Any interest in forming a community of Notes professionals who also work with SharePoint?
Category IBM/Lotus Microsoft
I can't believe I typed that as a title... :)
So I'm now in the "I do both" camp in terms of Lotus and Microsoft stuff. We're slowly getting up-to-speed on SharePoint, and my time will continue to shift towards an emphasis on that type of development. I'm definitely not leaving the Notes world, as we still have a large inventory of Notes apps that we have to maintain in the short term. What I *hope* to be able to offer the Notes community is an insight into SharePoint from a Notes developer view, devoid of any sales pitch or ulterior motive to adopt one side or the other. Let's be realistic... both sides have good points and bad points. If I can drop my blinders and predisposition towards "but Notes does that too", I can learn and improve in both areas.
One thing I've noticed over the last six months or so is that I'm not the only Notes person going through this. I heard from a number at Lotusphere who have some level of SharePoint involvement at their place of employment, as well as getting a few emails and direct messages on Twitter. To some degree, it feels as if there's a reluctance to "admit" to using (and perhaps even liking) SharePoint in our community. It could be that those who are in that situation are not vocal on blogs/Twitter, and we never hear from them. Or, there's always the possibility that they could feel uncomfortable in the Yellow Bubble talking about "the other side".
Well, I'm vocal... And I'm also getting old and crotchety in that I'm caring less about what others think and more about what's best from a professional standpoint (both for me and others).
So given all that, I've been toying with the idea today of trying to start some sort of community of Notes professionals who also work with SharePoint. The group could share experiences, ask questions, and help each other make the transition to the many moving parts that is the Microsoft stack. It's rather daunting when you've specialized in Notes development for the last decade, and all of a sudden there's 10 different things you have to be good at in order to survive.
And notice the phrasing of the community... *Notes* professionals who also work with SharePoint. Not Notes enthusiasts who want to argue the merits of SharePoint vs. Notes, nor SharePoint experts seeking clients to convert from Lotus to Microsoft. Just those of us who live in the trenches and, either by choice or by necessity, have to make both of these worlds work in a single environment.
I'm open to ideas, suggestions, comments, critiques, or whatever. This may be a stupid idea that just hit me at the end of a long day where not much went right. But I can also fantasize about it being a useful resource filling a niche that doesn't seem to be covered too well from what I can tell.
It's not about bleeding yellow for me any more. It's about keeping whatever blood remains inside my body, and becoming a technology professional who can talk about collaboration in multiple technologies, delivering value to businesses regardless of where their vendor commitments may lie. That probably should have been my goal all along, but sometimes it takes a relatively large stick upside the head to clarify one's vision...
I can't believe I typed that as a title... :)
So I'm now in the "I do both" camp in terms of Lotus and Microsoft stuff. We're slowly getting up-to-speed on SharePoint, and my time will continue to shift towards an emphasis on that type of development. I'm definitely not leaving the Notes world, as we still have a large inventory of Notes apps that we have to maintain in the short term. What I *hope* to be able to offer the Notes community is an insight into SharePoint from a Notes developer view, devoid of any sales pitch or ulterior motive to adopt one side or the other. Let's be realistic... both sides have good points and bad points. If I can drop my blinders and predisposition towards "but Notes does that too", I can learn and improve in both areas.
One thing I've noticed over the last six months or so is that I'm not the only Notes person going through this. I heard from a number at Lotusphere who have some level of SharePoint involvement at their place of employment, as well as getting a few emails and direct messages on Twitter. To some degree, it feels as if there's a reluctance to "admit" to using (and perhaps even liking) SharePoint in our community. It could be that those who are in that situation are not vocal on blogs/Twitter, and we never hear from them. Or, there's always the possibility that they could feel uncomfortable in the Yellow Bubble talking about "the other side".
Well, I'm vocal... And I'm also getting old and crotchety in that I'm caring less about what others think and more about what's best from a professional standpoint (both for me and others).
So given all that, I've been toying with the idea today of trying to start some sort of community of Notes professionals who also work with SharePoint. The group could share experiences, ask questions, and help each other make the transition to the many moving parts that is the Microsoft stack. It's rather daunting when you've specialized in Notes development for the last decade, and all of a sudden there's 10 different things you have to be good at in order to survive.
