IBM launches software for mid-sized businesses

SAN FRANCISCO: International Business Machines Corp. is introducing new software and services that would allow medium-sized businesses to more easily access information from different sources, databases and formats.

The system of five software programs and three service packages helps businesses quickly assemble and use a technology known as "service oriented architecture," which makes it easier to move information among applications without time-consuming hand-coding of software, IBM said late on Monday.

The technology, which uses IBM's popular WebSphere software, is part of a strategy by IBM, of Armonk, New York, to attract more customers with 100 to 1,000 employees, said Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive for IBM Software Group.

"The further simplification of our technology is important to reach those market segments," Mills said in an interview. Customers can get the system "up and running in a matter of hours and days versus weeks and months," he added.

Service oriented architecture allows businesses to integrate programs of different ages, types and computer languages without having to translate the applications into a single language. For example, a retailer deciding whether to issue a credit card to a customer could use the technology to tap different sources and pull together information on the customer's credit-worthiness and buying habits.

IBM introduced service oriented architecture for its customers in 2001, Mills said.

Mills said he wasn't unduly concerned when asked how IBM will respond to Oracle Corp.'s planned $5.85 billion purchase of rival Siebel Systems Inc., a close IBM partner, announced earlier on Monday.

"We sell a lot of software to customers that otherwise use Oracle applications and databases," Mills said.

IBM's DB2 database software competes with Oracle's own, and the two routinely joust for the No. 1 position.

Service oriented architecture is seen as a source of growth in the business software industry after companies cut back on information technology spending from the heady days of the dot-com and telecommunications bubbles to reduce costs.

In service oriented architecture, IBM faces competition from BEA Systems Inc. and Oracle, among others.

"This technology is the heart of the next wave of innovation," said Eric Austvold, research director at AMR Research in Boston. "The leaders that do this well are able to rapidly change the way their current businesses work to meet the ever-changing demands of their customers."