Two disconnected sentences

January 29 2008

Last week, early Monday morning, Microsoft issued their annual Lotusphere spoiler press release.  This was quickly overshadowed by a great Lotusphere conference, and the few comments I received about the MS "news" were highly critical.  People told me it made Microsoft look "desperate", "pathetic", and that it would have been more news-worthy if they had somehow forgotten to launch their annual spoiler attempt.  Others noted that the release was of the same tone and tenor as the last four years, wondering why MS lacked in the creativity department.

Unfortunately, some of the press took the bait and wrote about the MS release.  And MS's salespeople have obviously been sending it along to key contacts at Lotus customers.  I posted some initial comments, and have been directing those that ask me about this release to my earlier post.  But since the initial posting, one additional point has come to light.

My colleague David Via pointed out the most subtle, yet blatant wordsmithing of the whole release.  Microsoft wrote:

Much of the new growth is coming from customers switching from Notes and Domino. In the last six months of 2007, in the enterprise customer segment alone, more than 300 firms representing 2.8 million people began the move to Exchange Server, Office SharePoint Server and the Office suite.
Last week I pointed out the weasel words "began the move".  But this excerpt is even more misleading than that.  The problem with this quote is that the two sentences are not connected.  The release is cleverly written in a way to lead the reader to think that the "300 firms" are "customers switching from Notes and Domino".  But there is actually no tie between the first sentence and the second.

This explains a lot.  I know that we had a great year in Notes and Domino, the best year of the 3½ I've been in this job.  When we saw the MS press release, one of my colleagues looked up the customers mentioned in Passport Advantage.  Two of them don't even exist in our systems.  Now we know why.  This release is discussing companies that "began the move".  Who knows if they will ever finish (in most cases, they never do).

As the market has seen a few times in recent years, there appear to be two camps inside Microsoft.  Those that want to compete fairly and ethically, and those who resort to "hardball" tactics, deceptive FUD, and misrepresentation.  Unfortunately, a release like this, along with other recent news, shows that the latter camp is still the way to get visibility and promotion at Microsoft.

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Microsoft  Add/View Comments [28]

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  1. 1  Nathan T. Freeman http://nathan.lotus911.com | 1/29/2008 8:48:49 AM

    So, Ed, you're saying that when MS says the customers "began the move" they weren't talking about moving from N/D to MS platforms... they were talking about moving to MS platforms from anything or nothing.

    No question -- that's low.

  1. 2  Christer Eklundh http://www.bleedyellow.com/blogs/lotus4life/ | 1/29/2008 8:52:05 AM

    IDG.se in Sweden had a pro-MS article yesterday. The headline was "Microsoft eats IBM's customers"...

    "Microsoft has stolen over 300 Notes/Domino enterprise customers, the second half of 2007..."

    Link (in swedish): { Link }

    PS. The same article was publish in IDG.no (Norway)

  1. 3  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 1/29/2008 9:11:52 AM

    @2 this is exactly what prompted me to write an additional blog entry about the topic.

  1. 4  Julian Woodward http://blog.woowar.com | 1/29/2008 9:26:49 AM

    The sad thing is that this kind of manipulative wordsmithing is seen as newsworthy, when the timing alone should tell anyone with neuron activity that the content might be slightly suspect.

  1. 5  Bill Brown  | 1/29/2008 9:39:54 AM

    How many of them were vanilla Exchange shops that "began the move to Exchange Server, Office SharePoint Server and the Office suite?" Even if the answer is none, that's the sort of hair splitting even the sleaziest Philadelphia Lawyer { Link } would be proud of.

  1. 6  Mike  | 1/29/2008 9:47:43 AM

    Typical MS

    Using the old adage that it is easy to throw something out there and once it has been read/heard, it can never be taken back

    Sort of like when newspapers print retractions on page 35 6 weeks after a rather large front page headline!

  1. 7  Danny Lawrence  | 1/29/2008 10:27:31 AM

    MSFT has bullied so many people (customers, press and partners) for so long that they think it is their birthright. The sad thing is that the person who wrote the press release probably knew the semantic double toe loop they were trying to execute, and still thought they were right to do so.

  1. 8  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 1/29/2008 10:36:31 AM

    Rather more noteworthy would be the customers who signed on the dotted line in Q4 for moving off Exchange and onto Domino. We had several in the UK, and I know this statement would carry more weight if I were allowed to name them. No matter, these are customers who know what it means to be an Exchange customer but are prepared to buck the apparent trend. Moving to Domino isn't trendy or in vogue, so you can only assume it's for reasons of business value, a belief in the Lotus portfolio and roadmap, or because they're not swallowing the Microsoft story (hello, roadmap anyone?).

