Zollar: I think Microsoft has a very, very confused road map. They've got a dual-object model in place right now. You have the complex object model that's built around Exchange today, and you've got the coming .Net model. These things do not integrate all that well today. They've got an interim release of Exchange that's before the next re-architected release -- and their customers' incredible migration pains getting to Exchange 2000, which many of them are still suffering with. So you add Groove to the mix and it adds yet another dimension of confusion. We've been in shootouts with Groove and we beat them easily, and I mean easily, because the deploy capabilities and the experience we've got is just not in the same league.
InfoWorld: Have you considered starting a Weblog like Ray?
Zollar: It's an interesting idea. [Ray] has to use everything he can to get word out about his products because you know when they go head to head, as we recently did with a big financial services company, they get ranked very low by comparison to what we can do. He's gotta do those things and we could do similar things as well, but we will try to stay centered though on customer success. One of the problems that many folks in this industry are having is all the vendor hype, [which] doesn't get down to the core issues that are resonating in the economy today, [namely], how do you reduce cost so that you get more employee productivity? How do you really deal with the challenges of the business environment over the next couple of years? Our research has shown us that customers have become pretty sophisticated and they really believe our customer stories, they don't believe vendor hype.
InfoWorld: Where is the road map for knowledge management, as opposed to the collaboration and messaging platforms for Lotus?
Zollar: Knowledge management is a term that's been used in the industry for a while, and I think it's suffered a bit because the defining [concepts] are too long. We find a lot of customers losing interest in that as a term. [But] we think this knowledge discovery technology that we've got in the Lotus Discovery group is really a breakthrough and important technology. It has the ability to spider and scan lots and lots of content, including blogs, and deliver insight about the content, which is what people are looking for given the content explosion.
InfoWorld: Is the portal evolving as something that can bridge these two worlds?
Zollar: Absolutely. The portal is really the place where contextual collaboration will happen first. It becomes an integration point for content management. With our portal offerings we can bring in different types of content management. It can be the delivery point for other applications, and it's highly customizable to the work environment. This notion of dynamic workplace that IBM is delivering really is this notion of how do you take all work-related activities that are associated with an individual employee and provision them with a set of portlets that are very job-specific and role-specific. Putting search in that kind of context, expertise location in that kind of context, content management in that context, is a very powerful integrating point.
InfoWorld: What do you have to say to developers' concerns that Domino and Notes have a difficult time being adopted by the business user?
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Applications Resource Alerts
Recommend This
