The Asia Factor in Lotus Notes’s Growth

Eugen Tarnow  September 6 2011 04:53:51 PM

According to this press release, “IBM's revenues are increasing at the rate of 14 percent” in the “Asia-Pacific region.” The press release itself is a discussion of a company that makes Lotus Notes solutions, GSX, which has expanded its Eastern presence by teaming up with an Australia-based IBM business partner called Dr. Notes Solutions. SVP Global Sales and Business Development of GSX says that, “Dr Notes Solutions is among the foremost Lotus Notes experts throughout Asia-Pacific. We already worked with them to implement a major GSX installation at the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, and our new agreement greatly expands our presence in the region. As a Premier IBM Business Partner, Dr Notes will open doors to potential customers.”

Opening doors to potential customers is key for both IBM and its business partners. Users of ReduceMai Pro have always been global, but today it seems imperative more than ever that as, IBM business partners, the ReduceMail Pro team reach out all over the world. Whereas before companies like ours could stick to the United States, Europe, and Canada, it seems that Asia and Oceania with an increasing Lotus Notes presence will become a necessary customer-base.

The very tangible, logistical concern that prevents a lot of American companies from servicing Lotus Notes houses in Asia and Oceania is huge time zone difference, but there are ways around it. I’m sure in this economy there are enough caffeine-addicted young people looking for jobs who would be thrilled to work late days speaking to Lotus Notes administrators from the East. Either hire one of those individuals, or American companies could go GSX’s route and have a partner or subsidiary in the region.

Consider also the study, IBM Lotus Notes/Domino Market Analysis, 2011-2015. It tells us to pay close attention to Asia and Oceania, where “IBM Lotus Domino continues to have a strong installed base.” In this year, there should be “a worldwide installed base of 189 million mailboxes.” That’s a big pie, of which the East is a significant piece. By 2015, we might see a further global move to hosting, but a substantial portion of the user base (80%) is predicted to retain traditional mailboxes.

I’m very optimistic about the East and hoping we can see ReduceMail Pro make its presence known there. I would be even happier, however, if every single user of Lotus Notes suddenly moved to North American Eastern Standard Time and worked a 9:00am-5:00pm schedule.          

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