Press release:

IBM Helps Global Industry Leaders Connect with the Chief Executive Customer

IBM Predicts Intelligent-Guided Future

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ORLANDO - 06 Sep 2012: Today, from the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE:IBM)  is helping a range of global business leaders across major industries, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bank of America, ConocoPhillips, Expedia.com, Office Depot, Radio Shack, and Virgin Atlantic Airways. Customers are looking for new ways to connect with their customers accelerating key business processes such as marketing, sales, supply chain and customer service, driving faster business results.

IBM is also forecasting key Smarter Commerce trends including the prevalence of intelligent-guided customer experiences, mobile-first business strategies and the growth of hybrid cloud computing as the primary means for entering new markets. 

From procurement and supply chain, marketing and sales, to customer service, companies are re-engineering key business processes to meet the preferences of their increasingly powerful and demanding clients, essentially their new chief executives. 

IBM is helping more than 2,000 global brands transform operations centered around their customers. A variety of chief marketing officers (CMOs), chief information officers (CIOs) and other business leaders from many companies such as Husqvarna, Lenovo, Norwegian Cruise Line, SHOP.CA, Staples, Urban Outfitters and Wacoal will join IBM at the summit and present the business results they have achieved after working with IBM and shifting to a Smarter Commerce approach. 

"The old adage 'the customer is always right' has evolved.  The customer is dictating the terms under which commerce is conducted," said Craig Hayman, general manager, IBM Industry Solutions. "The new 'chief executive customer' expect companies to respect their time, preferences, values and privacy. Meeting these expectations requires insight, innovation and a system of engagement that delivers an intelligent guided customer experience at every touchpoint." 

IBM Predicts Intelligent-Guided Future  

Smarter Commerce is a growing market opportunity in excess of $20 billion per year in software alone that centers on the customer experience.  In five years, intelligent-guided marketing and selling will routinely put the ultimate control in the hands of customers, allowing them to indicate what they are in the market for.  In this new normal, businesses will have the ability to scan who is looking for what and make offers to customers to meet their preferences. Consumers will expect at most to wait just minutes or seconds for offers to come in and select the one they like.    Bearing today's reality and this vision in mind, here are key trends IBM predicts will contribute to the evolution and expansion of Smarter Commerce: 

1)         Everything will be Data Driven

Stemming from buying behavior, social media interactions, and advanced analytics -- essentially the application of Big Data, customers will project what they are in the market for instead of settling for what's available on the shelf.  Companies will respond within seconds essentially bidding for each individual's business.  Sharpening analytics will help businesses across all industries anticipate and predict what customers want. The vision of marketing to a universe of one is realized.

 2)         Businesses Go Mobile First as Devices Proliferate and Channels Merge

Businesses will primarily design applications and processes for mobile deployment instead of PCs as individuals center their lives around smart phones and device use explodes exponentially.   Location-based services will expand individualized offers; drive acceleration of business processes and reduction of costs.  Frictionless payments will remove obstacles to impulse buying, leading to less predictable market shifts in consumer demand and requiring greater analytics to decipher. 

3)         Cloud Computing will Lead Businesses to New Markets

Established companies will deploy a hybrid cloud model for rapid expansion to new markets while newer players will use the cloud in a virtual inventory model to start up quickly and cost-effectively compete against larger competitors.  Businesses realize immediate returns with instant deployments, reducing capital budgets.  Cloud technology will serve as the primary means for people to quickly connect with social and collaborative business networks, bringing intellectual capital to bear for business more rapidly and in new ways.

The Future Starts Now 

Many companies are on the path toward Smarter Commerce today, meeting the expectations of the chief executive customer.  To help organizations realize the full potential of Smarter Commerce, IBM is teaming up with First Data in a consortium of industry leaders includingKohl's, Nordstrom, CardSpring, Citi and others that bring together retail, financial and technology institutions to share and establish best practices in retail commerce. 

RadioShack, a leading U.S. retailer of mobile and technology products, services and accessories, is working with IBM’s DemandTec cloud solutions designed to help CMOs and their teams improve price image and pricing operations throughout the entire pricing lifecycle.  

