11 posts tagged “lotusphere2007”

Right, whoever said Lotusphere was a Jolly, cos I'm going to tie you to a tree and do really nasty things to ya!  The Bloggers' Birds of a Feather was scheduled for 7am this morning, the conference closes at 16:30 and our flight leaves at 18:40, hence not only did I have to leave the hotel at 06:30, but I had to checkout beforehand!  And that after getting in from the Party at 23:30!  Matchsticks at the ready!

Anyhow, I thought about live-blogging the BoF, but there seemed to be plenty of others covering that (Julian amongst others) so for once I sat back, paid full attention, and listened to all the chat.  Awesome job by Ed to manage the session, to all those that attended and took part, and wonderful to see that despite all the very opinionated (in a good way - Nathan!?) people in the room, everyone was listened too and had their say.

It is so good to finally put faces to so many of the names that are seen around the Blogosphere, and even better to really meet so many great folks.  I am truly in awe of the time and effort that people put in to the community, and even more so to the size of the intellects involved.  There are some seriously bright people here...

What to take away?

• We need to occasionally be more critical of IBM as individuals and as a community in the future.
  
• Everyone has the same headaches over managing feeds and commenting on others' blogs.  Tips included having a set of priority feeds read every day, and others that are read once or twice a week.
• Most Lotus blogs are Notes & Domino-focused.  There don't seem to be too many Portal or Quickplace-orientated Bloggers out there - Tim is an honourable exception.

Rest of the day? GURUpalooza at 11:30, then the Lotusphere Boat Race final at 12:45ish (at the lake between Swan and Dolphin) followed by lunch, Ask the Developers and possibly some of the Closing Session before we need to rush to the Airport.  The pace doesn't let up!

Ed Brill presenting, panellists are:

Dale Sinstead, Pioneer Petroleum
Roger Robison, DST Systems
Nathan Freeman, Lotus911
Brooks Jordan, Attensa
Hugh Roddick, Health Canada

The CS101 Panel

Ed is asking questions of all participants, then will open to Q&A afterwards.

How using?  Pioneer and DST are both customers, using R7 in production. Lotus911 are "soup to nuts" partner servicing all levels of customer, including PGA Tour.  Attensa are an ISV. Health Canada do primary health provision to remote Canada provinces, having 5000 Notes apps on 654.

Ed explains Beta program.  Panel didn't get here by accident, IBM Rep have to enter nomination form which is onerous.  IBM panel then review and select based on choosing a cross section of criteria.  BPs are chosen on basis of being first-to-market with Solutions.

Good and bad experiences?  Nathan says reaction to support issues has been impressive, but last upgrade took 4 hours (he was driving his car at the time!).  DST have enjoying seeing latest builds and new functionality and are planning to use Eclipse-based client and Linux-based servers. Pioneer have been testing Linux-based client and have found it very impressive with no need to retrain.

How best to use ND8? Attensa Think that Notes 8 will be an Enterprise 2.0 platform for years ahead. Nathan thinks the Notes 8 client will be compelling in the same way as it was originally - a huge win, especially with new Quickr product for side-bar conference management.

Quick win from ND8? Heath Canada accidentally ran for two weeks with Notes8 against Notes 6 servers and apps - it all just worked.  Ed says IBM have distributed Notes 8 to 4000 users, though only 2000 are using it in production.  Attensa really like the Activities server and access it from Sametime.

How will you roll it out?  Pioneer will distrbute using normal Windows distribution, to HQ & IT first.  DST want to go with Eclipse everywhere they can, using Domino 8 on System I and Linux. Health Canada will focus on Eclipse client and distribute using ZenWorks. With 3000 users per mail server they will move quickly once 8.0.1 goes gold.

Favourite new feature?  Health Canada like the new popup for suggestion on sending links.  Pioneer like the productivity tools and the slide out panels to avoid full screen windows, plus the in-view threads including deletion of whole threads.  Attensa love the composite web app functionality.  DST just really like the general usability improvements.

