Dr. Ambuj Goyal sends a message to the Lotus business partner community

As many of you may have heard by now, I am moving into a new role as General Manager of the Information Management Software business for IBM. And, though this provides me an exciting new challenge, it also makes me pause to think about my great time spent with the Lotus brand and our Business Partners.

Working with our Business Partner group at Lotus has been truly remarkable. It has been a pleasure to see the tremendous work you do and the innovations you create -- innovations manifested in such things as the Lotus Awards and IBM Beacon Awards, Lotusphere, solution demos at launch events and other involvement at key events like the recent Lotus Technical Forum in Hannover, Germany.

Two and a half years ago, when I took my assignment, you were very clear with me that the market was losing confidence in this business. Together, we have worked hard to rebuild it. Consistent growth is back, as is evident from double-digit growth over the last three quarters. Analysts are starting to turn as well. The latest IDC Financial Flash credits Lotus performance as a key element of IBM Software Group's strong 2Q'05 performance. This growth simply could not have been accomplished without your hard work. You've been involved with our product cycles through betas, like the soon-to-be-released Lotus Notes and Domino 7, helping us create the best product for our mutual customers. You understand the value around the recent "Hannover" announcement and other strategic initiatives that will bring the best to our customers. It has been very gratifying to see our mutual success in the marketplace with IBM WebSphere Portal and with gaining traction on IBM Workplace. Your excellent work has contributed to this success.

There is tremendous opportunity for you to sell Lotus, IBM Workplace and WebSphere products or to add your value to this software through your own expertise in application development, consulting or whatever your particular expertise. We keep this in mind when we bring new and existing products to market and you can be sure we'll continue to do this.

I don't have enough space here to fully express my appreciation and respect for you, our Business Partners. But I must tell you that I believe myself to have been fortunate to have worked with you and to have personally met many of you at various events around the world.

Keep up the fantastic work. I wish you the best luck in your firm's success and I'll be keeping an eye on - what I'm sure with your involvement will be - the continued success of the IBM Lotus, IBM Workplace and IBM WebSphere brands.

Ambuj Goyal
GM, Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software

"I remember with great pleasure first meeting Ambuj at the Beacon award ceremony in February 2003 in New Orleans" says Felix Binsack, general manager of TIMETOACT. "Nothing is further from the truth" was Ambuj response to the competitors false statements on the future of Lotus Notes and Domino. "Ambuj did not only develop a great vision but a tangible track for the future of Lotus Notes, Domino, Workplace and the rich client. Announcing the "Hannover" client release at the DNUG conference was a highlight for everyone in the community. TIMETOACT likes to thank Ambuj for the great work he has accomplished for Lotus and the business partner community. We are looking to work with his designated successor Mike Rohdin, a long time Lotus fellow.