{"id":76858,"date":"2024-02-15T15:31:52","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T15:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/?p=76858"},"modified":"2026-02-19T18:14:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T18:14:35","slug":"changing-your-ibm-business-partner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing your IBM Business Partner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

I can\u2019t count how often I\u2019ve heard someone say, \u201cI wish I could use Service Express as our IBM Business Partner, but\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many customers think they\u2019re forever tied to their IBM Business Partner, bound by an unwritten contract, so they can\u2019t work with anyone else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is false.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While there are rules that IBM Business Partners must adhere to, for the most part, if someone wants to work with a new partner, nothing\u2019s stopping them. Most new customers come to us the old-fashioned way: word of mouth. One customer works with us and tells people in their local IBM i community. And then one good turn deserves another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other times, partners go out of business or stop doing what they should: representing IBM to their customer base. I worked with a customer in 2019 who hadn\u2019t heard from their partner in seven<\/em> years since they installed their Power7. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who did they call when they needed help? Service Express. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply because they knew we\u2019re responsive and ready to help. We earned their business by dragging their system off the fire one night when their old IBM Business Partner didn\u2019t pick up the phone. I don\u2019t even think we charged them for the hour. All\u2019s fair in love and war, I suppose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your IBM Business Partner can be located anywhere<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps it\u2019s out of habit, location or a combination of both. A company has used an IBM Business Partner for ~25 years and thinks they\u2019re the only one in town. While that may be true to some extent, what\u2019s even more true is that you don\u2019t need a local partner anymore. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it\u2019s that people can and do work from everywhere. That\u2019s why we help customers with services worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we can only provide IBM hardware<\/a> in North America and Europe, we\u2019ll gladly work with and recommend other reputable hardware resellers from Belgrade to Bangkok and everywhere in between. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Busting IBM Business Partner myths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While most IBM Business Partners are made up of honest folks, sometimes you hear flat-out nonsense that some partners try to get away with telling their customers \u2014 and they sometimes succeed, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things like, \u201cOur current IBM Business Partner says only they can upgrade our system,\u201d or \u201cWe need our current IBM Business Partner to sell us a new system because they won\u2019t issue us any licence keys to their software if they don\u2019t.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The former is utter foolishness. Anyone<\/em> can do an IBM i upgrade. We just happen to arguably do more OS upgrades than anyone and have it down to a science. When IBM comes out with a new IBM i release, we\u2019ve already upgraded it roughly forty times as part of the beta team, while most other partners are first reading the Memo to Users for that release. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve already provided our input and helped determine features and functionality in the new operating system as part of the COMMON Americas Advisory Council<\/a> and the IBM Champion<\/a> programme, sometimes a couple of years in advance. We know what\u2019s new because we helped define what it should look like through our involvement in advocacy groups. And that\u2019s down to the bare metal; I remember discussing the chassis size of Power10 units a few months before that line of servers was announced! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latter is a little more complicated when referring to licence keys. I\u2019ve seen firsthand where a partner, who is also a customer\u2019s software vendor, will protect their investment by holding licence keys hostage if they attempt to use another partner. And the customer is trapped to some degree. It\u2019s unfortunate and unethical, but it does happen. I\u2019ve also seen those software vendor partners inflate the cost of new hardware to force their customers into their cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a few years ago when we were asked to give a second opinion on a machine configuration. It should\u2019ve been a simple box that probably would\u2019ve cost around $50,000 list price, coming from a small P05 Power7 with eight disk drives, 32 GB RAM, a four-processor core machine with one IBM i licence and unlimited users. They also needed a new tape unit. What was the cost for the proposed configuration they received? Over $250,000. The other partner configured five or six licences of IBM i on an eight-core Power9, quadrupled the RAM, maxed out the system unit with SSDs and surprisingly added an expansion drawer for more SSDs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We knew the customer was in a pickle and did what anyone with an inkling of decency would do: we configured a properly sized box that cost about $50,000, including the tape unit, and gave it to the customer with my compliments. Then, I called the proper channels at IBM and told them what the other partner was doing. Nobody should be given the gears like that customer was. It\u2019s neither ethical nor moral and violates the Business Partner Agreement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you know what usually happens in a situation like that? After a conversation with us, a customer may be forced to buy a server from their old partner (with our<\/em> properly sized configuration recommendations) but come to us for the migration services. We start building that relationship by doing the upgrades and answering the calls when the customer needs trusted advice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who cares if we don\u2019t sell a machine? Big deal. The customer knows the configuration is solid, and they\u2019re not getting ripped off. We\u2019ll always review the old partner\u2019s proposed configuration and turn it into Swiss cheese if they\u2019re trying to sneak in an extra Ethernet card the customer doesn\u2019t need \u2014 because that\u2019s what a partner does. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

IBM i education from your Business Partner<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What about education? If your partner isn\u2019t providing you with hundreds of hours of complimentary educational content every year for your benefit, you should give us a call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forget about your education for a second. When was the last time your existing partner educated themselves? It\u2019s funny because when we do webinars, we see other partners on them, and that\u2019s cool with us. There are plenty of partners that do a great job, and we happily break bread and consult with many of them. Sometimes they need help, and sometimes we need help. That\u2019s how good working relationships work. We know many customers who can teach some partners about IBM i 7.4 features. We have a pretty good idea of which partners aren\u2019t keeping their skills sharp based on some of the configurations we give second opinions on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say it with me: production servers don\u2019t need 10k RPM spinning disks in their SAN purchase. Yes, we still see that, not for historical low-I\/O data but for production workloads. I hope their customers aren\u2019t expecting things like performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do you change your IBM Business Partner?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It all starts with a call or an email. Then, we start working together as a partnership. It\u2019s nothing more complicated than that. With that in mind, we hope to hear from you soon and will continuously strive to earn your business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Switching to Service Express as your business partner is like turning on the lights to value you didn\u2019t even know was there. Let us shine a light on your IBM i possibilities \u2014 it\u2019s as easy as flipping a switch. <\/em>Contact us<\/em><\/a>.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n\t\n\n
\n
\n

Learn more about how we can support your IBM hardware<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
View Solutions<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":77185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"freeform":false,"hero_image_id":76860,"show_author":true,"table_of_contents":[{"id":"92a5e235-94d5-49b8-9e5a-196d9edcb1a3","level":"2","title":"Your IBM Business Partner can be located anywhere","url":"h-your-ibm-business-partner-can-be-located-anywhere"},{"id":"b5f81c5b-3006-40e3-ad22-529ddd4b160b","level":"2","title":"Busting IBM Business Partner myths","url":"h-busting-ibm-business-partner-myths"},{"id":"11bbb464-cc9d-4572-b13c-829a03d4ae41","level":"2","title":"IBM i education from your Business Partner","url":"h-ibm-i-education-from-your-business-partner"},{"id":"fb837c1d-e6c3-407b-baa6-06624887eb30","level":"2","title":"So, how do you change your IBM Business Partner?","url":"h-so-how-do-you-change-your-ibm-business-partner"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[735],"tags":[],"resource":[716],"class_list":["post-76858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ibm","resource-blogs"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg","yoast_head":"\nChanging your IBM Business Partner | Service Express<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Changing your IBM Business Partner | Service Express\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Service Express UK\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weareserviceexpress\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-15T15:31:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-19T18:14:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Pitcher\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ServiceExpress\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ServiceExpress\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Pitcher\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Steve Pitcher\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3fb8d1e9d8d12cefed9c514aa8fb9bfc\"},\"headline\":\"Changing your IBM Business Partner\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-15T15:31:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-19T18:14:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1294,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"IBM\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/\",\"name\":\"Changing your IBM Business Partner | Service Express\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-15T15:31:52+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-19T18:14:35+00:00\",\"description\":\"Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2024\\\/08\\\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"An image of two engineers shaking hands in a data center\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Resources\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/resources\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Changing your IBM Business Partner\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/\",\"name\":\"Service Express UK\",\"description\":\"Global Data Center Solutions & Support\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Service Express UK\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/service-express-meta.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/5\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/service-express-meta.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Service Express UK\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/weareserviceexpress\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ServiceExpress\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/serviceexpress\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/service-express-inc\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCa1MO2iHOytlWx_xCX9uoug\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3fb8d1e9d8d12cefed9c514aa8fb9bfc\",\"name\":\"Steve Pitcher\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fb3a6f67e437851d753c61a651367ac3977d8a00c846c00004ee0f5b9cb734b5?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fb3a6f67e437851d753c61a651367ac3977d8a00c846c00004ee0f5b9cb734b5?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/fb3a6f67e437851d753c61a651367ac3977d8a00c846c00004ee0f5b9cb734b5?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Steve Pitcher\"},\"description\":\"Steve is a Sales Consultant and Security Engineer at Service Express with decades of IBM i and security experience. He\u2019s also a longtime IBM Champion.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/stevepitcher\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Sales Consultant and Security Engineer\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/serviceexpress.com\\\/uk\\\/author\\\/stevepitcher\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Changing your IBM Business Partner | Service Express","description":"Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Changing your IBM Business Partner | Service Express","og_description":"Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business.","og_url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/","og_site_name":"Service Express UK","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weareserviceexpress\/","article_published_time":"2024-02-15T15:31:52+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-19T18:14:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Steve Pitcher","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ServiceExpress","twitter_site":"@ServiceExpress","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Steve Pitcher","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/"},"author":{"name":"Steve Pitcher","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/3fb8d1e9d8d12cefed9c514aa8fb9bfc"},"headline":"Changing your IBM Business Partner","datePublished":"2024-02-15T15:31:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-19T18:14:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/"},"wordCount":1294,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg","articleSection":["IBM"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/","url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/","name":"Changing your IBM Business Partner | Service Express","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-15T15:31:52+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-19T18:14:35+00:00","description":"Are you satisfied with your current IBM Business Partner? Explore some common myths about IBM partners and learn how to choose the right one for your business.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2024\/08\/Changing-your-IBM-Business-Partner_Meta-Image.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"An image of two engineers shaking hands in a data center"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/changing-your-ibm-business-partner\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Changing your IBM Business Partner"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/","name":"Service Express UK","description":"Global Data Center Solutions & Support","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#organization","name":"Service Express UK","url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/service-express-meta.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2022\/01\/service-express-meta.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Service Express UK"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/weareserviceexpress\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ServiceExpress","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/serviceexpress\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/service-express-inc\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCa1MO2iHOytlWx_xCX9uoug"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/#\/schema\/person\/3fb8d1e9d8d12cefed9c514aa8fb9bfc","name":"Steve Pitcher","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb3a6f67e437851d753c61a651367ac3977d8a00c846c00004ee0f5b9cb734b5?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb3a6f67e437851d753c61a651367ac3977d8a00c846c00004ee0f5b9cb734b5?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fb3a6f67e437851d753c61a651367ac3977d8a00c846c00004ee0f5b9cb734b5?s=96&r=g","caption":"Steve Pitcher"},"description":"Steve is a Sales Consultant and Security Engineer at Service Express with decades of IBM i and security experience. He\u2019s also a longtime IBM Champion.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/stevepitcher"],"jobTitle":"Sales Consultant and Security Engineer","url":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/author\/stevepitcher\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/73"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76858"},{"taxonomy":"resource","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serviceexpress.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource?post=76858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}