It has proven to be a very effective [model]. It is a single point for education, enablement, what I call kicking the tires. We see our partners and partner centers as a natural hub [for] our innovation agenda to get out to the market. It has become a critical part of our strategy.

I don't think we need to radically change incentives and financial programs. It's more about coverage and enablement than anything else. We are not interested in creating a lot of stacking. We are protecting the investment our current partners have made.

Judges selected Intermec as the winner in this category based on its ability to deliver cutting-edge innovative value to customers while working closely with IBM to both benchmark and extend those solutions and technologies. Intermec is combining technology expertise with business insight to help its clients innovate on important business issues and realize real efficiencies.

IBM's unwavering focus -- from one end of our organization to the other -- is on delivering open, on demand solutions and services that are channel-ready, as well as offering partner programs that truly stimulate an ecosystem of growth, collaboration and innovation. We are dedicated to being the IT industry's partner of choice and we are honored that the Business Partner community selected IBM as the company they most want to partner with.

This is going to impact a lot of competitors. There are a lot of partners doing business with other companies, but I am not going to focus on [names].

With such a concentration of opportunity, customers and partners, having a second BPIC is a winning strategy. Customers can come and rather than hear about a solution, they can see it.