IBM, which expects to unveil better-than-expected quarterly figures, has announced it will spend some of its cash on incentives to encourage some of its largest partners to invest more in training and other areas.

On Wednesday, the company introduced a scheme to help its business partners who are cooperating on its New Enterprise Data Center strategy. The scheme involves incentives for IBM partners to improve their knowledge in three specific areas: virtualization and consolidation; energy efficiency; and business resiliency.

And Mike Bernard, general business and channels marketing leader at IBM, told ZDNet.co.uk that there is also a fourth area under consideration, but not yet announced: information infrastructure.

"Skills in those areas are what's most needed," Bernard said. "From that the clients will benefit as well as the partners."

There are two levels of incentive for training that partners can apply for: general specialty, for which they will receive $25,000, and specialty elite, for which they get $100,000.

Bernard said the scheme was open to any qualifying partner. "There is no qualification other than that they are undertaking work in the chosen areas. They do that and they qualify and they get the money for it," he said.

Transportation

Transportation in Texas has been difficult historically because of the state's large size and rough terrain. Texas has compensated by building both the America's largest highway and railway systems in terms of mileage as well as the largest number of airports in the nation. ^[113] The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the state's regulatory authority, whose stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods."Though the public face of the agency is generally associated with maintenance of the state's immense highway system, the agency is also responsible for aviation. in the state and overseeing public transportation systems

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