Return-Path: Received: from isource.ibm.com (isource.boulder.ibm.com [207.25.249.18]) by server1.os2site.com (Weasel v1.73) for ; 25 Jan 2006 08:27:49 +1100 Received: from isource.boulder.ibm.com (loopback [127.0.0.1]) by isource.ibm.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7757EC3012 for ; Tue, 24 Jan 2006 21:33:25 +0000 (CUT) From: IBM Software Group Reply-To: swnewsatus.ibm.com Subject: IBM Software Newsletter Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" MIME-Version: 1.0 To: newsatos2site.com Message-Id: <20060124213325.7757EC3012atisource.ibm.com> Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 21:33:25 +0000 (CUT)

January 24, 2006, Volume 3, Issue 1

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Happy New Year and welcome to the January 2006 edition of the IBM Software Newsletter. If you experience any difficulties viewing this newsletter, you can access it online here.

In this first issue of 2006 we bring you new ideas and solutions to help you solve IT and business problems in the new year.

Improving alignment between business goals and IT and increasing business flexibility and responsiveness remains a challenge. Many companies are moving to a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) to drive this alignment. Our feature takes you on a guided tour of the updated IBM SOA Self Assessment. This tool helps you build your SOA plans step-by-step based on your needs and goals and is a great way to get started on the path to a successful SOA.

Many innovations are being announced and discussed right now at Lotusphere® 2006. If you weren’t able to attend the premier event on collaborative solutions, we will bring the event to you. Lotusphere Comes to You is your chance to experience the excitement and innovation of Lotusphere 2006 at a convenient location.

You will also find new ideas and solutions for information management initiatives. One of our top stories introduces you to the concept of delivering information as a service. This new way of managing information helps you leverage your information across your organization where ever and when ever you need it.

Don’t forget to customize the newsletter to match your interest areas and needs. Please follow the steps here to customize your newsletter and get the information and resources that matter most to you.

Enjoy this month's newsletter!

Dan Galvan
Vice President Marketing Programs
IBM Software

	Software Feature Article

Step by step SOA. Your guided tour of the IBM SOA Self Assessment. Perhaps the most frequent question asked about SOA is, "sounds great, but where do I start?" The answer is the updated IBM SOA Self Assessment. Take a guided tour of this comprehensive IBM tool that enables you to shape your vision for service orientation. Understand everything from what SOA is to where you stand with SOA. It will help you get started on the right path to SOA success based on your needs and goals. Plus, you will receive a complimentary case study that explains how Xerox Corporation enhanced its productivity and cut costs with an IBM Enterprise Service Bus solution and SOA. [More]

	Top Stories

		Lotusphere 2006 Opening General Session Webcast and Lotusphere Comes to You. If you couldn't attend Lotusphere this year, never fear. IBM has captured the opening general session in a special Webcast. The Webcast features Mike Rhodin, IBM General Manager, Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software and other members of the IBM Lotus® management team. See how IBM Lotus collaborative solutions are bringing innovation that works to customers just like you and get an idea of what's coming in the future. Also, registration is open for Lotusphere Comes to You, the event series that brings the experience and excitement of Lotusphere to a location convenient to you. Be sure to sign up if you were unable to attend this year's event. [More]

Video - See and hear how your peers are meeting the content management challenge.
-- For every dollar spent to create content, US$15 is spent to maintain it.

-- Simple customer queries take too long to address due to inefficient paper-based processes.

-- Can't get critical information quickly to partners and suppliers.

-- Our companies merged but our information and content are still disparate and separated.

Sound familiar? See how customers across a range of industries and across the globe are conquering their content management challenges. These short online videos bring you concise and to-the-point descriptions of specific business problems and how content management solutions from IBM and IBM Business Partners can solve them.
[More]

At your service. Make your information work harder with information as a service. If you believe that more time is spent managing your information than using it to help your business, IBM has good news. There is a new way to approach information management. It's called "information as a service" and it can bring new levels of flexibility, consistency and availability to your information. Today much of an organization's information is locked into specific applications and data sources. Information as a service unlocks it so that it can be can be used (and re-used) across an enterprise by people, applications and processes as needed. A new brochure from IBM explains how to bring this new way of managing information to your organization. Read it and understand how creating an information infrastructure based on a service orientation can help you lower costs, make better decisions, improve service and boost your productivity and competitiveness. [More]

	Customer Spotlight

Better information. Better decisions. COFINANCIAL puts the power in customers' hands.
"We approach the mortgage banking industry from the exact opposite view of our competitors," explains Kurt Harlow, President of COFINANCIAL. "Our competition does everything it can to delay discussion of actual rates and closing costs until the end of the process. By contrast, we provide our rates and closing costs up front. We are determined to offer the information customers want without making them jump through hoops to get it."

