Daniele Vistalli's Blog

I've not posted lately because I'm preparing something new that's changing my professional life.

Apart from this I've been following everything in the Lotus BlogoSphere and in particular the latest Lotus annoucements in the marketing initiatives.

I'm hoping... finally Lotus may get a real marketing plan. In my experience IBM/Lotus marketing has been inefficent or useless providing the market with messages that were "very IBM" and cryptic for the rest of the world.
I'm hoping... it appears Lotus wants to change this but I remember a long list attempt with no results
I'm hoping... Lotus has the most complete product-set around for collaboration but I keep listening to customers saying... "it seems IBM don't want to sell us..." (it's not a rant this is what customers tell me everyday).

So what I'd like to see happen (mine is mostly an Italian focused experience):

• Stop feeding useless "channel magazines" that are only of interest to vendors/distributors but that are useless to CIO/CEO and often drain marketing funds... (I think channel magazines are a place where everybody attempt to look better with almost no value for the readers)
• Start being aggressive on IT magazines with highest reading public. Maybe even magazines that are not (by nature) focused at Enterprises but to small medium business.
• Publish understandable and complete whitepapers with best practices on TCO reduction and product comparison (IBM vs Microsoft vs OpenSource).
• Engage universities and education institutes. Microsoft is doing this all the time.. IBM is not. Have partners do this for you. Consider this as the greatest investment you can do. I learned that universities love OpenSource but also that people in univesities loves to (and need to) learn from the real world. Nothing better than having IBM go there and explain the how and why of enterprise software and what's the difference...
  • I've been following the DB2 on Campus initiative... that's great

• Lotus Knows you can't exchange a Microsoft mail system for a real Collaboration Platform
• Lotus Knows you can't exchange a system that allows upgrades with an Install&Migrate product and still keep your TCO low. (Domino upgrades, Exchange doesn't)

• Lotus Knows you can't exchange a Ferris survey/report with a report that really addresses your TCO (check it out)
• Lotus Knows you can't exchange a Julia White post with something that doesn't need "correction" (check it out)