Paris, France - 18 juin 2013: A l’occasion du Smarter Commerce Global Summit 2013 de Monaco, IBM dévoile aujourd’hui une vaste gamme de solutions cloud conçues pour les dirigeants de la C-suite. Pour aider ces derniers à accélérer les innovations relatives à l’expérience client tout en restant cohérents avec la stratégie informatique de l’entreprise, le portefeuille IBM SmartCloud Solutions inclut plus de 100 fonctions métiers

Alors que les décisions technologiques étaient jusque-là essentiellement prises par les DSI, le cloud computing est rapidement devenu indispensable pour les dirigeants de la C-suite. Ces derniers, conscients de sa capacité à transformer les processus front office - tels que le marketing, les achats, la gestion des fournisseurs, les ressources humaines et le juridique - l’adoptent de plus en plus. Gartner estime que d'ici à 2017, les directeurs marketing dépenseront davantage en informatique que les DSI.

« Le cloud représente une opportunité pour aider tous les dirigeants de la C-suite à transformer l’expérience client », selon Paul Papas, Global Leader Smarter Commerce, IBM Global Business Services. « Dans le cadre de la stratégie numérique front office d’IBM, ce portefeuille contenant 100 offres permettra aux entreprises d’améliorer l’expérience avec le consommateur, d’élargir leur base de clients, de générer de nouvelles sources de revenus et de devenir plus compétitives dans leur secteur d’activité ».

Le portefeuille IBM SmartCloud Solutions pour les dirigeants de la C-suite permet par exemple :

-      aux directeurs marketing d’analyser, de comprendre et de générer des discussions pertinentes et interactives avec leurs clients grâce l’IBM Marketing Center ;

-      aux directeurs de services clients de développer un service et des techniques de fidélisation uniques basées sur des conversations plus rapides et personnalisées avec les clients grâce à l’IBM Watson Engagement Advisor ;

-      aux directeurs financiers de prendre des décisions relatives aux recettes, dépenses… en se basant sur l’analytique et en ayant conscience des risques ;

-      aux directeurs des ressources humaines de trouver, évaluer et recruter les meilleurs talents ainsi que de travailler en collaboration avec le reste des dirigeants de la C-suite en utilisant l’IBM SmartCloud pour le Social Business et l’IBM SmartCloud pour les ressources humaines.

Par ailleurs, l’ajout de la solution IBM Social Media Analytics (analyse des réseaux sociaux) permettra aux directeurs marketing d’analyser les sentiments exprimés par leurs clients sur  les blogs, les forums de discussion, Facebook ou Twitter. Ceci leur permettra de savoir comment est perçue leur marque et de personnaliser leurs produits et services proposés.

Ces innovations sont actuellement développées et déployées dans l’IBM Customer Experience Lab, qui s'attache à aider les directeurs de la C-suite à transformer l'expérience client délivrée par le front office.

IBM Unveils Industry’s First Cloud Suites for the Entire C-Suite

Cloud portfolio to transform front office with more than 100 offerings; New Social Media Analytics 

ARMONK, N.Y. and MONACO, 18 June 2013: IBM (NYSE:IBM) today unveiled an extensive array of cloud solutions designed for the C-suite to help executives accelerate innovation around customer experience to meet business objectives in concert with the company's IT strategy.  Among the newest cloud business offerings is a Big Data and social analytics solution that chief marketing officers (CMOs) can use to get an emotional reading on how customers view their brand.

Cloud computing is quickly becoming essential to C-Suite executives. While technology decisions have been made historically by CIOs and IT department heads, the C-Suite is adopting cloud computing because they see its ability to transform their front office processes -- marketing, procurement, supplier management, human resources and legal. In fact, Gartner estimates that by 2017, CMOs will spend more on IT than CIOs.

"The cloud opportunity is helping C-Suite leaders reshape customer experience," said Paul Papas, Global Leader Smarter Commerce, IBM Global Business Services. "As part of IBM's digital front office strategy, we see these 100 cloud applications as a way for business leaders to improve customer experience, reach new customers, generate new revenue streams and become more competitive in their industry."

Today's announcement adds to IBM’s growing portfolio of cloud capabilities for business, both born-on-the-cloud and born-in-the-enterprise. Last week IBM announced its intention to acquire SoftLayer Technologies, Inc. and earlier this year IBM committed to cloud open standards.

IBM SmartCloud Solutions portfolio now includes more than 100 business functions delivered as a service to help professionals make better decisions, differentiate customer experience, go to market and grow their business. These innovations are currently being developed and deployed in the IBM Customer Experience Lab, which is dedicated to helping CEOs and members of the C-Suite transform the customer experience delivered by the digital front office.

