Why you should know Lotus

The "Lotus knows" marketing campaign has started this week in Australia, which is a great initiative. Lotus Knows has been running in other geographies and has hit our antipodean shores. IBM does not promote specific brands and as such the Lotus team has battled hard to get some funding for this type of  activity. It is somewhat ironic as the Lotus brand is the most consumer or business user centric brand in the large IBM portfolio.

Today Lotus is synonymous with Notes (and Domino). Which is a pity as this is just one product in the entire brand. This isn't a new phenomenon. I remember a time when Lotus was synonymous with Lotus 123. When someone said Lotus they actually meant Lotus 123. Not Lotus Freelance, Lotus Word Pro or Lotus Organizer, which at the time were also part of the Lotus brand.

The same is true today. There are more products in the Lotus brand than simply Lotus Notes. Some really leading edge and innovative products, that aren't even based on the Notes architecture. The Lotus Knows campaign showcases the product in scenarios such as;

Lotus Knows...how to have a meeting in the cloud
Lotus Knows...you should bring an umbrella to the meeting

The theme continues with other scenarios.

You should start seeing the ads around the streets, in magazines and newspapers and  you can check out the videos, which are interesting AND amusing at the website www.lotusknows.com.au

So why should you know more about the Lotus brand ?

As I've said, the Lotus brand contains some very innovative and leading edge solutions to the way business consumers are wanting to use technology to be more productive, efficient and agile. It is these users that are driving their IT departments to keep up with what they use outside of work. Lotus has solutions for these consumers and done in a way to keep your IT and security folks happy. Solution such as;

Social Computing

When you think of Social Computing, think of Facebook® for the enterprise. Social Computing products and services offer companies an easy and cost-effective way to uncover unknown and latent expertise, react to changing workforce dynamics and adapt to changing markets. 

 Collaboration in the Cloud

Access via the cloud to the latest and greatest in messaging, social networking and web conferencing facilities is one of the fastest growing segments in the marketplace today. All you need is internet access and IBM can provide you with a package of solutions in a cost per person per month basis to achieve your organisations collaborative, web conferencing and social networking objectives.

 Telephony & Conferencing

Foster innovation and business agility by making it easer for people to find, reach and collaborate with one another through a unified communications experience from their familiar devices, applications, and processes. Capabilities include instant messaging to PCs and mobile devices, conducting web and video conferencing as well as “click to call” features and capabilites. 

Web Portals & Dashboards

Strengthen relationships by giving your customers and partners a new online voice and include them in your business processes. Web portals help customers, employees and partners to work more effectively together. They put people, information and tools in one place that’s consistent, personal and convenient.

Mashups

Mashups allow you to combine (to “mash-up”) disparate sources of information – mashing them to create purpose specific knowledge in real time. This can help organisations boost creativity, innovation, and responsiveness by unlocking and transforming existing data into new applications that address business challenges.

Email, Calendar and Instant Messaging

Flexibility and the ability to make business decisions quickly are key to determining the right advanced messaging solution to meet your company’s unique business needs. IBM provides flexible and scalable messaging solutions that empower people with a single point of access to people, business applications, and resources across and beyond the enterprise.

So if you hear your colleagues, friends or more importantly your competitors talking about any of the following names, then they are talking about Lotus products and they know, what Lotus Knows.

Connections
Quickr
Sametime
Notes
Traveler
iNotes
Domino
Forms
Forms Turbo
Protector
Symphony
Portal
Mashups
Live Engage
Live Connections
Live Meetings
Live Events
Live iNotes
Live Notes

If you would like to know what everyone else is talking about then checkout the website or get in contact with me or one of my colleagues at www.cirrusaustralia.com.au