The four big software vendors -- Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, and SAP -- have hidden motives that customers need to understand, otherwise they might be pushed into buying products and services that don't fit their needs.

That's the takeaway from a recent Gartner talk in Australia, reported by IT News.

. . . IBM wants to take over your IT strategy. IBM bills itself as a thought leader, but its real business is selling consulting services. To thrive, IBM account managers try to take control of a company's IT strategy so they can keep pushing new products. Gaughan recommends taking a collaborative or partner approach.

. . . Overall, Gaughan said that most of the innovation being done in these companies is in their research arms. Their real goal is protecting the status quo for as long as possible.

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FREE: All-In-One Notes/Domino Admin Tool Tue, May 22nd 2012 9:00p Gregg Eldred This technote contains an all-in-one Admin Tool that consists of a collection of tools that IBM Support provides in various technotes and wiki articles. These technotes usually require an Administrator to create agents to troubleshoot or workaround various issues. This goal of this tool is to eliminate those steps in favor of guided options to perform the required tasks. What do you get with the ZIP file? Among the list of ten tools, you get: Out of Office Diagnostic Tool which will assist you [read] Keywords: admin agent domino ibm lotusscript notes database office profile wiki

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Remembrance of Lotusphere Past (LS12): A Marathon, Not a Sprint Fri, Apr 13th 2012 1:20p Gregg Eldred Two reasons why Lotusphere is a marathon and not a sprint. Especially when you find yourself in the company of two blokes that are highly entertaining. You may even find that they are more entertaining than Boardwalk street performers. As a public service, here is my Pro Tip: These tickets are not welcome at ESPN Club. [read] Keywords: lotusphere

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Two Kick A$$ Tools (FREE) for Lotus Notes Clients Sat, Mar 17th 2012 11:00a Gregg Eldred Sadly, one of the few Open Mic sessions I've missed happened to be the one with the most awesome content. Back on 13 March, IBM hosted an Open Mic Webcast titled "Install Utilitles for Lotus Notes." It was my mistake not to read the abstract, as I was thinking "InstallShield Tuner" for some reason. This open mic, which you may reference here, did not cover InstallShield Tuner. No, it covered two amazing tools that you NEED to put in your toolbox. Let me explain. IBM introduced NICE, t [read] Keywords: ibm lotus notes notes client vm

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Foursquare Could Kill You Thu, Mar 15th 2012 11:10a Gregg Eldred Interesting alternative view of the geo-location services we civilians mostly take for granted, from checking in on foursquare to adding tags to our uploaded pictures. A deployed service member's situational awareness includes the world of social media. If a Soldier uploads a photo taken on his or her smartphone to Facebook, they could broadcast the exact location of their unit, said Steve Warren, deputy G2 for the Maneuver Center of Excellence, or MCoE. "Today, in pretty much every single [read] Keywords: facebook security

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Lotus: "Over The Top Technology" Thu, Mar 15th 2012 11:10a Gregg Eldred Legendary accounts of breakthroughs in technology tend to focus on operating systems, displays and new devices. But one of the most significant yet under-reported trends is for technology companies to try to 'leapfrog' each other with 'over-the-top' technologies. It is this trend that often defines the battle for supremacy in the technology industry. ... [IBM] spent over $4bn buying software firm Lotus because it wanted a small but crucial part of the business: Lotus Notes, with a reve [read] Keywords: ibm lotus notes interface microsoft

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Updated: Does IBM Lotus Notes Traveler support the BlackBerry PlayBook? Mon, Mar 5th 2012 7:01p Gregg Eldred There is now an updated TechNote concerning Lotus Traveler and the BlackBerry PlayBook. Question Does IBM Lotus Notes Traveler support the BlackBerry PlayBook? Answer At this time, IBM does not support the use of Lotus Notes Traveler on a BlackBerry PlayBook. PlayBook support is offered by RIM: 1) For Administrators, RIM has posted details about its support for the configuration in the BlackBerry Device Service Guide. 2) For end users, please reference the PlayBook Users Guide. IBM [read] Keywords: admin ibm lotus notes traveler blackberry rim

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Open Mic Webcast: What's the Latest with Notes Traveler? - 24 April 2012 Mon, Mar 5th 2012 6:44p Gregg Eldred Got Traveler? Mark your calendar for this webcast on 24 April. Abstract IBM will host an Open Mic webcast with Lotus Development and Support Engineers on 24 April 2012. The topic will be "What's the Latest with Notes Traveler? ." Content Date: 24 April 2012 Time: 11:00 AM EDT (15:00 UTC, or GMT -4), for 60 minutes To ask a question in advance, add a response document to this forum post. More information, including the ICS which you can use to add the webcast to your calendar, call- [read] Keywords: ibm ldd lotus notes traveler development