IBM, J.D. Edwards Introduce Hosted Business Apps For SMB

June 11, 2003 (11:40 AM EDT)

IBM, J.D. Edwards Introduce Hosted Business Apps For SMB

IBM and J.D. Edwards unveiled Wednesday hosted business applications for small and mid-size companies in the automotive industry.

Automotive for SMB, hosted within an IBM datacenter, enables supplier collaboration and improved cost management for mid-sized auto parts suppliers. Implementation is handled by IBM Business Consulting Services.

The new product, available in the fourth quarter in North and South America, is one of the first out of a partnership between the two companies to sell software and services to businesses outside the enterprise market.

In addition, IBM and J.D. Edwards announced at the latter company's Quest Global User Conference in Denver a program for converting mid-sized companies from Edwards' older WorldSoftware to its latest enterprise resource planning system, J.D. Edwards 5.

The program includes options for hosting from IBM and J.D. Edwards conversion toolkits to reduce transition risks and costs. The pre-configured offering reduces installation time and setup for customers while ensuring that installation is done correctly, officials with both companies said.