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IBM Challenges Microsoft With an Ad Campaign
Rytis writes "IBM is about to spend $300 Million dollars on a campaign to win customers and to convert them from Microsoft Exchange to Lotus Notes and Domino under Linux. IBM is also said to offer resellers a bounty of $20,000 for switching customers to its Linux-based e-mail programs from Microsoft server software. It seems that the concurrence Microsoft Corp. is facing is getting tighter and tighter. The Penguin gets more and more support from the two biggest rivals that Microsoft have ever had."
Being a former Domino/Notes admin, I can honestly say that the system sucks. It's counter-intuitive, poorly documented, slow and overly complex.
Unless you have a killer-app that only runs under domino, I'd stay away from it.
Salesmen will push what they make the most money on, period.
We sold Apples to folks who wanted PCs cause we'd make $100 spiff on a Mac box but 5% of the profit off the sale with PCs. Considering stuff was sold at or near or sometimes under cost, it was flog the extended warranty, sell Macs or starve. Got good at selling Macs....
Our Dell rep came in with squishy toys wondering with his rah rah speech why we weren't selling all Dells, to which we said sorry pal, we make nothing off selling a Dell, show us the money and we'll flog as many as you can make.
This was lost on him, he was trying to sell Dell on its technical merits... what the hell did the other salespeople care, they knew nothing about computers, and their customers wanted the "Color TV" one where the "hard drive" lay flat so you could put the "TV" on it.
--- Jump!! Fire!! Bullet time!! - Lego version of the Matrix
The other thing to remember here is that Lotus Domino and the other IBM business offerings do run on Linux. So it is on an open platform. As much as I love Pine for e-mail, business users (especially management) is going to want something with more features. So while yes, you are using a proprietary solution, you're using one made by a company embracing open standards instead a proprietary solution on a proprietary platform produced by an almost exclusively proprietary company.
---- Move SIG...For great justice!
Sometimes I'm not sure what IBM is thinking. I don't "get" this campaign. IBM is spending $300M on a campaign to convince customers to switch from MS' propietary to their propietary message product? Wow!
Well duh. Who would've thought that a corporation would spend money to get people to use their product. And no, they probably aren't any more trustworthy. They are after all a large multinational trying to increase profits.
If the dollar is an "I owe you nothing", then the Euro is a "Who owes you nothing." - Doug Casey
As an aside, why do all groupware products suck? Groupwise sucks. Domino/Notes sucks. Exchange/Outlook sucks.
Maybe because software in and of itself has become a "necessary" part of business in industries that as recently as 10 years ago didn't have to rely on software.
Much of the chatter encouraged by such communication systems is just background noise and a lot of corporate activity is just busywork. For really important projects (I mean building a bridge, process plant or skyscraper) you don't want to rely on being able to reach one critical person via email or groupware. You use the phone for that.