IBM to developers: Change is the only constant

    Wednesday, August 16, 2000


    IBM to developers: Change is the only constant
    eWeek Japan



    LAS VEGAS -- Developers need to start embracing the changes the next
    generation of computing is sparking or risk being left in the dust by their
    competition.

    That was the implicit message today as IBM executives laid out a road map
    of some of its strategies to the 4,000 attendees here at its Solutions 2000
    conference.

    Robert LeBlanc, vice president of strategy for IBM software, didn't mince
    words.

    "If you don't change, someone is going to change. Your competition will
    change and take business from you," LeBlanc said.

    Developers need to pick software that will help them "Internet-enable"
    their businesses without having to start from scratch, LeBlanc said, adding
    that integration is key in handling the data explosion borne from the Web.

    LeBlanc cited one customer who reported that 85 percent of its technical
    team is spent on integration and only 15 percent on creating new value for
    customers. If that trend doesn't reverse, it could mean trouble for that
    business' future success, he said.

    Echoing comments from yesterday's start of the show, LeBlanc again stressed
    the importance of open standards, and Linux in particular, going forward.
    The key is flexibility, he said.

    "What we're trying to do is provide you with an e-business platform to
    protect the assets you have and bring you forward," LeBlanc said.

    Instant messaging as 'game changer'

    John Patrick, IBM's vice president of Internet technology, said the
    challenges will be different in the next generation of the Internet, which
    he described as faster, more intelligent and always "on."

    "The bottlenecks are going to shift away from the last mile back to the
    server," Patrick said. "At IBM, we like this problem."

    But Patrick also envisions instant messaging as a key part of the
    next-generation Internet, as the technology moves from a social use to a
    business one.

    "This is a game changer for customer service," Patrick said, adding that
    IBM has 235,000 registered users of Lotus' Sametime instant messaging
    product.

    Lotus' new Raven knowledge management software will create a "knowledge
    window" that allows you to discover what other people in an organization
    know, Patrick said.

    "The bottom line is, are you going to accommodate the Internet while
    following your old business processes or are you going to embrace the
    Internet ... while accommodating your old ways of doing business?" Patrick
    asked.

    In other news today, IBM announced a strategic alliance with Kana
    Communications Inc., of Redwood City, Calif., to integrate Kana's
    enterprise-scale relationship management solutions with IBM's middleware,
    hardware and services, including the WebSphere application server.

    An IBM official said the three-year deal is expected to generate as much as
    $1 billion in revenue for the Armonk, N.Y., company. A Kana official
    declined to say how much the deal could mean for Kana in additional
    revenue. The integrated offering will first be available on the Netfinity
    platform with others to follow.

    In the works at Lotus

    On the Lotus front, Lotus CEO and President Al Zollar described a new
    market for products like Domino and Notes in what he calls "collaborative
    commerce." In a real-time survey of audience members using voting devices
    in the arena, 77 percent said their Web sites do not have live customer
    support. Zollar said live support is critical for future e-commerce.

    Zollar demonstrated a beta project on a B2B Web site called Fish.net that
    combines Lotus' Sametime and Domino collaboration with IBM's Websphere
    server. He also spoke of ways Lotus is using its collaborative software to
    speed up the learning curve for new technology and deliver "just-in-time
    training."

    "Our overall strategy at Lotus is to focus on the technology that can be
    turned into solutions by people like you to close the gap" between the rate
    of learning and the rate of technology, Zollar told the developers. "That
    starts with a very strong foundation of messaging and collaboration. It's
    more than just asynchronous messaging or e-mail."

    Developers should be mindful of collaboration needs if they want to be
    involved in the next wave of e-commerce, he said.

    "B2B is about more than point and click and buy," Zollar said. "It's really
    going to be about people working together, collaborating and bringing
    together the best know-how."

    He added, "If you're going to be spending $100,000, $500,000 or $1 million,
    it's naïve to believe that people are not going to collaborate, either
    within an organization or across a firewall."