The world may be flat, connected and sharing, but keeping track of the various events, user groups, best practices and conferences about Microsoft SharePoint can be a taunting task. Joel Oleson started this, with his ‘If you could go to one SharePoint conference this year, what would it be?‘ post, and I picked it up from there.

After exhibiting at The SharePoint Conference in Las Vegas last year, I’ve been working on finding out which events are planned for 2010, who’s attending, what are the topics, who’s speaking and more. Sponsorships are an important aspect of our marketing strategy, and has its advantages such as strengthening our brand and increasing our public exposure to relevant stakeholders (customers, analysts, VCs), but there are other aspects to the mix – such as PR, advertising, online, professional publications and others.

I’ve compiled a spreadsheet trying to summarize the SharePoint related events in 2010, based on my own research, and added some events Joel described in his post. Feel free to add events to the spreadsheet, using this form. Once moderated, your entry will be shown in the spreadsheet below.

Updated Feb. 11th.

A month into 2010 and we’re working hard on making CardioLog better. Following a successful 2009, with numerous new customers, we sat down – product and marketing teams, trying to prioritize the requests we received from our customers, our partners, our own vision regarding the product, analysts perspective on analytics and Microsoft’s direction with SharePoint 2010. Not an easy task.

From all of that input we compiled our roadmap for 2010, which is available here. We welcome your feedback, and will take any request under consideration, but we cannot promise it will find its way to production. Some highlights that will become available, soon:

• CardioLog 2010 Enterprise
• Integration with SSP Profiles
• Retrieval of the Portal Tree structure with the SharePoint API
• Import usage data from SharePoint 2010
• Report segmentation by user profiles
• Report segmentation by SharePoint groups and audiences
• CardioLog Lite for SharePoint 2010
• Funnel reports
• Site overlay
• And more

Again, the full list is available on our website.

We also launched ‘CardioLog 2010 for SharePoint 2010 Beta Program’, which will allow our customers to evaluate the integration with SharePoint 2010. We have big plans for the next release of SharePoint, here’s what we’re working on:

• As with MOSS, CardioLog will provide an independent JavaScript tracking agent for collecting browser activity for SharePoint 2010
• Usage reports will be available for data collected by either CardioLog or SharePoint 2010 (Logging DB)
• CardioLog will continue to provide enhanced reporting segments through integration with SharePoint 2010 SSP Profiles, SharePoint 2010 groups and security info, SharePoint 2010 document metadata, Active Directory user attributes, and more
• We plan to track usage within the SharePoint 2010 Workspace (offline experience)
• CardioLog reports will be available as SharePoint 2010 web parts

As you can tell – we have our hands full.

We also made some adjustments to our Support Policy, and continue to update the Forum and FAQs with feedback we receive from customers, analytics tips and best practices. Now is also the time for you to start following CardioLog on twitter – to receive product updates, tips & tricks, announcements and more.

CardioLog Standard

We also introduced a new addition to our portfolio – CardioLog Standard. The new edition is ideal for small and mid-sized companies, starting to explore the possibilities of analytics, looking for an affordable yet accurate solution – designed for Microsoft SharePoint portals. CardioLog Standard boosts roughly the same features as our Professional Edition, with some limitations (see table). If you’re looking for a small-sized, on-premise web analytics solution, our Standard Edition is your choice. You can download a free trial version now.

The deck below is an overview presentation, 8 slides, providing you the info you need about Intlock and CardioLOG. It outlines what is CardioLOG, why CardioLOG is different, who are our customers and who are we.

During 2009 we were pleased to welcome VHA, Molson Coors Brewery, IMF, REN, SunCorp and many more to our customer base, and our plan for 2010 is already underway. We’ve joined forces with several Microsoft integrators, like NEOVAS is Turkey, and are working constantly at improving CardioLOG with new reports and features, based on feedback we receive from our customers.

As we near the end of 2009, I would like to thank you for choosing CardioLOG as your SharePoint analytics solution, and looking forward to working with you in 2010.

This is the surprise I couldn’t discuss earlier – we had some fine-tuning to do..
Microsoft Sharepoint Conference 2009 will kick off in 12 days at Las Vegas and Intlock will be right there, at booth #1028, to show you the leading solution for usage reporting over Sharepoint.

But wait, now there’s another reason to come visit us: CardioLog Contest!!
The contest will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, and all you need to do to participate is fill a short form with your contact details, slip it to the box at our booth (#1028) for a chance to WIN XBOX 360 PRO! We also have Rock Band Beatles, HALO 3, Dirt 2 and others – so make Intlock’s booth part of your daily schedule. As with any contest, please note the T&Cs while you submit your form.

All those planning to attend, I recommend reading Joel’s post – 10 Steps to Prepare for Sharepoint Conference #SPC09. Some solid tips, for SPC09 and any other conference/tweetup/event you’re attending.

