The Agenda Setters: Lotus boss notes the way forward

Lotus will move ever closer to parent company IBM as it tries to recreate products as knowledge management tools, under the tutelage of new CEO Al Zollar.

Speaking to silicon.com, Zollar, appointed CEO earlier this year, said he recognised that Lotus had lost opportunities to create synergies with IBM in the past, and vowed it wouldn't happen in the future. Zollar conceded that the majority of Lotus customers are now also IBM customers, so a firmer link with Big Blue would be the right strategy to take. Interviewed recently in Berlin, Al Zollar talked about the challenge of getting Lotus Notes users to start using knowledge management features of the software. He claimed business increasingly needs to use technology to capitalise on the knowledge of its employees. He denied most customers only use Notes as an email client. Looking to the future, Zollar believes WAP and other wireless technologies will play a big role in business technology strategies. He said: "It is interesting how standards in this area have developed unevenly, but this technology will take off because it gives any business extra capabilities." He said knowledge management would play an increasingly important role in business strategies because knowledge gaps are continuing to widen. You can watch the full interview at http://www.silicon.com/a40704