Volker asked about using 3rd party tools.  Both Nathan and Pioneer have used Blackberries and it has generally worked well.  Lotus911 asked about productivity editors - DST have used it and will be looking to replace MS Office eventually.

I asked about SmartUpgrade - IBM say that they are using SU in their environment and it already works on 7.x to 8, but more work is required for 8 to 8.x upgrades.  It will work by release though!

Java problems?  Health Canada say that they had an issue with multiple Java versions installed.  Nathan thinks that Expeditor uses its own Java runtime.

Excellent session, well managed and very informative.  Good job guys...

UC2 = Unified Communications and Collaboration

Collaboration is essential to Unified Communications - not just about communication methodologies.

Unifying multiple communication channels that already exist in the marketplace, but as independent silos.  So often we need more than one method to give the context of the communication rather than just the syntax.

Ron Sebastian is demoing as usual.  Using the same voice codec that Skype uses, so voice quality is good even on slow lines.  As Sametime 7.5 now uses standard Eclipse plug-ins, it is a very extensible platform.  They are showing a web service plugged into Sametime that changes according to the name that is selected in the Sametime contacts list.  Also show a .Net application changing the data in teh Web Service, and it refreshes in the Sametime window.  Also a plug-in that reads the location awareness info embedded into Sametime and presents location-sensitive info such as hotels and restaurant data.

Instant meeting functionality within Sametime chat, so no need to schedule for adhoc meetings.

UC2 = Speed, Flexibility and Ease of Use

IBM saves $9m on Samtime IM vs Phone usage and $85m on Web Conferencing vs. travel.

Strategy = Unify user experience, integrate with multi-vendor environments, provide open and extensible platform, innovate for future.

Unify:
    Can send Notes links in chats
    Presence awareness inside Notes
    Smart tags in MS Office documents, can drop down from any name and see whether person is online, and start chats etc.

Integrate:
    Allow customers freedom and ability to choose best of breed solutions to business issues
    Many different business partners extending Sametime functionality
    Demoing Siemens integration and Avaya conferencing
    Show Blackberry Pearl emulator doing BBMap search based on location of Sametime user
   
Open and Extensible:
    Dassault Systems demo'd a superb 3D modelling solution including context-sensitive Sametime usage

Innovate:
    Centralised conference call system using VoIP/Sametime solution.

Great mini-keynote.  Very impressive technology and really very relevant to the real-world needs of our customers.  IBM really does seem to be listening...

Well, we've had the Business Development Day tease about the new the Lotus Connections product. Then yesterdays Opening General Session told the full hyped-up version of what it delivers, and then finally, the Mini-Keynote last evening filled in more of the details, though by no means did it answer all the questions. I guess we have the rest of Lotusphere for those to be answered though....

So what's my take? 

Well, first...  The biggest, and most intangible, effect of the Lotus Connections announcement is that Lotus is cool once again. 

Finally, 16 years after the release of Notes and 10 years after the IBM acquisition, you get the feeling that:

• Customers can see the Lotus brand being innovative, aware of the realworld use of the latest technology by all users, i.e. consumers and SMEs as well as large corporates.  The customers I've spoken to at Lotusphere have been really excited and in some cases amazed by the way that Lotus has endorsed the use of Blogs, social bookmarking and even Second Life.
• The Lotus partner community (of which I am a part) is stoked by the opportunities that Lotus Connections will bring in terms of getting into markets and customers that haven't ever taken Notes to their hearts.  Connections provides a way to add real collaborative value to customers, whatever their existing messaging platform.  As Mike Rhodin said in the keynote (quoting his daughter), "Email is for my Grandfather!"
  
• IBM employees that work in or around the Lotus brand feel like they can be proud of the Lotus name again.  The Lotus branding is once again to the fore, the product names are allowed to be cool and trendy again (particularly Quickr), the brand is doing great in the marketplace (+30% YoY results in Q4), and you get the impression that the burying of the whole Workplace debacle has taken this huge weight off their shoulders.  I have seen so many beaming, laughing, partying Lotii this week, and it really gladdens my heart.  They deserve it after the last 3-4 years or so.

