PAKISTAN
UAN: 111-IBM-IBM, Website: www.ibm.com/pk, e-mail: ibm_pakistan@pk.ibm.com
CUSTOMER NEWSLETTER - Issue#3 2006
SPOT LIGHT
Thank you Mr. Customer ...
We Value Our Partnership
We are dedicated to helping our customers pursue new market opportunities and
become more productive through the end-to-end transformation of their business
models and the innovative application of e-business technology and solutions.
KASB Bank Signs Agreement
for MiSys Core Banking System
KASB Bank is part of one of the largest financial services groups in Pakistan
with leading positions in equity and debt market and making strong headways
in consumer banking and asset management. KASB Bank through it's network
of 35 branches across Pakistan delivers a comprehensive range of banking
services.
First half of the year is over and results have shown year on year growth in Business
Consulting, Services, Software and IBM Hardware. I would like to thank you 'Our
Customer' for your business. Our second half priorities are clear - to help our
clients drive productivity, become globally integrated and grow their businesses
in innovative ways.
We have expanded our operations in Islamabad and Lahore. The Business Partners
network is strengthened via certifications, and new Business Partners joining our
family. We also had a series of experts visiting Pakistan from Europe and Middle
East to run events, seminars, and company sessions.
Looking forward to your continued business.
Humayun Bashir
Picture shows (L to R): Muneer Kamal, President & CEO, KASB Bank, & Humayun
Bashir, Country General Manager, IBM Pakistan, signing the agreement
Country General Manager
E-readiness 2006 Report
IBM and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) have published the annual e-readiness
report, a collection of factors that indicate how amenable a market is to Internet-
To cater to the already increasing business and for future growth, KASB Bank
decided to upgrade their core banking application. After intensive evaluation,
KASB Bank decided for Misys banking application provided by IBM. The bank
decided on Misys because of its overall lower cost of ownership, comprehensive
functionalities and the wide availability of local resources to implement and
support the application. Misys is one of the leading global core banking application
providers in the country.
based opportunities. The ranking allows governments to gauge the success of their
technology initiatives against those of other countries.
You can download the report at:
ibm.com/services/us/index.wss/ibvstudy/bcs/a1025006
IBM Ranked #1 in Application Integration
Middleware Based on Total Software Revenue
Gartner, Inc. has positioned IBM as the number one application integration and
middleware vendor based on total software revenue in 2005. Gartner data shows
IBM as the leading vendor across all key middleware areas including transaction
processing monitors, integration suites, portals and message-oriented middleware
with more than 37 percent market share.
Highlights from Gartner include:
IBM was ranked as the leading vendor for integration suites, message oriented
middleware, portal software and transaction process monitoring.
IBM is the fastest growing major vendor in the application server market.
For the total application integration and middleware market, IBM had twice as
much market share as its closest competitor.
Gartner's Market Share Report analyzes the total software revenues of software
vendors in the application integration middleware and portal marketplace.
The banking modules that will be implemented include equation core banking,
retail banking, trade finance, treasury, branch automation and MIS reporting.
IBM business partner, Si3 will be the implementation partner for the application.
The Misys application runs on the state of the art, IBM iSeries server using DB2
database.
MCB selects IBM Unix servers for
ATM and credit cards applications
MCB Bank is one of the leading banks operating in Pakistan.
MCB has taken major initiatives in consumer banking and as part of it's aggressive
growth plans, MCB bank is implementing a new ATM and credit cards solution.
Considering the bank's huge customer base and the expected workload, MCB had
to select hardware which would provide the required resilience, uptime and scalability.
Also, MCB assigned very high weightage to comprehensive local support due to
the mission- critical nature of the project. After thorough evaluation, MCB chose
IBM Unix servers, System p servers, for the new applications. MCB is already using
IBM System p servers and storage for their core banking application from System
Access.
continued inside in “Customer News” section...