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. engaged IBM Web analytics and strategic consulting services to better understand its customers’ online preferences and enable more precise marketing activities.  Virgin Atlantic has been able to cater more effectively to customers and successfully evaluate and monitor site performance. 

SHOP.CA is a case study in hybrid cloud technology deployment. Canada’s online marketplace retailer is using IBM Web analytics, a cloud solution, integrated with on-premise instances of WebSphere Commerce.  The online retailer selected IBM's technology as the e-commerce engine to power its consumer storefront, multi-merchant product catalog and Shop.ca Rewards program. IBM is also providing analytics on visitor preferences and interactions, as well as analyzing their searching and buying histories. This data will give Shop.ca insight on how, when and where to reach shoppers with content and offers personalized to their tastes and preferences via mobile or social vehicles.

 For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit: http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

Press release:

Anheuser-Busch InBev Extends Global Supply Chain with IBM Software

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Orlando, - 06 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) has expanded its relationship to make use of the company’s global supply management capabilities in cloud-based e-sourcing solutions.  

A consumer-centric, sales driven organization, AB InBev has operations across six geographic zones and manages a portfolio of more than 200 beer brands, holding the No. 1 or No. 2 market position in 19 countries. In its procurement operations, AB InBev is a leader in embracing and embedding best practices in eSourcing as a way of ensuring process consistency and auditability around the world with its supply base, completing more than 25,000 eAuctions in seven different languages during 2011 alone.

“AB InBev is a focused organization that sees the benefits of strategically managing our supply base globally while recognizing the nuances of each geographic region we serve. Additionally, we continually strive to maintain strong financial discipline in our procurement activities,” said Mark Roberts, global eSourcing center director at AB InBev. “With IBM Emptoris, we have found that perfect supply management mechanism and valued partnership to invest in ideas together, and nurture them for the long-term as we support operations in both developed and emerging markets.” 

AB inBev has signed a new five-year contract to extend its use of IBM Emptoris solutions – part of IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative – in the cloud to help streamline supplier sourcing and contract management.  Smarter Commerce transforms how companies manage and swiftly adapt to customer and industry trends across procurement, marketing, selling and service processes to address the challenges brought on by the acceleration in online connectivity and speed, combined with the explosion of information and unprecedented access to it.   IBM Emptoris solutions enable companies to transform their procurement operations by developing the right procurement strategy that will cut costs and mitigate supply risk.  

For AB InBev, that transformation includes utilizing IBM Emptoris Sourcing and Contract Management solutions across their global enterprise to achieve significant breakthroughs in supply chain visibility.  In order to achieve its high eAuctions volume, AB InBev has trained more than 250 employees globally in auction strategies, which has resulted in breakthrough activities in Marketing and Media. The organization deployed Emptoris Contract Management globally in under six months. 

“As a truly global organization that manages many thousands of suppliers worldwide, AB InBev is drawing on its global procurement knowledge and best practices while ensuring all vendor relationships and contracts are in full compliance. We are proud to continue helping them raise the bar in strategic supply management,” said Patrick D. Quirk, CEO, IBM Emptoris. 

More than 350 Global 2000 companies rely on IBM Emptoris for its strategic spend, supply and contract management solutions.  The  solutions are consistently recognized by leading independent analyst firms as the most comprehensive and tested strategic supply management solutions on the market. 

For more information on IBM Emptoris, visit:

http://www.emptoris.com/products-and-services/products/suite?utm_source=web&utm_medium=emptoris&utm_campaign=ibm

For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit:http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

 To join the conversation, follow hashtags #smartercommerce and #IBMSCGS

Press release:

IBM Smarter Commerce Helps RadioShack Deliver Customer Value and Drive Sales

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ORLANDO - 06 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that RadioShack, a leading national retailer of innovative mobile and technology products, services and accessories, is working with IBM’s cloud-based solutions that help chief marketing officers (CMO) and their teams improve price image and pricing operations over the entire pricing lifecycle.

