Phase 2 Announces Lotus Notes Files and Profiles Entitlement Hosting
Wed, Dec 28th 2011 12:11p Tom Simmons As I mentioned in a previous post, with your Notes and Domino licenses, you are entitled to receive IBM Connections Files and Profiles for all of your current users at no additional charge. I started talking to our customers about this entitlement last month and I kept getting the same feedback. Customers are excited about the new entitlement, but they are not sure how to deploy and support the Connections environment.
For those of you that are not familiar with IBM Connections, it is a Java [read] Keywords: connections
domino
ibm
lotus
notes
application
java
server
websphere
158
Project Management Tool Added to LotusLive
Thu, Dec 15th 2011 10:10a Tom Simmons There has been a lot of news recently in the Lotus brand. There have been updates to the LotusLive offering with the addition of ProjExec, over the wire mailbox transfers, and updated Files functionality.
For this Blog, we are going to focus on the ProjExec news. This is exciting because we have used ProjExec in the past to work with our clients.
For those of you not familiar with ProjExec, it is a social Project Management tool built by the Trilog Group, a long time Lotus partner.
Last year [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
facebook
106
Webcast: How to Deploy and Use IBM Connections Files and Profiles – Dec 6 @1PM ET
Fri, Dec 2nd 2011 4:10p Tom Simmons The word is taking some time to get out. With your Notes and Domino licenses, you are entitled to receive IBM Connections Files and Profiles for all of your current users at no additional charge.
Join this webcast to learn how to get started with these new tools as you journey with your team to become a more collaborative Social Business. View today’s IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.3 demo to find out how easy it is to stay productive and connected without leaving your inbox. This demo will show you [read] Keywords: connections
domino
ibm
lotus
notes
social software
Transform Your Business with Social Business in the Cloud Webinar, November 1, 2011
Thu, Oct 27th 2011 2:12p Tom Simmons IBM announces Social Business Webinar for November 1, 2011 @ 2PM ET.
See how Russell’s Convenience and Newly Weds Foods are putting social to work
The era of social collaboration is here. Across industries, business leaders are driving initiatives that strategically integrate social collaboration tools with business processes. Being a social business means that you embrace technology to enhance relationships between employees, customers, and partners – and as a result, things can ge [read] Keywords: collaboration
ibm
consulting
soa
Lotusphere is Coming
Fri, Oct 21st 2011 12:10p Tom Simmons For some reason, I have not heard too much about Lotusphere 2012. It is into October, and I usually start seeing more information going out. For 2012, Lotusphere is planned for January 15-20. This is IBM’s premier Collaboration, Social Business, and Portal event of the year.
This year, I am sure there will be a huge focus on mobility, social business, and cloud. We hear at least two of these topics with almost every customer. I am also seeing many more RFIs and RFPs requesting Cl [read] Keywords: collaboration
connections
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
email
websphere
websphere portal
110
Socialize Me – Leverage the IBM Connections Entitlements with Lotus Notes 8.5.3
Mon, Oct 10th 2011 6:12p Tom Simmons It was a pleasant surprise to see that IBM is including certain services from IBM Connections with the Lotus Notes 8.5.3 release. This is a very important development. These services by themselves would be more than a company is likely to pay for the Lotus Notes CAL renewal.
This is not to minimize the great services that you do get. Lotus Notes 8.5.3 entitles users to free use of IBM Connections micro-blogging, profiles, and file sharing. Most clients have Lotus Notes licenses for the e [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
lotus
notes
blogging
development
network
Lotus Announces the IBM XWork Server
Mon, Oct 3rd 2011 12:11a Tom Simmons IBM will announce a new server on October 3 – the IBM XWork Server. Listening to its partners and Lotus Champions, the purpose of this server is to reignite the software vendor channel. This is great news to partners, and customers alike.