UAN: 111-IBM-IBM, Website: www.ibm.com/pk, e-mail: ibm_pakistan@pk.ibm.com
PRODUCTS & SERVICES ANNOUNCEMENTS
IBM Transforms Database Market with Introduction of DB2
Viper Marks the Database Industry's Largest Technology Leap in Decades
IBM delivers lotus notes for linux pcs, first
leading collaboration environment for the
linux desktop
Competitive Program Offers IBM Business Partners and
Developers up to $20,000 for Lotus Notes on Linux
Desktop Migrations
IBM has unleashed the next-generation DB2 9 data server –"Viper", delivering the most significant database
technology enhancements in over two decades.
DB2 9 marks the culmination of a five-year IBM development project that transformed traditional, static database
technology into an interactive, vibrant data server that enables clients to improve their ability to manage all types
of information, such as documents, audio and video files, images, Web pages, and digitally signed XML transactions.
IBM's new data server provides an industry-first seamless and simultaneous information flow of XML and relational
data, regardless of format, platform or location.
More than 750 software developers working out of eight countries contributed to the creation of Viper, which was
designed and tuned to be the preferred information engine for SOA environments.
DB2 9 includes a trio of significant advancements, including patented "pureXML" technology, breakthrough "Venom"
storage compression and enhanced autonomic data management capabilities. This combination of industry-first
features, along with new security and disaster recovery enhancements, is expected to speed information queries
and provide clients with unconstrained information access. The new version of DB2 also enables access to data
stored on conventional Oracle and MySQL databases -- a feature unavailable from those vendors.
For more information, visit: ibm.com/db2/viper
IBM Toolkit To Integrate PHP Into
Service Oriented Architectures
IDC Report: IBM Achieves Fastest
Growth Among Top Storage Software
Vendors
Research Firm Reports IBM Delivered 41 Percent YearOver-Year Revenue Growth Worldwide in First Quarter
At the IBM SOA Executive Summit here attended by
hundreds of clients, IBM announced a simple way
for customers to use PHP technology to develop
and execute applications in a service oriented
architecture (SOA) using IBM’s open source-based
application server, WebSphere Application Server
(WAS) Community Edition.
IBM's new PHP Integration Kit for WAS Community
Edition will enable programmers to leverage the
advantages of both PHP and Java, providing greater
flexibility in deploying dynamic applications, building
web front-ends and creating development projects
within organizations.
PHP, the popular, open source programming
language that converts computer code into dynamic
Web pages that users can interact with, is a key
Web 2.0 technology that complements Java. By
making it easier to incorporate industry-standard
Web 2.0 technologies such as PHP into SOA
environments, customers can better align their IT
systems to support specific business goals. For
example, a corporate developer could use the PHP
Integration Kit to create a web site for employees
that dynamically updates corporate information from
a variety of worldwide applications that are united
by an SOA solution.
IBM WebSphere Application Server Community
Edition, based on IBM's May 2005 acquisition of
Gluecode, Inc., is a lightweight J2EE application
server available free of charge. Built on Apache
Geronimo technology, it harnesses the latest
innovations from the open-source community to
deliver a flexible foundation for developing and
deploying Java applications. Technical support is
offered through an annual subscription.
For additional information on Service Oriented
Architecture,
For more information please visit: ibm.com/soa
According to the new IDC report, IBM grew 41 percent
and is the only vendor among the top three to increase its
revenue share, resulting in a year-over-year rise in market
share of nearly three points.
Among all the vendors measured by IDC, IBM showed the
top growth rate and the largest share points increase in
the Data Protection and Recovery functional market, which
includes IBM Tivoli Storage Manager.
IBM has also introduced a new version of its storage
virtualization software, as part of its Virtualization Engine
portfolio that includes the ability for customers to virtualize
their infrastructures over longer distances and at lower
costs.
IBM has achieved the strongest growth among the top
storage software vendors, according to IDC, further extends
its momentum in the marketplace. IBM also recently
announced that according to IDC, it outpaced the overall
external disk storage systems marketplace with double
digit growth for the fifth consecutive quarter, surpassing
EMC, HP and Hitachi in year-over-year worldwide revenue
growth for the first quarter of 2006.
For more information, please visit ibm.com/storage
IBM Unveils New System x and
BladeCenter Systems Featuring
Energy Efficient Performance
New Systems Enable Up to 163% Better Performance
Per Watt
IBM has introduced a new IBM BladeCenter blade and
System x servers and workstations geared to help reduce
power and cooling costs while delivering substantial
performance gains over earlier technology. The new
systems enable up to 90% better application performance,
and up to 163% better performance per watt today. The
systems are designed and optimized to support more
advanced computing with future quad core CPU models.
