IBM Executive Point of View:Transforming Your Business with Software as a Service

1 Transforming Your Business With Software as a Service IBM SmartCloud Solutions

Businesses the world over are reinventing themselves to remain competitive in a time when constant change is the new normal.Strategic, thoughtful evolution is required to meet these changes head on, and the most successful companies are doing so with a critical eye on three key factors:

First, customers are more connected than ever, demanding a more personalized experience with brands. Regardless of the industry, keeping customers at the center of every decision is critical. To do that, businesses need access to the right data and the right analytical tools to make customer-centric decisions.

Second, the competitive landscape has also become more dynamic. Being among the biggest is no longer synonymous with being among the best. Rather, foresight and innovative thinking are what create new market leaders and inspire greatness.

Finally, the very structure of companies has evolved. People remain the heart of an organization, but the nature of employee, vendor and partner collaboration has changed forever. Businesses that adopt a social enterprise model exponentially increase the power of their human capital to innovate.

With commerce evolving at light speed, now is a truly exciting time to be in a position of leadership. Becoming a customer-centric organization that fosters innovation and collaboration requires a new way of thinking and operating. Companies equipped with the tools and vision to embrace that change today will be positioned for greatness.

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A new way of thinking for a new way of doing businessAchieving today’s business imperatives demands technology that leverages the latest innovations to stay ahead of the competition. Line-of-business leaders are under increasing pressure to perform, and are subscribing to software solutions themselves in order to help reach their goals. Unfortunately, this often results in fractured systems and data policies which leave IT leaders with the task of creating security and integration workarounds. The additional burden this places on IT budgets today points to the need for a better solution.

Software as a Service (SaaS) answers this need because it preserves capital and offers fast, easy deployment to satisfy pressing business initiatives. But, while most companies see the value of SaaS for specific needs, IBM delivers a broad portfolio of SaaS solutions that can be deployed as part of a deeper business strategy to transform every aspect of an organization. Including SaaS as a critical component in a cloud computing strategy unifies and amplifies the power of technology investments to improve efficiencies and performance across the enterprise. Only IBM delivers the deep expertise and specialized tools that enable this paradigm shift, all to optimize an organization’s success.

3 Transforming Your Business With Software as a Service IBM SmartCloud Solutions

Deliver business analytics at point of impact

Connect people with collaborative business

networks

Elevate business performance end to endAs commerce evolves, so must old computing models if they are to effectively support ever-changing enterprise demands. IBM SmartCloud Solutions transcends the ad hoc nature of SaaS and delivers a powerful, innovative portfolio designed to truly transform any business, its people, and even an industry. IBM SmartCloud Solutions delivers by driving new value across three critical dimensions:

Accelerate business process innovationRealize the power to accelerate innovation across a variety of business functions to reduce overhead and time to revenue.

Deliver business analytics at point of impactQuickly and effectively access and act on the rich, comprehensive data needed to make informed, impactful business decisions.

Connect people with collaborative business networksMake the most of human capital by facilitating communication and collaboration between individuals and work groups, as well as across enterprises.

From realizing faster times to market to aligning line of business and IT priorities to fostering greater customer satisfaction, find out why SaaS delivered through the IBM SmartCloud can make a meaningful difference in every business.

Accelerate business process innovation

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Accelerate business process innovationWhatever the size or nature of a business, its needs are constantly changing. With mounting pressure to keep pace with evolving demands, the understandable reaction is often to focus on simply on getting up and running quickly. But smart companies know that the key to success is to focus on the end game, which is achieving business process innovation that is accelerated and integrated.

With an eye on business goals, rather than on IT deployment, IBM SmartCloud Solutions delivers SaaS solutions that can accelerate innovation across a broad range of business processes, connect across the cloud to resolve supply chain events, facilitate optimal promotion planning, delight customers with value-added services, and more. Relying on IBM SmartCloud Solutions applies a focused strategy that reduces costs and speeds time to revenue by helping foster new business models that maximize an organization’s resources, capabilities and potential.

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Deliver business analytics at point of impactWith over 1.2 zettabytes of data residing in the digital universe, information is hardly in short supply. The challenge is gathering raw data from an increasing number of disparate sources, distilling, and converting it into actionable insights. With immediate access to relevant data, businesses can assess customer behavior, the competitive arena and overall business performance so they can make the best possible decisions every time.

