IBM, Peregrine Play Nice

Two former competitors in the corporate-level software/services industry
are getting together to deliver an infrastructure resource management (IRM)
solution to customers.

IBM and Peregrine Systems signed an
all-encompassing strategic alliance to jointly market their services
Wednesday, officials announced.

The two have been working partners since last August, when IBM’s global
solutions division started using some of Peregrine’s software to improve
the infrastructure at Amtrak, Panasonic and other companies worldwide.

Jim Flanagan, Amtrak’s senior director of enterprise operations and
engineering, said the match up is good idea, given the success his company
has enjoyed since incorporating their software.

“IBM and Peregrine are a great fit together,” he said. “As Amtrak moves
into the future, we expect the infrastructure management solution they have
jointly provided Amtrak will help us better manage costs, enhance our
infrastructure security and more effectively manage our resources.”

The new deal is beneficial to both sides: IBM has another software package
to offer its many business customers around the world to go with its
consultancy services, while Peregrine now gets access to those same
customers — customers in a wide variety of industries that are regular
Fortune 100 members.

IBM, a name known worldwide for its ability to come in and streamline the
“back office” organization of businesses large and small, has been
outsourcing more and more to find software packages to run on their line of
hardware.

In exchange for the right to market their software, independent software
providers (ISVs) agree to push IBM’s servers and middleware to its own
customers, a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties.

Called PartnerWorld, IBMs outreach efforts have netted business “partners”
like SAP and Parisian software developer Dassault Systemes
. A Web
site is devoted to the program, which also caters to resellers,
integrators, consultants as well as ISVs.

Gary Bullard, IBM global solutions general manager, said the arrangement is
an important addition to IBM’s software portfolio.

“This agreement represents a milestone in our relationship with Peregrine
as we look to expand into new high growth solution areas and brings even
greater value to our customers,” he said.