Now to the product itself:

• The functionality and scope seems great, it pulls together four of the key facets of Social Comuputing as used in the Web 2.0 world today - Blogs, Shared Bookmarks, Profiles (e.g. as seen at Linked In and Xing), Communities  (e.g. Vox and others) and then adds on Activity-based Computing as well.
• I love the idea that the user should be given the ultimate choice on how to interact with the Connections product - Web, Notes, Sametime or whatever.
  
• The look and feel is superb, and the icons and graphical design is awesome - way ahead of any other IBM product I have seen.  In fact I would go do far as to say that much of the graphics look very similar to Apple's style of graphical design - if the icons were to appear on the iPhone they wouldn't look at all out of place.  That is high praise indeed.
• The performance has looked great - now you always have to take product demos with somewhat of a pinch of salt as there are usually smoke and mirrors involved.  However, having had a bit more of a play with the system at Lotusphere Online and in the usability labs, I think it genuinely is a fast system.

• There are clearly a number of "services" that come together to provide the functionality that makes up Connections.  This isn't going to be a single product install, a la Domino, there will be more involved.  We need to know more of this detail before knowing how relevant it is to our customers.
• IBM needs to market to new channels of communications to its end users.  The demand for Connections is far more likely to come from end users than from IT.  Therefore, I think that buzz needs to be created with Podcasters, Video blogs and so on.  In facts this morning I have emailed Leo to suggest that this gets mentioned on TWiT this week.

Ken Bisconti is presenting.  General impression is that a lot was shown at OGS, so a slower pace of info flow is needed.

A lot of users have had access to better tools in their personal lives than in their organisations. Lotus wants to change that.  Also, looking for tools to make users more effective, innovative  and productive in their jobs, not just be abel to deal with emails faster.

"Empowering people to be more effective, responsive and innovative in the context of the work they do"

Lotus mission slide

Need to be able to connect people into the business processes in the context of their own role.  Lotus needs to be have the best, broadest and more comprehensive Collaboration portfolio in the industry, including emergin community tools.  "Collaboration in Context"

Need to provide flexible perspectives and contexts, especially for new workers used to IM, Wikis etc.  Anytime, Anyplace...

Notes 8 is the strategic Messaging and Collaboration platform.  Notes 8 includes productivity editors - for many users this will make MS Office obsolete.  100% support for Open Document Format (ODF), MS Office formats and import facilty for Smartsuite.

Unified Communication and Collaboration now includes IM, VoIP, Video conferencing and presence awareness, including Smart Tags within MS Office.  Sametime is the strategic IM platform.

Roles-based Portals are ideal for self-service, increased availability of services.  Front-end to Services Orientated Architecture (SOA).  New version of Websphre Portal Express for small to medium businesses.

Lotus Quickr (newly announced version of Quickplace) will give a rich collaborative content and team services integrated with most IBM applications.  Includes out-of-the-box business templates to speed time to value.  Most complete set of connectors to desktop applications and open connector architecture for others to exploit.  Ideal for managing docs, spreadsheets, blogs, podcasts etc.  Most will start with a Notes-based repository, but also can use Java, FileNet, Content Manager and other respositories.

Lotus Connections (announced this morning) brings five new collaborative components that help businesses by tapping into latent expertise in an organisation or community, and collaborating more effectively at larger scales (internally and externally):

1. Personal profiles (self-populated profiles give more info than normal directories)
   
2. Communities (not limited to geography, rank or business unit)
   
3. Blogs (first enterprise blogging infrastructure gives new way of communication in organising)
   
4. Bookmarks (using Dogear - IBM has been using this for a while, produces pre-screened content and shows who has spent most time on this kind of content irrespective of rank or role)
   
5. Activities (allows collaboration across silos of information, always see most pertinent and relevant to self)
   

Individuals will want to access all types on information, activities, connections and resources through the interface that gives the best perspective for their current work role, hence integration of all tasks into Notes 8, Sametime, Portal and so on.  Choice for end users is key.  Lotus Expeditor now allows access to Portal and Composite applications in off-line mode.  Mobile devices, phones and access styles are changing so fast, need to break down rules and restrictions on access.  All work modes (connected, disconnected, mobile etc.) need to be supported.

