On the notion of a need for a Lotusphere in Europe

February 6 2006

In several of the post-Lotusphere discussions, I've seen a lot of comments from those unable to join us in Orlando last month.  The logic applied tends to say

  • Lotusphere is a great conference
  • We can't travel to Orlando
  • There should be a Lotusphere in [Europe, Asia, Australia, etc.]
I would love to be able to run multiple Lotuspheres again.  But making it happen is a challenge, and based on some of the data, not necessarily one that makes sense.

Let's look at the European scenario.  Lotus ran several Lotusphere Europe events, with the 1998-1999-2000 versions held in Berlin.  I am not sure if the attendance numbers for those conferences were published but it was in the 2-3000 range...far smaller than the US equivalent those same years.  A variety of reasons were cited for the lesser attendance...location, travel expense, time of year, depth of event, etc.  I don't buy all of those, but I can understand that the event's perception was different from the Orlando version.

If we look at 2006, there were about 6000 at Lotusphere in Orlando. It would probably surprise many of you to know that somewhere around 20% of that number were Europeans.  I was incredibly impressed to learn how large the European contingent was in Orlando.  I suspect there a lot of reasons for this -- Lotusphere being a premier conference in the industry, the "bootcamp" and other improvements in the technical depth of the conference, even the fact that off-season trans-Atlantic airfares are relatively low.  So, I'm officially no longer accepting the complaint that it's too [difficult/expensive] for Europeans to get to "the" Lotusphere.

But OK, there's a need to do some things in Europe.  The Lotusphere Comes to You 2006 events have started (check that link for updated dates/locations), and I know my Nordic colleagues are booking me up solid for the week of March 6 [and my Asian colleagues are asking me to extend my mid-April trip].  These events help.  

Upcoming, too, is the second instance of the joint venture between IBM and the Deutsche (German) Notes Users Group -- the May DNUG/IBM Lotus Technical Forum.  The 2005 event in Hannover was quite successful.  More importantly, I want to reiterate how much support IBM is giving to this event -- similar in scope to the support given to Lotusphere Europe back in the day.  The executives all attend and speak (in English).  Developers travel and do panels and labs.  Major new product announcements are made.

So, for Europe, there are options.  See the Lotusphere Comes to You events.  Come to Germany in May for the DNUG event.  Or mark your calendar now, as many of your fellow Europeans have, for Lotusphere 2007 in January in Orlando.  You may find that justifying the trip for any of these is easier than you expected, that you just have to ask.

For Asia and Australia, the Lotusphere Comes to You events are a great local option.  I know there continues to be interest in trying to "bring back Fusion" in Australia.... don't think it will easily happen, but keep asking.

Ed Brill Category:  Lotusphere ’06  Add/View Comments [38]

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  1. 1  Mathias Persson  | 2/7/2006 2:54:11 AM

    Ed, I look at my company there is some resistance when it comes to overseas travel. Even though it in many cases is cheaper to fly from Sweden to Germany... So the problem for many of us to come is really not "just money" - it's kind of "why do you need to travel all that way for training??"...

    I attended one LS in Europe (1999) and that was not good at all. I assumed LS i Orlando was the same so I have chosen to not attend since then. But this year I gave it a try and I am really satisfied... What I am trying to say is that IF you go for a European version of the sphere, it must be as great and good as the Orlando sphere...

  1. 2  Darren  | 2/7/2006 3:03:32 AM

    I have to agree with Mathias, the issue is not normally the money but the need to travel to the US for the 'training'. I and 4 other coleagues went to LS2005 in Florida and were very pleased with the event. The cost per person (including flights and villa with pool(!) was less than a 5 day training course in the UK) Having said that the exchange rate was extremely good!

    The interpretation was, from other staff members, that because it was in Florida, it was a holiday despite the fact that our working days there were longer than at home.

    I cannot believe that a Euro Lotusphere would be any cheaper than going to the US version, it is just convincing those with the purse strings that it is worthwhile and not just a 'jolly'

  1. 3  Justin Freeman http://www.agileware.net | 2/7/2006 3:03:48 AM

    How about IBM's saves some serious $$$ and simply holds 1 Lotusphere in 1 location.

