I was talking to a friend who’s at a Notes shop that’s considering jumping to Exchange. This is a movement that’s been happening for a long time and is largely due to an under-utilization of Notes (which is due to a lack of understanding in the company about what Notes can do). I encouraged him to call his Lotus rep and get some people in there who can get them excited about Notes again (which he’s doing). I also offered to stop by and show off some of the stuff I’ve worked on.
But one comment he shared with me from their CEO really struck me. It went something like this: ‘The fact that Lotus doesn’t have a similar product to Exchange that works with the iPhone at or above the level of functionality my Blackberry does today, really demonstrates a lack of understanding of, and responsiveness to, the marketplace.’
Now… that’s not really a fair comment. First, its not entirely Lotus’ fault; some of the blame resides with Apple – although even I don’t have an explanation for why the two can’t work together to fill this need. Second, while I do agree that the iPhone is important, I don’t know that you can pin all of Lotus’ market understanding on the lack of an iPhone product (yes, there is “uber-lite” but he did specify the whole “at or above the level” of his current Blackberry’s functionality – and uber-lite doesn’t really fit that “requirement”).
Finally, while it might be a nice soundbite to say that the lack of an iPhone application that’s on par with Blackberry is why they’re jumping ship – its not the case. It may be the last straw, but its not the root cause (at least in this company’s case).
But it brings up a good point that I see/hear from people frequently: the VIPs of the company are the ones who want the iPhone, are willing to pay whatever the price is and want it to connect to Notes with no reduction in functionality compared to their current phone (in most cases Blackberry or a GOOD based device). These people (CIOs, CEOs, CFOs, VPs, etc.) require special care by IT shops and their inability to have the iPhone causes them to ask questions about Notes. If they’re not deeply committed to Notes, those questions seem to cut deeper into the status quo. And, oh yeah, they’re the people making decisions and holding the checkbooks.
So at the end of the day, perhaps the best reason I’ve heard for why there should be an iPhone-Notes application (one that’s comparable to what’s available for Exchange shops) is simple: because my boss wants it.
Tags: blackberry, good, iphones, lotus notes
October 14th, 2008 at 9:34 am
So, what we need to have is C-level IBM executives wanting an iPhone with mail/PIM sync for THEIR mail!!
But let’s be honest here, for YEARS IBM has had “issues” with mobile device support. Years ago Microsoft had the forethought to have API-type support into Exchange using ActiveSync. Then other sync apps are able to tie in to it, etc…. It’s all history and now that there’s a HUGELY popular device on the marketplace, IBM’s inaction/inability from years back to create a foundation that can be more easily leveraged has come back to haunt them. We now get Traveler that has some promise and IBM is slowly porting it to other device OS’s, so there’s hope there…