    As for Microsoft's tired sad old tactic of trying to spoil the Lotusphere momentum... it's as predictable as the bowel movements of someone who eats prunes for breakfast, and has just as much substance. For the supposed uber-marketing company it's a really poor show.

  1. 9  Keith Brooks http://lotustech.blogspot.com | 1/29/2008 11:29:08 AM

    Perhaps they are serious in their numbers based on the "began the move to Exchange Server, Office SharePoint Server and the Office suite."

    How many of them are about moving to Office Suite?

    Because now MS thinks Notes is an Office Suite? Sounds good. But Symphony is only becoming available so is this future oriented thinking on MS side or just more software assurance license bundling?

    Moving to MOSS is just companies that are using Domino to purchase Software Assurance licenses which happen to include MOSS by default. If only companies realized how many times they pay for MOSS.

    Of course began to move sounds like a slow process, how many actually moved anywhere in 2007 would be my interest.

  1. 10  Henry Ferlauto http://www.geniusinside.com | 1/29/2008 12:46:34 PM

    A general question, whether a "steal" or not, how come IBM in general does not make more publicity about it's wins, in particular in the Notes & Domino space?

    One would think that IBM would have even greater stories to tell in Websphere space, since the websites of many household names run on Websphere.

    I know some customers are shall we say, "shy;" but not all of them.

  1. 11  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 1/29/2008 12:58:25 PM

    @10 that's a great question and one I wish I had an answer on. We mentioned several customers at Lotusphere, but in the end, two of their PR departments did not approve formal press releases.

    Customers are hesitant to have their decisions made public for a variety of reasons. Having never worked there, I am not sure why it works differently at Microsoft.

    @all, I was also pointed to this article on NetworkWorld that comments on the sad state of MS marketing.

    { Link }

  1. 12  Danny Lawrence  | 1/29/2008 1:06:23 PM

    @10

    Ed, something else I just thought of, just as Linux will help you lower your MSFT license costs (putting a Red Hat box on your desk when the MSFT rep drops in will guarantee that you get a better deal), I wonder if allowing your company to be mentioned as a Domino to Exchange "mover" will give you a break on your costs to make the switch. Since those organizations are going to need a lot of MSFT consultant time, this could be a substantial savings.

  1. 13  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 1/29/2008 1:16:06 PM

    @12 Danny, it's more than that -- Microsoft has been offering big big checks as part of their proposals to customers to migrate. BIG big checks. In fact, when I talk to customers who are being courted to move, I always ask if they are getting a $10 million break on the migration services... it certainly puts some pressure on the other player at the table...

  1. 14  Peter  | 1/29/2008 2:44:40 PM

    @13 - It *almost* sounds like you are accusing M$ of practicing "predatory pricing".

    Not that they've ever been accused of anything like *that* before... right?

    { Link }

  1. 15  The Turtle http://www.weightlessdog.com/shell.nsf | 1/29/2008 2:57:03 PM

    Realistically, I don't see that much benefit from heavily promoting IBM's "wins." Then again, I am one of those people who hears pickup-truck commercials where they trumpet that XX is "the best-selling truck in America." Who cares what anybody else buys? Really, are there, in 2008, that many IT execs who are buying MS just because "other people" are? If you're in a highly-competitive business, why would you WANT to blindly buy the same business tools your competitors own? How could you possibly expect any competitive advantage? And it's not like you're choosing between MS and something written by three guys in a garage in San Rafael, this is an enormous company that's been around for decades. The fact that MS seems to want to trumpet these "wins" (or worse yet, fabricate them), means to me they're appealing to stupid execs that I just don't think exist in the numbers MS thinks.

  1. 16  Gavin Bollard http://dominogavin.blogspot.com/ | 1/29/2008 3:08:25 PM

    Sounds pretty much like what I wrote at Network World

    The Poor State of Microsoft's Marketing Department Today.

    { Link }

  1. 17  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 1/29/2008 3:17:54 PM

    @16 see @11 :-) Good posting, mate!

  1. 18  Charles Robinson http://cubert-codepoet.blogspot.com | 1/29/2008 4:14:45 PM

    @15 - It happens a lot more than you're allowing in the SMB space, where there are often no IT execs to reign things in. I work for a small but growing company. The owners ask their nouveau riche entrepreneur friends what software they use and follow the lemmings.