    But here's the difference. IBM records the ENTIRE event and ALL the sessions. This is then made publicly available as streaming video/audio. And most importantly, this is released within hours of the actual event. On-demand so to speak.

    Heck this is the 21st century right? Why physically be there when I can *virtually* be there (saves me catching what-ever flu is going around too).

  1. 4  Alan Bell http://www.dominux.co.uk | 2/7/2006 3:46:22 AM

    It is hardly more expensive to get to Orlando than it is to get to Germany for me in England. Even if you did one in London I would still want to go to Orlando, so I would probably miss the Europe event. I am very pleased it is staying in Orlando, that is much much easier to justify than Las Vegas. An event in Asia would be cool, I would try to go to that.

  1. 5  TimsterC http://blog.tc-soft.com | 2/7/2006 3:48:46 AM

    Having attended two of the Euro-spheres from a staff perspective and one US-sphere. From what I can remember of the Euro-sphere it was as big as the sphere is now.

    On the point of making all the sessions available online, it's a great idea and one that I would like to see. But I wouldn't want to see the folks that do go to the sphere having to pay extra to cover the cost of the technology and people involved in making that happen.

    You can allready buy the tapes/DVDs if you want them and it costs less than going to the event. The only propblem with that is that you will NEVER find the time to watch them. Something will always get in the way. Someone will walk up to your desk, the phone will ring, your kid/wife/pet will be sick and take you away from the "education" you are so desperately seeking.

    In my experience going to the sphere is the best way to do it. And the further away from the everyday distraction, the better.

    IMO

    ;o)

  1. 6  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 2/7/2006 4:03:48 AM

    [Shameless plug]

    EntwicklerCamp is on on the 20-22nd of Februrary near Kassel in Germany - { Link }

    [/Shameless plug]

    I've done a couple of European events (not the lotusphere europe's themselves, and whilst easier to cost-justify (and in fact I can reiterate the point about it being less expensive in Orlando), they just werent the *same*.

    You see when you get 3-4k Americans getting all enthusiastic about Lotusphere, its infectious. As Lotusphere is the premier event in the calendar, *everyone* goes - so its easy to catch up (as I did) with a particular development person from company xyz (Blackberry in my case). Someone you would *never* normally get airtime with.

    The "Its a jolly" argument is a painful one, as is the "its in a separate continent. However, I would counter with:

    * Its cheap. I think I spent 1,500 sterling (about $3k USD) on travel, accomodation, food and beer this year. Normal entrants also pay $1.5k (USD) for the ticket. All in - say £2.5k Sterling. Not bad for 5 days training.

    * the days are *long*. I saw Ben Poole did the 7am BOF, and he was still networking like a mad thing at 2am the next morning. I *need* a holiday after one of these things. Its hard work.

    * The presentations are amazing - can I just promote Rocky's BP and Bootcamp tracks here. Not all Lotus folks - many hard-bitten and experienced consultants give amazing information every year. I've been in this game since v3, and *I* learn new stuff every year.

    When I worked for a small consulting firm (with a very enlightened attitude - thanks Les!), we didnt treat it as a jolly. It was our years training, and was hard work. But it kept us leading edge in a very busy marketplace....

    If anyone has any problems with their boss - get in touch with me and I can set them straight...!

    ---* Bill

  1. 7  Wild Bill http://www.billbuchan.com | 2/7/2006 4:04:56 AM

    D'oh! I got the URL wrong:

    { Link }

    ---* Bill

  1. 8  Lars Olufsen  | 2/7/2006 4:41:37 AM

    I've been to 3 LS Europe events and 7 Orlando Lotuspheres (travelling out of the currently very unpopular country of Denmark), and I think the major difference is 'timing'.

    With a conference as big as Lotusphere, it's a natural thing for IBM/Lotus to try to setup product launches or important new release information to match the timing of Lotusphere.

    Even the partners in the product showcase do this.

    Having 'another' Lotusphere in Europe breaks that connection. When the team gets to Europe, the 'news' are 6 months old, and just doesn't have the same impact.

    So when at LS Europe, I always felt like nothing really interesting was going on. I was never 'blown away' by any new product or vision being launched. In Orlando - that happens (this year being no exception).

    I much prefer going to Orlando, then pushing my boss to attend the 'Lotusphere comes to you' session in Denmark to see for him self.

