SharePoint in Recession … SharePoint continues to sell well, according to Microsoft, even in recessionary times. “Think of SharePoint as the jack-of-all-trades in the business software realm. Companies use it to create Web sites and then manage content for those sites. It can help workers collaborate on projects and documents. And it has a variety of corporate search and business intelligence tools too. Microsoft wraps all of this software up into a package and sells the bundle at a reasonable price. In fact, the total cost of the bundle often comes in below what specialist companies would charge for a single application in, say, the business intelligence or corporate search fields. It can’t do everything. Executives at Microsoft will readily admit that the bits and pieces of SharePoint lack the more sophisticated features found in products from specialist software makers. “We don’t claim we do everything,” said Chris Capossela, a senior vice president at Microsoft. “If we do 50 percent of the functions that these other companies do, but they’re the ones customers really want, that’s fine. The magic is that end users actually like to use the software.” This strategy seems to have worked even during the recession.” More

Gartner Magic Quadrant Caution … Tony shares some cautionary warnings about the Gartner Magic Quadrant. He compares the approach taken by Gartner and his firm on one vendor, and concludes with: “There is one other difference. Our research costs money, and this MQ is free. Or rather, it’s been pre-paid for you by Oracle. (Note the URL: mediaproducts.gartner.com/reprints/oracle/…) This tweet from an an Oracle employee — “Oracle WIN!” — suggests how useful the MQ is for them. So, vendors can win (and lose) at this game. But what about you the customer? Before you start researching which tool to adopt, first figure out your requirements, starting with what sorts of website(s) you publish. Oracle might suit your Intranet, but perhaps not your public sites. Gartner’s observations are arguably more strategic. CMS Watch was founded on the notion that in vendor selection, the nitty-gritty matters. A lot. You see, whatever tool you ultimately select will bring tangible strengths and weaknesses — probably more of both than you ever imagined– that will impact your business. Software developers make trade-offs all the time. Which ones do you want to make?” More

Telepresence vs Airlines … Andrews discusses the rising threat of telepresence for airline companies, and wonders how they could respond. “So if they take on virtual meetings head on, what can they do? They can’t win the argument on saving time — there are built in time-sucks (and life-force destroyers) in travel, such as security protocols and weather uncertainty, that are just facts of life. But the airlines can pitch the benefits of face-to-face meetings as more valuable and thus best in some situations (people you haven’t met, sales calls, etc). But they still lose the green argument that way. Instead, they need to go much further to eliminate the green distinction entirely. Some of that work has begun now that Boeing and a few airlines are experimenting with biofuels. If they can innovate away from fossil fuels and make flying carbon-neutral, maybe they can make a straight-faced case for in-person business in a carbon-constrained world.” Make sure you read the comments too … most respondents disagree that video conferencing will kill travel, but it will have an impact. More

Other Items
– Some thoughts about changing employers.
– USAA, a privately held bank in the US, is updating its iPhone application for depositing checks.
– The August 2009 edition of Productive Magazine is out.