Thursday, July 12, 2018

Dear CXO, Can We Talk about IBM Domino 10?

Executive Summary (TL:DR Synopsis): You may, or may not, have heard about a 30 year old platform still managing applications and workflows inside the Fortune 100. Would you believe it comes from IBM, not that other blue company that still maintains a legacy 27+ year old office platform? If you have yet to bridge the Internet with your Enterprise, which is where the business benefits can be found, then you owe it to yourself to go listen to your IBM representatives.

Good Morning Sir or Madam CXO,

Once upon a time almost every company used a piece of software that was all encompassing so people who never knew what coding meant, were coding applications that revolutionized their business lines because they had all the pieces they needed right in front of them. 

Yet there is a need within every organization, including your own, where someone says, why can't we do X or how could we do X better?  And the person saying it is not a developer but one of your direct reports, or one of their reports far down on the chart. In some cases that idea reaches an internal business analyst and they may, or may not, know how to solve this or which platform to use for it. There may not be any thought given to how it will integrate to your existing applications, CRM or finance package. Suddenly the simple application becomes a massive project and gets shelved before even starting. It also may have become the project from hell that your predecessor was promised.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

IBM has embraced and extended their core collaboration software package, the venerable IBM Domino application which helped your parents be successful, and is still here to help you as well.

Other vendors will tell you they have a new solution, maybe they do, maybe they don't. 

Another blue logo company may tell you they have solved all the issues in their now legacy 17 year old application, but we know you are smarter than their little charade. 

The alphabet soup kids will promise a lot but so far their collaboration efforts are 0 for 2(G+, Wave) and their Enterprise experience is not up to your level of intricacy.

However, IBM understands your world, in many cases, they built your company for you, and is now putting all of that knowledge into their flagship product. If what's old is new again, then now is the time to revisit a product that provides:

  • Applications that seamlessly interact with the Internet, but maintain your privacy and security while enhancing your productivity. 
    • Sales people on the road that can visualize and pull their data overlaying a map to know who they can go see in their area.
  • Workflows that interact between your CRM, your payroll and finance departments and your HR.
    •  There is nothing worse than on boarding staff and telling them to go to 5 departments instead of one workflow app which provides most of what they need automatically.
  • Write once code that runs offline, online, via a desktop client or a browser, tablet or phone.
    • Reduces development time to days or weeks instead of months and gets apps in staff hands faster.
  • More sales leads. Just kidding, it can't do everything for you. 
    • However, it can automate your sales funnels, marketing efforts and help on the road sales teams engage in more clients than you do today. (Some assembly required, email me for details)
  • Better meaning for your data.
    • IBM Watson integration awaits with all your AI needs now easily accessible to anyone, anywhere you need it. Ask the right questions, or the wrong ones, your data will provide you insights.
  • A solution that grows with you.
    • If size matters, don't worry, you have a long way before you max out the systems, IBM leverages it inside for 300,000+ people worldwide 24x7x365. 

What holds you back from sneaking a peek at the imminently available IBM Domino 10? It is in beta now, over here and if you are lucky, you will be allowed access.

You can be a part of the new revolution, if you are ready, and willing, to work on your future, not repaint your past.