* IBM and Nortel strengthen alliance with joint development center
A couple of weeks ago we asked whether anyone had come up with a justifiable business use of cell phones with integral cameras. Obviously, the consumer appeal is a great example of a value-added service. And the fact that it’s difficult to find a cell phone that doesn’t include a camera – for which you typically have to pay “by the drink” to get the pictures from the phone to your PC or another phone – is great “razor blade” marketing by the cellular service providers.
We’ve observed for quite a while now that the worlds of IT and telephony are converging. Proving this point, IT giant IBM and telephony giant Nortel recently signed an agreement to establish a joint development center in Research Triangle Park, N.C.
In a statement, the companies said they will “work together to enhance and extend current products, collaborate on focused research on a project-by-project basis, and work together on [additional] technology [starting with] a new class of blade servers.”
Although Nortel and IBM have already been partners more than a decade, this agreement takes their relationship one step further. “This agreement with IBM is a critical component of our strategy to partner for growth,” said Bill Owens, vice chairman and CEO of Nortel.
IBM’s Bill Zeitler, senior vice president and group executive of the Systems and Technology Group, said, “We are working to reduce complexity and cost of service delivery while enabling innovation for a new set of on-demand services. This is at the core of what we do.”
When we talked abut the agreement with Nortel, they noted that while the agreement doesn’t preclude working together on joint professional services, both companies expected to maintain strong and independent professional services staffs. And, although the newly formed joint development center has yet to announce any specific customer wins, one of their goals in forming this team is to more rapidly roll out custom solutions.
Our analysis: looks like this “convergence thing” is moving forward. When companies like IBM and Nortel work together, their customers are the real winners.
