Mobile, Social, Cloud, Data....all Made with IBM.

Be sure to join us at the IBM Innovation Center in Markham for the following classs:

SoftLayer Fundamentals - Infrastructure-as-a-Service

This course is designed to teach you how to: 

• Describe basic SoftLayer information, such as company structure, client billing, and data center locations and services offered at each location
• Learn how to navigate the SoftLayer Customer Portal
• Recognize cloud terminology and architectural concepts as the terms and concepts relate to SoftLayer
• Explain security and compliance, including data privacy
• Differentiate the SoftLayer storage options
• Discern the multiple network options and performance implications
• Describe how to use Managed Servicers in a product environment
• Compare SoftLayer to international, national, and regional competitors

Target Audience: Technical staff -- solution architects and developers, MSPs, ISVs and other cloud providers
Location:  Markham, Ontario, but also being held in 16 cities and 13 countries Worldwide
Registration Link:  ibm.co/1eQYBW3 - Toronto event is March 6-7

IBM Collaboration Solutions Business Partner Rally
Connect Comes to You on February 25, 2014

Social and Collaborative technologies are changing how companies do business. From
marketing and sales, to products and services innovation, every aspect of your business is
affected and improved by people collaborating together.

Transform the way you impress your customers and engage your employees to drive cost
savings, increase revenue, and gain a competitive advantage.

Join us on Tuesday, February 25 at the IBM Innovation Center (3600 Steeles Avenue East)
and learn how business are moving from liking to leading by recognizing how social
technologies drive real business value.

This is your chance to Connect!

At this event, you will gain insights from industry experts about creating a smarter workforce,
building exceptional customer experiences, and implementing and deploying new social
technologies. Share your experiences in becoming a social business with your peers, and learn
new ways to drive innovation.

Event Details:
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
8:45 AM – 3:00 PM (Please arrive at 8:30AM for registration/check-in)
IBM Innovation Center | 3600 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, ON L3R 9Z7
 

Highlights:
Keynote: Becoming a Social Business
Connect 2013 Highlights & Announcements
IBM Collaboration Solutions Roadmap
Notes 9 (Social Edition)
How to take your Microsoft Environment to the Next Level
Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience

Register Online at http://ibm.co/1a1eYse

Stay to hear about ‘How IBM SmartCloud Can Expand Your Business’.

This year the Smart Camp finals take place in San Francisco on Thursday, February 6th as a part of Global Entrepreneur Week.  Eric Ries will be speaking.  He is an inspiration to many startups and budding entrepreneurs alike! Lean is mean!

Check out the agenda for the event. Not only will there be a rapid fire pitchfest where 8 of the top startups will compete for the big win but there will also be a great opportunity to network with investors and serial entrepreneurs, academic leaders, industry experts and others who are passionate about entrepreneurship. It's all free! Hope to see you there. http://ibmsmartcamp.com/2014/01/24/come-one-come-all-ibm-smartcamp-global-finals/

IBM will invest more than $1 billion into the Watson Group, focusing on development and research and bringing cloud-delivered cognitive applications and services to market. This will include $100 million available for venture investments to support IBM’s recently launched ecosystem of start-ups and businesses that are building a new class of cognitive apps powered by Watson, in the IBM Watson Developers Cloud.   Listen what IDC has to say about this.

In case you missed it....here Watch a full replay of the #IBMWatson Group launch event

IBM will invest more than $1 billion into the Watson Group, focusing on development and research and bringing cloud-delivered cognitive applications and services to market. This will include $100 million available for venture investments to support IBM’s recently launched ecosystem of start-ups and businesses that are building a new class of cognitive apps powered by Watson, in the IBM Watson Developers Cloud.   Listen what IDC has to say about this.

In case you missed it....here Watch a full replay of the #IBMWatson Group launch event

Happy New Year from the IBM Innovation Center!!

Innovate. Transform. Grow.
Make plans now for IBM Global Entrepreneur Week February 3-7^th

Entrepreneur Week represents, for IBM Canada, the launch of our participation in the Global Entrepreneur Program.  This worldwide program provides benefits to start-ups and entrepreneurs such as mentoring, free software access and other features.  Entrepreneur week will allow you to become part of this launch as you participate in the many activities planned.

The jam-packed agenda will feature virtual as well as face-to-face opportunities to network and learn among entrepreneurs, VCs, serial entrepreneurs, academic leaders, IBM executives, and partners. Plus, Entrepreneur Week will showcase many of the IBM Global Entrepreneur success stories and provide an opportunity to meet the winners during the 2013 Smart Camp Global finals to be held on February 5^th in San Francisco.

The event kicks off with an online bash on Day 1 featuring a virtual coffee break of entrepreneurs and IBM execs networking in small groups, and continues with breakout sessions, roundtables, and speakers to educate and inspire innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world. The online session is organized around 3 tracks: 1) Growing your business in a Social world; 2) Women Entrepreneurs, and 3) Academic Excellence.

Day 2 will be a ground-breaking series of simultaneous in person events in over 40 cities worldwide hosted at IBM Global Innovation Centers and client briefing centers.  Experience the breadth and depth of all that IBM has to offer to help startups succeed in their new ventures!

