The EBSG Blog

Redefining the Role of the IBM-Lotus Value Added Reseller [VAR]

When I completed the relocation of my business from the UK to the USA in the summer of 2008 the US economic recession was really beginning to bite and as the "new kid on the block" I took some time out to speak with my industry colleagues "on this side of the pond" to try and figure out how best to establish a foothold here in the USA.

What very quickly became clear to me was that despite the fact that the USA is by far the largest single market for IBM-Lotus products and services on the planet, far too many within the US Notes-Domino Business Partner Community were really struggling to survive and many were either contemplating - or were already actively seeking - a future away from the IBM-Lotus technology set.

I have to admit. That really surprized me at a time when all that I could see was "a land of opportunity".

And then, I had what I regard as my first true business epiphany.

I had not only started my company, but had grown it successfully, within the far smaller and less buoyant business environment of the UK. Over there, especially since the turn of the century, you have to really fight for every single win, large and small. It occurred to me that serving my "business apprenticeship" over there meant that I was already completely acclimatized to the economic and market conditions that much of the US IBM-Lotus Business Partner community seemed to be experiencing for the very first time.

Indeed, it seemed to me that much of the US IBM-Lotus Business Partner community had actually either forgotten how - or had never had to learn how - to stand on their own two feet and actually sell their products and services in a competitive market without any real marketing assistance from IBM.

Well, I've always been a "glass half full" kinda guy so I decided to take advantage of the general malaise within the US Business Partner community and complement my own range of packaged Notes-Domino solutions with other best-of-breed, Notes-Domino packaged solutions from around the world and thereby broaden the overall solution portfolio that I could offer potential clients here in the US while the rest of the US IBM-Lotus Business Partner community "slept".

And guess what? There is still a buoyant market for IBM-Lotus packaged solutions, tools and utilities here in the USA ... if you're prepared to get out and actually SELL.

Today, the revenue we generate from the resale of best-of-breed products from "other" vendors by far outstrips the revenue that we generate from our own-brand solutions. Now that is due in part to the relative size of our Partner Product Portfolio when compared to our own-brand Smart Software Portfolio for sure but having one foot in the Independent Software Vendor [ISV] camp and one foot in the Value Added Reseller [VAR] camp has given us invaluable insight into how to genuinely optimize revenue generation as a Value Added Reseller.

I'm not going to give away any of our "secrets" wrt how we are actually redefining the role of the IBM-Lotus VAR here in this post but will say that the we have proven conclusively to ourselves within the last three years that there is still a healthy market for genuinely best-of-breed, IBM-Lotus packaged solutions, tools and utilities. Indeed, our methodology has been so successful that we recently embarked upon the process of scaling up the model that we first established here in the US to embrace the sponsorship of a truly global network of ISV's, VAR's and IBM-Lotus Technologists capable of delivering the broadest possible range of solutions and services for the IBM-Lotus technology set, from a single source, anywhere in the world outside of IBM.

And what's the glue that holds it all together? Well, the technology itself of course, but just as importantly, good old fashioned solution sales & marketing expertise!!!

So. Here's The Deal re. Lotusphere 2012

I was trying to button down our plans for Lotusphere 2012 recently, which for the first time in a long time doesn't clash with the Superbowl, when I happened to glance through the T's & C's associated with being an exhibitor at the Product Showcase and came across IBM's "one pedestal, one vendor" rule right there at the top of the list [well, the second clause actually].

Now, don't get me wrong, I understand why that rule's in place. IBM want to "encourage" more BP's to invest in there own pedestal within the Product Showcase rather than allowing them to share one with another BP or ISV and thereby save a bit on the cost of attending the show. IBM obviously regard that as being a lost revenue opportunity if they were to allow that.

Personally, I believe that's just another example of some seriously flawed thinking on IBM's behalf.

Like many of you out there I have been attending Lotusphere [on and off] for nearly 15 years now and during the course of that time period I have seen attendances at the event first develop, then mature and then begin to decline.