I have come across several opportunities where Lotus partners have great Domino-based applications, but the cost of the Utility server is prohibitive. This new server gets away from the PVU, and per user model, and moves to a per install basis. Th [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
lotus
xpages application
applications
mobile
server
66
WebRadar 3 Webinar: Make Your IBM Web Content Manager More Powerful
Sun, Sep 11th 2011 6:10p Tom Simmons Our friends over at Ephox are hosting a webinar titled, “The New Road to Content Reporting and Analytics” on September 13th at 10AM PDT. During the webinar, Ephox will show you how to make your implementation of IBM Web Content Manager more powerful with WebRadar version 3. In addition to showing you WebRadar’s newest features, you will learn how to save your organization thousands of work hours by automating processes like the ones below – which previously required ma [read] Keywords: ibm
email
Register Now for the Social Learning @IBM Webinar
Wed, Aug 17th 2011 9:10p Tom Simmons IBM is hosting a webinar focused on social learning. Come and listen to the IBM HR panel 8/18 @ 1pm ET discuss how IBM is engaged in social learning.
Click here to register. [read] Keywords: ibm
46
Think About Your Audience – Kill Your Darlings
Fri, Aug 5th 2011 11:11a Tom Simmons From time to time I come across an article that really resonates with me. This one hit close to home after being a guest at an IBM Conference in Dallas. Many of the presentations were good, especially from Louis Richardson. He is one of the most compelling speakers I have heard, inside IBM or out.
Many others though were just too long and contained too much information. Some presentations had a slide with 10-15 bullet points. The audience didn’t need a brain dump of everything th [read] Keywords: ibm
61
Lotus Greenhouse XPages on Mobile Webcast 12:00 PM EDT, Aug 11th
Thu, Aug 4th 2011 10:09a Tom Simmons Audio Web Conference Information
1. Go to the URL – http://www.lotuslive.com/join?schedid=3336625
2. Enter your name and email address
3. Click the ‘Log In’ button
USA – 888-324-3618
Passcode: XPages
Location of Files and Playback
*Presentation will be posted day of webcast and Playback recording will be posted shortly after the webcast. These files can be located
here: https://greenhouse.lotus.com/lotus/myquickr/lotus-greenhouse-webcast/library
Questions or information [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
xpages email
mobile
Lotus Technical Skills Workshop – Developing applications and delivering services
Mon, Jun 13th 2011 11:11a Tom Simmons Technical skills workshops. covering current Lotus offerings, are continually updated and available to Business Partners and IBMers at not cost. Workshops are delivered in 3 different formats, all with the same technical information. Virtual workshops are scheduled, led by a live remote instructor and provide access to active servers for labs. Self-paced workshops enable the down load of presentations and also use operational servers for labs. The Virtual Innovation Center (VIC) provides a guide [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
quickr
applications
46
Lotus Traveler – Check out the new features
Thu, Jun 9th 2011 11:09a Tom Simmons I listened in on the Lotus Notes Traveler Mobile strategy and solutions Greenhouse call today. It is worth listening to, with improvements in security, automatic device updates, multiple user device support, data roaming detection, and much more.
The replay should be available later in the day on June 9. To see this, or past webinars, click here. [read] Keywords: lotus
notes
roaming
traveler
mobile
security
72
The Exceptional Web Experience – Make Your Customers Wait
Wed, May 18th 2011 4:11p Tom Simmons I was reading through an article in the Harvard Business Review that really caught my attention. The title is “Think Customers Hate Waiting? Not so Fast…”
The article points out that showing people what is taking so long gets better results vs. just showing a generic status bar. That is to be expected. The surprise came in an experiment where users booked the same trip through two different sites and received identical results. One site delivered the results instantly [read] Keywords:
93
Catch the Lotus Greenhouse Audio Webcasts
Mon, May 16th 2011 2:09p Tom Simmons If you are curious about what is going on in the IBM/Lotus community, a great way to catch up is with the Lotus Greenhouse webcasts.
Included below are the links to the next 3 webinars.
May 19th – What’s new in IBM Connections versions 3.0 & 3.0.1
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=IBM+Connections+Webcast&iso=20110519T12&p1=43&ah=1
May 26th – Sametime Mobile strategy and solutions
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=S [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
lotus
notes
sametime
traveler
community
mobile
36
Have You Registered for One of the IBM Get Social Roadshows?