  1. 9  Roberto Boccadoro  | 2/7/2006 4:56:14 AM

    Ed, I have to agree with @2. More often than not a trip to LS is seen as a holiday rather than business. I guess that only the people who have done at least one LS can really get the value of it, LS seen from the "outside" is completely different.

    Oh, if you need some help down under, don't hesitate to call me :-) You can't stress too much, someone to relieve you from giving a couple pres can be useful.

  1. 10  Adeleida http://www.adeleida.co.za | 2/7/2006 5:31:23 AM

    @3 I really support this, please would it be possible for IBM to investigate this option. The videos aren't even available to IBM internally as far as I could spy...?????

    With regards to Lotusphere Europe motivation: as a small company who can only dream of Lotusphere Africa one day, we are saving up to send at least two people to Orlando next year. Sending one person there will cost us the equivalent of three month's salary, to Europe, two months salary, but it is worth it. And if we had to choose between Europe and Orlando, it would always be Orlando, just because the vibe and passion (party, call it what you want to) of six thousand like-minded people are simply part of getting someone in shape to inspire clients and create some kick-ass Lotus implementations for the rest of the year.

  1. 11  Frans Maas www.waudamaas.nl/fransblog | 2/7/2006 6:43:24 AM

    A problem with the European version was that is was always seen as a sort of poor-man's version, coming after the "real" one, smaller, less real news, sometimes with secondary speakers, not necessarily less quality, but still...

    People who could afford would go to the States.

    So will I. I rather skip every other, to cut cost and give colleagues a chance. And to fill in the gap with studying the abundant materials: webcasts, PDF's, press coverage, blogs.

    Anyway, due to parallel session structure you have to study material of missed sessions anyway!

  1. 12  Dravid  | 2/7/2006 7:32:34 AM

    Asia is a fairly large continent, so I don't know what you mean by Asia - Middle East? Indian Sub continent? or the East Asia comprising of countries like singapore etc or Japan if you consider them under Asia.

    For Asians(excluding developed countries in the continent) travelling to Europe/US or other parts of developed Asian nations to attend has one major issue and that is to get a visa to travel; really a big trouble, believe me.

  1. 13  Rock http://www.lotusgeek.com | 2/7/2006 8:04:12 AM

    @6 - First, thanks for the plug for the BP track, Bill. I do want to make it clear that the Bootcamp was actually Kathleen McGivney's, but all of the other track managers pitched in as well. I was responsible for BP, Jumpstart, and JAMFest. Also, I appreciate the recognition that the BP track is a track of experts from the field (like you, Bill ;) ), not from Lotus. These are folks who have lived through it all, and are there to share their experiences with the attendees. I love the track, and I am very, very proud of what it has become - the most popular track at Lotusphere.

    Concerning the Lotusphere Europe (or anywhere else) - I think a big problem is the perception that we're "doing another Lotusphere", which cheapens these other events - they aren't the "real" Lotusphere, so they are automatically discounted somewhat right off the bat. I think the Fusion events were more successful than the Lotusphere Europe events at least in part because the name is different - seriously. Perception is a strong factor when forming impressions, and using the Lotusphere name on anything other than the main event actually hurts that event, IMHO. IF IBM were to do another major event in Europe, I think it should be branded completely differently (ala Fusion). It should gain its own theme, its own vibe, and its own culture - all separate from the Lotusphere event. Look, we're a passionate group - if the event has good content and is well managed, the community will form a culture around it and it will thrive; but I don't think you want to start by putting the onus of the Lotusphere branding on it.

    Just my 2cents. Obviously these are my own opinions, and are in no way anything official from IBM, blah blah blah.

    --Rock

  1. 14  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 2/7/2006 8:20:20 AM

    What's interesting about the comments so far is that nobody has said anything, plus or minus, about the DNUG/IBM Lotus Technical Forum event from 2005 or the upcoming one. Considering how much focus we are putting on making that event a success, I'd like to know how we can draw more attendees -- from across Europe. Will it have news? Yes, for sure (like "Hannover" in '05). Will it have new and updated presentations? Yes, some, though admittedly others will be the same/similar to Lotusphere presentations. What would be the right formula for more to be interested in the May event?

