Maxed Out
Because the System i can run at redline speed all day long . . .
February 20, 2008
COMMON on the Brain
I'm starting to look forward to COMMON -- of course, the registration materials and flight arrangements are a big part of that, but more to the point: COMMON's 2008 Annual Meeting and Exposition is coming, and at such a critical time in the life of the System i! If you take a look back at the year immediately following last year's main COMMON conference, a lot has changed. IBM reorganized and then reorganized again, tweaking its management for good measure. IBM will deliver i5/OS on a blade, and IBM's BladeCenter is becoming more and more strategic to the company and SMBs around the world. V6R1 will be shiny and new, not much more than a week old when COMMON kicks off March 30, and there have been so many acquisitions in the System i world that the COMMON Exposition must certainly be a little leaner than in years past.
With IBM's reorganization looming, I'm wondering what IBM's participation is going to look like. Traditionally, COMMON is packed with IBMers, technology, and sessions -- IBM support for the conference is strong and obvious. Right now, though, it's hard to say which executives from IBM are even going to show up. The COMMON website doesn't even list who is going to give the keynote presentation. Here's a snip from the COMMON site:
The Annual Meeting will kickoff on Sunday, March 30th, with the Opening Session featuring a Keynote Speaker, followed by four days of leading-edge i5/OS education, closing with the fun and exciting iSocial Main Event on Thursday, April 3rd.
". . . featuring a Keynote Speaker" . . . yeah, you read that right. Interesting times indeed. Mark Shearer, who was previously the general manager of the IBM System i Division, is now vice president of marketing for IBM's Business Systems unit. He seems like a fairly obvious candidate for a significant speaking role at COMMON's Opening Session, but then again, what about Jim Stallings, who's leading the Enterprise Systems group? Or Erich Clementi, who's leading the Business Systems group? Or perhaps the most likely executive yet -- Ross Mauri, who's leading the System p, System i, and Linux on Power platform unit for IBM . . . might he be there?
Are you seeing the keynote problem that I'm seeing here? Last year, IBM had Shearer and an entire group of people dedicated more or less solely to the System i. Now, judging by the reorganization, it's hard to see how any of IBM's executives would be the most obvious person for a keynote. And if not IBM, who then? An inspirational speaker from the professional speaking circuit? Perhaps.
Either way, IBM has an opportunity to get in front of its most loyal and dedicated customers come March 30. I'm intensely curious as to how IBM is going to take advantage of this opportunity. How will the company will shape its messages and characterize its efforts -- and reveal the future direction of the System i world?
Posted by cmaxcer at February 20, 2008 7:32 AM
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