Lotusphere 2006 and partner attendance

December 12 2005

Lotusphere 2006 attendance is shaping up.... I can't disclose registration numbers, but there has been a 50% uptick in the last few weeks and more coming in by the day.  A whole lot of you have not yet joined the Lotusphere 2006 frappr -- please be sure to add yourself to the map.

My rant today, though, is about people who are not yet registered to attend Lotusphere.  Specifically, I mean partners who make part or all of their living building/deploying Lotus software-related solutions.  A few days ago, I had an e-mail discussion with a consultant who is not registered for Lotusphere.  They said that they might yet do so, they are waiting to see how some of their project commitments for 2006 shape up.  I expressed disappointment, because I believe that partners who make a living with Lotus software should be at Lotusphere, period.  Now, I understand for those of you in Europe/Asia/Africa/Australia, the travel costs to Orlando might be prohibitive.  But for US/Canada and environs, the travel costs this year are so low, they can't really be your barrier.  So what is?

Why do I think partners who work with Lotus software should be at Lotusphere 2006?  Because there is no better place to find out how to grow and enhance your business for 2006 and beyond.  There's no better place to meet prospective customers, and keep up relations with existing customers.  There's no better place to talk with IBM executives, management, and product development, to get your voice heard about current and future products.  There's no better place to network with other partners who you can work with on joint projects and proposals.  There's no better place to learn about new products and solutions that can help with your projects.

From my perspective, after 11+ years in the Lotus marketplace, the partners I meet at Lotusphere and other similar events are the ones I turn to for a sense of what's going on in the market, bounce ideas off of for what IBM could be doing differently or better, and consider when asked for referrals or contacts.  If you're not at Lotusphere (or a similar event such as DNUG), you're not on my (or other Loti) radar.  Sure, I get that face-to-face is hardly the only way to build business relationships in 2006.  But the investment of time and money to be at Lotusphere speaks of commitment in a fairly unique and (to me) important way.

It's 40 days away.  Be there or be square.

Ed Brill Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Lotusphere ’06  Add/View Comments [23]

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  1. 1  Aurelio Herranz www.itranser.com | 12/12/2005 3:29:13 PM

    Ed, It would be great if we can have a kind of "Lotusphere" also in Europe.....

  1. 2  Kitty  | 12/12/2005 4:08:18 PM

    See you there.

  1. 3  Stuart McIntyre macsfacts.blogspot.com | 12/12/2005 4:30:19 PM

    Ed, as a 3-time Lotusphere attendee, I completely agree - it is the key event of a Lotus-focused professional's year.

    However, I think you need to be a little more understanding of a partner's position. I have recently moved to an HP partner (so sadly won't be at LS06) and attended HP's Software Universe conference in Nice, France last week - a very similar event to Lotusphere.

    Whilst there were certainly positives - meeting HP execs, meetings with HP account reps related to my company, marketing planning sessions, good keynote speaches etc. etc. - it meant that myself, our key salesperson and our sales manager were all out of the office for a week, we had to reschedule meetings with customers, calls from colleagues and customers were returned late, and it cost us a total of £5k (~$10k) for the privilege. Was it worth it? Probably, but it is difficult to measure...

    As for why we booked late (4 days before), we could only do so once we have firm numbers of customers confirmed on the trip, and once we knew that longterm valuable bids we are working on were not going to be at a critical phase during the week.

    So I see where your partners are coming from. Stuart

  1. 4  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 12/12/2005 4:52:03 PM

    In each of the past two years I have registered for the event as a partner, attending the BP development day events on Sunday. But did I hear from anyone about the BP only events where you would get to meet key people at invite only BP receptions? No, and this was unfortunate. The answer was "Oh we did not know you were here", even though it was clear on my registration.

    So perhaps more of a root cause analysis is needed as to why BPs choose to attend or not to attend before a universal statement is made? I feel that it is an important event to me as a BP, but I cannot speak to how others make the value proposition. Have you posted this question in the BP Forum?

  1. 5  GarryL  | 12/12/2005 6:04:38 PM

    @1 - Would agree with that. London would be ideal.