  1. 15  Hubertus Amann  | 2/7/2006 8:20:26 AM

    @6 3.500 € plus 1 week not working = 8.500 €, not being able to decide whom to send equals 7 * 8.500 € = 59.500 €. Not talking about being offline for our clients for a week which is the most important part of the deal. Events in Europe at least give us the chance to handle that case.

    You stated: "If anyone has any problems with their boss - get in touch with me and I can set them straight...!".

    I am the boss...

    I used to go to Orlando in the 90's and loved it but i don't see that any more. Anyway LS Orlando used to be a technical event but over the time marketing ( excuse me Ed )took over. What we need is 2 days compact hardcore technical briefing for propellerheads in Europe.

  1. 16  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 2/7/2006 8:24:56 AM

    /defensively @15 - "used to be a technical event" -- If you haven't been in six years, then you don't really know what Lotusphere 2006/2005/2004 etc. were like in terms of technical content. For '06 we even added a "Bootcamp" track...two dozen of the most technical sessions ever. As one of the track managers, I assure you that we put a huge amount of focus on making the content technical and not just marketing presentations.

  1. 17  Dave Cunningham dave@vormbuilders.nl | 2/7/2006 9:30:07 AM

    @15 - How do you draw more attendees from across Europe? Erm..., tell people!

    I'm on enough IBM mailing lists, regularly get info about Lotusphere and other events, but if I didn't watch this site I'd never have known about the 2005 DNUG event.

    I even mailed an address from the Dutch IBM site last year to ask about any European Lotus events (about 2 months before the DNUG happening) and recieved a reply pointing me to a Websphere event in Nice. Not one word about the technical forum.

    The word was not getting out last year, Ed, I hope IBM does it better this year.

    Oh, and my tuppenceworth about LS Orlano/Europe, I agree with Mathias and Darren - a midwinter trip to sunny Florida is seen as a jolly, and as such is much harder to justify - however unfair/unrealistic that may be.

  1. 18  Peter Smith  | 2/7/2006 9:45:49 AM

    I attended Lotusphere '05 and thought it was fantastic. I couldn't go this year because as a small consultancy we can't send everyone, and it was my turn to sit out. A second event would cater to those left behind. I'm currently considering going to Admin2006 in Boston as an alternative. One of the reasons I haven't considered the German event(and this might apply to a lot of people), is the impression that a good deal of it will be in German.

  1. 19  Peter Smith  | 2/7/2006 9:53:35 AM

    ....which I don't speak :-)

  1. 20  Mathias Persson  | 2/7/2006 10:01:50 AM

    @14, @18: I was in Hannover last year for the IBM Lotus Technical Forum. That was nice - and in English. I know you had a session Ed.

    But I didn't attend the DNUG conference... However I met a person that did attend the DNUG conference - he said a lot of the sessions were in German... And that can be a problem for us who do not speak German so well.

  1. 21  Hubertus Amann  | 2/7/2006 11:05:50 AM

    Just checked the "DNUG Conference: IBM Lotus Technical Forum 2006". No agenda yet but a price of more than 1.000 Euro. To update myself i had a look at the adenda from last year which i know misses the IBM Lotus Conference part. Well, there where a few sessions from IBM but most of them are sessions from business partners and customers - not what i am looking for. For me this is second hand information...

  1. 22  Mike Lazar  | 2/7/2006 11:38:21 AM

    Not to stir the pot further, but has anyone ever thought of the logistics of the presenters and support personnel? Having spoken at events both in the States and in Europe, I can tell you that it is far more difficult and expensive to do the speaking overseas. Remember, the VAST majority of speakers and presenters are US based. Debate all you want on if this is good, bad, or neither. The fact is, it is much more difficult and expensive to get those key people over to Europe, Asia, Australia, etc. There are excellent conferences in Europe and elsewhere. Lotusphere being the massive logistical nightmare that it is simply isn't as portable as say, the Admin conferences.

  1. 23  Rock http://www.lotusgeek.com | 2/7/2006 11:45:28 AM

    @Hubertus - I think you're conclusions about Lotusphere and technical events in general are way off. First off, Lotusphere has become more and more technical each year - with the last 3 being the most technical ever, and rivaling any other tech conference anywhere. There was more content delivered by exceptional speakers at Lotusphere than at any other 3 Lotus-themed events *combined*. Ask anyone - anyone at all - who attend LS2006 if you don't believe me.