The solutions being used by RadioShack are part of IBM’s cloud-based merchandising analytics software and services, which help companies define the optimal price points and product mix based on customer buying trends. As a result, companies have the power to deliver a more positive buying experience, thereby improving customer service and at the same time increasing both revenue and profitability. 

RadioShack Corporation has extended its right to use IBM’s cloud-based business marketing software and services. Tapping into IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative, RadioShack will look to grow key categories by incorporating shopper-focused strategies that are localized to each of its 4,700 stores. 

IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative features software and services that help companies transform their business processes to more quickly respond to shifting customer demands in today's digitally transformed marketplace. The initiative is driven by CMOs and organizations that are increasingly looking for ways to bring new levels of automation to marketing, sales and fulfillment to secure greater customer loyalty. 

"RadioShack is one of the most iconic and enduring brands in the American retail landscape. A major contributor to its business has been its foresight to invest in technologies that will inform better strategic merchandising decisions, and best serve their customers," said Yuchun Lee, vce president, IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. "We look forward to continuing to work with the RadioShack team and providing them an expanded set of software and services that deliver greater insight into today’s empowered customer, allowing it to better market, sell and deliver their products and services.” 

Current DemandTec software and services being used by RadioShack include DemandTec Price Management™, DemandTec Price Optimization™, DemandTec Markdown Optimization™, and DemandTec Promotion Planning™. 

More information on Smarter Commerce can be found atwww.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

Press release:

The American Marketing Association Turns to IBM Smarter Commerce to Target CMOs, Marketing Professionals’ Interests

IBM Helps AMA Connect to marketers across Digital, Social, and Traditional Channels

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ORLANDO - 06 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the American Marketing Association (AMA) is using IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative to connect on a deeper level to the marketing community and its 30,000 members and deliver marketing content, professional development and training that meets their needs. Through Smarter Commerce, IBM provides digital marketing and Web analytics software that helps chief marketing officers (CMO) sift through Big Data to understand the individual preferences and needs of consumers in order to deliver targeted and relevant marketing messages.

One of the largest and most prestigious marketing associations in the world, the AMA is a professional organization for individuals involved in the practice, teaching and study of marketing worldwide.  It helps marketers deepen their expertise, elevate their careers, and ultimately achieve better business results. In addition, the AMA provides relevant information and comprehensive education and training programs. To reach members, the AMA previouslyused multiple third party vendors, which resulted in a fragmented view of its own data. The AMA turned to IBM to gain a more holistic view of member data and more effectively meet the needs of each individual. 

The AMA has transitioned to a comprehensive solution providing a 360 degree view of their customer so they can more easily share information, resources and content with their members, which include CMOs, marketing professionals, professors and students. Other benefits will include improved inbound and outbound campaigns to members, increased marketing automation, and integration across multiple marketing channels, resulting in increased marketing effectiveness. 

“As a leading professional organization for marketers, our members depend on us to quickly and easily share answers and resources to help them do their jobs better. Through this improved view of our members’ data, we have the ability to better understand individual member’s preferences and needs, providing them with the information, resources and content they want most,” said Nancy Costopulos, chief marketing officer, American Marketing Association. “Together with IBM, we understand the importance of technology in today’s marketing landscape and, through this collaboration, we expect to see significant business operating efficiency, improved member engagement, and an increase in ROI.” 

"The AMA is among the largest marketing associations in the world," said Yuchun Lee, vice president, IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. “As the marketing industry itself evolves toward greater personalization, AMA's members can count on IBM's digital technology to help AMA sift through Big Data, pinpoint and address the needs of individual members and help deliver marketing resources and information that feels like a welcomed service.

IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative features software and services that help companies transform their business processes to more quickly respond to shifting customer demands in today's digitally-transformed marketplace. The initiative is driven by CMOs and organizations that are increasingly looking for ways to bring new levels of automation to marketing, sales and fulfillment to secure greater customer loyalty. 

Current IBM Enterprise Marketing Management software and services being used by the American Marketing Association include IBM Unica eMessage™, IBM Unica NetInsight™, IBM Unica PredictiveInsight™, and IBM Unica CustomerInsight™. 