SOA (Services Oriented Architecture) effectively gives Mashups for business and front-end integration.  Lotus now talking about Mashups and Composite Applications interchangeably.  Websphere Portal and Expeditor key to this approach.  Lotus keeps hearing that one tool is not enough - needs to be a consolidated and integrated approach.

Business Mashups - Workplace Dashboard frameword, for Business Strategy Execution etc.  i.e. some are productized by IBM already, others will be built by partners, others by companies themselves.

Expeditor is key to creating extensible clients, enabling integration.  Sametime 7.5 was first, Notes 8 the next.  Expeditor is now available as standalone platform for organisations and partners to build rich client applications.

Lotus strategy now fits on one slide - amazing!

Lotus Software Strategy slide

Q&A

Lotus Connections has been used internally for last few months, a number of customers are using Lotus Greenhouse (a hosted version of this product). Due to be released in June.

Lotus Quickr - most customers have multiple repositories as well as front-ends, hence the strategy is to expand the integration as quickly as possible.

Wow, wow, and thrice wow!

Managed to get a front row centre position, right in front of the main Lotusphere Stage, 7000+ people sat right behind.  It's 8am, the session is scheduled for 8:30am, eager folks are pouring into the room.  It's so full folks are standing at the back and around the sides.  The main Dolphin Ballroom is vast, simply vast.  So big in fact that they need to have four sets of screen hung from the ceiling to allow everyone to see the events unfolding.  There is definitely a buzz about the place this year, far more than any previous 'Sphere I've been to.

The A-list bloggers have seats on the front row too, left and right.  I see Bruce, Volker, Bill (kilt and lightsabre at the ready). 

The stage is vast, the screen at the back simply amazing - it's huge, incredible detail and luscious wonderful graphics are being displayed.  The theme for Lotusphere 2007 is writ large "IT revolves around YOU".  The stage is set up with a desk ready for the demos (cue Ron Sebastian we expect), and there is a set for the band on the far right, a big band too it looks...

8:15, The lights dim, on comes the band.  Wow, they're good.  Beatles, Bowie and more play.  People are up on their feet dancing.  Again more buzz, more showmanship than I ever remember apart from the '99 I AM days.

8:30, on comes Mike Rhodin (I'll some up the keynote later...). 

Introduces the guest speaker, better than anyone had predicted - Neil Armstrong!  Wow, standing ovation all round.  An incredible moment.  He explains the IT that backed up the moon landing - computer with 4kb memory and one 7-digit register.  Describes the accuracy of the ocean drop (aircraft carrier in Carribean, landed in Pacific!), and some anecdotes too.  Awesome stuff - though frail and slightly faltering of speach, he holds the audience supremely well, and everyone is reveted.  Standing ovation as he leaves the stage.

Keynotes follow, announcing updates to Sametime and Notes.  New version of Quickplace (Lotus Quickr - I love it!) that is free for the Personal Edition.  New version of Portal Express, death of (doesnot)Workplace, about time.

Last but not least, Lotus Connections - blogging, wikis, shared bookmarks and activity-based computing for the masses.  This is going to be big.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that the time for talking about the value of Social Networking in business is over, the time for making it happen is now...

A wonderful Opening Session...  More detailed analysis and updates later, but for now, I am sure this is going to be a great conference...

Travelled over to Orlando today - a long old trip thought thankfully very smooth, especially compared to those who tried to travel yesterday - Bill reports of some nightmarish journeys.

Having landed at Orlando at about 5pm, Neil and I picked up the hirecar and hotfooted it to the hotel (Port Orleans Riverside), to check in at high speed, pick up Tim from Merisis, and rush out again to catch the Orlando Magic vs. Washington Wizards NBA basketball game.  It has become part of my Lotusphere tradition to catch a Magic game every year I'm here, and this is the second time I've seen them play the Wizards.