    Second, you made the following comment:

    "... here where a few sessions from IBM but most of them are sessions from business partners and customers - not what i am looking for. For me this is second hand information..." is myopic at best. The non-IBM speakers chosen for Lotusphere and DNUG are the experts in the industry - these are the people IBM often looks to for insight and information. If they are chosen to speak on a particular technology, rest assured that they were chosen because they are the best resource possible to speak on that subject - IBMer or not. Additionally I believe you'll see quite a few IBMers delivering content at DNUG this year, so rest assured the agenda will be flush with great technical information.

    Hubertus I recommend you set aside your assumptions and give these conferences (Lotusphere and DNUG) another look with a fresh set of eyes. I believe that if you do so you will come away with a completely different perspective than the one you cling to now.

    --Rock

  1. 24  Mick Moignard www.dominopower.com | 2/7/2006 11:48:14 AM

    I went to the first European event, in Brighton in 95, I That one was OK, but I agree with @8, there's no real alternative that I can see to Orlando. I've been to all but Dec '93, and I would always go to Orlando for all the reasons given (it's January, its with 4000 enthusiastic Americans who just generate more buzz than 4000 Europeans, its relatively cheap, it's where it all happens, and so on). I agree with Rocky (@13), too, in that a European event needs to generate it's own "brand", and not just try to ape Orlando. How it does that is difficult; previous European events just haven't cut it, from what I've heard.

    Mick Moignard

  1. 25  Andy Dennis http://www.lan2lan.com | 2/7/2006 1:41:50 PM

    We did a cost comparison between the View events in Amsterdamn and Lotusphere in Orlando before I was sent to Lotusphere 06. On a cost basis the events were very similar (+/- 200 gbp) BUT the benefit to be gained from Lotusphere, with the networking far outweighed the European Event.

    Flights now to the US on offseason are the same as flights to Europe at peak/business times of the day. Hotel costs are similar if not the same.

    I used my blackberry and laptop with sametime from the event all the time. We solved customer issues, liased with my technical team all whilst being at Lotusphere. To me this is just a cultrual issue, which if you position correctly with your management team, justify it properly, go, and see the amount of real business benefit you bring back.

    ps It would have to be Lotusphere Disneyland in Paris if it was the case :-)

    Andy

  1. 26  Hubertus Amann  | 2/7/2006 2:23:04 PM

    ok, ok, i first of all have booked the "Lotusphere comes to you" event organized by edcom. Later i will check the agenda for "DNUG Conferences: IBM Lotus Technical Forum 2006" again as it is just 100 km from here and finally i will talk to my guys what we will do in January 2007.

    @23 you are right, there where quite a lot of qualified non-IBM speakers at Lotusphere 06

    @25 it is not as easy if you bring your entire team to Lotusphere to handle customer issues.

    Leaving some of them at home is not an option as you all tell me about the spirit of being in Orlando - which i know from my earlier visits...

    I think we will join you next year.

  1. 27  Volker Weber http://vowe.net | 2/7/2006 3:48:20 PM

    So we finally get to meet in person. :-)

    And indeed, Lotusphere is now more technical than it was a few years ago.

  1. 28  Adam Osborne www.preemptive.com.au | 2/7/2006 4:30:20 PM

    From my (Australian) perspective:

    - Lotusphere 2006 was a wonderful networking event

    - The technical content was brilliant.

    - 30+ hours travel each way is a killer

    - Not a lot of Australians or Kiwis went to Lotusphere this year

    - It isn■t a cheap exercise, travel + accommodation + downtime = $$$.

    Why we need a regional event (like fusion):

    - to build mind share

    - At Fusion we would get 10+ people from a single government department, this helped build pipelines and project momentum. This year that department didn■t send anyone and now it is a real struggle.

    - ■Lotusphere comes to you■ is a great start, but as a ■ day event, it just can■t compare with a multi-day event.

    - To re-energize business partners and power sponsors

    - And finally, because Microsoft holds one.

  1. 29  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 2/7/2006 4:32:47 PM

    Oh come on, Adam -- Microsoft has a much broader product line than the Lotus brand. Perhaps IBM needs to do it cross-brand for the market, but cross-brand events haven't been quite as successful for IBM for whatever reason.

