Now this is a great website design! I had to do a double-take on the URL to make sure I was really looking at a Lotus webpage, and I was.

The site design here is very contemporary, attractive and easy to get around. All of the key points of information are quickly brought to your attention (including the all-important “contact us” - which, let’s face it, is the one link every single company hopes you click on … assuming there’s not a “buy now” link that is).

The solution looks really nice, too. I really think they’re on to something here with a one-stop-shop server room in a box for smaller companies.

All that being said, I’m still a bit confused about what software is all included in this tool. It looks like a nice sampling of Lotus software, but its not clear if you get everything; turn on what you want to purchase; or only get selected pieces of software.

… and that’s probably intentional so that you click on the “contact us” links to get more information from a sales rep or business partner.

Share This

In manufacturing, Kaizen events have been all the rage for some time now. If I over-simplify a concept that’s had numerous books written on it, the essence of the definition of the term, Kaizen is working on continuous improvement. The use of “zen” within the word is also notable, as that describes a

However, a lot of people mean to talk about Kaizen, and really pronounce it as Kaizan. That actually describes falsifying and tampering with something. I’ve also heard people define this by describing a sort of chaotic state that comes from the tampering.

So…

• If Kaizen is all about continuous improvement, and…
• if Kaizan is all about having a chaotic state because of tampering with something, then…
• Perhaps all the people who pronounce it wrong are really part of the problem that caused the need for improvement in the first place!

(Trust me, people in manufacturing are gonna love that line of thinking. And now all the IT people following my blog have something to chat about with them the next time you get pulled into redesiging an application because someone else came up with a way to improve it. Just make sure that it wasn’t a Kaizan that got them to their Kaizen.)

More info on getting your zen’s and zan’s straight can be found here.

Share This

Don’t get me wrong. I love the iPhone. I still consider it to be the most important computer device launched in the last few years. As a famous quote once stated:

“For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”

I believe in the power and impact the iPhone can have for lots of people - including enterprises. And rather than explain why (again) I’ll just defer to the quote above and suggest you go get one yourself if you’re still wondering why this device is so important.

But… let’s get real for a second about the iPhone 3G. I’d be willing to bet that some of you are thinking the following thoughts but, like me, not wanting to say them out-loud (which is why I’ll blog about them instead):

• Battery life is annoyingly bad - when I stopped using a Treo 650 I was grateful that I no longer had to recharge every day. Now, I’m back to that once-a-day charging routine (sometimes more frequently).
• The new “backup” routine is a great idea but takes WAAAY too long. I’ve seen some support postings saying that people are getting mixed results with this. Mine takes a good 7-10 minutes. And it happens EVERY time I plug it in.
• 3G signal strength is bad just about anywhere. I actually like it when it flips to 2G because the signal is always much stronger.
• 3G speed is good - but I’m surprised how many places I use it that have WiFi, so I really don’t need 3G as much as I thought.
• GPS is cool - but until there becomes a de facto standard “find your friends” application (and until those people sign up and share their screen name), I won’t get as much use out of this as I thought.
• Applications (which is really more of a 2.0 O/S topic) are very cool, often flakey, often crash without warning or explanation.
• Push email, contacts and calendar is nice. MobileMe is flakey, but does the job for what I need. Cleanly connecting this to my Domino world still is an issue.

Bottom line: I’m just not convinced the 3G is better than my old one. Infact, there are times where I seriously consider going back. The iPhone represents a lot of cell phone “firsts” - now I can add: first phone that made me think about going back to my old phone.

All that being said - I still LOVE the device and I’m going to stick with it. The fact that the 2.1 software is being talked about a lot suggests that Apple is working on it. In the end, I know this device is better than my last one - its just that it may not be better right out of the gate (like the original iPhone was).

Share This

This is in no way a comprehensive list, rather its just the results of random postings that my feed reader turned up when I searched my “Notes/Domino” category for “iPhone.” I found it interesting:

• IdeaJam has lots of people who want native iPhone/Notes support.
• Jeff Gilfelt is working on Notes view rendering for the iPhone.
• Paul Mooney not only has an iPhone now, but has some great screen shots of DWA uber-lite (ultralite) on one.
• Alan mentions that iPhone 2.0 now has a Notes-esque selection method.
• Various posts show people have a renewed interest in PocketMac. In my experience, this is a great idea but never works completely/consistently. And good luck getting support on it.
• There’s now a petition for Apple to work with IBM on providing iPhone and Notes integration.
• Karen Hobert saw my post about some of my thoughts on providing iPhone support in a predominately Notes-based organization.
• Meanwhile, Lotus Nut suggests my company might be the first casualty due to the iPhone (I think its too early to call it that, unless it helps move things on the Domino front forward - in which case, go ahead and call it that).
• The guy with my favorite text-based logo (vowe dot net) has a good article on the iPhone and Notes.
• Starfish has a multi-part series on this topic and a “call to action.”
• (this one’s not Notes, but…) even Disney’s WALL-E likes the iPhone.

