Open Sources | Rodrigues & Urlocker » IBM makes kid software for grownups

January 23, 2007 | Comments: (0)

IBM makes kid software for grownups

TAGS: Random

I'm being facetious, of course, but it is funny to me to see IBM pushing the corporate envelope with stuff that teens and twenty-somethings are most prone to use. In this case, IBM just announced (simultaneously in Second Life, of course :-) a social networking package (based on Lotus...which probably means that no net new customers will use it) called Connections allows corporations to come together through blogs and online communities.

Here's what's included:

The IBM package includes five applications: profiles, where employees post information about their expertise and interests; communities, which are formed and managed by people with common interests; activities, which are used to manage group projects; bookmarks, where people share documents and Web sites with others; and blogs, where people post ongoing commentaries. "The business market is showing a lot of interest in using social networking tools to improve productivity. It's about helping people find experts and the information they need to get their jobs done," says Steve Mills, the general manager of the software group at IBM (IBM). The commercial version of the package is to be delivered in the second quarter.

Pretty interesting, actually. The only thing not interesting about it (at all, in my view) is the technology upon which it's based: Lotus. Domino. Etc.

If you've ever used Lotus Notes, you'll understand what I'm talking about. It's as old and creaky as IBM. The only thing worse is GroupWise (which is now new and creaky). But more importantly, it's proprietary and heavy - not the sort of thing that will ever garner a community of third-party add-ons. But then, this is Big Blue, and it's probably not looking for anyone else to contribute to the Connections community.

This is unfortunate, because I don't think Yet Another Proprietary Product is what we need to solve the corporate collaboration problem. Sharepoint gets pretty far down that path, and IBM isn't going to one-up Sharepoint on the proprietary turf. But open source could.

IBM should have made the same announcement, except with technology that didn't force companies into buying into the Lotus ecosystem wholesale. Unfortunately, that seems to be precisely the plan of IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle - one ring to rule them all. You're out of luck if you just want a little piece of the grand vision.

Posted by Matt Asay on January 23, 2007 05:35 AM

RATE THIS ARTICLE: