So, what the heck is IBM Smart Market?

I’ll be honest with you — when my good friend and a fellow collegue Teri Michigan, introduced me to IBM Smart Market concept last year, I was impressed and a bit doubtful as well. I thought it sounded little too good to be true. The concept called for a business marketplace which could be as easy to use as amazon.com or Apple’s iPhone app store.  I honestly didn’t think that the site could mimic the great usability factor which is often witnessed in consumer oriented sites like amazon.com or Apple’s App store. C’mon, a business marketplace that is as easy to use as a consumer commerce site? You have got to be kidding..

To my surprise, I was proven wrong. The marketplace is online and wow, even my grandmother can use it. But before we get really excited, I wasn’t fully satisfied with initial number of applications that are offered right now.  When I went back to the IBM Smart Market team, I was *assured* that they are being added all the time (as applications get approved etc). Another little pet peeve, unlike amazon.com, commerce is not 100% online yet, (possibly due to technical requirements/customization) – but a link where IBM can contact the application vendor to get in touch with the customer. This would be tracked accordingly to ensure quality experience. However, I do believe that this process will be further streamlined in the near future.

According to Smart Market site ,

IBM Smart Business is a new, easier way for small and midsize organizations to find, buy and manage all of the applications they need to run a smarter business.

The marketplace allows ISVs to publish their applications for the platform, and customers will have the assurance that everything available will work, from the start — without any compatiblity problems. In other words, there is no need to figure out what will work or what will not work with your system, everything on the site is guaranteed to work on the Smart Market business platform a.k.a Smart Cube. The Cube includes all kinds of software (operating system, database, systems management software etc).

I am also impressed with the implementation of the community powered rating system, much like iPhone Store, Amazon and others, which allows you to rate the best applications as well. Good work Smart Market Team. Kudos!

In the mean time, check out the IBM Technical White Paper . In conclusion, I was wrong and it is very much aligned with the idealogy that follows the Lotus Foundations platform — simple, easy and efficient. Take the tour today!