Lotusphere 2006 Updates and a question

September 19 2005

Some updates on Lotusphere 2006 -- only 125 days away....

Also, I'm thinking about whether or not to deliver a "Boss Loves Microsoft: Where does that leave Lotus" session at LS2006.  While the session has been incredibly useful -- both at and after Lotusphere -- for the past four years, the market dynamics have changed.  It would take hours and hours to attack all seventeen of the products Microsoft is currently calling "collaboration" :)  and honestly, my job no longer spans watching all seventeen of those.  Since MS hasn't shipped much in the way of new releases in the collaborative realm during 2005 (Office Live/Communicator is the only real exception), a lot of what needs to be discussed is futures-oriented.  

As an alternative, Libby Ingrassia and I plan to reprise and update our "How to 'sell' Notes/Domino inside your organization" session from Lotusphere 2005 (and 2003).  With the ship of Notes/Domino 7, the Workplace roadmap, the good press and success stories from this year, we believe that session would have a lot of value on the '06 agenda.  I could cover some of the competitive positioning in that session as well.

I'm sure my readers in Redmond will be thrilled to hear that I might forego the session.  For the rest of you though, thoughts good or bad?  It does take a lot of work -- and internal review -- to build the session, so it's not a decision I want to make lightly.

Ed Brill София, ББΛГАРИЯ Category:  Lotusphere ’06  Add/View Comments [31]

Post a Comment

  1. 1  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 9/19/2005 3:36:23 AM

    I would press for an MS competitive analysis session again.

    Precisely because they have 17 ill-fitting parts to their collaboration story, and becuase they have no new news.

    Its part of Lotusphere. And I would ask you to think what all the MS folks in the front row would think if you *didnt* run it this year...

    We've had "Notes is dead" and "The Notes market is ripe for plucking" for the last while. Why deny us a good news story ?

    ---* Bill

  1. 2  Philip Storry http://www.not-so-rapid.com | 9/19/2005 5:03:35 AM

    I'm with Bill on this one, I'd rather see it there.

    Microsoft get away with the "Notes is dead" crap ONLY because IBM/Lotus let them. Microsoft's marketing strategy is to be aggressive, and relentless. It tries to work on the "if we say it often enough, it becomes reality" principal - regardless of the truth of the message.

    To be absolutely blunt, Ed, you have a following on the blog because you're the most visible IBMer who just won't put up with that kind of crap. You're also articulate, and an interesting guy (as evidenced by the travel blogging and non-Notes/IBM), but the reason you're well known in the community is the attack-is-the-best-form-of-defence attitude towards Microsoft's behaviour.

    (Which is not to say you're an attack dog - Microsoft may see PR as a bloodsport, but IBM are more restrained and refined, which you reflect admirably.)

    You're absolutely right that the market - in terms of products and releases - doesn't really require it. Most of your readers know that.

    But the "Boss Loves Microsoft" presentation is great for the morale of the troops. It has to be delivered. If you're not going to deliver that message loudly and often, then someone else has to.

    Because otherwise, all we have to listen to is Microsoft.

    Which, frankly, I had enough of between 2000 and 2003...

  1. 3  Carl  | 9/19/2005 6:44:25 AM

    I can't believe you've already canned my submissions :-)

  1. 4  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.GeniiSoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 9/19/2005 7:23:53 AM

    So, let me get this straight. You have a very popular session that seems to really resonate with customers, and that is, in my opinion, the most talked about session AFTER Lotusphere from the whole conference, with people asking to use the slides and facts in their own discussions with customers. You have a highly competitive market space with FUD flying from Microsoft because have little else to offer right this moment, precisely when IBM has a lot to offer, has its story straight for once and is making inroads in the market.

    Sure, why not drop the session? Otherwise, people might think that IBM (collectively) actually had its head screwed on straight. We wouldn't want that, would we?

  1. 5  Chris Whisonant http://cwhisonant.blogspot.com | 9/19/2005 7:50:43 AM

    While I agree that the MS session is great and provides a great venue for IBM to demonstrate how alive Lotus is, we wouldn't want it to become commonplace. Perhaps it could be a session that is held every other year.

    At the same time, Ben has a great point that the session is so highly talked about!

    Instead of people here talking so much about the information we (conference attenders) get from the session, I think that people should post how effective the information has been within the organization. I know that a couple of times per year I may be hit with some of the "numbers" and I can point back to the MS session and can give some great figures and point to the past failures of Microsoft.