Mon, Apr 25th 2011 11:10a Tom Simmons The IBM Get Social Roadshows (formerly Lotusphere Comes to You) are currently underway. There are almost 30 planned for the US alone, with more being added each week. To see the US list, click here. For my friends across the pond, click here.
I pulled out the Agenda for the Santa Clara event planned for April 28 to provide an example of what is covered at the Roadshows.
Agenda:
Keynote: Get Social. Do Business.
Exceptional Web Experience: Gain, Retain and Delight Customers, Improve Brand L [read] Keywords: collaboration
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
email
mobile
security
IBM & Lotus Bring Virtual Desktop Solution to Market
Mon, Mar 28th 2011 8:12p Tom Simmons Early this year, IBM announced a new solution targeting the midmarket space. It is called IBM Virtual Desktop for Smart Business. For such a good solution in a hot trend, the marketing from IBM has been poor.
Virtual Desktop for Smart Business, including Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment (VERDE) from Virtual Bridges – provides an end-to-end desktop management solution combining virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), integrated offline VDI (for disconnected and mobile use), a [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
desktop
enterprise
mobile
71
IBM Lotus Domino 8.5 System Administration Bootcamp, Denver, CO Apr 18-22
Mon, Mar 14th 2011 11:16a Tom Simmons Integro will be hosting the IBM Lotus Domino 8.5 System Administration Bootcamp in Denver from April 18-22.
Course Description
In this course, you will:
Be introduced to basic concepts that provide the foundation for Lotus Domino and Lotus Notes
Practice performing basic administration tasks using the Lotus Domino Administrator client
Install and configure a basic infrastructure with a single domain using an existing deployment plan
Set up replication and mail routing in the single-domain e [read] Keywords: administration
domino
ibm
lotus
notes
server
72
Lotus Connections 3.0 Available at Phase 2 as SaaS
Thu, Mar 3rd 2011 8:14p Tom Simmons The team at Phase 2 International gave me an opportunity to test their internal Lotus Connections 3.0 environment. For those of you that are not familiar with Phase 2, they are an IBM Business Partner that provides Connections, Notes, and Quickr in a true SaaS model. You are not required to sign up for an annual contract. You pay for the number of users you have each month. You pay more as you add users, and you pay less if you drop users.
Anyway, Phase 2 gave me a test account for the [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
lotus
notes
quickr
facebook
twitter
42
Find Out When Your IBM Software Reaches End of Support
Tue, Mar 1st 2011 9:17a Tom Simmons Thank you to Craig Pessman for this bit of information. A common question I get is, “When does support run out on Notes 6.5?”
Well, there is a good web site that I think you might want to bookmark for future reference that will help with end dates. It is
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/support/lifecycle/
On the site you will notice the there several links to additional information.
The product name link will take you to a summary page. You will also see the General Availability d [read] Keywords: ibm
notes
57
Great Demo of Lotus Connections 3.0
Thu, Feb 24th 2011 12:09p Tom Simmons I have been waiting for a good YouTube demo of Lotus Connections. Finally, I have seen one. I never care for background music, but the topic, content, and visuals are good in this video.
Lotus Connections 3.0 has been out long enough to give it a go. I recommend waiting a few months before going to production with the latest version, and did so with this. The bugs have been worked out by the first movers. [read] Keywords: connections
lotus
71
Looking For An iPhone Signature Creator?
Tue, Feb 8th 2011 8:14a Tom Simmons I came across a little App for the iPhone this morning that allows you to create a more unique signature for your iPhone email. It comes from a company called CoolGeex. It allows you to create an HTML signature that can be attached to your email.
I was a little tired of my signature simply saying, “Sent from my iPhone”. With this app, I can now send an email with all my relevant contact information.
It is very easy to setup and add to my Home Page on the iPhone.