  1. 19  Jim Casale  | 1/29/2008 5:28:02 PM

    @15 "Really, are there, in 2008, that many IT execs who are buying MS just because "other people" are?"

    Unfortunately, I know all to well that is the case where I work. I don't believe that it is the majority view out there but there are some CIO's that do believe it. The sad part is they don't see the flawed logic behind that view. It would be nice if they saw it as the fallacy that it is - just because it 'appears' everyone believes most companies are moving to MS that the belief and the assumption must be true.

    @18 "The owners ask their nouveau riche entrepreneur friends what software they use and follow the lemmings".

    I was told that was the case where I work but I do find it hard to believe that executives/owners at that level have "What software you are using?" as their main topic of conversation. I would tend to think it would be more along the lines of "What deals are you involved in?" It may be true where you work but it doesn't make sense to me (or many other people for that matter).

  1. 20  Kevin Mort  | 1/29/2008 8:05:32 PM

    A few years ago, someone told me that Microsoft really didn't care about Lotus. It wasn't a competitive focus, they really weren't engaged in the "war" we on the Lotus faithful side thought.

    However, facts are what they are, and when you issue these types of Q&A docs right before the conference each year, it is pretty clear that SOMEONE at Microsoft cares about what Lotus is doing. They aren't ignoring this space.

    Oh and UC2 is much better than UC&C. Glad to see IBM beat them to that little bit. : )

  1. 21  Clayton  | 1/29/2008 8:06:48 PM

    I thought we were moving away from projecting all the defensive/emotional attitudes that IBM has attempted to relieve itself of in recent years.

    I suggest we all personally take IBM's lead.

    People will choose products for all different reasons. Some we collectively will agree with, others we won't. At the end of the day the decision maker will need to justify the decision to someone, somehow.

    Lets not worry about what MS is doing. We should be more interested in what IBM Lotus is doing.

  1. 22  Danny Lawrence  | 1/29/2008 10:51:43 PM

    @13 Ed, I guess you've answered my question. If MSFT is writing checks to get folks to convert, then you can bet that those checks come with conditions that allow their names to be used in press releases.

    And one more thing, All those press releases they keep mentioning as you say organizations that start the process, how come there aren't any stories in the press releases bout how So-and-so have saved money or been increased productivity or acquired a more reliable or scaleable e-mail infrastructure since the switch to Exchanged/lookOut? I seem to recall a few of those sorts of items in the Lotus press releases (which don't seem to come out around the time of TechEd)

  1. 23  Pedro Quaresma  | 1/30/2008 2:21:44 AM

    To be honest, disconnected sentences or not, I'm getting a bit tired of finding jobs like this on my Monster agent when searching for "Lotus Notes":

    { Link }

    "[...]coming transformation of our in-house developed business applications from a Delphi/Lotus Notes platform to a Microsoft based platform."

    I have honestly never seen the opposite. :(

  1. 24  Julian Woodward http://blog.woowar.com | 1/30/2008 3:45:01 AM

    @23 - the sad fact, like it or not, is that IBM really wasn't paying any attention to Notes/Domino as an app dev platform until comparatively recently. As a result it's not perceived as being a viable option, so decisions are still being taken to migrate apps away, or at the very least to not invest any more in ND app dev.

    With 8.5 around the corner, that trend should be slowed down, but it will be a good while before we starting seeing job ads looking for ND developers to migrate apps from SharePoint/InfoPath to Notes/Domino. A prize to the first person who spots one!!

  1. 25  Tony S Lee  | 1/30/2008 7:42:16 AM

    Joel has also noticed something about Microsoft marketing...

    { Link }

  1. 26  Colin  | 1/30/2008 10:32:16 AM

    Seems like it's been longer.

    Did you have similiar duties?

  1. 27  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 1/30/2008 10:51:03 AM

    Colin, my job as the sales executive for Notes/Domino started in August, 2004 ... { Link }

    Before that, I was responsible for competitive strategy for Lotus for two years. And before that, I was the brand manager for Notes/Domino. etc.

  1. 28  kristina festa   | 1/31/2008 6:07:12 PM

    @23 I have been a vendor/exhibitor since 2004. This year was the first time I spoke to an Exchange house that is getting ready to move to Lotus. I also spoke to several F500 companies using SharePoint who were doing a rip and replace with Quickr. It's a nice change!