    Are there any better stories out there of how the session has helped you in your organization?

  1. 6  Tom Roberts  | 9/19/2005 7:56:12 AM

    Keep it. The boss is citing things like { Link } while IBM is citing nearly 1500 migrations from exchange in 2004, several double digit growth quarters in a row, and other stats that suggest a different story. While there may not be anything new from Microsoft lately, Lotus is still fighting an aged perception problem, from what I can see.

  1. 7  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net | 9/19/2005 8:47:39 AM

    Tom, has your boss read links such as:

    { Link }

    { Link }

    { Link }

    { Link }

  1. 8  Greyhawk68 http://greyhawk68.dominohosting.biz | 9/19/2005 9:21:42 AM

    Ed. The entire current IBM ad campaign is centered around the boxing glove metaphor and taking it to your competitors.

    Now is NOT the time to drop this session. If anything, it's time for this session to be more agressive. Give us hard numbers, and anything that can help us combat the FUD.

    This is always one of my favorite sessions, and always provides me with up to the minute ammo. Please keep it in the mix.

    I'll promise not to talk about water being Free this year :-)

    -Grey

  1. 9  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.GeniiSoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 9/19/2005 9:22:55 AM

    @Alan, no offense, but the difference between those links and Ed's session is the difference between giving a kid math flash cards "because they are good for you" and buying them a video game that happens to exercise problem solving skills. The kid is likely to know that the game is good for them, but is able to look forward to the fun part, but the flash cards are likely to stay unopened. Ed's session works because it is fun, incisive and easy to quote. Those links may be great, but I didn't get through one of them before coming back here. Too much like flash cards.

    Please, Ed, give the session. No matter what your official job function is, do it for the greater good.

  1. 10  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net | 9/19/2005 9:48:45 AM

    @9, none taken. I was just trying to help @6 by providing some quick counter documentation for his boss, I was not saying "these links do away with Ed's need to present at Lotusphere."

  1. 11  Ed Maloney  | 9/19/2005 10:33:54 AM

    The "boss loves MS..." session has been a life saver for me in the past. Just because MS still doesn't have a working collaboration suite doesn't mean that IBM should relax. With the release of R7 this is precisely the right time to expand that session, not discontinue it. Perhaps you aren't seeing it at the executive level, but the MS FUD assault on Notes never stops.

  1. 12  Brian Benz http://www.softwaresoapbox.com | 9/19/2005 10:40:37 AM

    I would at least keep it, even expand it....How about a jumpstart on competitive collaborative technologies? I'm thinking MS and maybe even a few slides on other offerings, Oracle, OpenText, etc, and how the products compare to IBM/Lotus offerings. It's good for attendees to know what's out there and how to effectively beat it back in meetings.

  1. 13  Norm www.decisionlabs.com | 9/19/2005 10:43:59 AM

    Keep the session Ed - as others have already said, now is not the time to relax [the pressure/pushback on MSoft].

  1. 14  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 9/19/2005 11:15:23 AM

    In no way am I implying that I want to "relax the pressure" -- on the contrary, I want to make sure that if I am going to give the session, that it measures up to the task. I wouldn't want it to be anything less than it has been in previous years, but with my job responsibility, I've not been as focused on MS's entire story. So, to Brian's point of expanding -- I will have to seriously think of the best way to accomplish content beyond the obvious stuff.

    Grey -- what kind of numbers?

  1. 15  The Lion King (aka Ray Bilyk) http://www.thepridelands.com | 9/19/2005 11:38:21 AM

    I hope that you keep it. If you can't bring all of the M$ landscape together, then ask some of your collegues to join you (the ones that ARE responsible for spanning watching all seventeen of those M$ 'collaboration' projects).

    I think LL Cool J was talking about M$ when he said "Momma said Knock You Out"...

  1. 16  Alexander Kluge http://www.kluge.de | 9/19/2005 11:51:51 AM

    Agree - keep it. It was always one of my favourite sessions, and it helped a lot in many customer situations.

  1. 17  Bruce Elgort http://www.bruceelgort.com | 9/19/2005 11:54:46 AM

    "The Boss Loved Microsoft"

  1. 18  Warren Elsmore www.elsmore.net | 9/19/2005 11:58:24 AM

    Definatly keep it. I'm still seeing customers who are considering migrating long established Notes install bases to Exchange - for no good reason whatsoever.