Find out how COFINANCIAL is battling bigger competition in the mortgage banking business by putting better information in customers' hands faster. The key is IBM Lotus Domino® software that Web-enables COFINANCIAL's rate calculating resources so customers get the best information to make the choices that are right for their needs.
[More]

	On Demand Business

New report -- Getting down to the business of On Demand Business.
There are plenty of good reasons businesses need to change to an on demand model. You have to be able to meet the increasing pressure to boost revenue and respond nimbly to shifting market conditions to compete and thrive.

For many, SOA seems to hold the key to a more responsive business. But the focus appears primarily on IT. What are the effects of SOA on business functions and what changes need to occur to keep IT and business aligned to make SOA work?

"Impact of Service Orientation at the Business Level," a report from IBM Systems Journal, focuses on how concepts such as componentization and service orientation are driving businesses to examine how they think about their processes and how they can change to better align with IT in a service-oriented approach. The paper is an excellent resource for those looking to better connect business and IT to achieve on demand transformation.
[More]

	Other areas of interest

		Webcast - Find a smarter way to connect your applications with the IBM Enterprise Service Bus. So many application connections. So little time. And so little resource. If you are fighting a time- and resource-consuming battle with seemingly endless application connections, learn how to outsmart traditional application interfaces with an IBM Enterprise Service Bus. Attend this Webcast and learn how both the IBM Enterprise Service Bus and IBM WebSphere® Message Broker can help you simplify your application connections and streamline processes for easier ways to provide and access information. You will learn how an IBM Enterprise Service Bus can serve as the central exchange of an effective SOA. See how these solutions can help you in scenarios that feature these solutions working together and separately. [More]

This resource kit for software architects is built right. Discover the advantages of modeling, patterns-based development, structural control and SOA with a complimentary software architect kit from IBM. Get the resources that enable you to design end-to-end software solutions aligned with business needs. You'll see how to efficiently develop IT services, applications and infrastructure from the ground up. The kit features exclusive podcasts with IBM Fellow, Grady Booch, who shares advice for software architects and views on recent trends. Plus, you get technical demos, a modeling white paper, select articles and more. [More]

Information On Demand Live! Leverage your information across your organization.
If you are re-examining how information is managed in your organization, you shouldn't miss the upcoming IBM Information On Demand Live! events.

Information management is changing. It means more than just ensuring that an application is running smoothly and its data is secure and backed up regularly. Information On Demand is a way to deliver that information across your organization to people, processes and applications when they need it and in the form they need.

Attend an event near you and see how you can:
-- Improve decision-making
-- Accelerate time to market
-- Boost productivity
-- Improve responsiveness
-- Reduce risk

Find an event location near you and register today.
[More]

		Video - Improve IT service delivery. Get the latest on IBM IT Service Management strategy. -- How is the IBM IT Service Management (ITSM) platform different from a service desk platform? -- How does ITSM integrate and leverage your existing IT investments? -- What are the advantages of focusing your ITSM initiative with IBM? These are the questions that IBM customers and IT professionals like you are asking about IBM ITSM solutions. Bob Madey, Vice President of Strategy and Market Management for IBM Tivoli® Software, delivers the answers and more in this online video. The online video points out the latest market trends accelerating the need for businesses to adopt an IT service delivery model. You will see how IBM can help you create and execute an ITSM strategy focused on business process integration. A transcript of the update is available in pdf format. [More]

IBM's top-notch training. Your facility and your needs. According to IBM after-class surveys, 93 percent of IBM training students say they will come back to IBM for more training and 97 percent are extremely satisfied with their instructor. You can get the same high quality training brought to your facility or conveniently nearby. Along with top-level trainee satisfaction, you get convenient, cost-effective and customized training for groups as small as 3 people to groups as large as 14 or more. You receive the same quality education delivered in IBM classrooms. Plus, IBM can record your sessions in a rich digital video format for distribution on CD or network download. Save money, enjoy greater flexibility, gain more control and achieve stronger results with IBM on-site training. [More]

More news.
Access IBM software press releases and learn about the latest IBM software news, announcements and updates.
[More]

Training news.
Learn more about the latest IBM training innovations and promotions.
[More]

Software success stories.
Access a complete database of case studies that shows you how your peers are succeeding with IBM software.
[More]

Make it yours.
Customize this newsletter to match your interests. Do it today.
[More]

Software in concert.
IBM Rational® Software Developer Conference. Sign up today.
[More]

Take back control.
Integrate your infrastructure with IBM WebSphere middleware. Learn how.
[More]

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