Being without a laptop has its advantages, but also some disadvantages. One of them is not being able to keep track over my Google Reader and check what’s happening in the community (Yes, I know GReader is available for mobile – not the same).
Ed already posted about Suntel’s migration ages ago, but since my Google Alert linked to the CIO.com article, thought this story’s worth another mentioning in the blogosphere.
The main reasons Suntel (Sri Lanka) migrated away from Exchange/Outlook were:
- lower licensing cost (50% lower than Microsoft) and lower TCO
- strong value of Lotus Symphony integrated in Lotus Notes
- strong collaboration and web 2.0 technologies
- scalability, poised to grow with Suntel
In addition to Lotus Notes and Domino, Suntel will also deploy Lotus Sametime for instant messaging and UC capabilities, as well as Lotus Symphony for creating, editing and sharing documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
TCO, licensing costs and integration of Symphony are some of the answers for ‘what’s the difference between IBM and Microsoft?’ Every company nowadays, especially SMB (small-medium businesses) are looking into ways to cut expenses, improve productivity and increase revenue – and examining your licensing costs is an excellent first step. Three months ago I spoke to CIOs/CTOs of local hi-tech and start-up companies on IBM’s collaboration portfolio, specifically tailered for SMB. Slide 18 showed the difference in licensing, between IBM and Microsoft, in the collaboration space – Lotus full collaoration suite starts at $151 per user (Linux, no support package). How much do you pay for your Microsoft deployment, per user?
You can download that presentation at my slideshare.net space, or view it below.
Links:
CIO.com – Suntel bids adieu to Microsoft, embraces IBM
Ed Brill
Lotus Notes and Domino at ibm.com
Niv Calderon caused some riots in the crowd, showing where the money is in social media, and why local businesses need to start taking it (more) seriously. You can watch Niv’s lecture online here.
