Zollar Replaced As Lotus Chief

IBM said Zollar, who headed the Lotus brand for three years, will now serve as general manager of IBM's iSeries eServer. Goyal, 46, is a 21-year veteran at IBM and has previously served as general manager of IBM's Solutions and Strategy Division, and was responsible for WebSphere business integration, setting business strategy for IBM's Software Group and delivering industry-specific solutions based on IBM's middleware, according to IBM.

The leadership change comes at an uncertain time for Lotus. The company has lost market share to Microsoft in the messaging market and has seen decreasing revenue in recent quarters. In addition, the IBM brand has suffered something of an identity crisis during the last few years; Lotus endured a lengthy dormant period for new product releases and grappled with a restructuring two years ago that aligned it more closely with IBM Software Group and assimilated Lotus partners into IBM's overall PartnerWorld program. Lotus had gained some momentum in October, launching the long-awaited Notes and Domino 6, as well as new versions of Sametime and QuickPlace.

Some solution provider partners, however, have felt that the Lotus has been neglected by parent company IBM. "There are a lot of politics within IBM, and there's definitely favoritism of other brands over Lotus," said Francois Koutchouk, a former Lotus engineer and now president of Atlantic Decisions, a solution provider based in Castro Valley, Calif. "IBM really isn't putting enough energy into Notes and Domino 6 and instead they're focusing more on WebSphere."

It's unclear if the management change was a demotion for Zollar, who instead of running a $3 billion a year brand will now be in charge of IBM eServer's iSeries model. As a result, current iSeries general manager Buell Duncan has been reassigned as general manager of developer relations at IBM Software Group.

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An industry source said the appointment of Zollar to head iSeries is the beginning of a series of major changes at the midrange server division. "This is part of a much bigger move that will continue to grow iSeries. It will be the biggest news since the model's inception," the source said, adding that the changes would involved IBM's new "On Demand Computing" strategy and a closer relationship with other divisions, such as IBM Software Group.

Joe Baumgardner, co-owner of Central Technologies, a systems integrator and longtime iSeries supporter based in Oklahoma City, said the management change had caught him off guard but that IBM has briefed business partners on major changes within the iSeries division, including an introduction of new models. "IBM wants to make the iSeries more of a universal box and increase its appeal in the mid market by adding support other operating systems and software," Baumgardner said.

Like Lotus, iSeries has been overlooked by IBM in recent years, despite having an intensely loyal customer following, according to Baumgardner. Big Blue launched a new pricing discount program last August, dubbed "Green Streak" in reference to the green screen of the earlier version iSeries versions such as AS/400. The goal was to help renew interest in the model, which has been overshadowed in the last decade by high-end Unix servers and cheaper boxes running on Microsoft Windows and Intel.

"The Green Streak program was an effort to move out the old boxes and make way for the new," Baumgardner said. "The iSeries has a lot of strengths, like stability and the ability to run pretty much on its own. If IBM does things right this year for iSeries, it could get a lot more business."

While a new strategy and direction for iSeries seems to have been in place for some time, the management change at the unit and at Lotus appears to have been an unexpected decision. IBM iSeries officials held a conference call to discuss some of the changes within the unit, including Zollar's appointment, but Zollar himself was not on the call. In addition, Duncan was scheduled to host a Web chat entitled "iSeries 2003 Strategy and Directions" for customers and partners on Jan. 20, according to an announcement on IBM's Web site today.