One issue I have [read] Keywords: email
iphone
62
Uncovered Gem at Lotusphere – SwiftFile for IBM Lotus Notes
Sat, Feb 5th 2011 8:36a Tom Simmons During Chris Crummey’s demonstration at Lotusphere, he showed a great little add-on to Notes called SwiftFile……and it is free. Apparently this little gem has been around for several years, but I never knew about it. I use the folders in Notes all the time and this tool allows a single click to manage my inbox. When you have the message open, you will see a list of suggested folders along the top of the screen. Just click on one of the choices and your message is in the [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
lotusphere
notes
notes client
36
Lotusphere 2011 Review – Opening Session
Fri, Feb 4th 2011 11:13a Tom Simmons For those of you that saw my tweets, you already have an idea of my opinion. For those that have not, here it is.
The opening session was disappointing. Kevin Spacey opened as the keynote speaker and did an excellent job. He discussed how he has used the Internet to collaborate since the early 2000s. As he became more famous, he had to devise a way to get access to the best materials out there by unknown writers. To do this, he created http://www.triggerstreet.com For all you writers [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
lotusphere
notes
35
This Week in Lotus 035 – Sales and Evangelism at Lotus – The Vice President’s View (with Sandy Carter)
Mon, Jan 24th 2011 2:18p Tom Simmons For those of you that have not heard, Sandy Carter was named Vice President, IBM Social Business, Collaboration, and Lotus Sales and Evangelism. Sandy moved from a Channel Sales role at IBM.
If you have not listened to the “This Week in Lotus” discussions, they are an insightful view into Lotus.
Episode 35, recorded Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st January 2011, discussing Sandy’s new Sales and Evangelism VP roles, plans for 2011, her involvement in Lotusphere and more. The [read] Keywords: collaboration
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
44
This Week in Lotus 035 – Sales and Evangelism at Lotus – The Vice President’s View (with Sandy Carter)
Mon, Jan 24th 2011 1:18p Tom Simmons For those of you that have not heard, Sandy Carter was named Vice President, IBM Social Business, Collaboration, and Lotus Sales and Evangelism. Sandy moved from a Channel Sales role at IBM.
If you have not listened to the “This Week in Lotus” discussions, they are an insightful view into Lotus.
Episode 35, recorded Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st January 2011, discussing Sandy’s new Sales and Evangelism VP roles, plans for 2011, her involvement in Lotusphere and more. The [read] Keywords: collaboration
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
54
This Week in Lotus 035 – Sales and Evangelism at Lotus – The Vice President’s View (with Sandy Carter)
Mon, Jan 24th 2011 12:16p Tom Simmons For those of you that have not heard, Sandy Carter was named Vice President, IBM Social Business, Collaboration, and Lotus Sales and Evangelism. Sandy moved from a Channel Sales role at IBM.
If you have not listened to the “This Week in Lotus” discussions, they are an insightful view into Lotus.
Episode 35, recorded Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st January 2011, discussing Sandy’s new Sales and Evangelism VP roles, plans for 2011, her involvement in Lotusphere and more. The [read] Keywords: collaboration
ibm
lotus
lotusphere
Very Good Blog on Embracing Social Business
Thu, Dec 30th 2010 1:16p Tom Simmons I came across this blog today as I was wondering the Internet. It presents some good arguments for adopting social media in business.
http://tinyurl.com/26c9owm [read] Keywords:
50
A Nod to Small Midsize Businesses – Clustering in Domino Collaboration Express
Mon, Dec 6th 2010 4:14a Tom Simmons The Lotus team has announced a change that I am happy to hear.
Effective January 1, 2011, IBM will be adding entitlement to use Lotus Domino clustering for all then-current Domino Collaboration Express customers (on active service/subscription contracts or new licenses purchased subsequent to 1/1/11). The formal channel announcement for the entitlement will come next week, with the updated license agreement coming in Domino 8.5.3.
For the most part, the difference between Standard and Express [read] Keywords: collaboration
domino
ibm
lotus
42
Get In-Depth Training on Tasica Workflow 3.4 at the Lotus Forms with Workflow POT 12/9
Wed, Nov 24th 2010 12:14p Tom Simmons Alphalogix is hosting an IBM Lotus Forms with Workflow Proof of Technology providing a technical overview of the new Lotus Forms with Workflow with a “built-in” workflow engine and design tool powered by Tasica Workflow from Alphalogix.