The new IBM BladeCenter HS21 is a high-density modular
blade server designed to support the entire family of
BladeCenter chassis. The ultra-slim and powerful blade
IBM has announced the availability of IBM Lotus®
Notes® on Linux®, the industry's first business-grade
collaboration software to support Linux on the desktop.
Lotus Notes on Linux now provides millions of Lotus
Notes users worldwide with software that enables an
open desktop alternative to proprietary desktop operating
systems.
The openness and flexibility of the Linux desktop
combined with widespread availability of server software
running on Linux has increased demand for tested and
market-proven, desktop applications such as Lotus
Notes. With this new release, IBM is delivering businessgrade e-mail and group scheduling on Linux, as well as
the opportunity for customers to take the thousands of
high-value Notes applications and run them a Linux
desktop for the first time. Combined with server support
for Intel and mainframe Linux, IBM now offers end-toend support for Linux on the Lotus Notes® and
Domino® 7 collaboration platform.
According to a recent Evans Data Corporation survey
of 400 developers who have worked or are currently
working with Open Source software, Linux is expected
to surpass Windows as the primary operating system
for developing applications. Linux is easy to install and
configure on the desktop and will help Lotus Notes users
integrate a wide array of software applications that are
available for no charge or at a low cost from a variety
of Business Partners and independent software vendors
(ISVs).
IBM Lotus Notes on Linux is also a significant
development for the small to medium business (SMB)
community. Since many SMBs and start-ups have the
opportunity to start fresh without incumbent
infrastructures in place, the Linux environment is a
particularly appealing option from a flexibility and cost
standpoint. In addition, Lotus Notes applications are
available to solve a wide range of business challenges,
from help desk operation to business process workflow.
The ability to run Lotus Notes on Linux provides SMBs
with an enterprise-level collaboration environment that
can scale to fit their needs.
design allows users to double their performance using
their current BladeCenter infrastructure. The System x
servers and workstations introduced today are based on
the next generation of IBM's Xtended Design Architecture,
providing high performance, availability, manageability
and flexibility advances on top of industry standard
components.
System x3650, using IBM Java 2 5.0 Runtime
Environment, delivered a leadership 2-processor score
which evaluates the performance of servers running
typical Java business applications.
IBM PowerExecutive, the first solution on the market that
provides customers with the intelligence needed to
effectively manage power consumption in the datacenter,
is also available across the line of blades and servers
introduced today, free of charge and available by download
for customers.
UAN: 111-IBM-IBM, Website: www.ibm.com/pk, e-mail: ibm_pakistan@pk.ibm.com
CUSTOMER NEWS
ICI Adopts IBM System x with Tape
Library
IBM SOFTWARE WINS
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is an
autonomous body working with Ministry of Information
Technology to regulate the establishment, operation and
maintenance of telecommunication systems and provision
of telecommunication services in Pakistan.
PTA signed an agreement with IBM Business Partner
LMK Resources to automate their internal
communications and movement of files on the grounds
of e-government initiative by Electronic Government
Directorate. The Solution which is now fully deployed
and in use is built on Top of Lotus Notes and Domino
Messaging and Collaboration technologies.
The automation of internal communication and movement
of files has allowed PTA to replace the paper files with
digital processes & work flows. This state-of-the-art
solution is helping PTA in tracking, managing, moving
and achieving digital files virtually within no time.
IBM has won the Federal Government of Pakistan
eGovernment Portal bid with its market leading
WebSphere Portal Server Extend Edition solution, an
advanced solution for a Service Oriented eGovernment
Architecture. This solution is based on WebSphere
Application Server Network Deployment, DB2 Universal
Database Enterprise Server Edition, Workplace Web
Content Management, Lotus Instant Messaging & Web
Conferencing, Lotus Team Workplace, DB2 Content
Manager, Rational Application Developer, WebSphere
Translation Server, WebSphere Personalization,
WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus, WebSphere Process
Server, Tivoli Directory Server, Employee Whitepages
and Lotus Extended Search. The solution also includes
office productivity components for word processing,
spreadsheet and presentation capabilities.