More information on Smarter Commerce can be found atwww.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

Press release:

IBM Accelerates Smarter Commerce through Intelligent Guided Customer Experience

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ORLANDO - 05 Sep 2012: At the Smarter Commerce Global Summit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced new software and services designed to help Chief Marketing Officers (CMO), Chief Procurement Officers (CPO) and other key line-of-business executives realize quicker business results by delivering intelligence guided customer experiences, across all digital channels, aligned to the buying and shopping preferences of each individual

With today’s news, IBM expands its Smarter Commerce initiative with new cloud-based software and services that allow businesses to immediately put the customer at the center of their operations in order to drive revenue and ensure sustainable brand loyalty. This includes:

·        IBM Marketing Center, an IBM SmartCloud Solution that integrates digital analytics with real-time marketing execution capabilities into a single solution that allows CMOs to better meet customer needs by quickly analyzing customer shopping patterns and turning these insights into intelligent offers that are personalized to each person.

·        A new Smarter Commerce managed services offering that helps clients more rapidly and effectively deploy and manage their ecommerce environments.

·        A new offering for Strategic Supply Management, available on-premises and as a SmartCloud solution that speeds and improves supplier governance, risk and compliance.

With the new offerings introduced today, IBM provides customers with automation and intelligence while accelerating and improving marketing, sales, customer service, procurement and supply chain management. 

IBM currently analyzes more than $100 billion in commerce transactions per year in the cloud. Current IBM customers that have embraced cloud-based Smarter Commerce offerings include RadioShack, Bank of Montreal and Urban Outfitters.

New Marketing, eCommerce Capabilities for CMOs

According to IBM’s State of Marketing survey, 48 percent of marketers believe that improved technology infrastructure will enable them to better meet the needs of customers, who are increasingly interacting with brands via multiple channels. For example, over the recent back to school shopping season, 15.7 percent of online sales took place via a mobile device in July and 15.4 percent in August.

IBM’s new Marketing Center combines digital analytics and real-time marketing execution in a single integrated offering that can easily be deployed without taxing the resources of the chief information officer (CIO). Once live, marketers can turn data provided by customers into personalized offers via email or website personalization (including the mobile web), all with just a few clicks.

Through these capabilities CMOs consistently deliver exceptional experiences that are in line with the wants and needs of each individual. To ensure ongoing success, the application provides automated marketing tracking, digital and campaign analytics that measure the effectiveness of marketing efforts which can be adjusted in real time if necessary.

For example, while an individual frequently visits a retailer’s mobile website and identifies items of interest, they consistently fail to complete their purchase. Through its automated capabilities, CMOs and their team can quickly identify this trend and, with just a few clicks, re-engage the customer by sending a coupon for 10 percent off specific items and also presenting them with a personalized website that reflects their unique interests. 

"Given today's empowered customers that are digitally connected 24/7, we see it as a top priority to provide our customers with the best possible experience in every interaction," said Laura Symspon-Cornelius, director of Web Analytics from Office Depot. "The idea behind the new IBM Marketing Center, to combine digital analytics and real-time marketing execution in a single application, is very compelling for making that task easier."

In another instance, a CMO of a bank can analyze two campaigns simultaneously to determine the effectiveness of each overall and with specific groups and customer segments. With this information, the marketing team can determine in real-time which campaign best meets the needs of each customer in order to ensure the best experience possible.

“Customers today are connecting with brands on multiple fronts, including mobile devices, social media sites and in the store. Regardless of the channel, these individuals expect each experience to be flawless and relevant,” said Yuchun Lee, vice president, IBM Enterprise Marketing Management. “With the IBM Marketing Center, we expand our SaaS portfolio with an all-in-one solution that provides CMOs and their teams with the intelligence required to consistently meet the unique needs of each individual customer -- the ultimate goal of all marketers.”

To further enhance the entire shopping experience, IBM also today introduced Smarter Commerce Managed Services, a new set of services from its Global Process Services (GPS) group.  The service augments IBM’s software and global business services offerings with full-scale business, process, and IT managed services to help business executives deploy and manage cross-channel commerce processes, especially providing the human interaction components of eCommerce, such as needing agent chat support or live assistance. In this way, companies are able to more quickly and effectively interconnect their multiple commerce channels to speed business results.  

