I always considered the annual IBM lovefest in Orlando in January as “Lotusphere” but after last week it is pretty clear it IBM Connect ain’t no Lotusphere.
Short Version: I was not a fan of the OGS. Here is the Good News if you prefer.
What can you say about an Opening General Session where people actually yelled “No” when asked from the stage at the end if they liked the demos and if there were enough demos? Sadly, not much good.
Developers and Administrators: You are no longer IBMs target audience. Similar to what you see in The Hunger Games, where people living in the Capitol go about their lives being “social” while the people in the Districts actually do the work and produce everything, the OGS was targeted at absolutely nobody with any technical skills whatsoever. Disappointing since that is why I came.
The customer stories were possibly interesting. If you live in the Capitol and buzzwords is your thing.
The mobile demos were underwhelming and the Mail Next client demo, while excellently executed, was lost on anyone who performs the daily grind of delivering technological business solutions not to mention anyone who actually lives in their Inbox. Don’t get me wrong. The tech behind the demos is nothing short of impressive but they weren’t showing the tech.
Spot On Quotes
“They didn’t say anything about any product I work with…”
“Next year I’ll stay for the guest speaker and then head out…”
One last gripe: The Actiance commercial during the OGS. I understand that Actiance was a huge sponsor and therefore is invited to deliver some comments during the OGS. No problem with that. Now, maybe I just missed it in prior years but I do not remember anyone ever standing on the OGS stage and saying “…come on down to booth 34 to see our new product…”
“Why would you pay money to attend a conference where they are just marketing to you?”