Day: November 29, 2006

SWG Analyst Briefing: Emerging Tech Showcase

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My main assignment for the event was technology which resulted in the ETS.  It was the opportunity to show new technology from each of our area’s and the Lab’s and combine it with an opportunity to interact.  Early reviews from the analysts say it was a great success, especially because we had an open bar during the event.

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My favorite demo was the Second Life IBM 3D web experience shown here to Mary Taylor by Katharine Frase.  This was just way cool.  I’m going to get into this as there is just too much opportunity.  Not that the other demo’s weren’t great, as they were, but I got caught up in this.

Oh BTW, it was great to see many of my analyst friends and catch up.  I even got an autographed version of SOA for Dummies…..more on that next week.

SWG Analyst Briefing, 1:1's

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Steve Graham and Chris Wong was one of the 1:1 briefings I attended.  I started to notice a theme with the analysts on the subject of Software as a Service which dominated the 1:1’s I was at.  We need to define what the SaaS framework is going to be and have the competition design their work to fit into the framework. If we’re late, we have to fit into someone else’s. So we’ll either be the skeleton or the skin.
I promise that SaaS will be a big issue for us in the upcoming few months and we’ll have much to say.

For now, it was Chris jumping into the foray of IDR analyst briefings and he held his own.  My job just keeps getting better getting to work on this type of strategy planning and getting good execs to work with.

SWG Analyst meetings 1:1’s

Since I’m in ISV and Developer Relations, I attended the Ecosystem Breakout hosted by Buell Duncan and Kristof Kloeckner.  When I think back on all the execs I’ve supported, Buell has to be one of the best.  He understands the value of analysts, how to speak with them and not at them and he knows his area WELL.

Having the Head of Strategy supporting the story by explaining how and why the ecosystem is important to IBM is just frosting on the cake.

Needless to say, it went well and the partner message that we work with them instead of competing with them continues to resonate.

SWG Analyst event underway

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I’m sure you’ll hear about what the analyst’s say about our meeting, but the prep was a job in itself. Here’s a shot of the prep meeting where Catherine Manley and Sarita Torres laid out the meeting for everyone. I ran this meeting 2 years ago, and it’s a job by itself let alone your regular job in analyst relations.

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Rod Smith and Gary Barnett taped a video podcast for Web 2.0 to be published in a series that Amy Loomis is putting together…more on that later.

All this and we haven’t even started the main event.

Analyst meeting Pre-Day one

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After months of preparation, we’re ready for the big event.  Here are the ladies getting everything ready for the IBM and the analyst teams.   Kudos go to Monica Wells Grace and Tom Morrissey who stayed up until 3 am getting the schedules ready, and to the entire resource team without whom the event wouldn’t run.

Today begins the “big show” with all the IBM SWG GM’s who will cover their area’s and Steve Mills who is the host of the event.

I wish everyone good luck and Godspeed John Glenn.