To help grow the base of its Software Partner Program and to address the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) today launched its Intel Business Exchange (Intel BX) Web portal that features its bundled software and hardware and standalone business applications and services.
The Web site was created to be a part of the Intel’s Software Partner Program, said Peter Elmgren, managing director of Intel Business Exchange. The overall goal of Intel BX, he said, is to be able to sustain and further expand the company’s existing software ecosystem. Elmgren said the Intel Software Partner Program currently has over 12,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) partners worldwide who are involved in the program and through Intel BX, this number is expected to grow.
“We really want to help our channel and we want to grow the base of our program,” he continued. “Intel BX is an online destination where SMB customers can make more informed purchasing decisions because they can now look at information pertaining to specific solutions,” Elmgren said.
In addition, Intel BX, he said, also benefits Intel’s ISVs, VARs and solution providers since demand, awareness and leads are also generated on the partners’ behalves by Intel. Furthermore, Elmgren said customers can then be connected with the appropriate channel partner in order to best fulfill their security, storage, telecom, or business applications needs. This, he says, provides partners with a way of tackling new customer opportunities, which he said may not have otherwise been there.
“We feel there’s a very large opportunity in the SMB space,” Elmgren said. “We feel we can also grow our channel and we’re always open to adding new partners and getting them enrolled. In the same way, we also want to grow our solutions and services offerings. For the rest of this year, we’ll be adding on every quarter to Intel BX, new solutions and categories, which can range from healthcare to financial services solutions,” he adds.
Today, Intel has 12 VARs and 13 ISVs participating in Intel BX, including companies such as Microsoft, Symantec and Salesforce.com. The number of VARs and ISVs who participate in Intel BX will grow up from here.
The site also includes a variety of different resources which include, podcasts, whitepapers, case studies, blog entries, product reviews, as well as customer testimonials. Intel BX can be accessed online by visiting the Web site located at, bx.intel.com. Through the online portal, SMB customers can find information on products and services and they can even request quotes for solutions from partners.
As for whether or not a similar portal like Intel BX will also be made available in to larger-sized enterprises in the future, Elmgren said he is not ruling out that possibility.
“I think that it’ll definitely grow upstream,” he said. “As we continue to expand and grow this out, there may be other opportunities that will come over time. Will all of the solutions that we have for Intel BX also be there for the enterprise? Not today. But as we expand, then absolutely.”