I have no idea how well attended the event will be this year and how the overall attendance in 2012 will compare to the attendance figures of 2011, but what I am absolutely certain of is that attendance in 2012 will be significantly down from where it stood at the height of "Lotus-Mania".

So why isn't IBM doing something to genuinely encourage rather than restrict support from its Business Partner community? Especially it's international, ie. non US-based, business partners and ISV's.

I spoke with my current "Vendor Partners" and established that the average cost of attending Lotusphere last year for a European Business Partner came out at around $20,000.00 when all things were taken into consideration.

Nice if you can afford it. But too few can!!!

Come on IBM. Time to re-think your approach and give your Business Partners more incentive to support the event or the writing may start to appear on the wall.

 

All The Way From "What Is Lotus Notes?" To "Is Lotus Notes Dying?"

As an IBM Business Partner, I have been involved with the "IBM-Lotus" technology set for almost 15 years now and have seen the market interest in, perception of and demand for the Lotus brand in general and "Lotus Notes" in particular, change significantly during that time.

Back in the early to mid 90's when Lotus Notes was the "Hot New Technology" everyone seemed to want to learn about and get involved with it. I would spend a large part of my day simply answering the question "What Is Lotus Notes?" before signing up another happy customer.

Well, as it is with almost everything new in the techworld, those heady days of "Notes-mania" and stellar year-on-year growth in Lotus Notes license sales are long since gone. The size of the global Notes user base has followed the classic "product lifecycle curve" and now that we are well into the "maturity" phase - and some might even say, into it's "decline" - the user base is shrinking as competitors start to target what they obviously see as "low hanging fruit".

Today, I'm far more likely to spend my time answering "Why should we continue to use Lotus Notes?" or "Isn't Lotus Notes Dying?" rather than "What is Lotus Notes?".

For many, IBM still has not or will not answer either of the first two questions with a sufficient degree of clarity and its apparent lack of product promotion wrt Lotus Notes simply doesn't stimulate the asking of the third.

So, from a completely non-technical, common sense business perspective, here's what I say to my customers when they pose each of the above questions.

Why should we continue to use Lotus Notes? - i.) Because you already have it and it will cost you significantly more than you are being told to replace it completely, ii) Because it's a waste of money ripping and replacing something that works with just a different "flavor" of the same old thing. Let's face it, email is email!!!, iii) Because your IT people and all your highly paid "external advisors" are going to be pushing you to implement a "social business strategy" over the next 5 years, and of course that will require - according to them - investment in new social business technology and solutions etc .... But hey; Guess What You Already have in Lotus Notes???

Isn't Lotus Notes Dying? - Any product that has been around as long and that has been as widely deployed Lotus Notes is going to eventually see some decline in its user base when some migrate either to the latest and greatest "new thing" or simply to where they see the grass as being greener. Don't let ignorance of the facts cloud your perception!!! Lotus Notes continues to evolve at a rapid pace under IBM's governance and is a completely different product today from the one that you may remember and may even have discounted less than 3 years ago. Lotus Notes as you remember it is probably already dead but IBM's email, messaging and social business technology set is alive and well, indeed it is arguably leading the field.

What is Lotus Notes? [Today] - Today, Lotus Notes is simply the email client component of the IBM-Lotus Suite of Social Business & Collaboration software rather than being the name given to the entire collaboration suite as was originally the case. Fnd let's not forget that despite all it's apparent "haters" out there, Lotus Notes is still one of the most successful and most widely deployed email programs in the world today. It can still be found in ongoing operational use within many of the largest and most successful organizations in the world. It works. It is completely proven and everything else is just either spin, politics or blind personal preference.

However, of far greater significance than the specific email client that you use is the fact that Lotus Notes mail users - by definition - already have a significant portion of the server-end technology that they will require - and could elect to use - to transform their businesses into truly 21st Century Social Businesses. So. To all the non-IT CXO's out there. What's the bottom line?

Quite simply it's this. Be very sceptical when someone tells you that Lotus Notes is dying because that statement will typically be followed swiftly by a call to invest in something new and exciting [and expensive] .... possibly even completely unproven .... and doesn't do half as much as what you already have!!! Great idea ...huh.