IBM WebSphere Portal, a comprehensive portal offerings
for successful business-to-employee (B2E), businessto-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C)
portals, is a key part of the IBM Workplace strategy,
allows people to interact with the on demand world in
a personalized way. By providing industry-leading portal
solutions for your on demand business, IBM helps you
improve employee productivity, cut costs and strengthen
relationships with your customers and trading partners.
IBM leads the worldwide revenue market share for
portals, application servers, content management,
relational databases and collaboration, as well as
application development tools with its WebSphere, Lotus,
DB2 and Rational software brands according to Gartner
Dataquest.
Mega & Forbes Upgrades its IT Setup
with IBM System i5 520
AGP Modernizes its Infrastructure with
IBM xSeries
Mega & Forbes is one of Pakistan's largest business
conglomerates having strong presence in several
business areas notably shipping and logistics. Mega &
Forbes has created a special niche for itself in the service
industry with a strong commitment to customer quality
standard through uncompromising efficiency in all facets
of its service operations.
To improve services by product innovation and enhanced
service levels, Mega & Forbes is implementing an
aggressive plan to upgrade its IT infrastructure by
acquiring two leading edge IBM System i5 520 servers.
These servers will be used to improve availability and
productivity of the various business applications among
them invoicing, sales, accounting etc. This is expected
to positively impact customer response time as well as
enhance business results.
IBM Business Partner Inbox has delivered the solution.
The System i5 family is highly secure and virus resistant.
It supports proven, industry-specific solutions from IBM
Business Partners with innovative IBM technology and
the capability to run all popular operating systems and
application environments on one system.
AGP is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in
Pakistan, providing a broad range of pharmaceutical
services. Presently, the multifarious pharmaceutical
operations of AGP include sourcing and import of raw
materials, finished pharmaceuticals and healthcare
products, repackaging, manufacturing, marketing, export
and direct-to-pharmacy distribution.
For more information, visit: ibm.com/systems/i
For more information, visit: ibm.com/systems/x
AGP has acquired IBM eServer xSeries 346 with IBM
DS4700 to enhance and modernize its infrastructure. AGP
made IBM its choice for its products’ reliability and
scalability.
Inbox, IBM Business Partner deployed the solution to
AGP.
The IBM eServer® xSeries® 346 delivers mission-critical
performance and reliability for data-dense environments.
New support for dual-core Intel Xeon Processors helps
provide investment protection, outstanding performance
and reliability.
The DS4700 Express is designed to expand from
workgroup to enterprise-wide capability with the attachment
of six DS4000 EXP810 disk enclosures.
MCB selects IBM Unix servers for ATM and credit cards applications
(continued from cover page)
The System p servers give the customer the choice of Linux or AIX for the operating system. IBM
Business Partner, Si3 closed the System p servers deal at MCB Bank.
ICI Pakistan Limited is a subsidiary of ICI Plc, UK, operating
since the year 1952 in Pakistan. Today ICI Pakistan’s five
businesses, Polyester, Soda Ash, Paints, Chemicals and
Life Sciences manufacture and sell a range of industrial
and consumer products. ICI Pakistan has a proud history
of sustained investments in the Pakistan economy in basic
manufacture and as a good corporate citizen, the company
continues with its policy to serve the community it operates in.
Keeping this in mind, ICI has adopted IBM xSeries 366 Dual
with Tape Library facility to run the SAP application. ICI
selected IBM for its advanced technology and post-sales
services.
Inbox, IBM Business Partner provided this setup to ICI.
Bank Alfalah Selects IBM BladeCenter
for Their Banking Needs
Bank Alfalah is one of the premier banks in Pakistan operating
since 1997.
Business growth imposed commensurate pressure when
the operating number of servers became inadequate to
handle the growing business needs. To overcome this
problem, Bank Alfalah made IBM BladeCenter its choice for
its price compatibility and the ability to run Intel and Risc
based servers in the same server box.
Bank Alfalah is now running the BladeCenter with full
satisfaction level and both AIX & Windows based applications
on the same server. More server applications can also be
added if required in the same server box.