Orlando_vs_wizards

Sadly the game was a bit of a damp squib in comparison, with the Magic losing by 21 points - a pretty poor performance.  But I think Neil and Tim enjoyed the experience ;-)

Collapsed into bed at 11pm (4am GMT) - its gonna be a long week!

Just to show the missus, it really is work, work, work out there!

So, far the public schedule is as follows:

Friday

• 5pm: Fly in from the UK
  
• 7pm - 11pm: Basketball: Orlando Magic vs. Washington Wizards
  

• 11am - 5pm: UK BP Golf Day, Disney Eagle Pines GC
• 5pm - 7pm: Bloggers Annual Dinner, Big River Brewery, Boardwalk
  
• 7pm - 11pm: Turtle Party, ESPN bar, Boardwalk

• 7am - 5pm: Business Development Day, Yacht and Beach Club
• 5pm - 6:30: UK ISA BP Reception, Shula's Restaurant
  
• 6:30pm - 9:00pm: Opening Reception, Poolside
• 9:00pm - v. late: Wild Bill's 40th Birthday Party, ESPN bar, Boardwalk
  

• 8:30am - 7pm - Opening Day sessions
• 8:00pm - 11:00pm - JAMFest, Dolphin Tents or Lotusphere Partner event, Y&B Ballroom
  

• 7:30am - 6.45pm - Tuesday sessions
• 7:30pm - 10:00pm - Lotus Beta event, Y&B
  

• 7:30am - 6.45pm - Wednesday sessions
• 7:30pm - 10:30pm - Lotusphere Party, Animal Kingdom

• 7am - 11:15am - Thursday sessions
• 11:15am - 12:15pm GURUpalooza
  
• 12:15pm - 4:30pm Closing sessions
• 6:40pm Fly home

Hurrah, I've just checked in for my BA flight to Orlando, which leaves Gatwick at 11:40 tomorrow morning.  The Passport has been found, the paperwork pulled together, and the Out of Office agent set... We are definitely getting there!

Having looked again at the agenda for the week, I have to say that I am thrilled and amazed at the volume and variety of sessions this year - a real step up from previous Lotuspheres I have attended.

For me the only blot on the landscape is a clash for the 7am (yes folks, that's 7 AM) slot on Thursday, with two sessions that I would love to be at:

BOF508 The Lotus Software Blogging Community (Not Just Bloggers!)

and

BOOM101 Running IBM Lotus Notes on Macintosh

Given that BOOM101 is just about the only Mac-focused session on the agenda, I feel it is really important, but I don't want to miss the Blogging Birds of a Feather session either...  I think it's too late to rescheule either session (I have asked IBM anyway), so I'll have to miss one... What shall it be?

It's been a fascinating day in Blogosphere for us Notes fanatics, as slowly but surely details of Notes 8 are being made available (or is that leaked) by the Lotus/IBM development teams...

It started with the Domino 8 team saying:

Domino 8 is 100% Domino - no 'ifs' or 'buts'. It will run all your existing Domino applications and email. It is a regular in-line upgrade from earlier releases - no rip-and-replace of servers is required. Domino 8 has no hidden prerequisites or new requirements for you to install (IBM WebSphere Application Server, IBM WebSphere Portal Server, and IBM DB2 are all optional extras you can chose to deploy). Nor does it require that you deploy any of our collaboration products such as Lotus Sametime, Lotus Quickplace, or Activities.

Activities does require WAS to run, but that IS optional. Besides, Activities is basically a pure Web 2.0 app that can be used in lots of different contexts, both with Notes and standalone.

I hope this makes it crystal clear that Activities is not a Notes/Domino application. It runs on WebSphere Application Server, it requires WebSphere Application Server, and it has the characteristics of a WebSphere application. Notes 8 (the Eclipse version) will be able to run it, much like Notes 7 can run browser applications.

I advise you to visit the Research lab at Lotusphere. For the last few years almost everything there has been running on WebSphere.

I guess we will just have to absorb the leaks as they come, and then hope for more concrete details at Lotusphere.  January 21st can't come soon enough!