IBM To Tout SOA Role, Downplay 'Workplace'

The group, which fields an array of Workplace-labeled wares including Workplace Content Manager and Workplace Messaging has managed to confuse even some of its biggest allies with a label that seemed superfluous to its WebSphere and Domino lineups.

Those Workplace products notwithstanding, IBM software exec Mike Rhodin maintained that "Workplace is a strategy not a brand." Some technology later included in Notes, Domino and Websphere, had its beginnings in workplace (small "w"?) projects, he told CRN in an interview at IBM's Westford, Mass. development facility.

"As part of our technology innovation programs, some of our offerings were branded Workplace," Rhodin acknowledged. His own title--general manager Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software-- illustrates IBM's problem.

One partner was extremetly relieved to hear IBM is letting go of Workplace.

"For quite some time, IBM lost its roadmap, especially with SameTime. Customers and partners had to yell at IBM, tell it SameTime was great and ahead of its time, and all this while IBM would say 'the future is workplace.' I hope that's really over," he said.

A lot of workplace techs will find their way into other products

IBM watchers including one analyst who's followed the company for years said: "Workplace has absolutely been a brand for them and one that has really muddied the waters."

Maybe we're all picking nits here but in any case, Rhodin said IBM's software branding will get simpler.

As for Workplace Messaging? "We're going through an exercise to simplify that. It will get clearer and clearer. SameTime is our strategic real-time brand. With Hannover coming, it's clear where our money is on messaging and calendaring."

Hannover is the next major release of Domino.

In somewhat related news, IBM Software top dog Steve Mills will talk with reporters next Tuesday about the company's favorite three-letter acronym: SOA.

IBM's five major software brands (there's that "b" word again) combine to tell a pretty compelling story for service oriented architectures, Rhodin said.

SOA is a unifying theme across IBM Software, he said.

"This division [workplace portals and collaboration] is the end-user platform; Rational is focused on application development and life cycle governance; Tivoli is on security and systems management. Information management is about turning all the data accumulated over decades of work and delivering it via services," he noted.

All of those groups focus on different customer sets, but together offer a route to a compelling SOA vision, he said.

The new SameTime 7.5 release, with newly open APIs and an Eclipse-based programming environment make it easier for integration partners to develop plugins and tie real-time communication into other applications, some said. That inter-application communication is the heart and soul of the SOA movement.

"Before this release, [the SameTime Connect client] was very closed.There were no interfaces for third parties so with each new release, we basically had to hack," said Carl Tyler, CTO of Instant Technologies, a Durham, N.H.-based real-time technology specialist

"Now, because it's Eclipse-based, it's very easy to build plug ins, to add toolbars. For a third party, it's fantastic," he added..

For Mike Rhodin's take on the resurging Mac market, see this story.

This post was updated Friday afternoon with additional VAR comment.