New Software for CPOs Rapidly Reduces Spend and Risk

In addition to the CMO, the demands of the empowered customer have put additional pressure on CPOs to further reduce spend with suppliers and improve risk management. In an environment where an average 50 percent of the value of a product comes from suppliers, managing supply costs and risks plays a critical role in meeting the needs of the empowered customer¹.

With IBM's new Emptoris Strategic Supply Management, CPOs are given complete visibility and control over spending, contracts, service providers and supplier intelligence and processes. The new version also improves supplier governance, risk and compliance with enhanced information management and workflow capabilities. In addition, IBM has enhanced procurement analytics for contract compliance and improved program accountability for suppliers, categories and regions.

“Building a world-class procurement organization involves people, process and technology. BP Lubricants has built its procurement operations with high-quality people and processes,” said Mark Edwards, Chemicals procurement manager, at BP Lubricants. “The use of advanced sourcing technology from IBM has enabled our Lubricants procurement team to gain greater control over global spend and market data. The solution empowers us to realize the best value, not just the best price, from a supply base by factoring multiple performance drivers into decision-making.”

Streamlining the supply chain, from materials sourcing to product delivery, are as critical to meeting customer expectations as the outward-facing marketing and sales departments. For example, IBM is helping global brewer Anheuser-Busch (AB InBev) streamline supplier sourcing and contract management in the cloud with IBM Emptoris solutions. This will enable the company to achieve significant breakthroughs in supply chain visibility that reduces risk, lowers costs and accelerates business results.

Prepackaged Best Practices Speed Client Deployment

The IBM Smarter Commerce Workbench is an asset repository that helps IBM accelerate the adoption of solutions for Smarter Commerce. The workbench captures implementation best practices, assets and knowledge that can be shared globally with other project teams to help improve the speed and quality of solution building. This enables clients to get faster business results from their solutions.

For more information on IBM Smarter Commerce, visit:http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/smarter_commerce/overview/

###

To join the conversation, follow hashtags #smartercommerce and #IBMSCGS

[1]“Cross Industry Report of Standard Benchmarks,” published by CAPS Research, July 2012

Press release:

IBM Opens Smarter Data Center in Mexico to Support Clients' Growth and Transformation

- Unique security and monitoring systems, 3D real-time tools and predictive analytics to provide consistent and accurate data to assure clients' business continuity
- New facility will benefit from tools and processes of more than 400 IBM data centers worldwide

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GUADALAJARA, Mexico - 05 Sep 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced today the opening of its Smarter Data Center, located at the IBM Technology Campus in Guadalajara city, Mexico. This first-of-its-kind site in the country will support the business transformation of enterprise and government clients and help them improve operations in today's global economic environment.

The IBM Smarter Data Center will provide clients with unique 3D tools for IT infrastructure planning and modeling accuracy as well as real-time virtual access to tools that enable them to monitor their system performance for more informed and timely decision making. In addition, predictive analytics capabilities will help clients prevent and anticipate critical events from impacting systems performance. By using intelligent data analytics, clients will be able to maximize operational performance and decision making as well reduce costs with system energy efficiencies. The Smarter Data Center will be connected to IBM's IT Outsourcing Services Command Center in Mexico City, opened in June 2012, enhancing overall capabilities in Mexico.

The approximately $30 million investment strengthens IBM's commitment to Mexico's development and growth. IBM has been operating in Mexico for 85 years. The new facility is part of the $70 million that IBM is investing in Mexico in 2012 toward high value technology initiatives such as new infrastructure for service delivery, manufacturing projects and the expansion of its operation and footprint in new cities to support clients' business growth requirements.

The IBM Smarter Data Center will become part of IBM's global network of more than 400 data centers providing clients with access to IT tools and resources, knowledge transfer, best practices and global standards.  It will also provide a broad IT services portfolio, including the ability to outsource part or all of the IT environment in an "on demand" approach; information hosting and business application virtualization services; scalable Cloud Computing projects; business continuity and disaster recovery services; and full IT outsourcing. These services will fill existing needs for greater flexibility to respond to future changes in business requirements and operational performance, regardless of the client's volume levels.