  1. 30  Giulio  | 2/7/2006 5:17:06 PM

    Would it be possible to have the content for the Australian LotuSphere presented by local IBM people or BP's ?

    This would reduce the logistics and issues with getting US speakers out this way whilst still delivering content. Although there are some excellent and colourful presenters from the US operations, at the end of the day attendees will take away the content and also want the opportunity to network at these sort of events.

    <big sell> I went to the last Lotus-like event ("IBM Universe") a few years ago here in Sydney, they combined product lines, we had Websphere/Tivoli/DB2 and Lotus. Around 1500 attendees of which 800-900 were Lotii and that was during the tech-recession and the dim dark times during R5 and "Notes is dead" speculation by M$ zealots in the media.

    Attendance fees were around $1500AUD at the time (i think).

    Since there hasn't been one now for a few years, i think the momentum is coming back into the local market here especially since release 6.5, and alot of people are interested in 7.Anyone else, please feel free to add their comments about Australia-Asia Pac events.</big sell>

  1. 31  Mark  | 2/7/2006 6:18:50 PM

    I think @30 got it right. Microsoft is killing IBM in the Australian market, and I think a big factor has to be lack of an annual IBM brand event where some serious networking, brand building and product awareness can happen.

    Now that the message from IBM on Workplace is becoming more clear and R7 has been delivered it is the right time to ride the momentum and have a big event that covers Lotus, DB, Websphere, Tivoli and Rational.

    And if IBM wants to save some money on the event, try scrapping the parties and theme park tickets.

    What I and heaps of my colleagues really need from IBM is technical sessions, product futures, integration advice, internal marketing ammunition for our local executives, and quality networking and business development opportunities.

    Is anyone in IBM listening?

  1. 32  Adam Brown www.isw.com.au | 2/7/2006 8:21:13 PM

    From the Australian view again it is very difficult to convince clients to spend $5K-$6K that is costs to send someone to Lotusphere.

    Lotus Fusion used to be a great alternative as it still had the excitment of a big event. We used to get at least 10 different client organisations to attend and even a few non-Lotus sites would attend. Every year you would have clients return wanting to upgrade/purchase additional licenses and products etc.

    After Lotus Fusion finished they ran Software Universe for one year but then it all died off. There is no doubt that this has contributed to reduced. Have had a number of clients comment that IBM doesn't run events in Australia anymore.

    This year we sent 4 of our own people which was great as we all came back energised and up to speed on the latest etc. We are running our own series of lunchtime sessions presenting on some of the main topics from lotusphere. We also purchased a number of the DVD's which we will use for internal education of our staff.

    Lotusphere Comes to you is a great concept but the reality is that a 1/2 day session just doesn't have the same effect as a bigger event. I guess at the end of the day it comes down to marketing $$ available which is no doubt limited.

  1. 33  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 2/7/2006 9:35:29 PM

    @31 "Is anyone in IBM listening?"

    So the good news of participating in this blog -- I want to encourage new voices, like I said last week -- is that indeed, IBM is listening. Thing is, even if IBM decides not to do what you are suggesting, IBM is listening. I definitely want you to feel like you can make suggestions, but I also want to temper any frustration if things don't always go as we all want them.

  1. 34  Ben Rose http://www.jaffacake.net | 2/8/2006 3:13:08 AM

    @14 Ed - "What's interesting about the comments so far is that nobody has said anything, plus or minus, about the DNUG/IBM Lotus Technical Forum event from 2005 or the upcoming one."

    I looked at attending in 2005 but has serious issues getting past all the German on the website and in the session titles. I understand some basic German, but nothing technical and wouldn't gain much/anything from German sessions and couldn't even sell it to myself, never mind my boss.

    This is to be expected though. This is a German Notes User Group, held in Germany, I wouldn't expect them not to speak German. In honesty, as long as it's DNUG and not GNUG, it's going to show the problem...

    Out of interest Ed, does Lotusphere in Orlando run at a profit? Or break even? I know these things aren't cheap to setup and speakers have to be paid etc. but the registration fees aren't cheap and you get thousands of attendees. Having never been I just wondered where all the money went.