  1. 6  David Bailey  | 12/12/2005 6:43:51 PM

    I will be unable to attend, this year. It would have been my 12th consecutive Lotusphere. Bummer.

  1. 7  Carl Tyler  | 12/12/2005 9:42:56 PM

    I agree Lotusphere is a key event. I think some partners may choose Partnerworld which is a great deal more expensive than Lotusphere, so might not have the budget left for Lotusphere. For us, we choose Lotusphere over Partnerworld.

  1. 8  Malcolm Barr  | 12/12/2005 10:04:56 PM

    Ed, I and my colleagues were always at the Australian version of Lotusphere (Fusion) unil IBM decided in their wisdom to create a universal conference (Software Universe)that lasted just one year. The Lotus conference was always well attended and I'm sure a return to Fusion would be appreciated by the APAC region.

  1. 9  Pete McPhedran www.corefusion.com | 12/12/2005 11:17:14 PM

    Ed,

    With so many events available to attend and sponsor, BP's need to be very focussed on where they spend their money. It is extremely difficult to determine return on investment and it is really easy for Loti to sum it up as "the networking is worth the price". That isn't actually the full truth all the time. I have had excellent results some years and not so much in other years.

    I have attended every Lotusphere, the first as a customer and every one since as a BP. I have had a booth (Have one this year too) and have attended without a booth. I have only been able to truly justify one year vs the cost (booth, staff, travel, etc...)

    The past 4 years have been very difficult for BP's at LS, low attendance and massive cuts by IBM make it even harder to justify the costs. Partner World has great networking opportunities too, I'm told. Software U, and all of the "...comes to you" events make it easy for BP's and customers alike to get the information they need without travel or the week off work.

    The lack of "big announcements" and product launches also makes it harder to keep coming back. In the good old days, you were nearly guranteed a "big" announcement. Now, the announcements are sub par and the "executive meetings" in my opinion were not worth my time away from the booth. This is possibly more applicable to non-US Partners.

    Then there are the "other" companies that we partner with to make a living, even if Lotus/IBM is the bread and butter, we still need to be involved in other areas of technology. We are partners with RIM, Red Hat and Microsoft and they all have events too. More money, more cost justification.

    Personally, I wouldn't have attended every year if I didn't think it was worth while. Since I own my company I am paying for everything and not just attending on someone else's tab. To really get the full advantage, you really need to work Lotusphere. BP Day is vital, a booth is probably a good idea but creativity could get around that. A lot of vendors have party's that you should attend to meet people, BOF's are vital for your specific area of interest and the lab's are must attends.

    Visit Turtle's Gonzo LS website if you are a virgin and get plenty of rest before hand and go with an agenda. Study the sessions before and during the conference. Have fun at the party's and talk to lots of people.

    So, I agree, it is an important event for BP's, even to just attend and learn, but it can be even better to develop new contacts within IBM/Lotus, other BP's and even customers. Just plan your budget and make it work.

    See you in Florida, we are at Ped 205

    -Pete

  1. 10  Mike Burford  | 12/13/2005 12:20:24 AM

    @8 - I agree with Malcolm, I would love to be able to afford the time/cost of attending Lotusphere but from NZ it's somewhat prohibitive for a small BP and Fusion was the ideal alternative option. It's a real pity it's no longer available.

  1. 11  Nathan T. Freeman  | 12/13/2005 2:28:43 AM

    In various capacities, I've made my living with Lotus technology since '93. I've been to Lotusphere as an attendee once. It was fun, but I don't consider it vital.

    The Lotus online community is EXTREMELY vibrant. The networking value of 'sphere is therefore limited. Technology presentations aren't important to me until there's code, in which case I find it at ibm.com. Meeting the developers is pretty cool, but certainly not critical, for a long-time LDD participant.

    Mind you, I *like* to go. But even when I was LIVING in Orlando, it just didn't make sense to take that much time off work!

  1. 12  Dave Cunningham  | 12/13/2005 3:00:21 AM

    Another vote for the return of Lotusphere Europe.