"Supported by long term experience in data centers, we are proud to be able to offer to Mexican companies new opportunities to innovate and achieve greater competitive advantage. We aim to support Mexico's and our clients' development and capabilities, seeking to provide high transformational value and contribute to our Smarter Planet agenda," said Hugo Santana, President and General Manager of IBM Mexico.

The new center will occupy ​​600 square meters of initial space with the ability to grow to four times its current size. In addition, the IBM Smarter Data Center will employ electromechanical capabilities to better manage client assets and facilities and make full use of the availability and security of redundant components that minimize all potential critical failure points. In that way, IBM can help protect client data and IT infrastructure.

About IBM
For more information, please visit: www.ibm.com.mx

Press release:

AXTEL Turns to IBM for Smarter Computing Overhaul

Communications provider builds new IT infrastructure with IBM Power Systems, XIV storage systems, for greater virtualization, efficiency, and scalability

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Armonk, N.Y. - 27 Aug 2012:

IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced that AXTEL, a leading telecommunications service provider in Mexico, has turned to IBM for a complete overhaul of its IT infrastructure to support the company’s vigorous expansion into new markets and an ever-growing customer base.

AXTEL, which provides communications services to more than one million customers in 39 cities across the country, has been growing rapidly since it was founded in 1994. As the company has grown so too has its business challenges. In addition to having to support more customers in more markets with additional services, AXTEL needed to improve its customer relationship capabilities to enable cross- and up-selling more effectively.

To solve this multidimensional problem, AXTEL selected IBM to re-architect its infrastructure of servers and storage devices with IBM Power Systems and IBM advanced storage systems. In addition to improving overall system performance and efficiency, and lowering costs, AXTEL was looking for seamless integration with the company’s SAP installation.

“We have had SAP successfully in place for several years now,” said Gaspar Rivera del Valle, IT Evolution Director at AXTEL. “The move to an all-IBM infrastructure created a synergy with our SAP platform that allowed us to achieve our business goals.”

Working with IBM and IBM Business Partner, Genesys, AXTEL deployed IBM Power Systems built with IBM BladeCenter servers. For the storage overhaul, the company deployed IBM System Storage DS8300 and IBM XIV Storage Systems, virtualized using IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller.

Moving to the combined IBM server and storage infrastructure has already improved AXTEL’s application performance by 60 percent, enhanced its system availability, and significantly improved the overall level of service to the business, Rivera del Valle said. Backed by a reliable, high-performance platform for business applications, AXTEL can serve the company's growing customer base more effectively and at a lower cost.

“AXTEL understands that the right technologies, applied strategically, can help organizations achieve real business goals,” said Natalia de Greiff, IBM Mexico & LCR STG Executive. “This philosophy is the basis of our Smarter Computing approach to IT.”

About AXTEL

AXTEL is a leading Mexican telecommunications company and one of the largest operators of virtual private networks in the country. AXTEL provides integrated telecommunications services to all sectors, from residential and small and medium businesses to large enterprises and government entities. AXTEL’s telecommunications infrastructure consists of a world class network that integrates different access technologies such as point-to-point, point-to-multipoint and fiber optic, to deliver a broad portfolio of services tailored to the needs of its customers, their size and line of business. AXTEL has been recognized as a Socially Responsible Company by the CEMEFI for the past five consecutive years and has adhered to the United Nations World Pact since 2011. For more information about AXTEL, please visithttp://www.axtel.com.mx.

About IBMFor more information on IBM, please visit www.ibm.com/storage and www.ibm.com/power and follow us on twitter @ibmstorage and @ibmpowersystems.

Press release:

IBM Plans to Acquire Texas Memory Systems

Company’s high-speed memory solutions to boost IBM’s Smarter Computing approach to IT

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Armonk, N.Y. - 16 Aug 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Texas Memory Systems (TMS), a leading developer of high-performance flash memory solutions. TMS is a privately held company based in Houston, Texas. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 1978, TMS designs and sells high-performance solid state storage solutions. Unlike hard disk drives that rely on spinning disks and robotic arms, solid state systems are high-speed data storage solutions based on Flash or RAM memory that can provide significantly faster throughput and data access while consuming less power.

