Lotusphere 2010: Opening Session Debrief

Lotus knows why.  Lotus knows how.

That’s the Lotusphere 2010 conference mantra, according to outgoing Lotus general manager Bob Picciano, who kick started today’s opening session before handing the reins over immediately to Captain Kirk.

Yes, Ladies and Gentleman, William Shatner was finally in the Lotus house, and despite a short talk, it was spot on in terms of its message to the Lotus faithful.

Moviemaking, like business everywhere, is ultimately about collaboration, Shatner explained, and the only thing that makes completing the work possible is the collaboration of everybody.

Shatner also reminded us that remakes are great if only they remind you how great the originals are, seeming to suggest Lotus was the original collaboration software partner.  Hear hear.

Shatner also joked with the Loti that he could help them save on a hotel room or rental car while in Orlando.

After the Enterprise beamed Shatner away to much applause, Bob Picciano returned with some key messages he’ll leave us with as he makes his way to broader IBM shores as head of all software sales.

First, the Lotus Knows campaign, which lifted Lotus out of the IT trenches and into the faces of enterprise line of business leaders around the globe.  Rock on Lotus marketing.

Bob explained that this campaign demonstrates the benefit of investing in the Lotus portfolio to help your organization become more productive, period.

He also highlighted the fact that 18,378 customers, to be exact, have signed on to use Lotus Notes since release 8.

And in a straight on jab, he highlighted the fact that Lotus is “freeing you from paying outrageous licensing fees for software which should be a commodity.”

He would be talking about office productivity software.  Expect more on the Lotus Symphony front soon.

Finally, Bob introduced what he called the “Collaboration Agenda,” that is, a strategic view of how companies want their employees and stakeholders to work better together.

The Collaboration Agenda is an industry-specific, structured approach to help Lotus clients realize measurable business value from improving the way people interact. (A recent survey by IDC shows that 66% of businesses believe that a thorough understanding of their business is important or very important for a vendor.”)

The Collaboration Agenda provides a way for organizations to view how they’re working today, and to identify gaps where people can be better equipped to improve and speed their roles and processes.

This morning, Picciano also announced industry-specific ROI metrics around collaboration capabilities for four key industries, including banking, insurance, government, and healthcare providers/payers.

He also announced a reselling agreement with BlackBerry maker Research in Motion, including an agreement between RIM and Lotus for Lotus to sell BlackBerry Client for Lotus Connections and BlackBerry Client for Lotus Quickr.

A new version of both products will be released on January 18^th.

RIM Chief Technology Officer David Yach also spoke onstage about RIM’s having recently purchased new versions of IBM Lotus Connections, Quickr, and Sametime for his own organization to be more collaborative on the go.

There are more announcements to come.

Keep an eye on Ed Brill’s blog for some of the latest, including Lotus Notes Traveler Android support and encrypted Notes mail for the iPhone via the Lotus Notes Traveler Companion.

Also, keep your eyes peeled here on the IBM Press Room for more details on all the announcements shortly.