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What's New in the World of Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Surjit Chana
Vice President, Marketing and Partners
Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software
IBM
Surjit Chana is the IBM Vice President of Marketing & Partners for Lotus Software. He has almost 20 years of experience creating marketing and awareness programs for some of IBM's most strategic products, and is applying that knowledge and experience to IBM's Workplace, Portal and Collaboration business. As the marketing & channels lead for Lotus Software, which includes IBM WebSphere Portal, Lotus Notes/Domino Family and IBM Workplace offerings, Surjit aims to make our partners, customers and external audiences aware of great work going on in this area -- new products, improvements to partner programs, big customer wins and other useful information to demonstrate why IBM is, and will continue to be, the leader in collaboration.
In Surjit's prior role he was responsible for defining the worldwide go-to-market strategy across IBM's broad portfolio of software, including WebSphere, DB2, Lotus, Tivoli and Rational brands.
Surjit is a Physics graduate from the University of Surrey, in the United Kingdom and now lives in Somers, New York with his wife and three young children.
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Mike Rhodin keynoting ADMIN 2006 in Boston this May
While we love the fact that over 5,000 of our customers and partners joined us in Orlando for Lotusphere this year, there are several other wonderful trade shows and seminars designed to help Domino adminstrators keep up with the latest product info.
Among these are the ADMIN shows, and I'm pleased to share with you that we've just secured Mike Rhodin as the keynote speaker for ADMIN 2006 on May 10 in Boston. The event agenda looks fantastic, (http://www.admin2006.com/eview/admin2006.nsf/LkUpView/Overview) and seems like a great vehicle to help our customers and partners continue to build their skills and expertise around the Lotus platform.
Feb 22 2006, 06:17:00 PM EST
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Singapore's National Healthcare Group standardizes on Lotus Notes and Domino
Excellent customer case study in MIS-Asia magazine this month on the National Healthcare Group of Singapore and their decision to consolidate their infrastructure on Lotus and WebSphere. Almost 7,000 users were moved to Lotus Notes from a variety of messaging platforms, including 2,000 Microsoft Exchange users. You can find the story here http://www.misweb.com/magarticle.asp?doc_id=25503&rgid=2&listed_months=0
Feb 17 2006, 11:48:00 AM EST
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Update from 3GSM -- IBM teams with AOL/Tegic on 'predictive text' software bundle
Ever wish your hand-held could predict what word you were trying to type into a text message after only a few letters/keystrokes? That's what 'predictive text'software will let you do, and IBM has teamed with AOL's Tegic to include WebSphere Everyplace Micro Edition in Tegic's new T9 software bundle. As text-messaging becomes an increasingly important collaboration tool, predictive text software will really help increase productivity and save time for IBM and AOL customers. The announcement was made this week at the 3GSM show in Barcelona, and you can check out the press release here ...http://www.tegic.com/press_view.html?release_num=28a
Feb 16 2006, 12:56:00 PM EST
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The Philippine Star -- "Let's Talk Lotus" -- excellent media story on Lotusphere
A wonderful story appeared today from Tammy Mendoza of The Philippine Star. Tammy and I had a great conversation at Lotusphere in Orlando, as she was one of 30+ international reporters that attended the show. Despite missing the amazing opening session because of delayed flights, she was really able to grasp the benefits of our announcements and our strategy.
These types of press stories demonstrate the growing mindshare for our collaboration tools in the Philippines and other countries in the region.
http://www.philstar.com/philstar/BUSINESS200602133901.htm
Feb 13 2006, 02:23:00 PM EST
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Why the new Workplace Managed Client is poised to be a real game-changer
With the January launch of IBM Workplace products version 2.6, a number of first-time capabilities and features were delivered to the market in the Workplace Managed Client (WMC). WMC 2.6 marks the introduction of two especially critical capabilities.
The first is something that began at IBM Research, dubbed "Open Activity Management" (OAM). The 30-second description is that, like all of the Workplace family, OAM makes more people more productive in the context of things they do every day. In this case that is achieved by simply making better use of the content created in the course of normal activities: e-mails and meetings, office documents, chats, comments and edits, etc. OAM understands the relationships inherent in different projects and processes, and maintains the associations irrespective of the software tools used to create the content. These activity "collections" can then shared among teams, so that everyone has the same view of the activity and various contributions as activity progresses. Very powerful stuff. You can learn more about it here. (http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/ae/)
The other new capability in WMC 2.6 is near and dear to my heart: support for a new standard called Open Document Format (ODF) from the OASIS Foundation. In fact, WMC 2.6 is the first IBM product to support this important standard. You have probably heard about ODF from news topics such as the the decision by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to require open, standards-compliant document formats by January 1, 2007. There's a lot of good coverage on this in the blogosphere, including the blogs of colleague Bob Sutor (http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/dw_blog.jspa?blog=384), Andy Updegrove at ConsortiumInfo (http://consortiuminfo.org/newsblog/), and Pam Jones at Groklaw (http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=20051216153153504).
