IBM becomes an ASP's ASP

IBM and Mercantec today announced usage-based pricing for service providers that host e-commerce sites for their customers, leveraging IBM's industry-leading UNIX server platform and e-business support services with Mercantec's SoftCart storefront software. First to market with a complete "pay as you go" e-commerce solution, the IBM and Mercantec package allows Service Providers of all sizes to immediately implement "plug and play" e-commerce solutions for end customers. Service providers will receive as many servers as they need and, after an initiation fee, will be billed only for the number of commerce storefronts that their customers use, effectively removing upfront cost and risk for service providers. Customers who enroll in IBM's usage-based pricing program, implemented by IBM Global Financing, establish a price-protected usage fee, which enables service providers to build an e-commerce offering which is immediately profitable and well defined. Upon enrollment, customers pay a $10,000 initiation fee that covers technical, educational and marketing services, as well as a bonus of $5,000 worth of pre-paid storefront usage fees.