And notice the phrasing of the community... *Notes* professionals who also work with SharePoint. Not Notes enthusiasts who want to argue the merits of SharePoint vs. Notes, nor SharePoint experts seeking clients to convert from Lotus to Microsoft. Just those of us who live in the trenches and, either by choice or by necessity, have to make both of these worlds work in a single environment.
I'm open to ideas, suggestions, comments, critiques, or whatever. This may be a stupid idea that just hit me at the end of a long day where not much went right. But I can also fantasize about it being a useful resource filling a niche that doesn't seem to be covered too well from what I can tell.
It's not about bleeding yellow for me any more. It's about keeping whatever blood remains inside my body, and becoming a technology professional who can talk about collaboration in multiple technologies, delivering value to businesses regardless of where their vendor commitments may lie. That probably should have been my goal all along, but sometimes it takes a relatively large stick upside the head to clarify one's vision...
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Comments
Posted by John Head At 19:33:20 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Duffbert At 20:28:25 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Dave Armstrong At 21:02:40 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Richard Schwartz At 21:22:56 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Vamsi At 22:09:30 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Torben Bang At 23:21:44 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Gary Cousins At 23:37:50 On 18/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Steve Castledine At 00:33:42 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Parme At 00:38:35 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Mark At 01:00:43 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Julian Woodward At 06:00:17 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Dave At 08:21:17 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Kevin Pettitt At 08:33:26 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
"Job preservation" isn't a bad reason to start with. But on a larger scale, it's an advantage to be able to go into any client and discuss the two major collaboration offerings on the market today. Yes, you may prefer one over the other for various reasons. But the client/customer/organization may not have those same reasons/options. Therefore, do you walk away saying "you didn't choose my alternative, so I'm going home" or do you say "OK, given your situation, here's how I can help you make 'x' work"?
Posted by Duffbert At 08:55:15 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Denny Russell At 09:01:09 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Mike A At 09:43:43 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
And sorry if the "support group" reference seemed a put down. Of course I realized the group would be more practical/technical in nature. I was just trying to determine the degree to which participants would be there as a result of a voluntary embrace of Sharepoint.
I already know Chris Miller's opinion
Posted by Kevin Pettitt At 09:50:52 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
I imagine that many will be "involuntary" participants in the SP world. I can also see others who look at their particular career scenario and decide that they need to learn both for maximum flexibility and value. Or they could start as the first and end up at the second. That's probably closer to my reality.
And you're right... I don't expect Miller to be on the site too much. :)
Posted by Duffbert At 09:57:43 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
How 'bout a case study of a successful implementation of Sharepoint, whether a "migration" from Notes or otherwise? I just want to know what doing Sharepoint right is supposed to look like? Anybody?
Posted by Kevin Pettitt At 10:12:46 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
"a technology professional who can talk about collaboration in multiple technologies"
I expected no less.
Posted by Volker Weber At 12:01:14 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Eric Mack At 12:04:35 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Duffbert At 12:10:27 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Bob Balaban At 12:33:07 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Esther Strom At 13:37:46 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Vitor Pereira At 14:52:00 On 19/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Palmi At 00:39:49 On 20/02/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Aecio F. Neto At 02:43:39 On 20/02/2009 | - Website - |
Include me as well. There are many things happening on this front that I'd like to discuss with you.
Posted by Perry Hiltz At 06:03:06 On 20/02/2009 | - Website - |
Not to mention the absolutely Horrid HTML forming they've done in sharepoint.
Posted by jon At 09:07:54 On 20/02/2009 | - Website - |
Great idea. I would like to contribute where I can.
Posted by Peter de Haas At 11:15:46 On 21/02/2009 | - Website - |
Definitely I am interested here. It would be nice to get past the rhetoric and be able to compare experiences and successes!
Posted by Tom Franks At 06:21:03 On 23/02/2009 | - Website - |
Please include me in the mailing list and in the community. Thanks
Posted by Prafull Kumar At 03:55:35 On 25/02/2009 | - Website - |