Not really (I hope). But Ed did share his thoughts on competetion and motivated why he will not do another The Boss Loves Microsoft: Where does that leave Lotus?” session at Lotusphere this year.
… The energy is back in so many ways, and there’s so much new and positive to talk about, that Ben is right — I need to let up on defense a bit and remember that things are going really well on almost every front at the moment. …
… And that’s why for Lotusphere 2007, I am taking a pass on doing a “The Boss Loves Microsoft: Where does that leave Lotus?” session, or having anything like it on the conference agenda. Even with an expanded number of conference sessions, why allocate one to talking about the competition? We have other ways to do that, both at Lotusphere and elsewhere. For me personally, I’ve done this session (or one like it) at Lotusphere for six years now. It’s time to go out on top (just from Lotusphere — I’m not going anywhere!). …
I am sorry to hear that because things are (just beginning to get) interesting. The IBM / Lotus vs Microsoft compete discussion has evolved bigtime over the last 6 years and gone way beyond Lotus Notes/Domino vs Microsoft Exchange in the last few years. And although there is always “”room for improvement” I think that even Ed has to admit the competition has changed and has become way more challenging over the 6 years in which he delivered his presentation.
A brief summary of some of the points I have blogged about this year shows why bosses love Microsoft or at least truely consider it as (one of) the alternatives in almost every platform decision they make :
- Email and Calendaring
tippingpoint in marketshare on the emailplatform is reached - Collaboration
Microsoft is recognised as a leader in the collaboration platform market - Real Time Collaboration / Unified Communications
Microsoft is making a big move in Unified Communications -
Application Platform
Microsoft Office System is a very valid alternative platform for applications
In summary from where I am standing there is not much / no change in perception on the “boss level” in many organisations. The sessions stop, the love for Microsoft has increased.
I do agree with Ed that also IBM has very good things to show after a number of years in which it struggled with its Workplace message to the market. But the competition is not sitting still … When playing offense watch out for the “SharePoint train” 🙂
Peter, I don’t want to speak for ed, but I think his reasoning is coming from two main fronts. First, Lotusphere isn’t the appropriate place for such a discussion. Everyone there is already a Lotus customer, and if they weren’t investing further in Lotus technologies, why are they attending a conference like that?
Secondly, I believe Lotus has played enough offense in the past few years that defense isn’t as important. For existing Lotus customers using Domino for more than mail and out of the box templates it has been proven time and again that the cost of migrating to a Microsoft solution isn’t justifiable. I’m sure Ed will still give his “Boss” spiel, but I can see it becoming less relevant in a general sense as the mindshare pendulum swings toward center.
Charles,
***
“Lotusphere isn’t the appropriate place for such a discussion. Everyone there is already a Lotus customer, and if they weren’t investing further in Lotus technologies, why are they attending a conference like that?”
***
I disagree. I would say for every software company it is important to discuss their solutions / approach, etc. in perspective to the competitive landscape. Why ? because this determines a lot of their actions / product innovation, etc. Users of this software visiting such a major event could benefit from that information. Basicly with not bringing this angle to such an event you don’t tell people the whole story. Although “the boss loves ..” was also not painting the complete picture, it made people aware that there’s “something out there”. Ocourse everyone is still aware, but are they aware that things are changing ..? and not for the better froma Lotus perspective if you ask me. This does determine how IT policies are made and does influence your future Lotusphere visits believe me.
***
“For existing Lotus customers using Domino for more than mail and out of the box templates it has been proven time and again that the cost of migrating to a Microsoft solution isn’t justifiable.”
***
This *has* become a platform discussion years ago Charles and organsiation *are* migrating as we speak. Notes databases are an issue but not only from a migration perspective. The need for appication rationalisation, the *right* application platform and what functionality to move over should be the dialogue. This is true in any migration scenario, regardless of the platform. The Notes datbase lock-in is no longer the “sticky guarante” withholding organisations to make the move.
***
“I’m sure Ed will still give his “Boss” spiel, but I can see it becoming less relevant in a general sense as the mindshare pendulum swings toward center.
Ed made it less relevant in relation to Lotusphere that’s it.”
***
If you’ve read any of the links in my post you may have gotten a different perspective on Microsoft. “The bos loves ..” percepton in organisations is not something that has gone away. It is becoming more intense the mindshare pendulum is rotating if you ask me and not in the direction of Lotus …