers can create and deploy interactive Web
content quickly via integrated development tools using the latest Web services standards for JavaTM and XML.
With WebSphere - Express, a business can build personalized Web sites where users can share documents,
monitor inventory in electronic catalogues, or check account or shipping updates. A visual page designer
and animation tools help developers create attractive, easy-to-use interactive Web sites and connect to
back-office applications and data.
The software supports a wide variety of platforms including Linux, the open-source operating system popular
with midmarket companies, IBM iSeries eServer*, whose predominant customer base is mid-sized companies, and
Windows.
Members of the IBM WebSphere - Express family include:
- WebSphere Application Server - Express, software based on the latest Java and Web services standards for a
ready-to-go reliable, secure infrastructure.
- WebSphere Portal - Express, enabling mid-market businesses and departments within larger companies to more
easily deploy employee, business partner, and customer portals.
- WebSphere Business Connection - Express, an entry-level edition of IBM WebSphere Business Connection software
for business-to-business process integration and data sharing among trading partners of all types.
IBM WebSphere - Express development tools offer developers greater productivity to build and deploy
applications. The product includes wizards, templates, and step-by-step developer "guides" that make even
novice or non-Java-savvy programmers highly productive.
"Delivering world-class business solutions to our customers is Job One at Intuit Eclipse," said Michael
B. Honig, Vice President, Business Development, at Intuit Eclipse, part of Intuit, the leading provider of
business and financial management solutions for mid-market businesses. "WebSphere - Express hits the mark
on functionality, usability, and price. We are working with IBM to seamlessly integrate WebSphere Application
Server - Express into the Intuit Eclipse Distribution Management System."
The new software gives mid-market companies room to grow, and it provides smooth migration to the rest
of the IBM WebSphere family as more advanced development and deployment capabilities are required.
Mid-market businesses implement business solutions, not technology, and IBM research shows that almost
two-thirds of those solutions are delivered by channel partners. As part of its mid-market initiative, IBM
is also announcing an Express partner pack for partners, which bundles education, training, and porting
assistance. In addition, to help facilitate customer pilots, partners receive five free WebSphere Application
Server - Express licenses to resell. The WebSphere - Express partner pack also includes on-line mentoring,
demand generation programs that include "call-me" buttons to link partner solutions to telesales specialists,
and advanced direct marketing services. The program will be open to any Business Partner building applications
on a WebSphere Express product.
Price and Availability
IBM WebSphere Application Server - Express will be available on December 13, 2002, at $25 per intranet user;
$2,000 per processor for unlimited users on intranet, Internet or extranet web sites, and $400 for additional
copies for developer use only.
IBM WebSphere Portal Server - Express (previously announced) is currently available at $77 per intranet
user, or $30,000 per processor for an unlimited number of users in an extranet environment. A Plus version
of IBM WebSphere Portal Server - Express is currently available at $122 per intranet user, or $47,820 per
processor for an unlimited number of users in an extranet environment.
IBM WebSphere Business Connection - Express (previously announced) is available at $5,000 per processor
which includes the ability to connect to 10 trading partners.
IBM WebSphere - Express products are available from IBM Business Partners, ibm.com, or IBM Passport Advantage.
For more information on IBM WebSphere - Express, go to
ibm.com/websphere/express
* Indicates a trademark or registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation
** Java and all Java-based trademarks are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States,
other countries, or both.
Contact:
Contact: Steve Eisenstadt
Company: IBM
Voice: 914-766-1180
Email: se@us.ibm.com
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