Day 3 focuses on business coaching for entrepreneur partners with virtual mentoring conducted by top leaders from venture firms, entrepreneur and academic communities, as well as industry consultants & experts.

Day 4 features unique learning opportunities around IBM technologies such as mobile, social, cloud and big data and analytics in the morning, followed by a very special afternoon in San Francisco featuring the 8 firms selected for the IBM SmartCamp Global Finals. You won’t want to miss the excitement as this year’s winner is selected!

We wrap up the week on Day 5 with a special webcast keynote presentation from an expert on the topic of entrepreneurship.

What are you waiting for? Make new connections and get inspired by joining other entrepreneurs and innovators at this unique weeklong event.

Join us at one of our locations:

Waterloo - February 3, 2014   http://ibm.co/1aEDAXU

Toronto - February 4, 2014  http://ibm.co/1c7dcdc

Montreal - February 11, 2014   http://ibm.co/1gBXIPg

Global Entrepreneur Web Sites to visit:

Global Entrepreneur Program

Entrepreneur Week - Save the Date

Overview of Entrepreneur Week Daily Events

Smart Camp Finals and Entrepreneur Insights

IBM wants to team with entrepreneurs to build a smarter planet.

Are you an early stage startup?

Does your solution address issues enterprise customers are facing in the Smarter Planet industries? If so, IBM Global Entrepreneur can provide the support and resources to help you change the way the world works.

To find out more about our Global Entrepreneur Program visit us at http://ibm.co/1dQ3xuy

Here is a short video that talks about the SmartCamps which are a part of our Global Entrepreneur Program and the Mentoring sessions in general.

• What is SmartCamp?

  SmartCamp is an exclusive global program bringing together entrepreneurs, investors and experienced mentors who want to build a Smarter Planet. SmartCamp provides access to world-class advisors plus a direct route to seed and venture capital.

Have you registered for Connect 2014?

IBM Connect will provide the opportunity to dive deeply into topics, such as collaboration, socially enabling your business processes, talent management, and creating exceptional digital and customer experiences with varied tracks relevant to professionals responsible for technology, human resources, marketing, customer service and digital experience.

This year at IBM Connect you will also find the Lotusphere Technical Program and Kenexa World Conference.

Register today at http://ibm.co/17GpjHw

What does Inspirational Leadership mean to you?

Sandy Carter, IBM General Manager - Ecosystem Development, has a great explanation as to what that means to her. 

IBM Collaboration Solutions Connect to Win
Let’s focus on closing deals together!

Please join IBM on Wednesday, November 20, 2013, for an afternoon of innovative discussion on how
to maintain focus and win in an ever changing market. With 4Q well underway, the focus of this event will
be how we can help your company close more opportunities. This event is about you!

This Connect to Win session will be in the form of Speed Dating, giving you the opportunity to speak with
Collaboration and Channels executives, sales and technical teams.

Ask yourself:
• Do I have opportunities which are stalled?
• Am I getting push back from a customer?
• Is there a creative approach to help me close this deal?
• How do I pull in some deals from 2014 to have a successful 2013 year end?
• What can I do to help my customer with financing?
• I have a customer with a technical issue and I’m not sure how to resolve it. What do I do?
• More of my customers are looking for a solution approach. How can I stay relevant?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then you should not miss this session. In a one-on-one
environment, the Collaboration sales and technical teams will meet with you to address the questions
which are top of mind, help you develop a solution and win the business.

Hosted in Markham by the IBM Innovation Center, this event will help you uncover new opportunities to
expand your ecosystem. You’ll find ways to create successful business connections no matter who you
need to meet: IBM representatives, other ISVs, Resellers, or Systems Integrators. You’ll also hear how
you can drive sales through technology integration, joint marketing, and connections to the IBM sales
teams.

Event Details:
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 (2PM – 6PM)
IBM Innovation Center3600 Steeles Avenue East, Markham, ON L3R 9Z7

Register online at - http://ibm.co/1fY9Mwd (Note: All guests must be registered in advance)
IBM does not charge to attend this 'Connect to Win' event. If you have special needs or dietary
restrictions or questions, please contact Jeanette Lee at jeanette@ca.ibm.com.

Note: A bit of pre-work is required. Each partner registered for the individual breakouts will be assigned
a 20-minute slot. Availability is not guaranteed. To best maximize your time, please fill out the attached
template with three questions which you would like to have answered
Business Partner Profile Form: http://ibm.co/17hrhFh
Please complete and return the profile form no later than Tuesday, November 12.

Come join us at the IBM Big Data Connect to Win - Big Insights at the Speed of Business event on Tuesday, October 16 where industry experts will share their real-world experiences to help you learn how to take control of your ever-growing supply of data and turn it into an enterprise source of knowledge.

HIGHLIGHTS
     - Evolve your data warehouse to take advantage of new technologies like Hadoop
     - Speed up your analytics with DB2 BLU
     - Discover insights and optimize decisions fast enough to impact your business in real-time
     - Deliver trusted information for data warehousing and business analytics
     - Network and create relationships with other Business Partners in the community

DATE
     Tuesday, October 16, 2013
     2:00 PM - 7:00 PM

LOCATION
     IBM Innovation Center
     3600 Steeles Ave. E.
     Markham ON L3R 9Z7

REGISTER at http://ibm.co/154ayDZ