I was relaxing at home this fine (and hot) weekend, catching up on twitter friends and facebook updates when I came across this hilarious tweet (in Hebrew) of programmer jokes. At first I was reluctant to click it – I’m not a programmer, and there bound to be some code jokes – but thank god I clicked it. HILARIOUS!! I’m still crying from some of them..

The original list appeared at Stackoverflow.com, a site dedicated to developers and programmers, where you can post questions and get (and grade) answers. There are some 16 pages of contributions, so clear out 30-60min… The Hebrew version is courtesy of @we-cms.

Here are my favorites:

A computer science student is studying under a tree and another pulls up on a flashy new bike. The first student asks, “Where’d you get that?”

Thanks to Lotus Notes product team for putting this deck together (and Ed for sharing!) showing how the Lotus Notes client has evolved since version 6.0.x. The short deck, 17 slides, covers almost every aspect of the client, including:

• Productivity features
• Personalization
• Ease of use
• Replication and Mobility
• Collaboration
• email and calendaring
• supported OS and more.

Whether you’re a Lotus Notes customer looking for the added value in upgrading to newer releases or you’re using a competitor’s platform and looking for other options – this is what Lotus Notes has to offer. It also shows IBM’s commitment to the product – which in these days, is not something to be taken lightly.

Links:
Ed Brill
Lotus Notes client on ibm.com

Getting a new HDD for my laptop was an excellent occasion to upgrade my Notes client to the latest version, 8.5, announced last month. Even thou I downloaded IBM’s internal installation package for 8.5, there are couple of tweaks I needed to do, gadgets to add, live-text to create.

Luis Benitez is usually my source for Lotus Connections stuff, but his latest tweak is inteneded for all you Lotus Notes and Lotus Connections users out there – enabling Lotus Connections’ Person card in Lotus Notes 8.5 Activities. The tweak is easy, no technical expertise needed, and upgrades my user experience – now I can access all the social aspects of an activity member.
Thanks Luis!

Links:
Luis Benitez
Lotus Notes and Domino Wiki
IBM announces Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5 at MacWorld

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

One of the many things I love about Google Reader is its Offline mode – which comes in handy especially during flights. I can read (a lot of) feeds and blogs, marking for later the things I want to tag/dogear/post/delicious. This story at Calcalist.co.il caught my eye, talking about Gmail Labs adding offline capability to the popular e-mail service. Wow.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love Gmail (much more than Yahoo! Mail), and the Labs have some cool products, BUT, two things bugs me in this story:

The first, Lotus Notes has been sporting this ‘offline’ mode since its inception, some 16 years ago. It’s called ‘Replication‘, and allows you to take everything (not just emails) offline, including composite applications, calendar, emails with attachments – and syncing with the Domino server when such a connection is available.

The second is the total disregard to Lotus Notes and Domino as a desktop email client/platform. The reporter, Dora Kishinevsky, mentions that such a feature is similar to what desktop email clients do, like Outlook. Israel is a Microsoft country, but there are other vendors, and some journalists know that.

Links:
Gmail Labs adds offline capability – Calcalist.co.il
Google unveils beta of offline Gmail option – NetworkWorld (via Ed Brill)
Gmail Labs adds a decade old Notes feature – Alan Lepofsky

Yesterday marked the 3rd day of IBM Lotusphere 2009, the annual customer conference on Lotus and WebSphere Portal solutions. Day 1 and 2 of the conference brought exciting new announcements, unvielved new solution and upgraded versions of Lotus products.

Unlike recent years where we had little exposure in Israel about Lotusphere, this year is very different. The reason – Or Yaacov, editor at The People – every day Or publishes one or two separate articles from Lotusphere, reaching a wide audience of IT professionals, and making the necessary noise in the local online media. Case in point – the title of today’s article (page 1) was ‘Exchange is not the solution to every problem and need’, a quote by Bob Picciano, Lotus GM.

So, for those looking for Hebrew articles on Lotusphere, here’s a list of articles I found. If you want to contribute, feel free to comment with the link and I’ll insert it to this post (along with the contributer of course.. .

Efrat Kotler – IBM Lotusphere 2009 (TheMarker Cafe)
Ed Brill Interview – Lotus Notes for Mac and Mobile (The People)
Bob Picciano, Lotus GM Interview (The People)
Alloy, by IBM and SAP (The People)
IBM goes to the clouds and takes partners for the journey (TheMarker)
IBM announces LotusLive – Lotus portfolio in SaaS model (The People)
Lotusphere 2009 opens today (The People)

It’s been just over 48 hours since I started using Lotus Notes Traveler over my Nokia N95 and I have this to say – it’s addictive and I love it!! I’m using Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5.0.0, with Lotus Mobile Connect for VPN to IBM network (which also gives me access to our intranet – cool , and it has changed the way I work.