Again, not a comprehensive list by any means. But as I read through my RSS feed reader this morning, I suddenly wondered how many items I’ve read that deal with the topic of Notes and the iPhone. For what its worth - I had to run to a meeting before I could get through the rest of the list and post them here.

Share This

“Mad props” to Ed Brill, who’s responsible for introducing me to the SlideShare.net website.

When I first saw the site I thought it was clever, but had a flaw that would make it short lived: I didn’t think that enough people would contribute presentations to it. I thought about how many presentations I’ve seen with a “confidential” disclaimer at the bottom and wondered how many people would really post helpful content to this site.

Not long after seeing it for the first time, they had a contest to find the best designed presentation. It was at that point that I thought my belief was being confirmed. I thought the site would become a design center and an ad space for people to store bland PowerPoint slides in the hopes that they drive some leads back to their company’s product or service.

And yes, it has a fair amount of that. But I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many people have contributed truly unique content that’s helpful to others. If you work in IT, design or marketing - I highly suggest spending some time looking through this site. I’m confident you’ll find something helpful!

With sites like this, I’m reminded of some of the unwritten rules of on-line communities. One of which is that if you take something from it, you really ought to give something back. With that in mind, I set up a profile and published a presentation of mine that gives a great example of how to use “Lean” (often referred to as “Lean Manufacturing”) techniques applied to an IT system that most people would agree could use some improvement.

Share This

A friend of mine (who I didn’t realize was blog-stalking me until she admitted to doing it) recently sent me an email simply saying: “Really?! Just like that, you’re going to ditch Notes for Exchange - all because of the iPhone?!”

Not exactly.

I won’t go on and on again about how I feel that IBM/Lotus is totally missing the boat on the iPhone thing. Instead, let’s focus on the facts. Various statements (from IBM/Lotus employees) have offered the following options/statements regarding Notes-iPhone integration:

• A) DWA-uber-lite
• B) Call APPLE and complain
• C) A 3rd party solution (of which there are many - but all fall short of what was shown in the Apple/Exchange demo, which brings us to…
• D) Quickly pointing out that the Exchange product has only be demoed, not shipped
• E) All of the above

Now, as a senior executive in our organization, my job is to look at trends and plot the course of how our company will deal with emerging technologies and general business developments/directions. While, I can’t (easily) picture our company WITHOUT Lotus Notes, I also CAN (easily) see a wide-spread adoption of the iPhone. I’ve tested many (MANY!) phones and this is the first one to get so many things right and still be so easy to use.

… with one HUGE exception: its ability to integration with Notes.

Normally, that’s a show stopper. We’d exclude the device from consideration and move on to the next one. But in the case of the iPhone, I simply can’t. Its such a powerful device, easy to use and gives people the ability to have so many tools easily at their fingertips. Let’s also not forget: its fun! And that’s a big deal! In a world where we are all available 24/7 by emails, voicemails and text messages; we’re tied to this device anyway - so why not make it at least partially fun for us to carry! When I’m traveling, not only am I still completely in contact with the office, I’m also listening to music, watching videos or catching up on podcasts.

Back to trends and developments… another big one for us is a movement to web-based applications. They’re easier to access, often more powerful and quickly replacing a fleet of locally replicated databases that need to be updated each time we connect before we can start using them.

So… if I already have access to the internet everywhere; if my applications are web-based; if I’m carrying a single device that connects me to those applications and my email/calendar/contacts and, by the way, its fun to use - then why do I need my Notes client? The answer: only for databases we haven’t yet web-enabled.

In this model, Exchange can easily replace Domino for users who don’t require the Notes client for Notes-based applications. In our case, there are many groups or divisions where it wouldn’t be terribly difficult to make this jump; which makes it that much easier to consider when I try to find a way to integrate iPhones into the organization.

Hopefully that helps explain our situation. You can extend this even further by saying that other Lotus products (like Quickr - which we’re also evaluating) aren’t the natural “no brainer” they once might have been simply because we’re already a “Notes shop.” If that’s the case (and it is) then its my duty to more closely evaluate competitive products because the value-add of having tight Notes integration is less today than it was a few years ago.

At the end of the day, I don’t want to move anyone off Notes/Domino; certainly not for Exchange! Ugh! But… the iPhone is the single most important device to hit the market for a long time and its just getting started. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t see the potential there and look for ways to integrate this powerful (and now reasonably priced) tool into our organization.

Share This

A comment from my last blog entry suggested that it was difficult to post on my site from a Blackberry. Being an iPhone user, I’ve never really had any problems. Still, I thought I’d try to see if I could improve the DominoKeys mobile experience.

I’ll be testing a few tools over the next week or two and report back on a winner. The first one is up now and so far I really like it. Of course, it is heavily designed for the iPhone.
Incase you’d like it, its called MobileAdmin.