InfoTech, IBM Business Partner closed this major deal with
IBM.
Liaquat National Hospital Continues
to Rely on IBM System i5
The IOP server team worked at this account to convince
Liaquat National Hospital management to continue with
the IBM i5 Server for their patient record monitoring system
and closed the deal for IBM System i5 Model 520. Since
availability and fast response are critical to delivering
prompt service to patients, the System i5 with its capabilities
of reliability and speed will allow Liaquat National Hospital
to deliver its service level without any compromise.
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Boosts
Performance with IBM i5 520
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, the vibrant and renowned
Japanese bank in Pakistan has acquired IBM System i5 520
to replace their current servers. The new System i5 server
will help the bank meet existing requirements as well as
new reporting requirements more effectively.
IBM Business Partner, Inbox closed the sale.
Maersk Line Acquires New
IBM BladeCenter
Maersk Line (formerly Maersk Sealand), one of the leading
liner shipping companies in the world, serving customers
all over the globe, has upgraded and replaced its present
system with IBM BladeCenter. The reasons to choose IBM
BladeCenter are IBM’s advanced technology and postsales services.
Inbox, Business Partner implemented the whole solution.
IBM BladeCenter is designed to offer reliability, flexibility
for growth and cost effectiveness.
UAN: 111-IBM-IBM, Website: www.ibm.com/pk, e-mail: ibm_pakistan@pk.ibm.com
IBM PAKISTAN / BUSINESS PARTNER NEWS
IBM TIVOLI Express Software Roadshow
IBM held IBM Tivoli Express Software Roadshow in
Karachi and Islamabad on May 30 and 31 respectively.
Jean Michel Doudot, Tivoli Storage and Security Sales
Manager, IBM CEMAAS, and Abdul Mulla, Tivoli Security
Technical Pre-Sales Specialist, IBM ME, the two Tivoli
experts presented on various topics including, Tivoli
Monitoring Express, Tivoli Storage Manager Express,
Tivoli Provisioning Manager Express and Tivoli Identify
Manager Express.
IBM Business Partners, Inbox, Si3 and LMK Resources
setup their stalls and demonstrated their solutions
developed on IBM Tivoli platform.
This event was attended by IBM
customers, prospects, IBM
Business Partners and received
positive feedback.
Tivoli Express Software delivers
Backup & Recovery solutions,
IBM LOTUS Innovations for People Productivity
IBM recently organized a roadshow on IBM Lotus Innovations for People Productivity
on June 13 and 15, in Karachi and Islamabad.
The main speakers involved Mike Hayward, Regional Technical Manager Lotus,
IBM CEMAAS, Sabine Nagl, Technical Sales Manager, IBM CEMAAS, Jason Hatch,
Lotus Technical Lead, IBM NE, and Shoaib Nizami, CEO, CorporITS who gave their
presentation on, Lotus Strategy & Future, Messaging & Collaboration Solutions
for Your Business, IBM Lotus & Microsoft – Myths & Realities, e-Forms, Lotus
Domino 7.0, Web Content Management, and Portal Solutions.
IBM Business Partners, Sajid Latif, Business Unit Manager of LMK Resources
presented on Process Automation, and Shoaib Nizami, CEO of CorporITS presented
on CRM. These Business Partners also setup their stalls in both cities. In Islamabad,
Infotech displayed their solutions.
Both the cities received huge crowd of IBM customers and prospects and an
absolute positive response from all.
First IBM Product LifeCycle Management Solution
Business Partner in Pakistan
Ultimate CAD Solutions Pvt.Ltd. has been
appointed as the first IBM Business
Partner for the remarketing of IBM PLM
(Product LifeCycle Management)
Solutions. UCS is a technology company
providing solutions and services to the
CAD/CAM industry of Pakistan. Indus
Motor Company has implemented CATIA
and Honda is in the process of
implementing CATIA.