IBM’s cloud suites for the C-level executives enable:

• Chief Marketing Officers to analyze, understand, and engage customers in highly relevant, interactive dialogues across digital, social and traditional marketing channels with digital analytics and marketing automation capabilities from offerings such as IBM Marketing Center.
• Sales and eCommerce leaders to drive omnichannel B2C sales linking mobile, social, Web, and on-site locations. B2B sales executives and departments use IBM’s sales cloud to manage quotes, negotiate contracts, and strengthen sales performance analytics.
• Customer care and support executives to develop unique service and retention techniques with faster, personalized customer conversations afforded by Watson Engagement Advisor.
• Chief Procurement Officers to strategically manage spend, contracts, and entire supplier ecosystems translating into bottom line savings for the business
• Chief Supply Chain Officers and their departments to improve transparency and efficiency across the value chain to enable the organization to profitably satisfy dynamic customer demand
• General Counsel and other legal professionals to streamline contract management processes, and strengthen intellectual property and risk analytics to better serve their internal and external stakeholders
• Chief Financial Officers and corporate treasuries to make more analytical, risk-aware decisions supporting revenue, expenses, and compensation processes
• Chief Human Resource Officers to find, analyze, source and acquire the best talent and to partner with the rest of the C-Suite to enable a Smarter Workforce with internal and inter-company collaboration using IBM SmartCloud for Social Business and IBM SmartCloud for Human Resources.
• Chief Information Officers to include these cloud solutions needed by the lines-of-business in a comprehensive IT strategy that ensures security, flexibility in deployment options, hybrid environment integrations.

Social Media Analytics Expands IBM’s C-Suite Cloud Portfolio:

Today IBM is announcing its newest addition to the cloud for CMOs: IBM Social Media Analytics, which provides marketers with deeper insights to understand consumer sentiments in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, forums and then to refine products, service levels, and targeted offers accordingly.  This service allows companies to gain a view of consumer perception that is uniquely their own, not industry-wide or owned by a third-party.

For example, social media analytics can help a retail merchandising manager gain a deeper understanding of how a new dress is being perceived by consumers.  Social Media Analytics works to identify, capture and report on millions of pieces of social data to provide instant feedback on that particular item.  Managers can now use this critical feedback by analyzing keywords associated with the dress to better understand buying trends -- if the red print dress is being described by some as too bold, brands can now make recommendations to the designer to adjust to customer preferences.  

“Business leaders are measured on results,” said Craig Hayman, General Manager, IBM Industry Solutions. “Tapping into the cloud for quick access to innovative solutions makes running a department much easier and allows busy executives more time to focus on serving their customers and driving results.”

Clients Deploy IBM Cloud Solutions Globally   

London-based Speedo, the world’s largest swimwear brand, is using cloud-based digital analytics software from IBM’s Smarter Commerce initiative and is recognizing the business benefits of IBM’s role-based cloud suites.  Speedo is improving the shopping experience resulting in cross-selling revenue increasing by more than 10 percent in online sales -- generating six times more revenue per average order.

“Speedo is a brand, not a retailer,” said Gareth Beer, E-Commerce Manager at Speedo. “By personalizing every client interaction, Speedo has improved the brand experience as shoppers research products online and buy in-store. By better understanding our customers, we are able to automate and improve the individual shopping experience.” DRAFT QUOTE

The largest online retailer in The Netherlands, wehkamp.nl, delivers a personalized shopping experience for their customers, by combining historical data and click-thru rates to better understand consumer browsing and buying habits. By applying analytics in a cloud computing environment, wehkamp.nl can develop and change marketing campaigns dynamically improving the customer experience.

“We are putting control into the hands of our customers,” said Alexander van Slooten, Marketing Director at wehkamp.nl. “IBM’s Smarter Commerce is the best solution that can provide us with a holistic view, informing all of our interactions with customers from email to the call center.”

Nielsen Media taps the cloud –based IBM Watson Engagement Advisor to crunch big data in record time to transform the way they engage clients in key functions such as customer service, marketing and sales. Now, businesses can better serve consumers with a cognitive computing assistant that learns, adapts and understands a company's data quickly and easily, enabling users to have IBM Watson at work quickly, while increasing its knowledge and value over time.

Rent-a-Center, the US' largest rent-to-own operator, is working with procurement solutions from IBM's Smarter Commerce initiative with business partner Coupa Software, achieving millions in savings by optimizing and centralizing its purchasing process in the cloud resulting in millions of dollars in savings.

IBM Cloud Solutions Deployment

In the cloud, IBM clients can start small, deploy departmental solutions, or pursue enterprise wide projects. They have the flexibility to move from one delivery model to another, integration technologies to manage hybrid environments connecting on-premise and cloud solutions, and a full complement of high-value infrastructure and platform services to support the CIO’s comprehensive cloud strategy.  In the business-to-consumer industry, more than 60,000 users of IBM’s online digital marketing tools sent more than 130 million emails per month to engage customers. For more information on IBM's cloud suites for the C-Suite, please visit 

About IBM Cloud Computing

IBM has invested $4 billion in Software-as-a-Service acquisitions, such as Coremetrics for web analytics, Unica for marketing operations, Sterling Commerce for B2B commerce, DemandTec for price optimization, Emptoris for strategic spend management and Kenexa for Human Capital Management, for example. IBM’s cloud computing revenue grew by 80 percent in 2012 continuing to focus on higher value cloud offerings delivering lines of business leaders with the expertise and rich solutions they need. 

IBM has helped thousands of clients adopt cloud models and manages millions of cloud- based transactions every day. IBM assists clients in areas as diverse as banking, communications, healthcare and government to build their own clouds or securely tap into IBM cloud-based business and infrastructure services. IBM is unique in bringing together key cloud technologies, deep process knowledge, a broad portfolio of cloud solutions and a network of global delivery centers.

For more information about cloud offerings from IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com/smartcloud. Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/ibmcloud and on our blog at http://www.thoughtsoncloud.com.