    It may not be a massive difference in expenditure for us, given the low air fares these days, but it's a lot easier convincing the directors to let people go to Munich or London than to Disneyland! I know we'd have attendees there every year if it was held in Europe, now we're lucky if we get to Orlando once every two years.

    And let's face it - Lotusphere Europe didn't seem to suffer from undersubscription. The city of Berlin was packed to the rafters with LS attendees last time.

  1. 13  Sim’ http://www.ibmeye.com/ | 12/13/2005 4:23:06 AM

    There are some IBMers based in Australia who take every opportunity possible to ask executives to start running something like Fusion again. It's quite amusing seeing them wait their turn to ask a question to a visiting Lotus executive, knowing full well that their question will be "when can we run Fusion again?".

    Whenever there is a marketing discussion, the questions come out "can we run Fusion again?".

    So there is certainly a lot of keen people within IBM (mostly sales and tech sales) to run localised events like this. Unfortunately there never seems to be any marketing dollars available. *sigh*

    We keep asking, and we will keep on doing so. If the partners and customers take every opportunity to ask their local IBM executives about it - that can only help too.

  1. 14  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 12/13/2005 5:01:07 AM

    Ed - the last four years for Parners has been *hard*.

    For instance, three years ago, we purchased a stand, assualted 300+ people with our product and - made no sales.

    We're doing a stand again this year (god have mercy on our wallets) and getting facetime and building brand is important - but for impoverished ISV's such as us - its a tough financial call.

    And yes - there's lots of other stuff we can do aside from the stand - but for three of us, the expense in terms of accomodation, flights, stand - is about 10k USD, PLUS the loss of earnings for three people for the week (and a bit).

    So whilst yeah - I agree - you should be there - you cant be too prescriptive over folks who cant or havent attended.

    My biggest selling point for the last two years has been doing the marketing one-on-one with someone, and finally actually getting an IBM contact in the BP program in the UK after looking for five years.

    --* Bill

  1. 15  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 12/13/2005 7:25:49 AM

    @12 to be fair,the Lotusphere Europe events in Berlin were not sold out events, especially the third one.

    On the general feedback, this is excellent discussion. I like the point about PartnerWorld -- I realize that's a tough finanical "which one to prioritize" consideration.

    There are several important eyes on this thread, so the comments about a European event or an Australian event are being read. I too would like to bring back Fusion. At a minimum, there is already a commitment to Lotusphere Comes to You for Oz in March 06, so at a minimum we're continuing that track.

  1. 16  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 12/13/2005 7:40:29 AM

    Lotusphere Berlin didn't sell out back in the days when European flight prices were probably at their peak. Since then with the introduction of cheaper carriers like EasyJet the market has changed a lot, making locations like this more reachable on a budget.

    That being said though, Berlin wouldn't really be top on my list of exciting venues...it hardly took my breath away when I visited, although I do appreciate that there is a (very) large German market in Europe.

  1. 17  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 12/13/2005 7:56:55 AM

    I think you should have a seven day, morning only event in Edinburgh during the festival, in August.. Folks would bite your arm off for that...

    :-)

    ---* Bill

  1. 18  Aurelio Herranz www.itranser.com | 12/13/2005 8:04:52 AM

    Berlin, London.. Why not Madrid ? We have a wonderful weather here ? ;-)... And since my request was the @1 at the list, I think it is fair to have some privileges under the rest or the request !!! ;-) (just kiddind, I hope that no one from france will see this post and will argue they have also Disneyland on Paris!!) :-)

  1. 19  Bill Dorge http://www.teamhuber.com | 12/13/2005 8:43:37 AM

    First off, let me say I'll be at Lotusphere this year, my tenth. Like many other partners, we aren't large enough that we get to focus on just one technology area, I have responsibilty for Lotus, some Tivoli, eserver xSeries, TotalStorage and few other things.

