Acxiom, Red Hat, Actifio, & IBM: A Strategic Partnership on Virtualization and Marketing

Abstract

This document contains an analysis of strategic alliances between «big» players in information technology (IT) and software applications in server virtualization (SV) and marketing alliances. The main objective is to analyze the commercial advantages, benefits, and challenges of business partners, using the SV for information management, data storage, and collaboration in marketing programs. We analyze cases of alliances in companies like IBM, Acxiom, Red Hat, and Actifio, who have identified the competitive advantages of having a main «partner», which has the ideal product or service to complement one or several secondary brands as a commercial strategy and brand positioning. The SV brings positive transformations such as the reduction of hardware costs, the improvement of the provisioning and implementation of the server, disaster recovery solutions, efficient and economical use of energy, and increased productivity. This strategy invites to change the way in which data centers are being formed, and becomes a preferred solution not only for the reduction of IT costs, but at the same time it makes a company more flexible, productive, and efficient, generating better results. The ability to capture and store more and more detailed information about customer needs and behavior, taking advantage of the technology and intelligence of business partners, creates better opportunities in services, products, and more effective marketing campaigns, attracting new customers and positioning brands.