    The only parallel I can draw is to automotive 'Motor Show' events. Can makers pay for space for large stands to hold their latest cars, the public pay to attend what is essentially a big car showroom, everyone pays to park and the event organisers laugh all the way to the bank.

    If event like Workplace Live! with very few sponsors were free to attend, why is Lotusphere so expensive in comparison?

  1. 35  Richard Sampson www.hadsl.com | 2/8/2006 5:38:23 AM

    Lotusphere is an event quite unlike any other that I have ever attended - it's a pity that events aren't as easy to duplicate as Notes dbs ("Event\Replication\New Replica...")!

    From a UK perspective, Orlando is as cheap to get to/stay in as any EU country but then we're helped by a good exchange rate. It's probably more expensive relatively speaking for a person from the far NW in the US to attend than it is for us. I appreciate that APAC & African visitors would find it considerably more expensive than the rest.

    So, just a thought, we're living in an age where global communications are possible via non-mainstream media (namely this InterWeb thingy)- why not stream all the sessions and create interactive hands-on "labs" via the web, bundle it all together and sell it as a "Remote Lotusphere" package?

    Regional centres could be set up so as to retain some of the networking benefits, it could be sold to people streaming from their desktops at work, the possibilities are endless. Perhaps even keep the thing up and running for a week or two after Lotusphere ends ('sphere attendees also get ability to use the facility) so that you can even catch up on sessions that were running concurrently.

    Pie in the sky - perhaps. But it's a thought.

  1. 36  David Price  | 2/8/2006 11:35:02 AM

    Having been to 9 or 10 LS in Orlando and one in Berlin, I agree with @22.

    One of the key benefits is access to developers, product managers, business partners, etc. An event in Europe will have fewer of all the above due to logistics (my opinion).

    On several surveys I recommended moving LS to Boston for the following reasons:

    a)Boston in January removes the vacation question

    b)More Loti can attend/present

    Of course if this ever happened I would have thousands of people angry at me.

    It appears that the best geo for another event is AP.

  1. 37  Paul Ryan  | 2/12/2006 12:22:52 AM

    I'm a bit surprised at Ben's (@34) comment because I recall the DNUG event website was fairly completely translated into English as well. I can't say it was at complete parity with the German version, but definitely close in most respects. As it happens, I do know passable German, so when the English side ever seemed off somehow, I just switched to the German side and get the presumably authoritative version.

    As for the actual event itself. Lotus seemed to book the first day pretty much to itself, and it was almost entirely in English, including of course all the opening-session presentations by the execs (Goyal, Rhodin, etc.). Not to mention that that day was free! It even included the ability to saunter into DNUG's "Meet the Developers Lab" equivalent, and real product architects like Nicholas Heidlof were there. The major product announcements were enlivening (Hannover), and the developer face-time was excellent, very informative, if only because the lab wasn't nearly as frenetic/packed as it is at Lotusphere.

    The other two (3?) days of the event was what you needed to pay for, and there most breakout sessions were in German (e.g. most all sessions which would equate to the Best Practices track at Lotusphere), but on the other hand, most of the sessions re product direction, new features, etc. were delivered by Loti and usually in English. All the sessions I attended were in English and I found it plenty since, actually, I am interested mainly in that type of future-oriented content.

    DNUG's Product Showcase equivalent was very good as well, and most booth personnel spoke ready English.

    So in a nutshell, I'd say that English/non-German speakers can get a lot out of the Spring/Summer DNUG event where Lotus partners heavily, provided that their objective is like mine, and so to say not personal training or education on currently released feature set (Best Practices). Some may want to attend just the first day (presuming the same setup as last year)!

    I have German colleagues who attend DNUG regularly, and I was told I lucked out to attend the best DNUG event ever, (this Spring/Summer 2005), and that its quality was owed directly to Lotus' strong partnership/sponsorship. There is also a Fall/Winter DNUG which Lotus does not concentrate on, and I presume it is more "run of the mill" and German-centric. Hth.

    From what I can tell, Lotus is repeating its DNUG performance of last year at the May DNUG event coming up. Perhaps even expanding its presence/investment... Ed wold be best to confirm or contradict this impression.

  1. 38  Ed Brill www.edbrill.com | 2/12/2006 6:28:54 AM

    @37 Yes, IBM Lotus and DNUG are similarly partnering around the May '06 event.