Share This

Its no coincidence that I blogged about the lack of an iPhone/Domino solution from IBM one week after the WWDC keynote. I made myself wait that long - to calm down.
I thought I’d counter my “Exchange tendencies” with a quick mention of some positive things IBM is doing around the IBM product:

1. New Wikis are available for products like Quickr, Sametime and Domino (among others). This is a GREAT idea and a great way to allow customers to participate in things like “best practices” documentation and learning. Brilliant, Lotus!
2.  There’s a new Notes/Domino page on ibm.com. I think this looks really nice - and is much more like something I thought they should have done with the release of 8.0. My biggest compliment: its not over-cluttered with technospeak wrapped in managerialesque-ness. (You know, stuff like “Notes/Domino is the premier collaboration platform based on Eclipse technology which is designed to reduce your TCO through powerful industry standard tools and compliance based rapid application blah blah blah…”)
3. After following the link (on page in #2 above) to read more about Domino Web Access, I saw my biggest surprise yet: a picture of an iPhone with a dedicated page all about how to get this thing to work in the enterprise!

…to my surprise, they didn’t tell people to go buy Exchange. No, they had a whole set of images and descriptions posted that talk about an offering from IBM to tie your iPhone to Lotus Notes. Sure, there’s no ETA (other than “PLANNED for delivery in 2008″). Sure, there’s no mention of push email, calendar or to-do’s. Sure, there’s no mention of administration tools, encryption or how easy it’ll be to set up - but hey, they mentioned it.

I’ll place my bets now on the following predictions:

• LATE 2008 delivery, as a beta
• Uses DWA super-lite
• Requires you to authenticate (on your iPhone)
• No push
• No administration tools (remote setup, remote disable, encryption, etc.)

Go ahead… tell me I’m wrong. I’d LOVE to be wrong. Please!

Share This

I was standing at the copy machine today (insert SNL line about “makin’ copies” here) when I noticed a new stamp on the table next to the copy machine. (Note the one on the left in the picture below).

I couldn’t help but be amused at this for some reason. The table is full of other stamps showing dates items were faxed, sent, received, etc. But now, someone felt it was important to have a stamp that reads: “emailed.” I’m not sure why the email “sent” file isn’t quite enough proof that an email was, you know, sent - but whatever.

Share This

I rounded out the week with a very interesting conference call. I asked out (new) IBM/Lotus account rep to setup a brief conference call to chat about Domino.Doc with the manager of our Design Engineering department (which handles so many HUGE CAD files on a daily basis, its frightening).

Before the call even started, it was weird. He informed me that he’s bring in a local IBM/Lotus business partner to the discussion - a guy I’ve know for a long time but hadn’t talked to recently. I realized that my IBM/Lotus rep’s “system” must have had this other business partner listed somewhere because many years ago we talked with him about the same product. Our IBM/Lotus rep assumed it was appropriate for him to be in the discussion - without asking about the dynamic of how that worked out last time.

That was a flaw in his logic, which I tried to point out ahead of time stating that there were people in our company who felt strongly that the project never got off the ground the first time as a function of some bad information and direction from other local business partners that were brought in to talk about the product. Regardless, the call went on.

The timer on my phone said 22 minutes had gone by before someone mentioned “Domino.Doc” (the purpose of having the meeting) and the only reason it was mentioned was because someone said “I thought we were going to talk about Domino.Doc, not Quickr.”

All that aside, its clear to me how Quickr really could be a better fit for us. Its also clear that IBM wants to use Filenet to provide the backbone to Quickr for people who need some seriously powerful document management utilities. Now that we have the latest verison of Quickr installed, we’re going to get more serious about evaluating it (the first time we tried, all of us ran into odd bugs within the first 5 minutes of using it — that’s been MUCH improved).

At about 45 minutes into the call, the IBM guys said “Quickr is really the perfect tool for shops using Notes 8.0.1.” That’s true! But we’re not adopting 8.0.1 any time soon because of the performance issues we’ve seen in testing. We mentioned this on the conference call, to their surprise. They said (and while this isn’t truly a quote … its a pretty close paraphrase):

‘Really?! You’re the first place that has EVER said anything like that! We’ve seen NO performance issues with Notes 8.0.1. Of course, you could use the “-sa”‘ switch run it without Eclipse, ’cause that’s the thing that slows it down. Eclipse is slow. Notes isn’t. I mean, anyone that has 2GB of RAM is going to see no problems with Notes 8.0.1 whatsoever!’

My problem? 95% of our systems don’t have 2GB of RAM. 65% of them don’t have ONE GB of RAM. And, oh yeah, the coolest part of 8.0.1 is the functionality that Eclipse brings to the table (side shelf, etc.) … so I just can’t justify the amount of time an upgrade would take when some of the biggest payoffs aren’t there.

___________

While this may seem like a vent, its not intended to be. Its intended to be feedback. I see a lot of IBM/Lotus blogs where people enlist the “what do you, the customer, want?” type of question. I think its important that blogs, like mine, exist to provide everyday insight into a sort of moment-by-moment recap of the challenges and thoughts we have about using the software that supports our business.

Share This