Next week marks the beginning of the final calendar quarter for IBM Information Management sales.  Along with Q4 push comes discounts and special deals to help save money – and encourage you to buy now!
 
As an IBM reseller The Fillmore Group wants you to be a smart shopper and to make sure you compare software quotes before buying during this hectic selling season.  This keeps your vendors honest and may help you avoid overlooking a critical component needed to make the solution a success, like implementation services and training.
 
And, of course, we would love to earn your business.
 
And as an extra incentive to customers looking to purchase IBM Information Management solutions between now and year end, The Fillmore Group will give a $50 iTunes gift card for any competitive Information Management software quotes we prepare for your organization.

Contact me at either 410-465-6335 or via email at kim.may@thefillmoregroup.com if you would like a TFG software quote. 

The fine print:  This offer is valid for IBM DB2, Informix, Optim and InfoSphere products purchased through the IBM Passport Advantage program only.  You must provide your organization’s Passport Advantage Account number to receive a quote.

We have over 100 Q Replication users registered to attend the upcoming Virtual Users Group session, scheduled for August 9th (see the post below).  The Fillmore Group, as an IBM Authorized Training Partner, delivers the IBM public training class for Q Rep, when it runs, which is hardly EVER!  

Great products deserve great support.  I am happy we can help Q Rep users gain better skills.

If you would like to join us the registration link is in the post below.

Use TFG Services to Close Q2 Deals

*Update*  Thanks to the IBM sellers who attended yesterday’s webinar.  The slide deck is attached – I hope it helps with your Q2 sales!

I am delivering a webcast Thursday, June 14th, targeted to IBM Information Management software sellers who may benefit from using The Fillmore Group’s services to help close software sales deals by the end of June – a big day for IBM sellers (it’s the end of the first half of their business year).  I am excited to do this as The Fillmore Group has historically taken a holistic view of the software acquisition process.  We recognize that more needs to happen AFTER customers purchase Information Management software than BEFORE.

And while figuring out the budget and how much an organization has available to spend on the software itself is important, it’s the follow-on services that make or break an implementation – consulting to help install the software and integrate it with existing systems, and training to ensure an organization’s DBA team is prepared to support it long-term. 

We offer these services and are proud of the consistently fine work performed by our consultants and trainers. 

If you sell IBM software and would like to attend the webinar, I am keeping it short and sweet (30 minutes start to finish).  Register here.

Or, if you are an IBM customer, or thinking about becoming an IBM customer, and are interested in top qualify services from a Premier Business Partner, please contact me here.

Lots is happening with training – some good and some not-so-good, and as we get closer to IDUG and the chance to wallow in  DB2 education I want to do a bit of self-promotion.  The IBM Champions program has been inviting Champions to record podcasts, and I was lucky enough to get to do my recording with Crysta Anderson and David Pittman, both IBM Social Media Strategists, as well as terrific recording facilitators (for normally nervous presenters like me – a real treat!)

I was given the opportunity to discuss training, from my perspective, and while I really enjoyed the discussion, have to say it reminded me in a sort of frustrating way that training was the reason I came to work for The Fillmore Group seven years ago.  I thought it would be simple to take the lessons I’d learned in the Microsoft training world – seeding the market via education, exciting evangelists with training, using training to ensure customers get the most value from their software investments – and apply them to DB2 training. 

There is so much more that needs to be done.  Please listen to the podcast, and if you would like to help change the way IBM “positions” training, please drop me a line. 

The podcast is on Crysta’s site; click here.

Frank delivered a terrific summary of the products in the Information Management portfolio at a lunch event at Baltimore’s Cinghiale restaurant earlier this month.  Unfortunately, we can’t offer everyone lunch (sorry!) but we will offer a repeat presentation via webinar on April 5th.  The invitation and registration information are below and the complete session abstract and Frank’s bio can be accessed by clicking ” Read More”.  Please share this event with anyone who may be interested in learning more about what IBM has to offer – it’s packed with great information.

Thursday, April 5, 2012, 3:00pm – 4:00pm EDT    Register here.  Read More…

Please join us for a webinar Thursday, February 23, 2012, at noon Eastern.  To register, click here. 

IBM is merging replication offerings with the announcement of the IBM InfoSphere Data Replication V10.1.2 package.  The new Data Replication package updates and consolidates InfoSphere Data Replication, InfoSphere Change Data Capture, InfoSphere Change Data Delivery, and InfoSphere Change Data Delivery for Information Server into a single offering, giving replication users considerable flexibility in making a choice of a data replication solution.   In this session Frank will explain what the consolidation means to customers evaluating a replication technology and make recommendations to ensure your organization makes the right choice to address your business needs. Read More…

Instructor-led classroom training is the most effective and reliable way to develop new data management skills.  The Fillmore Group delivers a select group of public IBM authorized training courses in our state of the art classroom in Towson, Maryland.  Invest in yourself and join us for a class in 2012. 

A list of classes scheduled for the first half of 2012 is attached.  Please feel free to contact me with questions on our training offerings.  In addition to these classes TFG delivers private onsite classes, classes via distance learning, and custom training to meet specific needs.

First Half 2012 IBM Information Management Training Word

Get the back-to-school spirit and register for a fall class at The Fillmore Group.  The classes below are scheduled to run in our Towson, Maryland classroom, just north of Baltimore.  I can’t promise crunching leaves underfoot but I can assure you will enjoy state-of-the art classroom equipment and award winning instructors.  Click on the course code for details and registration on the IBM site.

Don’t see the course you are looking for?  The Fillmore Group also delivers private classes on a variety of Information Management topics. 

Read More…

The Fillmore Group’s Frank Fillmore has been delivering training classes on IBM’s behalf for so many years that the team here at TFG has the drill down cold:  get the IBM enrollment reports once or twice a week and figure out which classes are likely to run, advertise the ones that look promising, then cross our fingers and hope the enrollment is sufficient to be able to notify the students that class is ON!!

From there it is off to the store to stock up on sodas and treats for Donna and planning on a weekend in the classroom to do the lab set-up for Frank (sorry, Frank!)  When everything is set and the students arrive, Frank goes into delivery mode and somehow stays focused in spite of lab malfunctions, power outages and jetlagged students.   

Over the past two years we’ve seen class enrollment going up, just a bit.  I hope that as you read this you will give some thought to the benefits of IBM Information Management training.  We work really hard to deliver a great experience to everyone who comes to Towson for a class.  We have Information Server (DX447), DataStage (DX444) and DB2 Connect (CF602) classes coming up.

Valentine’s Day!  What could be more fitting if you need to learn to LOVE InfoSphere Q Replication?  In honor of St. Valentine’s Day students attending class will receive a box of Godiva Valentine chocolates.  If you use Q Replication and have not attended any formal training this class will give you an understanding of how Q Rep works, how to make changes, and how to ensure your monitoring is 100% functional.  The outline and registration are on the IBM Learning Services website.  I hope you will join us!