    In a two week period in January, you have Software University, STGU, and Lotusphere going on, all of which would be good for us to attend, but I just can't be gone that long. What you have to remember is that a lot of us have more on our table than just the Lotus brand, although it's my favorite to work with. We have to stay on top of all of our other brands and keep our certifications, and expertise up to current levels.

    My education plan pretty much has me devoting a week a month to keeping current and attaining all the certifications we need to keep IBM happy. Now I don't mind the learning and certifications, but I can understand when you may have to back off from something to get a project done and meet some deadlines.

    I agree that Lotusphere is important, and on the whole, I think a better place to position ourselves, that's why I picked it over STGU.

    Bill

  1. 20  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.GeniiSoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 12/13/2005 2:52:52 PM

    I think this will be my 11th Lotusphere, and I have attended as a customer and as a BP. I have always gotten a lot of out the conference, whether I travelled on my company's dime (three times), my own dime (three times) or IBM's dime (five times presenting, so I paid only for travel). I guess as an ISV, I see things a bit differently than the consultants who must justify the billable hours, but I have found Lotusphere very profitable, and an invaluable way to meet customers and fellow ISVs. While I may not have sold anything directly at Lotusphere, I have made lots of sales afterwards. This is the first year Genii Software will actually have its own pedestal (#604), so that is a more expensive proposition, but I highly doubt I will come away regretting it.

  1. 21  Rock http://www.lotusgeek.com | 12/13/2005 3:17:23 PM

    The #1 reason to go to Lotusphere:

    If you don't go, you can't get a C.U.L.T. shirt.

    :)

    See you there.

  1. 22  Brian Benz http://www.softwaresoapbox.com | 12/13/2005 3:52:16 PM

    Hmm. Well, I've attended every Lotusphere from 1996 to 2003 as a customer, as a BP providing software services and as a speaker. I've enjoyed every visit, and found valuable information and made great contacts every time I went. In order to justify going, however, I have to be able to at least have a chance of meeting paying customers who are looking for services. Unfortunately, after trying for several years, I have to conclude that this is not that easy at Lotusphere. Why? Because IMHO there are two Lotuspheres, and small services-oriented BP's like myself don't fit into either Lotusphere very well.

    The first Lotusphere is in the conference rooms. There's great info to be had there, and you can learn a lot from your peers and have fun sharing information. However, very few conference session or birds-of-a-feather attendees are actual customers with purchasing authority who are looking to buy products or services. There's nothing wrong with that, buying products or services are not what they came for. But the last thing they want to hear or see is a sales pitch, so unfortunately, a BP attending and expecting to meet customers at this Lotusphere is probably wasting their time.

    The second Lotusphere is on the show floor. Here, potential customers are plentiful - if you have a booth and some kind of product to sell. If you provide services and/or don't have a booth, your chances of meeting those paying customers are severely limited. Services-oriented BPs have a chance to make some good contacts on the show floor and network with product providers, but that's not what the product company paid money for a booth for. They're trying to make their booth fee worthwhile by finding customers. Usually big enterprise customers. Once again, there's nothing wrong with that, selling their products is what they came for, and they have to focus on that. However, like the conference attendees, it's rare that they want to hear a sales pitch from a small BP. So unfortunately, a BP attending the second Lotusphere and expecting to meet customers will probably be disappointed as well.

    I'm not saying it's impossible for smaller BPs to meet customers at Lotusphere, but based on my experience, the chances are slim. I've had BP colleagues who landed one or two customers at or because of attending Lotusphere. But the fact that it's such a big deal when it happens belies the fact that it doesn't happen very often.

    So what's the solution? I wish I knew. Not being able to find customers has definitely been a source of frustration for me in Lotuspheres past. I'm sure there are many customers looking for services, and I know there are many service providers looking for customers, but there just doesn't seem to be a good place for them to formally meet up, online or in person. Anyone else have any ideas? . I love going and I wish I could justify it....

  1. 23  Brian Benz http://www.softwaresoapbox.com | 12/13/2005 8:03:00 PM

    Wow - a couple of hours after I ask the question here, I received an email that could hold the answer to the question in my comment....From another conference:

    { Link }