Now, some friends might say I’m a ‘connection-junky’ – must be online all the time, but they are blowing it out of proportions a bit. I do have fring, twibble, gmail, FB mobile, Lotus Sametime Mobile, Opera Mini and other mobile applications that keeps me connected – because it’s easier to access them when I want, where-ever I want. Also, I’m not connected all the time because my N95′s battery will die after 4 hours of usage..

I must say that the Lotus Notes Traveler setup is pretty easy, no technical knowledge required. Define your Domino server, how you connect to the network, what you want to sync (mail, calendar, contacts), always-on (push mail) or by-demand, and you’re set.

So, after downloading this cool Symbian screenshot application (thanks Yoav), I’ve taken some screenshots of what Lotus Notes Traveler can do. All those screenshots (and more as time progresses) are available at the facebook album.

Links:
Lotus Notes Traveler post
Lotus Notes Traveler product page at ibm.com
Lotus mobile solutions
Lotus Notes Traveler Album

Amidar Housing, the government agency responsible for housing in Israel, has just launched its redesigned website, developed over IBM WebSphere Portal Express software. Excellent gift for the holidays!
During the 2nd stage of the project, Amidar – along with Web-Tech Innovation, IBM BP specializing in portal and KM solutions – will launch a new intranet website, that would connect Amidar’s 500 employees spread at 50 locations across the country.

Amidar picked IBM in July 2008, with a definite roadmap to launch the redesigned site by the end of the year. The solution, WebSphere Portal Express V6.0 (packaged for small-medium businesses), along with WebSphere Dashboard Framework, provides the perfect platform for Adimar, and cost-effective one, to develop and deploy 2 portals over a single infrastructure – exploiting the solution’s capability of ‘Virtual Portal’.

Amidar also took advantage of some innovative web 2.0 technologies embeded in the solution, by deploying the map you see above, of the various locations across Israel. The launch of the redesigned site, as well as the internal portal (to be launched soon), are part of Amidar’s 2009 approach of focusing on the customer’s needs.

Yaacov Brosh, Amidar CEO:

Access to public housing and learning the rights every citizen entitles to, demand first of all – access to information. The redesigned website provides just that.

Amir Belferman, Amidar CIO:

Building over WebSphere Portal technology enabled us flexibility in content management, easy setup of the different pages/categories and operational efficiency, under a very short time frame. We plan to maximize the platform in the future, by enhancing the services and information we provide to our customers online.

Links:
Amidar website
Amidar improves customer care by launching a redesigned website built over IBM technology
IBM web portal software
WebSphere Portal Express software

Slightly delayed (had a busy Wed-Thu last week), but here’s another article covering IBM’s initiative to offer Linux-based software package, that runs on a back-end server and is accessible to customers on thin clients, pricing $59-$289 (depending on level of software and service).

Customers would also save on labor costs, because moving to a server-side system would cut maintenance needs, said Inna Kuznetsova, director of Linux strategy at IBM. The server-based setup could also reduce hardware costs by extending the life spans of desktop PCs.

Link: ComputerWorld – IBM, Canonical release ‘Microsoft-free’ virtual Linux desktop bundle

Following IBM-Nokia announcement from last week, now comes the presentation that provides a quick overview about IBM Lotus Notes Traveler 8.5. (via Alan Lepofsky and twitter).

Everyone knows instant messaging and unified communication solutions can save you money, but I find the above statement a bit ironic, considering Microsoft’s pricing model. Only yesterday I spoke at a small gathering of hi-tech and SMB executives about collaboration at a start-up company – how you can save money by opting IBM over Microsoft. My post ‘Now’s the time to deploy IM‘ is also a great reference on this issue. Today Microsoft Israel CFO told a larger gathering of SMB executives that UC is the 2nd IT solution (out of 3) that can help mitigate the current economic crisis and decrease expenses.

First off I’m glad to hear Microsoft is doing what it can to help local businesses. These are tough times, and any executive needs to have some action plan in place to navigate the coming 3-9 months. Nevertheless, I hope customers, when evaluating IT spending, are looking more closely at the numbers, rather than the product logo. Here’s a slide that will help:

Lotus have an excellent, open standards, desktop solution that features:
messaging, basic collaboration and document mgmt., instant messaging, office productivity editors, mobile access, application development, SQL and SAP integration, Eclipse based and Domino server – for $201-$338 for user, depending on your OS.

If it’s only IM you want, Lotus Sametime can run on both Lotus Notes and or Microsoft Outlook, starting at $21 for user. More information about IBM’s award winning IM solution can be found here.

So, how much are you paying for your desktop?

PC.co.il – Microsoft CFO: Leasing can save up to 30%; recession is the best time to invest in IT (Hebrew)
Image: Microsoft vs. Lotus – Desktop components