Chinese software maker UFIDA says it it is working with IBM (IBM) to expand its presence into new, global markets.

"Beyond the joint development of these solutions, we're now tapping into IBM's sales and marketing expertise and initiatives to close deals in new markets," said Wu Qiang, vice president, UFIDA. "With a strategy of going global and competing in international markets, we are working with IBM to re-engineer many aspects of the company including our portfolio of products, marketing, talent recruitment and retention and internal management philosophy. With the help and support of IBM, our market expansion will reach Hong Kong, Japan and other Asian markets."

The company is working with IBM to deploy its business applications on open technologies and is tapping into IBM's global network of sales and marketing experts to explore new business opportunities in numerous geographies, including Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. One of the key challenges facing companies that are looking to expand their presence globally is the need to build their business solutions on open standard technologies. Proprietary software hinders the ability to sell in global markets due to IT, government and language restrictions. By embracing open standards and enabling applications to run on a wider range of platforms, software companies can sell to a broader set of worldwide clients.

Prior to working with IBM, UFIDA's business solutions were based solely on Microsoft's .NET/SQL technology. To continue growing its business, UFIDA says it identified the need for an open platform as a key factor in achieving global success. The company, making a conscious decision to build on open standards and deploy their applications on J2EE, partnered with IBM to develop its new enterprise resource planning solutions based on IBM's open middleware offerings.

Now the company is turning to IBM's global network of R&D, and sales and marketing experts, to build upon this success and help grow its business outside of China. For example, IBM and UFIDA are currently working together to sell its application software to a Japanese customer in Tokyo. IBM provided the initial sales connection and is helping UFIDA localize and port its software for Japan.