IBM and Geac Form Strategic Partnership

• 02/29/2000

IBM announced last week the formation of a new strategic alliance with Geac Computer Corp. Ltd., a Canadian-based mission critical business software supplier. The initiative aims to provide midmarket companies in the food, beverage, apparel and footwear industries with comprehensive e-business and ERP solutions. Geac serves more than 1,000 customers in these markets worldwide.

Last week’s announcement marks the latest in a series of strategic partnerships IBM has formed with ISVs since last November. The alliance with Geac is the first in the ERP midmarket sphere. Part of IBM’s PartnerWorld for Developers program, the agreements give ISVs access to IBM’s marketing and sales channels, and in turn, the ISVs commit to lead with IBM’s middleware, server platforms and services.

Geac’s ERP solutions business has had a relationship with IBM for two decades. System 21, which Geac recently acquired in conjunction with its acquisition of JBA, is based on IBM’s AS/400 e-business servers. System 21 is an integrated set of enterprise-wide, Web-enable applications. Doug Bergeron, CEO of Geac says the IBM agreement will allow Geac to expand the product’s reach even further.

“This alliance made through IBM’s PartnerWorld for Developers program represents a significant tightening of the relationship between the two companies,” Bergeron says. “Since the acquisition, System 21 has brought significant value to Geac. Today’s announcement couples our expertise and leadership position as a software provider in these sectors with IBM’s e-business technology leadership.”

Related Editorial: