Collaboration Matters!

... I say "WTF?"

Doh!

Stuart

I suspect that it is a too little, too late reaction to the fact that Microsoft have repackaged and relaunched SBS with 3 flavours, Essential, Standard and Premium...the Essentials is now equal to the Lotus Foundations, but has too advantages:

1. The Microsoft Name

2. The Windows Server Operating System, which is needed for most other SMB software! (LF + Wine is far too complex for a non IT SMB).

The question is, how long the licenses will be available at the moment ;)

Reinstatement in the case of Foundations means only that support will be reinstated.

That is a completely normal license for companies, which forgot to renew in time.

There will be no all new Lotus Foundations Server.

Stop dreaming.

@Christian, the part numbers are being 'reinstated'. The list above includes net new, renewal, and reinstatement parts, which is the standard three for most IBM software.

I've seen IBM execs selling Foundations as a solution recently. My guess is that they really did try to change the Foundations business model, not kill the product, and discovered it is really hard to sell IBM Software outside the existing sales engine. Without a PPA number, most BPs just walk away.

So, they reinstate part numbers and fail to communicate this to their existing ("remaining") Foundations Partners? Another nice job of letting their so-called partners know what the heck is going on. I guess "communication" means different things to different people. If only there was a method to communicate to a lot of people with little effort or barriers, something like this new thing called "e-mail." But, we've seen this before from this particular group, when they announced EOL for the products. Back then, I believe, someone said that they botched the communication of that effort. Why should this be any different?

I'm sure IBM has made an announcement to alleviate all of this speculation/confusion. Right? They've handled Foundations beautifully in that regard. </sarcasm>

Until I can go and buy a Foundations box and order the software, this is useless. I want the box as it was originally designed so that I can sell it to my customers, walk in one day and install it and then walk away knowing it will work.

I know I won't. Just curious.

Burned once shame on them, burned twice shame on them, burned three times shame on me. I am not wasting any more time and money on this.

QED.

Whatever that means. IBM would have to be extremely nice with me, that I would ever trust them again ... and reimburse me for the money I spent on Foundations.

Even if they come back with a new solution, it will be the same old story. No marketing funds, no idea how to penetrate the SMB markte, not enough solutions running on it. They would fail again and again and again. Did you ever heard of the smart market? Nobody is talking about it and that is what became of Foundations. I think this is another failure. Why? No marketing funds ...

IBM could have done an amazing product. A kind of iPad like server. But that needs somebody with a vision.

And yes, I am still angry.

IBM does not need you or me and they probably don't even care if someone is angry or not. If IBM has a plan and it makes sense I would be interested. Now I doubt that this is going to happen but hell has already frozen over too.

Hi,

A message like this makes me crazy to be even more sleepless nights.

We have invested about 25000 € in the LF project

I would like to make IBM a bill, if it were not so hopeless :-)

I'm not just angry I am extremely angry