    In fact, expand it. Show the *actual* cost of migrating the Exchange shop over, with serious numbers. I'm sure there are lots of 'disaster' stories out there... { Link }

  1. 19  Tom Roberts  | 9/19/2005 12:01:10 PM

    @7 Thanks for the links. The "boss" in my post is a figurative boss. While my actual boss doesn't "love Microsoft" as in the title of the session, my boss does question me from time to time to verify that we are on the right platform, because the messages he gets from others (work and friends) are still "Notes is Dead" and "It's not relational (and the implied 'therefor you shouldn't use it.')."

    I try to keep up on the future of Notes and Domino, and I believe it is absolutely the right platform for us now and 5 years from now. However, it is my job to make that decision for the company. For the people who don't follow Notes and Domino as closely as I, and are likely still fighting aged perceptions of Notes/Domino from bosses or the user community in general, I think having the session is useful.

  1. 20  Devin Olson http://www.devinolson.net | 9/19/2005 12:10:59 PM

    I'm looking forward to seeing the "How to 'sell' Notes/Domino inside your organization" presentation you and Libby are going to reprise. I really wanted to see that one last year, but missed it (I can't remember now what it was conflicting with; I do remember that it was one of the very, very few "damn it!" moments of LS05).

    While I really enjoy your "Boss Loves Microsoft" presentations, I can understand why you might want to get out from under it. 17 different products to watch to keep track of for 1 presentation? No thank you.

    Looking forward to LS06!

    -Devin.

  1. 21  Alan Lepofsky http://www.alanlepofsky.net | 9/19/2005 12:23:14 PM

    @17, I think that is a great idea! That would be very "offensive" vs. "defensive".

  1. 22  Chris Whisonant http://cwhisonant.blogspot.com | 9/19/2005 1:08:45 PM

    Ed, Speaking for myself regarding numbers (as Grey mentioned), I would like to see numbers like:

    - # of Converts from MS/Other to Lotus

    - # of MS products the few Lotus products compete againse (17, but that includes OS)

    - # of duplicate Licenses MS may have due to licensing structure. From your story about Chick's the other day, there were around 1,200 Domino licenses added. If Chick's has a certain MS license agreement, then MS may still be counting those 1,200 as Exchange seats. (I wish I could find that agreement name and structure - I just saw another blogger talking about it in the last week or so.) This is why just talking "seats" doesn't count.

  1. 23  Chris Whisonant http://cwhisonant.blogspot.com | 9/19/2005 1:09:29 PM

    @22 - Sorry, meant to add that I know finding info for the 3rd would be near impossible...

  1. 24  Carl Tyler http://www.iminstant.com | 9/19/2005 2:11:12 PM

    @14 "I wouldn't want it to be anything less than it has been in previous years, but with my job responsibility, I've not been as focused on MS's entire story."

    Perhaps pass the baton to a person who now has this resposibility, it would ease a few minds knowing that if you were hit by a Microsoft bus, there is someone else within IBM with this knowledge.

  1. 25  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 9/19/2005 2:38:26 PM

    @24 that's not a bad thought -- A few people have suggested that I tag-team the presentation. While there might not be many IBMers who would use the same style (and that's probably a good thing), there are others who have the content expertise. I'll ask.

  1. 26  Richard Schwartz http://www.rhs.com/poweroftheschwartz | 9/19/2005 4:27:27 PM

    @20: Devin, if you were at the blogging presentation that Declan and I did, I think that was the conflict. I also missed the Ed and Libby show, and I very much hope to be able to catch it this time around.

  1. 27  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 9/19/2005 7:25:13 PM

    @26 - nope...I was in your blogging session, remember? :)

  1. 28  Christopher Byrne http://www.controlscaddy.com/ | 9/19/2005 9:43:59 PM

    @27 - and I was scheduled dead opposite you and the panel:-)

  1. 29  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 9/19/2005 11:47:38 PM

    @28 yeah, but it's not like the entire conference attended the panel...

    @ALL - I have recruited a co-presenter for "The Boss". Looks like we'll go ahead with it. As part of the witness protection program, though, I won't be disclosing the co-presenter's name until closer to Lotusphere. Wouldn't want them to start getting job offers from Microsoft, too. :)

  1. 30  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 9/20/2005 2:34:28 AM

    Excellent! Thanks for that piece of good news.

    The sales of Mallox in the Redmond area has just shot up!

    ---* Bill

  1. 31  Ben Langhinrichs http://www.GeniiSoft.com/showcase.nsf/GeniiBlog | 9/20/2005 8:32:45 AM

    Glad to hear it. Best of luck to your co-conspirator