IBM And Callidus Ally On Incentive Compensation Solutions
As part of its broader strategy toward marketing through verticals, IBM has entered a global strategic alliance with Callidus Software to deliver incentive compensation management products and installations for insurance and other financial services industries.
"IBM is definitely verticalizing in several areas," states Sue Russell, business partner-business development executive for IBM, who is based in Baltimore. Within financial services, IBM particularly is focusing on insurance, banking and financial markets, she explains.
According to a joint announcement, the companies combined efforts "will enable companies to reduce costs by automating and improving the processes involved in aligning employee performance with business strategy. This can allow organizations to increase sales and grow revenue."
Callidus Software, based in Manchester, Conn., says it provides enterprise incentive management products designed to improve business results via automated management of a companys total compensationfrom variable compensation to base salary, stocks and MBOs.
IBM bills itself as "the worlds largest information technology company."
According to Russell, IBM will utilize the business products from Callidus, then add its own business consulting services, as well as systems integration and project management skills. The combined offering will be sold through IBMs solutions sales operations, Business Consulting Services operations and insurance services operations.
"We will be the primary implementer," says Russell. She adds that IBM is targeting the "top 50 to 75 insurance companies worldwide" (both life and property-casualty insurers) as primary markets for the combined offering. "The application will be running on IBM hardware and software," she notes.
Russell says IBM already is doing several combined installations in the insurance industry, providing front-end commission consulting and acting as the primary systems integrator.