The main benefit of the ODF standard (http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/download.php/12572/OpenDocument-v1.0-os.pdf) is that it assures that content will always be available to the people who create it, and with whomever they share it. Until now, most of the important computer content created by people has been tightly bound to one format or another, often controlled by a single vendor. Some of that content is already being lost (or at least "locked away") as companies fall by the wayside or formats go out of use. In some cases companies no longer exist (such as Wordstar), and files created in those formats are locked up or require third party reverse-engineered converters. Newer products often drop conversion tools for older formats, both to reduce costs and also to presumably encourage uprades; for example Microsoft Office 2003 drops all support for Wordstar conversion. (It also drops conversions from versions of Microsoft Word older than Word 6, so the problem isn't limited to competitive formats.)
ODF is appealing to organizations -- particularly those with public service responsibilities such as governments -- because it ensures that content will always be available. Since the standards are published and open, content will never be "locked up" by evolving file formats.
A second, less obvious but equally important benefit is that ODF removes the file format from the competitive equation, and forces vendors to compete on implementation. Today many buyers feel compelled to adopt Microsoft Office because their customers and partners use it. With Office's dominant (90%+) market share, that becomes almost a self-propagating requirement. But with ODF, any vendor can create software that outputs 100% compliant files. That shifts the equation from compatiblity (which is assured) to feature/function, value, and appropriateness for the specific need -- since multiple vendors are available.
So you can see why so many people regard WMC 2.6 as a real game-changer. If you haven't had a chance to experience this new client, I invite you to learn more about it on our Web site (http://www-142.ibm.com/software/workplace/products/product5.nsf/wdocs/workplaceclienttech), and to download a 180 day trial version on Linux or Windows (http://www-142.ibm.com/software/workplace/products/product5.nsf/wdocs/wmctrial) to see for yourself what the fuss is all about.
Feb 07 2006, 04:03:00 PM EST
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Lotus Sametime info page -- everything you need for "real-time business"
As many of you know, IBM launched a completely new real-time collaboration platform last week in Orlando around Lotus Sametime 7.5. Mike Rhodin really nailed it in his keynote address when he pointed out that real-time technology has altered the global business landscape and completely changed the way we work with each other... at IBM we consider this an evolution to "real-time business."
Please take a second to check out our Sametime 7.5 page on ibm.com (http://www.ibm.com/lotus/sametimefutureisinsight). It lists all the cool new features and functions, as well as some 7.5 screenshots. We will soon have a Flash demo, a few podcasts and other fun stuff...
Feb 02 2006, 04:57:00 PM EST
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Microsoft scraps Notes/Domino migration tools?
Interesting blurb on Microsoft-watch.com... it seems shortly after Microsoft announced tools for migrating from Domino to Exchange, they were pulled off the shelves... note the not-too-subtle tone of skepticism from Mary Jo Foley...http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,2180,1917658,00.asp
Feb 01 2006, 04:44:00 PM EST
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Check out "Taking Notes" -- OpenNTF interview with Kevin Cavanaugh on the future of Notes and Domino
Kevin Cavanaugh sat down with Bruce Elgort and Julian Robichaux of OpenNTF last week to do an interview for their "Taking Notes" program. Kevin is one of the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to anything and everything related to Notes and Domino, and he provides an in-depth analysis on a range of ND-related topics, including new social networking tools for the Domino platform, updates on Hanover development, Activity Explorer integration in ND and a variety of other topics.
You can check out Kevin's interview here http://takingnotes.openntf.org/blogs/takingnotes.nsf/dx/Episode13.htm or go to your iTunes music store and do a search on "Lotus Notes."
Feb 01 2006, 04:36:00 PM EST
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Lotusphere -- the swagger is back
I know it's an annual happening for most of you, but I am still in awe of this event we all know as Lotusphere. The enthusiasm, excitment, and overall energy just blew me away -- I can see why we have this event in January, since it generates more than enough momentum to get you through the entire year. I had so many great meetings with business partners, customers, analysts and reporters from all over the world -- this is truly a unique event, not only within IBM but the entire tech industry, and I was proud to have been a part of it.
But possibly the best part of this year's show was that it demonstrated that the swagger is back -- you may have noticed, but our team is not pulling any punches when it comes to highlighting our successes and setting the record straight on competitive issues. It's not cockiness -- rather, it's more of an attitude that we don't have to make excuses anymore, and IBM customers no longer have to defend their decision to buy IBM collaborative software. The reasons are clear, the results speak for themselves, and we don't want any confusion on the subject.