The PLM solution set links enterprise
technology islands into a powerful
network for nurturing new ideas. It breaks
down the silos between different
companies within your value chain,
increasing the rate of information
exchange and interaction between the
Desktop Management solutions that provide Problem
determination and Secure Accessibility.
people who drive a business forward. As
one of the software applications that lies
at the heart of the PLM solution set,
CATIA is the cornerstone of true
integration between people, tools,
methodologies and resources within an
enterprise. Its unique Product, Process,
Resource model and workplace approach
provide a fully collaborative environment
that fosters creativity, knowledge sharing
and the communication of threedimensional (3D) product and processcentric definitions. The ability to capture
and reuse knowledge embedded within
CATIA facilitates the implementation of
corporate design best practices. It also
frees end users to concentrate on
enhanced creativity and innovation.
IBM Participates in 4th e-Banking Conference
IBM recently participated in the annual
4th e-Banking Conference organized by
Total Communications, held in Karachi,
in association with several banking
entities.
Humayun Bashir, Country General
Manager, IBM Pakistan, gave the
opening comments in which he briefed
that Banking is the necessity of a country
and e-Banking is the new line of
business that has given a new shape to
the banking sector and is integrating
Pakistan in the global economy.
M. Shoaib Khan, Territory Sales
Manager, IBM Pakistan, later on
presented an informative session
describing the SOA architecture, IT and
Business challenges to create a multichannel access, and how IBM
WebSphere software can help the
customer to extend SOA with it.
Other speakers of the event were Ishaq
Khan Khakwani, Minister of State for IT
& Telecom, Pakistan, Noman Saigal,
Advisor to Chief Minister on IT, Yahya
Waliullah, Secretary IT, Sindh, and
others.
System p5 and ORACLE RAC Event
IBM together with Oracle arranged a
seminar on July 4 and 6 in Karachi and
Islamabad. At these seminars, IBM and
Oracle experts introduced two leading
technologies and demonstrated how
IBM System p5 and Oracle Real
Application Cluster’s combined benefits
empower businesses of today and the
future.
Humayun Bashir, Country General
Manager, IBM Pakistan and Samina
Rizwan, Regional Director, Oracle
Corporation, SAGE West, in the
introductory presentations in Karachi
and Islamabad respectively shared the
IBM and Oracle relationship.
Michael Paier, Director IBM System p,
CEMAAS, and Yaser Sehbai, Sales
Consultant, Core Technology Solutions,
Oracle Corporations, SAGE West, and
Shabahat Ali Shah, Sr. Technical
Consultant, Core Technology Solutions,
Oracle Corporation, SAGE West, gave
presentations on System p5 and Oracle
related topics.
This seminar was attended by IBM
customers, prospects and received a
positive response overall.
Storage ThirstDay
IBM’s fortnightly storage event `Storage
ThirstDay’ has started taking place. Two
of such events have been organized
where prospects and representatives
from business partners were briefed
about IBM’s newest storage offerings.
The key advantage prospects have been
gaining from this effort is getting the
expert opinion of assessing, planning
and executing storage based solutions.
Business Continuity and Disaster
Recovery plans where storage plays the
pivotal role have been discussed in
detail with the prospects.
This event is a focused session for the
prospects where they can discuss their
own infrastructure environment, its
bottlenecks and plans. IBM adds value
by suggesting them the ways they can
simplify their IT infrastructure, make it
more available to business processes
and managing information thorough its
entire lifecycle.
This session is IBM’s continued effort
to help customers in making more
utilization of their IT infrastructure and
get higher return on their investments.
For your reservation in the next session
please dial: 111-IBM-IBM, 021-2799295
or contact our business partners.
Business Partners Certifications
Following IBM Business Partners have completed the professional certifications.
Abad Ahmed Rizvi
Inbox – Storage Technical Solution
Fahar Kaleem
InfoTech – p Series Technical Sales Support
Imran Ahmed
Inbox – p5 & pSeries Technical Sales Support
Jahanzeb Afzal
Inbox – iSeries Technical Solution
Kashif Yar
Inbox – pSeries Technical Sales Support
Mansoor Ahmed
InfoTech – p5 & pSeries Solution Sales
Sadia Mohammad
IOP – p5 & pSeries Technical Sales Support
Salman Zaman
Inbox – IBM certified for On Demand business, Solution designer V2
Salman Zaman
Inbox – IBM Content Manager
Shaikh Mohammad Imran
IOP – pSeries Technical Sales Support
Shaukat H. Khokhar
Inbox – pSeries Solution Sales