From 25th to 30th of July, after the fantastic success of the last year Winter Finnish "Academy", the companies MERLION and IBM invited their key partners from among the system integrators to visit Japan for participation in the Summer IBM Academy.
43 participants took part in this event including 29 high-ranking executives representing the integrators (the partners of MERLION) from various Russian regions and particularly from the Far East.
The Academy business program contained not only traditional reports and roundtable discussions, but also business meetings. The program official part comprised inter alia of discussion of global changes in the IT-market and IBM strategies in the cloud area (SaaS) including the strategy of using of ASL-models in sales of SaaS-solutions. Separately one touched on the theme of additional motivation of the key partners dealing with promotion of hardware and software products on the part of the vendor and the distributor.
A special atmosphere is the characteristic feature of the "Academies" organized by MERLION with the assistance of IBM, when the exoticism of the country colours the discussion of actual business themes. As for Japan, where the permanence of traditions is absolutized, we had an opportunity to differently look at the long-term partner relations formed between the vendor (IBM), the distributor (MERLION) and the partners - system integrators.
In order the "Academy" participants to have a possibility to get acquainted with Japanese traditions and life style, the events took place in three cities (Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto), each of which left its unforgettable imprint.
Tokyo was best in memory for authentic sashimi and tempura, the trademark Japanese politeness, geisha dances and perfect cleanliness on the back of abundance of skyscrapers and technologies not less high than the constructions.
In Kyoto – the ancient capital of the Land of the Rising Sun – the cutting-edge technologies give place to mysterious temples inviting to meditations. We had an opportunity here to switch off from vanity beneath the gazes of silent statues of the temple "Thousand and one statue of the Kannon Goddess", and to gain new strengths after have taken a gulp from the sacred springs of the "Pure Water Temple" bestowing health, wealth and love.
To see the main legend of Japan – Fuji – the "Academy" participants visited the resort town Hakone. The Fuji top that is hidden under the layer of heavy fog for most of the year came into view of the "academicians" for a short moment just before they left. Apparently that was a hint at that it is worth to come here again. And if not particularly to Japan, but to the next IBM Academy - for sure!