And while Lotusphere was a blast, our work has only just begun. My team is already working on plans to keep the ball rolling -- we're working on ways to leverage the tremendous amount of exposure around things like SAP integration, social networking capabilities in Sametime, enhanced Mac integration (a huge hit!), Workplace Collaboration Services and Workplace managed Client 2.6 and our new Workplace Forms software. We're lining up some exciting new product announcements for the first half of this year, and some major customer wins are just on the horizon. Looks like it's going to be quite an interesting ride in '06.
Feb 01 2006, 09:24:00 AM EST
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The FACTS around the Microsoft migration tools... don't believe the hype
Sorry, but I just can't let this misinformation go unaddressed.. I'm talking about the Microsoft Application Analyzer and Data migration tool "announcement."
So lets look at some FACTS:
1. Microsoft has currently pulled this tool out of their website (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/interopmigration/collaboration/default.mspx#Tools)
2. Reviews by Microsoft/IBM business partner (http://www.pmooney.net/blogsphe.nsf/d6plinks/PMOY-6L2TN4)
"reveal that this is a prelude to a FUD generator, nothing more. MS cannot do what Lotus can do"!
- wrong assumption that only standard Lotus templates are in use!
- analyzer engine cannot handle database volumes
- it requires .net framework 2 and MSDE SQL engine installed and running in that machine.
- This latest version of the analyser and report tool attempts to group each database into one of four categories, and then tries to suggest a replacement MS solution. Note that Microsoft equivalent of Domino collaboration (chat, presence awareness) requires Windows Exchange, Live communication, and Sharepoint Portal servers and CAL, Sharepoint services, and SQL server!
3. Gartner analyst Matt Cain said (CNET). "They've had a bunch of migration tools out there for a long time and they haven't been revised in ages."
"What's still missing is a tool or service that can migrate the Domino application logic," Cain said. "Domino still is an awesome rapid application development tool. There frankly is nothing (like it) on the market."
4. Oh by the way, more than 3000 customers and millions of users, have already decided to trade up from offerings such as Microsoft Exchange by switching to IBM Lotus Domino in Y2004-2005. These include Southern California Edison, Greif, Holland company, Morphy Richards, Suncast, and American society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Many leverage the IBM business partner hosted POC (http://www-142.ibm.com/software/sw-lotus/products/product4.nsf/wdocs/notesdominopoc) for customers to try and move.
Jan 22 2006, 08:07:00 PM EST
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Mac attack at Lotusphere
Interesting to read in the NY Times this week about Michael Dell have to backtrack on some comments about Apple (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/technology/16apple.html). As Apple's market cap surpassed Dell's this week, it seems Apple CEO Steve Jobs used the occasion to send out an internal memo that referred to a speech by Michael Dell in 1997 when he suggested that Jobs "shut it (Apple) down and give the money back to the shareholders."
Seems Dell underestimated the continued popularity of the Mac platform and Apple's broad, loyal base of customers -- fortunately, IBM has always remained aware of this fact and offers Mac support in Lotus Notes. Look for more news around Notes/Mac support next week at Lotusphere.
Jan 20 2006, 03:38:00 PM EST
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Taking off the gloves -- Lotus Notes and Domino advertising
Building on the momentum from the Notes & Domino 7 launch activities in 2005, Lotus advertising around ND7 will continue to have a strong impact in 2006. The advertising consists of both print and web banners, in addition to a new landing page. The advertising originally launched with a full page ad in the Wall Street Journal in 3rd quarter 2005 - and will run worldwide on key publications and sites throughout the first quarter of 2006.
We have taken an aggressive approach to make sure the new ads have stopping power and generate strong awareness. The messaging focuses on the leadership and innovation of Lotus Software, and the many business benefits of Lotus Notes & Domino 7. The setting of the ads is the current IBM Software Group "You Versus" campaign.
Jan 19 2006, 10:39:00 AM EST
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eWeek likes the "polish" on Lotus Notes and Domino 7
The technical editors at eWeek recently reviewed Lotus Notes and Domino 7, and had some great things to say about the latest version of IBM's flagship messaging and collabortion platform... we're expecting more positive press reviews very shortly, so watch this space for updates...http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1909858,00.asp
Jan 18 2006, 04:19:00 PM EST
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Lotusphere 2006 is just around the corner!
Lotusphere starts next Monday, and I know I'm biased, but I think this is shaping up to be one of the best shows ever. We're expecting almost 5,000 people to join us in Orlando, which is over 15% more attendees than last year.
Even more exciting is the overwhelming response from our partner community... not only is our exhibit show floor completely sold out, but it was sold out before Christmas. This just demonstrates that our partners still view Lotusphere as a valuable venue for doing business.
Please visit with http://www-306.ibm.com/software/swnews/swnews.nsf/n/nhan6k8m9x?OpenDocument&Site=lotus for more details on some of the great sessions, labs, tracks and panels that are part of this year's program.
Jan 18 2006, 04:04:00 PM EST
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