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The
following is an article featured on IBM's "Global Small and
Medium Business" intranet site:
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Friedman
Corp. selects IBM WebSphere over .NET Winning in the midmarket
When
Friedman Corp., an independent software vendor (ISV), was looking
for a scalable platform on which to deploy its Frontier iProduct
software solutions for midmarket customers, it chose IBM WebSphere
over Microsoft.NET.
"A
major IT challenge for small and midsize business is to have a system
that can scale and is reliable enough to cope with large transaction
volumes," said Craig Yamauchi, president of Friedman Corp.,
of Deerfield, IL. IBM WebSphere application server has those capabilities",
he added.
Friedman
and IBM have been working together for more than 20 years to bring
software solutions to the midmarket and the relationship is paying
off in new business for both companies. The Friedman Corp. Frontier
iProduct e-business solutions target the manufacturing and sales
& distribution industries, and are designed to support an organization's
customer service functions via the Internet. Whether handling
business-to-business or business-to-consumer transactions, Friedman's
e-business solutions streamline customer service and order entry
functions, while reducing demands on internal customer service departments.
Friedman
and IBM are providing e-business solutions to SMB customer BFRich
(http://www.bfrich.com), a maker of customized window and door systems,
based in Newark, DE. In 2002, Friedman and IBM won four new SMB
customers -- Dunbarton Corp., of Dothan, AL (http://www.dunbarton.com);
Woodharbor Doors & Cabinetry, of Mason City, IA ( http://www.woodharbor.com
); Dual-Lite, of Cheshire, CT (http://www.dual-lite.com); and
Republic
Industries,
of Marshall, TX.
While
many ISVs try to be all things to all customers, Friedman, with
300 customers in the United States, has focused on businesses with
annual revenues less than $100 million, Yamauchi said. "There
is a different business need for the SMB customer," Yamauchi
said, noting that the Friedman Frontier iProduct solutions provide
SMB customers with custom-built order information for individualized
products – not off-the-shelf inventory.
Friedman
solutions, which run primarily on IBM eServer iSeries servers, also
run on the IBM eServer xSeries and pSeries -- allowing for full
backup and recovery and server consolidation, and support DB2, IBM
WebSphere and Java, said Yamauchi.
Friedman
Corp. recently joined the IBM ISV Advantage program, designed to
provide mid-market ISVs with technical and marketing support for
the midmarket.
Yamauchi
pointed to IBM's experience and stability as important factors in
making the partnership work over the years. "A lot has to
do with relationship," he said.
###
eServer,
iSeries and pSeries are trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation. DB2, WebSphere and xSeries are registered trademarks
of International Business Machines Corporation. Microsoft is a trademark
of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries,
or both. Java is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc., in the United
States, other countries,
or both. All others are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies.
Jennifer
Kinsmann
Developer
Relations Communications
IBM
Software Group
Route
100 - Somers, NY 10589
Phone:
(914) 766-1021/ tie-line 826-1021
E-mail:
kinsmann@us.ibm.com
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