Of IBM Execs, 'Boundary' And PR Departments

By Robert C. DeMarzo, CRN
July 28, 2008 12:00 AM ET

The IBM software group, for all its success, has lost a few key executives over the years who were on the fast track. First there was the departure of Lou D'Ambrosio, who left to run Avaya's services business then was promoted to run the entire company. D'Ambrosio, a young man, was recently forced to step down from his Avaya CEO post due to serious health issues. (We wish him well.)

	ROBERT C. DEMARZO
Can be reached via e-mail at rdemarzo@everythingchannel.com.

Then there is the rather strange departure of Mike Borman, one of the most well-liked executives in the channel, who was being groomed for big things at IBM. Borman ran IBM's partner organization and then was put in charge of IBM's worldwide software sales efforts, where he carried a $15 billion number. Borman was no doubt the well-rounded executive package. He had channel, hardware and software experience. He had an edge and was not afraid to voice his opinion. But rather unceremoniously, Borman left IBM's executive suite in Somers, N.Y., to join $600 million KVM maker Avocent, based in Huntsville, Ala., as its new CEO and board member. This is no doubt a major coup for Avocent, but is rather perplexing. Perhaps Borman gets antsy every few years, as he did leave IBM several years back to join Blue Martini in the dot-com days, only to return to IBM when the company needed an executive to run channels.

There has been a great deal written about Brocade Communications' $3 billion buyout of Foundry Networks. The deal unites Brocade, which makes software and hardware that connects servers and data storage devices, and Foundry, which peddles enterprise-class routers and switches. Everyone is hailing this as a move to compete against Cisco, which is nearly 15 times larger. But I am not buying the whole spin on this merger, which positions "Broundry" as a formidable competitor to Cisco. For one, both companies are niche players. Second, neither company has really taken the channel seriously. Both companies have a long way to go in terms of building a partner community and are far behind Juniper, which, under channel chief Frank Vitagliano, has made tremendous progress in recruiting and activating VARs. As this deal progresses, the new organization has to have a strategic channel plan and an executive who can serve as a channel champion. I can tell you from personal experience that both companies have been a challenge to deal with from a channel perspective and have been unable to qualify for most of our satisfaction polls because they simply do not have enough partners.

Just one last word about PR. I receive hundreds of e-mails each week from PR firms and internal communications departments of small and large vendors, and some should be ashamed of their list management. I receive far too many e-mails addressed to editors who have long moved on or switched jobs. I don't know who is managing those lists but they are abysmal. The winner so far comes from STI Computer Services of Norristown, Pa., which sent a press release to an editor (a wonderful, intelligent woman) who left our organization 13 years ago.

What's your take on these changes? Everything Channel SVP/Editorial Director Robert C. DeMarzo is at rdemarzo@everythingchannel.com.

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