Quick Links, Mar 16

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IBM Needs to Get the Gloves Off
Paul Mooney explains how Microsoft is using its Application Analyzer for Notes to apparently fabricate results to make it appear easier than it actually is to replace Notes applications with Microsoft powered ones. There's a good discussion on Paul's blog, and also on Ed's blog about some of the things that IBM could be doing in response.

I've defended Notes before on this site from a technical perspective, and I've slammed Microsoft before on this site for its lack of a coherent and decent collaboration strategy. My reaction today is this: it's a competitive market, and Microsoft is fighting hard to increase its market share. Good on them. If IBM doesn't like it, then it needs to get more aggressive. Being blatantly dishonest about where Notes applications fits into the quadrant of migration difficulty isn't the best example of business ethics, but for IBM to stand on the sideline and yell "boo" is hardly going to be enough.

If IBM wants to (a) protect its installed base of Notes and Domino customers, and (b) increase its market share when faced with the onslaught of Microsoft, then where are the IBM initiatives that do these things:

• Help Exchange shops migrate from Public Folders to Notes/Domino. I've never heard of such a tool from IBM, although that doesn't mean there isn't one, but where is the tool to analyze a set of Exchange Public Folders and give guidance on how to migrate the functionality across to Notes/Domino?


• Enable SharePoint sites to migrate to Notes/Domino. Where's the "IBM Application Analyzer for Microsoft SharePoint for 2006"? Is IBM actively going after this market ... actively seeking to build on the education and awareness that Microsoft is doing in the market for SharePoint, or has it given up?


• Is Quickplace good enough and flexible enough to take on SharePoint? I've only spoken with one customer in the last year that raved about Quickplace ... all the others think it is merely ho-hum. Why hasn't IBM made this a knock-out?


• Where are the sites that see Notes as a strategic platform going forward? Yes, Notes/Domino helped define the market. Yes, Microsoft lacked a set of tools to compete. Yes, Notes/Domino has been very successful in days gone by, but ... going forward, where are the large and strategically significant organizations that (a) are committed to Notes/Domino for building out collaborative applications, (b) are willing to talk publicly about it like HP and Honeywell did recently for Microsoft on SharePoint, and (c) openly scoff at the idea of Microsoft having a decent line up of tools like many Microsoft shops do towards Notes/Domino.


• Who are the wildly successful Notes/Domino business partners ... and what are they doing to make life easier for their customers? Why is it so easy for small IT consulting businesses to sign up with Microsoft for its partner program (low cost, lots of support materials and applications, lots of seminars and training), but a whole lot more difficult, expensive, restrictive and bureaucratic to sign-up for IBM? Also, where's the biggest opportunity going forward for business partners today? Is it to be aligned with Microsoft for Office System 2007, or it is to be aligned with IBM for Notes/Domino/Workplace? I think Microsoft is eating IBM's lunch in this one.

In my opinion, from what I notice in the market, I think Microsoft is doing more, across a wide range of delivery points, to deliver value to the business decision maker that what IBM is doing. C'mon IBM ... you've said that you have yellow gloves and you're willing to take the gloves off, but ... I don't see you doing it yet.

Positions

• A RIM Strategy? ... Dan Taylor at the Mobile Enterprise Alliance is despairing over Research In Motion, and questions today whether they have a corporate strategy for moving forward. In essence: forget the NTP patent stuff, and tell us what you are going to do for me tomorrow. MEA Blog

Vendor Moves

• Let'sPowwow Premium ... Yugma released Let'sPowwow Premium, an online meeting and conferencing service for up to 250 participants. Includes a secure 100 MB document library, and supports recording and playback of sessions. The Premium edition costs $50 per month for up to 20 attendees, and uses a graduated price scale from there. PRWeb


• Texas Department of Information Resources and IBM ... The Texas Department of Information Resources and IBM signed an agreement for the delivery of enterprise email to 65,000 seats across 13 state government agencies in Texas. Other optional services include instant messaging, virtual team workspaces, document management, wireless email, and more. MarketWire

Comments

[dale johnson]

Quote - "but a whole lot more difficult, expensive, restrictive and bureaucratic to sign-up for IBM?"
You hit that right on the head. Microsoft begged for me to join their Partner group , banged down the door, dropped the price, and sent people to help me figure out how to work the partnership after i joined.

IBM/Lotus raised the costs, makes the paperwork hard to get approved, and overall does nothing for you once you have joined, and truely could care less that people join up. I mean i might be qualified having market standing in the business world (11 years dealing with ccmail/Notes/Exchange, 1 beacon award, every year except for 1 with a booth at Lotusphere, and the Exchange show).

You'd think they would be begging me to join, strange isn't it.

[Ben Poole]

Some good points! One thing re getting customer testimonials: Notes is very secure. It prides itself on it. Therefore I'm willing to bet that a good proportion of those millions of seats out there are in financial operations: the Big Four, banks, government departments. None of these organisations typically shout out about the tools and software they use. I guess that can be a problem for vendors like IBM.