Attendees of all skill levels will be able to learn from the developers and understand how to leverage IBM Lotus Forms with Workflow to create robust workflow applications with absolutley no coding, reducing time to value and IT bottlenecks. Learn how [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
applications
integration
Alphalogix Inks Software OEM Agreement with IBM for No Code Electronic Form and Workflow Offering
Thu, Nov 11th 2010 11:17p Tom Simmons Lotus Forms by itself had one weakness, and that was a way to route a form through a workflow process. I heard all the answers before, you could attach it to an email, create a Java applet, and a few others. Well, that is no longer the case. Alphalogix and and IBM have teamed up to add a drag and drop workflow solution to the Lotus Forms environment.
I had the chance to sit through one of the training classes about a month ago. I came away very impressed. We have sold Lotus Forms toget [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
email
java
server
35
Webcast for IBM Lotus Quickr for Domino 8.5 – November 11, 2010
Thu, Nov 4th 2010 4:27p Tom Simmons Details: Mustansir (Miki) Banatwala the Chief programmer of IBM Lotus Quickr for Domino will be presenting Quickr Domino 8.5 on Lotus Greenhouse.
Date: Nov 11, 2010
Time: 12:00 PM Eastern
Dial-in Information (USA)
800-593-7204
1-312-470-7215
Passcode: IBM LOTUS
Web Conference Information
1. Go to the URL – http://www.lotuslive.com/join?schedid=3336625
2. Enter your name and email address
3. Click the ‘Log In’ button [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
lotus
quickr
email
32
Alacrinet Announces San Diego Event @ Torrey Pines, Nov 18
Sat, Oct 30th 2010 3:27a Tom Simmons The IBM and Alacrinet teams would like to cordially invite you to a special event at Trump National Golf Club. We hope you can join us for a round of golf and learn how various organizations are leveraging web portal technologies, social networking, and business intelligence to empower employees, reduce costs and provide exceptional service to your customers. We can help build a Smarter Planet.
Today’s work environment is characterized by pressure to do more with less. Successful organizatio [read] Keywords: ibm
networking
121
Lotus Connections embedded with Cognos 10
Mon, Oct 25th 2010 8:27p Tom Simmons Cognos 10 was announced with a little surprise. Lotus Connections will be embedded with Cognos 10. The social component of Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management (PM) solutions were missing. Within Cognos, you were able to analyze vast amounts of information, but the ability to share it was missing. Presence awareness was difficult, if not impossible.
To read more about the announcement, click here. [read] Keywords: connections
lotus
45
Lotus Symphony Version 3 is Now Available
Fri, Oct 22nd 2010 3:31a Tom Simmons IBM announced a new release of Lotus Symphony. For those of you that may not know, this is the FREE office productivity solution from IBM. This version is based on the current OpenOffice.org 3 codebase and has many new and enhanced features.
My concern with previous release of Symphony was the speed. It was frustrating to open large files, or save them. My initial tests showed a significant improvement.
I am looking forward to giving Symphony another try. I have been using it because I [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
notes
odf
symphony
database
mac
microsoft
office
ooxml
openoffice
password
properties
vista
30
Webcast: IBM Lotus Quickr for WebSphere Portal – Oct 21, 2010
Mon, Oct 18th 2010 3:30a Tom Simmons Details: Quickr 8.5 is a major update to Lotus Quickr, services for WebSphere Portal. End users benefit from deeper integration with Lotus Connections, including the the overall navigation, look and feel, and business card. The greatly improved member management, role management, and other improvements throughout simplify place administration and make it easier for end users to navigate their places. New ECM integration, allowing direct manipulation of ECM content from a new ECM component will e [read] Keywords: administration
connections
ibm
lotus
quickr
email
integration
server
websphere
websphere portal
29
Social Media Governance Templates
Thu, Sep 30th 2010 3:30p Tom Simmons When we are engaged in a Lotus Connections opportunity, the question usually comes up about guidelines for social software use. luckily, I happened to be at a small conference yesterday and the presenter mentioned that he had recently posted information about a site that has links to over 150 company templates. The companies come from all industries. It includes guidelines from IBM, the BBC, Telstra, Best Buy, the Cleveland Clinic, DePaul University, as well as many others.
