IBM is deprecating the Lotus brand. And that is a good thing.
by Volker Weber
You have seen it happening at Lotusphere 2011. No Lotus signs anywhere. And you have seen it happening in product rebranding. No more Lotus Connections, Lotus Sametime, Lotus Forms. It's now IBM Connections, IBM Sametime, IBM Forms. Yes, technically it was IBM Lotus Connections, but did you ever really say 'Microsoft Office Word'?
The Lotus brand is not an asset. It is a liability. It smells of old. 'Oh, do you really still use that?' IBM tried to change that with the bold 'Lotus Knows' campaign. And it did not work.
Today marks the release of a new product called 'IBM XWork Server'. It's a Lotus Domino server, it's easier to license, but the more important part is the new name. ISVs can sell their solution to customers who do not want to touch Lotus Notes with a long pole. They just sell it on top of an IBM server. IBM good, Lotus not so much.
I suggested to IBM in private conversation (no, not Ed Brill), that they should dump Lotus and Domino from the Notes product ASAP. 'IBM Notes'. Client and server. Make branding as simple as possible and do it swiftly. ASAP was today, with the release of 8.5.3. IBM has used the opportunity with Sametime, but not yet with Notes.
Nobody wants to kill the Lotus brand. Much in the same way that nobody wanted to kill the Lotus Company, when it was acquired by IBM. It took a very long time from 'Lotus, an IBM company' to 'IBM Lotus'. Much like removing a band-aid very very very slowly.
They are still going to call that conference in Orlando 'Lotusphere'. But they are going to attach a 'Social Business' event to it, much like last year. And then they are going to remove the band-aid very very very slowly.
I would suggest to speed this up. Whoever loves Notes, could not care less. And those who don't, do you worry about them? IBM is pushing Connections into Notes accounts (see the 'free' entitlement for Profiles and Files in 8.5.3) and Microsoft account alike. The less it smells of Lotus, the better.
Comments
Very well put, Volker. 100% agree. As I wrote about the XWork announcement yesterday, I'm feeling like it's a new dawn. We can go forward espousing the merits of the new technology and products without having to apologise for anything that has gone before.
The key for me is that the Notes/Domino technology still has value and leaving it as the only leftovers of the Lotus brand is doing it no favours. As XWork will show, it can thrive under new branding. I hope IBM shifts gears as does the same for the rest of the products left in Lotus ASAP.
So without the Lotus "burden" how is Sametime doing (I really don't know)?
Maybe Lotus smells old because it is old!? If this is true calling it IBM Notes won't change that. True, I could not care less how IBM calls Notes and Domino but I would prefer changing the products not the brand.
Well, most users I speak to - they don't mind about the brand although aligning everything under the same name and colour - blue instead of yellow - is a good step, but most complains come to the mail side. Apps are in our hands as ISVs but we can\t do much about Notes mail. After major changes it's still looking old and outdated, not fast and sometimes blows the one's mind off with strange features. We all agree Notes isn't just a mail platform like Exchange but Notes mail is the face of IBM/Lotus Notes, whatever name you give to it, and this name isn't the best IBM has done. iNotes a bit much better by the way but also not ideal. This is where force need to be applied - hire UI designers, make nice colours, use new features and improve old ones like conversation mini view, which is too slow. Missing features like categorizing per today/yesterdat/date, sender/receiver name and combined todo/meetings/follow up - these things make more impression I believe.
Thank God... Now we won't be associated with Lotus 1-2-3... Yes, I still hear this and it's MS$ pushing that mindset. This is the time to make the change with Xpages, Connections, and Vulcan. This is the perfect time. Now IBM has to work to win back lost opportunities with an integrated story.
Puh, at least somebody shares more or less my view, after beeing called "Devils Advocate" for not believing in big sales of the XWork Server and predicting that Notes/Domino would also disapear. But Ed was pretty clear about it. He has no intention to drop Notes/Domino:
"XWork Server … a new era?"
BTW, I don't think IBM Notes sounds snappy.
XWork Server is not meant to be a huge success. It does not have to be. It only exists to make the life of small ISVs easier.
I like the picture :)
Two years ago I made the suggestion to a top level Lotus executive to dump "Notes" with the release of project Vulcan. I was told never ever, "Notes is a multi billion dollar brand". OK, I'll wait and see.
"Notes is a multi billion dollar brand"??
I really, really doubt it
what a wonderful image of the past. and a 100% fit to illustrate this article