TMS offers its solid state solutions as the RamSan family of shared rackmount systems and Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) cards. The products are designed to help companies improve performance and reduce server sprawl, power consumption, cooling, and floor space requirements, all of which in turn can help clients save money, improve performance and invest more in innovation.

“The TMS strategy and solution set align well with our Smarter Computing approach to information technology by helping clients realize increased performance and efficiencies at lower costs,” said Brian Truskowski, general manager, Systems Storage and Networking, IBM. “Solid state technology, in particular, is a critical component of our new Smarter Storage approach to the design and deployment of storage infrastructures, and part of a holistic approach that exploits flash in conjunction with disk and tape technologies to solve complex problems.”

IDC estimates the amount of solid state storage solutions being shipped into the enterprise will grow significantly, reaching nearly 3 exabytes by 2016. (1)

Following acquisition close, IBM plans to invest in and support the TMS product portfolio, and will look to integrate over time TMS technologies into a variety of solutions including storage, servers, software, and PureSystems offerings.

“IBM understands the positive and dramatic impact that solid state technology can have on storage and server infrastructures, and once the acquisition is complete we look forward to advancing the technology even further. With the global reach of IBM, we expect to grow the engineering staff and product lines much faster than we could before,” said Holly Frost, founder and CEO of TMS.

TMS employs approximately 100 people. The deal is expected to close later in 2012.  

About TMS

TMS, headquartered in Houston, designs and sells solid state storage systems that accelerate demanding enterprise applications. Its award-winning RamSan product line has continually delivered fast, reliable, and economical solutions to a broad range of enterprise and government clients around the world.

For more information on TMS, please visit www.ramsan.com and follow us on twitter @TexasMemory. 

About IBM

For more information on IBM Storage, please visit www.ibm.com/storage and follow us on twitter @IBMStorage.  

IBM and the IBM logo are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation, registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. For a current list of IBM trademarks, please seewww.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml. Other company, product or service names may be trademarks, or service marks of others.

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this release may constitute ‘forward-looking statements’ within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, as discussed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

1.      According to IDC, Taking Enterprise Storage to Another Level: A Look at Flash Adoption in the Enterprise, Aug. 2012

Press release:

Punjab & Maharashtra Co-Op. Bank Embraces IBM Smarter Computing to Support Its Branch Expansion and Online Presence

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Mumbai, INDIA - 14 Aug 2012: Punjab & Maharashtra Co-op. Bank Ltd (PMC), one of India's youngest co-operative banks, has selected the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Smarter Computing approach to IT to accelerate its growth and reach in the fast developing financial services landscape in India. PMC Bank chose to migrate its applications including core banking to an IBM infrastructure with Power Systems to support the growing needs of its more than 66 branches, two extension counters and ATM network, while strengthening its online presence through remote banking.

Headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, the richest and fastest developing state in India, accountable for 25 percent of India's industrial output and five percent of its GDP [1], the client base of PMC Bank is growing and diversifying even faster. Established as a new bank in 1984, today PMC Bank supports more than 500,000 clients and more than 5500 crore of business. To keep up with its growth without compromising its standards of service and to be able to enrich its offerings while developing its branch and ATM network, PMC Bank needed a totally new concept for its IT infrastructure to support varied applications like mobile banking, SMS banking, Internet banking, Treasury operations and kiosk services. 

"We want to offer our clients a banking experience which is easier, faster, more convenient and secure," said H Krishna Karanth, General Manager, PMC Bank. "We also want to enhance the role of our branches and let them focus on providing financial services advice and counsel, while leaving the transactions part to the IT infrastructure."  

This means executing millions of transactions daily, handling iterations in a secure way, maintaining full data integrity across multiple subsystems and constantly balancing workloads. It also means dealing simultaneously with challenges such as managing risk and regulations, achieving optimum connectivity and finding new ways to attain efficiency and cost-savings. That is why PMC Bank considered IBM.