This site is a [read] Keywords: connections
ibm
lotus
linkedin
social software
53
Announcement: IBM Lotus Forms Server 3.5.1 with Workflow
Tue, Sep 28th 2010 10:32a Tom Simmons IBM announced IBM Lotus Forms 3.5.1 including workflow runtime and tooling. This isn’t the flashiest announcement, but well worth following.
A common issue with Lotus Forms was the lack of a workflow tool to compliment the eForms solution. When we spoke to customers, it seemed as though we were cobbling together a solution to meet the customer’s needs. We would state that Lotus Forms works with multiple workflow and content management tools. Now, we can go to our customers wi [read] Keywords: ibm
lotus
email
portlet
server
web 2.0
websphere
websphere portal
35
Webinar: Orchestrate Digital Initiatives to Better the Customer Experience
Mon, Sep 13th 2010 3:28a Tom Simmons An increasing share of a business’ customer interactions take place on-line, and in response, businesses are shifting investments to digital venues. But these efforts do not always result in a compelling customer experience. How does a business supercharge its digital strategy and deliver a great experience to their clients? Attend this webinar and gain new insights on how to pursue an integrated digital approach around the client, make client intelligence the backbone of decision-making, [read] Keywords: ibm
28
Announcement: Lotus Developer Summit – A Premier Technical Workshop
Tue, Sep 7th 2010 12:27p Tom Simmons IBM Lotus technical workshops can help you and your customers (who might be developers) take advantage of the latest application development technologies. It is designed to help technical customers gain greater insight on building collaborative Web applications and will provide access to a range of developer focused materials. The workshops will feature technical presentations on our offerings and strategy, lab materials with step-by-step tutorials and example code and projects that help f [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
lotus
notes
notes client
xpages application
applications
development
eclipse
52
Little Rock Company Extends Lotus Notes to Mobile Devices
Thu, Sep 2nd 2010 3:31a Tom Simmons I had a chance to read a couple of stories about VCC, a retail construction company based out of Little Rock, Arkansas. The articles were of interest for a couple reasons. 1) Lotus does a poor job of advertising its success stories for its customers and partners and 2) more and more companies are looking into mobile applications. Few of the Lotus customers I talk to know that you can extend Domino applications to mobile devices.
Little Rock, Ark.-based VCC deployed an application called Mo [read] Keywords: domino
ibm
lotus
notes
application
applications
blackberry
mobile
34
Integro Training: Lotus Domino Updates
Wed, Aug 25th 2010 1:30p Tom Simmons Fundamentals of IBM® Lotus® Domino® 8.5 Application Development (Integro Rate – $2940/student)
September 27 – October 1, December 6-10 in Denver (Englewood), CO
Creating a XPage Application in IBM Lotus Domino 8.5.x (Integro Rate – $1764/student)
September 21-23, November 16-18 in Denver (Englewood), CO
IBM Lotus Domino 8.5 System Administration Bootcamp (Integro Rate – $2940/student)
October 25-29, December 13-17 in Denver (Englewood), CO
IBM Lotus Notes Domino 8.5 : [read] Keywords: administration
domino
ibm
lotus
notes
application
applications
development
Keeping the People – You Need Engaged Employees Now More than Ever
Wed, Aug 11th 2010 4:27p Tom Simmons In 2007, I had the privilege of listening to Mr. Leigh Branham speak at an IBM – Cisco event in Denver. The topic was Generational Diversity and the new tools that employers should leverage to attract and retain the best employees. It was the first time I had seen this now popular topic discussed. To this day, I still reference Mr. Branham’s presentation.
Mr. Branham publishes a free quarterly newsletter on the latest ideas and practices that keep employees engaged. You can s [read] Keywords: ibm
notes