Many IBM SaaS offerings are fueled by reliable, fresh data sources that drive the decisions that will have the greatest impact on an organization. Introducing powerful analytics into the stream of business process software adds a new and important way to ensure the right decisions are made when they matter most.

Dedicated tools source analytics from the cloud, social media channels and within an enterprise, drawing deeper insights from the data and applying the findings to every facet of an organization. IBM has made a USD16 billion investment in analytics, and utilizing SaaS to deliver this capability to the cloud provides all the benefits of accessing critical business insights without the underlying infrastructure. Businesses will also preserve staff time and IT resources by facilitating better decisions and increased efficiency across the enterprise. And that means converting big data into tremendous results.

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Connect people with collaborative business networksLeading companies are embracing the philosophy of integrating social business strategies into their operations in order to enhance customer experience, accelerate supply chain innovation and improve workforce efficiencies. With studies indicating that adopting social business practices can increase an organization’s top line by more than 10 percent1, IBM is at the forefront in delivering the tools you need to leverage this very real competitive advantage.

IBM SmartCloud Solutions are designed to deliver the benefits of social business to workforces, trading partner ecosystems and customers alike. Powerful, mobile-enabled communication tools connect disparate workforces across time zones and departments, ensuring the seamless flow of information and ideas. Efficiency among work groups and with outside partners is elevated with cloud-based collaboration capabilities. Business network functions occur in real time, helping to augment established face-to-face interaction and allowing both financial and human resources to be maximized. With IBM SmartCloud Solutions, entities of all sizes can connect with social and collaborative networks to optimize resources, nurture a thriving collaborative ecosystem and preserve institutional knowledge, all to realize the greatest possible success.

1 “The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity Through Social Technologies.” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2012

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The tangible benefits of leveraging SaaS have been known and appreciated for years. But only IBM’s innovative thinking amplifies those benefits by fully harnessing cloud capabilities and delivering them in a strategic organizational view that will elevate many facets of business. The IBM SmartCloud Solutions portfolio consists of five major categories with more than 70 unique applications, each designed to address unique business processes, industries and functions:

IBM SmartCloud for Smarter CommerceLeverage the power of the cloud to drive more meaningful interactions with customers and suppliers across every facet of the value chain: buy, market, sell and service.

IBM SmartCloud for Social BusinessIncrease innovation and accelerate decision making by unifying human capital to build high-functioning communities.

IBM SmartCloud for Smarter AnalyticsFacilitate better decisions, increased efficiency and faster innovation across the enterprise by delivering the right data to the right people more effectively and economically than ever.

IBM SmartCloud for Smarter CitiesFlexible, cost-effective SaaS solutions grow with a city’s demands and deliver the powerful data needed to efficiently manage resources and make informed, proactive decisions.

Business Process as a ServiceRely on BPaaS tools to manage specific industry solutions that streamline efficiencies, unify business processes and enhance customer experience.

With a robust cloud portfolio and proven track record in the industry, IBM is committed to delivering an innovative SaaS experience that combines the agility, compatibility and cost-efficiency needed for every organization’s success now and into the future.

8 Transforming Your Business With Software as a Service IBM SmartCloud Solutions

Deliver business analytics at point of

impact

Connect people with collaborative business

networks

Accelerate business process innovation

The sky is the limitWhether you are part of a global enterprise or a small, specialized entity, constant and rapid change is the new normal. Businesses that do not act quickly and bring fresh thinking to the table will be left behind. But for those who embrace change and have the desire to continually innovate, the possibilities are endless.

IBM SmartCloud Solutions delivers the SaaS solutions needed to maximize collaborations, accelerate innovations, make impactful, informed decisions and become a truly customer-centric organization. Backed by IBM’s deep industry knowledge and desire to continually innovate for the benefit of our clients, this portfolio aligns IT and line-of-business priorities to maximize software investments and streamline business processes. The result is a customer-centric company culture that is nimble and ready to act. Only IBM SmartCloud Solutions transcends other SaaS options by meeting security, extensibility, performance and integration demands. Transform your thinking and invigorate your business with SaaS delivered through IBM SmartCloud Solutions.

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© Copyright IBM Corporation 2013

IBM Software Group Route 100 Somers, NY 10589 USA Produced in the United States of America February 2013

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