Lotusphere 2008: Innovation and practicality
All vendor-conference keynotes follow the same basic format: tell 'em what you promised to do, them 'em that you did it and tell 'em that more and better will be delivered soon. As I listened to Mike Rhodin, IBM Lotus Software, General Manager, deliver this morning's Lotusphere keynote, I scribbled questions for which I needed answers so that I could validate my analysis of what I thought I had heard "between the lines."
As an IT industry analyst, I'm privileged in that I get one-on-one time with IBM Lotus executives to whom I can ask my "burning questions" -- that will "connect the dots"; solidify the practicality of theory.
My discussion with Douglas Heintzman, Director of Strategy, Lotus Software, converged the "warm and fuzzy" world of innovation with implementation -- the mantra of Lotus Software development.
He said that he's often asked, "How do you sell collaboration?" The answer, of course, is that collaboration is not for sale. The practicality of collaboration is molding the "warm and fuzzy" into something concrete.
For example, Carestream Health will be integrating Sametime within their radiology processes, which will allow rapid instant messaging and voice communication between diagnosticians and those providing hands-on patient care.
Similarly, the ability to locate the best resources during an emergency is concrete. Lotus's newly announced Atlas for IBM Lotus Connections provides a visualization and mining of a people and resources network. It could provide the ability to quickly find the right resources that save people's lives.
Technology is only relevant if it "connects the dots" in a meaningful way -- which delivers innovation in its most practical sense.