“Banks and financial institutions have achieved reduced operating costs with high performance for many years with IBM Power Systems,” said Viswanath Ramswamy, Director, Power Systems, IBM India South Asia. “For PMC Bank, our goal is to provide a technology roadmap which will also assist the bank sustain its long-term growth. The choice of an IBM Smarter Computing solution over competitive platforms reaffirms our leadership in the Indian UNIX server market.”  

PMC Bank implemented IBM Power Systems built with IBM BladeCenter H, POWER7 blades, AIX operating system, IBM Storwize V7000 storage system and IBM Tivoli Storage Manager. Featuring IBM PowerVM virtualization technology, the system provides a more dynamic and flexible platform, and facilitates data sharing between bank branches more swiftly, while optimizing resources utilization and keeping costs under control. RAS (Reliability, Availability and Serviceability) and SSD (solid state drives) features automate data tiering to help PMC Bank handle peak loads in real time, thus improving response time for customers and reducing business down time due to hardware failures.  

PMC Bank's entire implementation and consolidation was done in association with IBM Business Partner Orient Technologies.  

For more information about Punjab & Maharashtra Co-op. Bank Ltd, please visitwww.pmcbank.com.

For more information on IBM India, please visit www.ibm.com/in.  

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Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital to Improve Healthcare with IBM Smarter Computing

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Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital to Improve Healthcare with IBM Smarter Computing

Korean medical center to use a new platform integrating 100 TB of healthcare data to gain insight, measure performance, and improve patient care

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SEOUL, South Korea - 29 Mar 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that the Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital has embraced the company's smarter computing approach to IT to build the country's first integrated hospital infrastructure.

The hardware and software solution, which was selected over bids by HP and Hitachi, is designed to enable the growing medical center to cull insight from swelling volumes of patient data and provide it easily to doctors, nurses, clinical laboratories and insurance institutions. As a result, the hospital expects to dramatically improve patient care by being able to determine and dispense the most appropriate treatments more clearly and quickly than in the past. 

Since Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital was founded in 1972 it has grown into a major healthcare institution that operates 2,890 beds in four different locations: Seoul, Bucheon, ChunAn, and Kumi. Two years ago it launched an electronic medical records project that was aimed at enhancing the use of patient data and reducing fragmentation of medical information.

IBM Korea was chosen for this project to create a workload optimized system that was able to support doctors and other health providers in all four locations, and enable them all to work together to improve patient care and accountability.

"We wanted to provide a powerful platform that made it easier to develop and integrate tools supporting physicians' decision-making processes," said Yoon, Soo Keun, Managing Director at Dongeun Information Technology - IT subsidiary of Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital. "The new IBM system will be more efficient and capable to quickly access data stored in many different formats and multiple locations."

Under the agreement signed in December 2011, IBM is delivering a full range of technologies from processing and storage to virtualization. Among the many systems to be implemented will be IBM Power 780 and 740 systems equipped with PowerVM virtualization; IBM System x3650 M3 systems; IBM System Storage DS8000 high capacity storage, IBM Storwize V7000 Unified Storage Systems, and much more. All told, the new infrastructure will be capable of handling more than 100 TB of data (the approximate equivalent of more than 650 billion photos on Facebook).

The hospital will leverage the new infrastructure to host a next-generation integrated medical information system called "SU-III Project" which establishes a single electronic medical records system with a single database.

In addition to the new infrastructure, IBM's PowerVM virtualization technology will enable a more dynamic and flexible platform that can facilitate data sharing between the hospital branches more swiftly, while optimizing system utilization and keeping costs under control. After the project is completed the hospital's IT infrastructure will be managed out of one main medical information center in Bucheon.

"Applying advanced technologies in academic hospitals such as Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital holds the potential to turn them into regional healthcare hotspots," said Lee, Jang Suk, Director, IBM Korea. "Going forward with Korea's first integrated hospital infrastructure system, Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital will pave the way towards smarter healthcare, elevating patient convenience and satisfaction, while delivering better economics."

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