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IBM Business Partner since 2008 · Any size enterprise

Any IBM solution, made simple.

Online 24x7. In person in 113 cities.

Cost
Pay only for what you need. See the price first, within one business day.
Complexity
IBM solutions made simple: sized and licensed correctly, then set up and supported for you.
Term
Most software starts with a 30-day trial. Monthly terms where IBM offers them.
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briefing centers
230
states, plus Washington, DC
30
cities
113

Each light is one briefing center. Brighter areas have more of them. Meetings are by appointment.

230 centers in 30 states and Washington, DC

Arizona9

California33

Colorado6

Connecticut2

District of Columbia7

Florida19

Georgia11

Illinois8

Indiana3

Kentucky1

Louisiana1

Maine1

Maryland4

Massachusetts22

Michigan1

Minnesota3

Missouri2

Nevada1

New Jersey2

New York40

North Carolina5

Ohio3

Oregon1

Pennsylvania4

South Carolina7

Tennessee5

Texas15

Utah1

Virginia7

Washington5

Wisconsin1

Pick a center on the map or in the list.

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2008The year we became an IBM Business Partner
29 of 29IBM proficiencies
32IBM solution areas
1Business day from your request to your quote

These customers put First Light to work.

They range from a credit union and a community college to a national carrier and a university. Large or small, you get one engineering team that sizes your IBM solution, gets the licensing right, sets it up and supports it.

  • Alameda Municipal Power
  • Alias Films
  • Analysis Group
  • BAE Systems
  • Connection
  • Cooper & Scully
  • Dimension Studio
  • HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College
  • IDX
  • In-N-Out Burger
  • JAI Medical Center
  • MIT Lincoln Laboratory
  • MIT Media Lab
  • Ocean Spray
  • Shutterfly
  • SilverSky
  • StayLinked
  • T. Rowe Price
  • Verizon
  • WESTconsin Credit Union
  • Whole Foods Market
  • Yale University
  • ZERO VFX
  • ZeroFox
Request a quoteAn engineer replies within one business day.

Why buy IBM through First Light?

Why not buy from IBM directly?

You get the same IBM products, under IBM's own license terms. Through First Light you also get one engineering team that sizes your solution, gets the licensing right, sets it up and supports it.

Request a quote

Why not wait?

IBM sets a date when support for each version ends. Five of those dates are on this page, each linked to IBM's own notice. A quote or a 30-day trial lets you plan for yours without committing to anything.

See the dates

Is First Light the right size for us?

Our customers range from a credit union to a national carrier. Every request gets an engineer's reply within one business day, and you can meet us in person in 113 cities.

Find a briefing center

IBM hardware, sized before you buy.

IBM servers and storage, from the same engineering team. We size the configuration with you, show the price before you commit, and stay through installation and support.

PowerServers for IBM i, AIX and LinuxLinuxONEEnterprise Linux serversFlashSystemFlash storageStorage Scale SystemStorage for AI and analyticsStorage CephSoftware-defined storage and its applianceFusion HCIHyperconverged appliance
Request a hardware quote

IBM software, ready to quote.

Spend the cloud budget you have already committed. Order any of 78 IBM software and SaaS products through AWS, Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud Marketplace, where an eligible purchase counts toward that commitment, or ask us for a quote. One engineering team owns your order from quote to go-live.

Automation26 productsData & AI24 productsSecurity13 productsHashiCorp5 productsFinOps (Apptio)4 productsSustainability4 productsIT Infrastructure2 productsAll 78 productsOpen the store
Open the IBM storeHow buying works

Start small. Decide when you have seen it work.

You do not need a long contract to find out whether an IBM solution fits.

Try it for 30 days

Most IBM software and SaaS can run as a trial of 30 days or longer, with an engineer setting it up beside you. No commitment to IBM or to First Light.

Start a 30-day trial

Buy a month at a time

Some IBM solutions can be bought on 30-day terms. We tell you which ones, and what each costs, before you start.

Ask which ones

Know the number first

We size it and price it before you commit, and your quote comes back within one business day.

Request a quote

Everything IBM.

Find the IBM product you run. First Light holds 29 IBM proficiencies, listed here by name. Pick one to see how to buy it, or to ask an engineer about it.

Infrastructure

watsonx

Automation and observability

Integration

Security

FinOps

Support

Distribution partners

And everything around it.

Your IBM project needs more than IBM. A network under it. Security around it. A cloud beside it. First Light buys through eight distribution partners, so one engineering team can quote, source and deliver the whole project.

One quote. One team.

The IBM core and the technology around it, on a single quote.

Buy your way.

Purchase order, cloud marketplace, monthly subscription or public-sector contract, where the product allows.

Pay your way.

Leasing, financing and usage-based plans that spread the cost, subject to credit approval.

A deeper bench.

Distributor engineers and integration centers stand behind our own team.

Ingram Micro · Arrow ECS · Carahsoft · Four Inc. · Exclusive Networks · Climb Channel Solutions · D&H Distributing · Pax8

Request a quoteMeet our distribution partners

Adding IBM software? Know the license count first.

IBM counts licenses by cores, by container limits or by people. In every case you can know the number before you order. We size it with you, show the price, and name the cheaper route when there is one.

Version 11.5 base support ends April 30, 2027

Db2

If you are adding Db2 capacity for the move to 12.1, we will show you the license count before you commit, and prove it on a free trial first.

Get my license count

IBM source

Version 9.3 support ends September 30, 2027

MQ

Planning the move to MQ 10? We map your queue managers, standbys and test systems to the right licenses first, so the bill is known before you order.

Get my license count

IBM source

Version 16.1.0 base support ends December 31, 2026

Cloud Pak for Integration

If your integration platform is growing, we size it from your own License Service numbers and show the VPC math before you order.

Get my license count

IBM source

Version 25.0.1 interim fixes end December 2026

Cloud Pak for Business Automation

If your automation platform needs more room for the move to version 26, we size it with you first, including what DR and test really need.

Get my license count

IBM source

Version 6.1 left standard support April 30, 2026

Sterling B2B Integrator

If you are moving Sterling B2B Integrator to 6.2 or to containers, we can show you the cores, limits and modules behind your license before you upgrade.

Get my license count

IBM source

Generally available, announced September 30, 2026

Content Cortex Premium

For the content you already keep in FileNet: AI agents for legal holds, redaction and classification that work under the policies you set. We do the license arithmetic before you commit.

Get my license count

IBM source

Support and availability dates come from IBM's own pages, linked on each card and checked on October 9, 2026.

Tell us who you are. An engineer replies within one business day.

One engineering team sizes it, quotes it and stays with you through cutover. Leave your name, work email and company, and an engineer will write back to ask what you need. Or call and reach an engineer, not a queue.

Helpful to have ready for that reply

  • The IBM product, or a part number if you have one
  • Quantities: cores, users, terabytes or systems
  • What you run today, and the date you need it by
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First light is the moment the sun shows over the horizon. Our mark is that moment: a sliver of sun above the line, with the rest still to come.