IBM is in the education business in the Philipines..But not in the organizing "busyness" business

Infoprint = IBM + Ricoh.

If IBM encourages Open Source and Google has a resellers program for Google Apps, how can it possibly make any sense for any player in the space to sell proprietary "busyness" management software? IBM's bottom line is about hardware. They make very, very good hardware and the systems to manage that hardware. Plus all the enterprise IT is on IBM hardware. Nice.

Why not just all become Google Apps resellers on the ground, and maniacally focus on the Print piece?

Imagine if Ricoh MFP salespeople sold and offered to train their prospects in Google Apps ($50/seat/year for enterprise sales), free for SMB.

The headline on the brochure or Press Release says,
Buy a Ricoh MFP and get all the software you need to run your business for free!!!!

IBM is already on board. Maybe they will figure out how to implement distribute and print through Google.

The headline on that brochure or Press Release says,
Google it. Find it. Print it. Anywhere by InfoPrint.

The sales channel gets comped from Google in addition to their comp from Ricoh. I have no idea about how the comp works for Google APs sales, but it's not hard to imagine that an MFP salesperson or one of the amazingly inventive players in the PSDA space, could make more money selling Google Aps to a school district than by selling a gezillion boxes. Plus Google does all the after sale support. The sales person is done, when the sale is made.

What do you think the comp might be for a deal like the following?

This story was posted in October, 2008
Washington DC latest to drop Microsoft for web apps

Washington D.C. has joined 500,000+ businesses and organizations in moving its communication and productivity tools into the cloud. Vivek Kundra, CTO for the District, signed an agreement with Google to migrate the organization's 38,000 employees to Google Apps, the search giant's web-based offering of communication and productivity tools. Washington D.C. is a not-insignificant win for Google, and yet another blow to Microsoft's incumbent Office suite, as a surge of web apps steadily replaces their desktop counterparts.

Kundra signed the contract with Google back in June, and it's estimated to be worth nearly $500,000 a year, according to Bloomberg.

Plus how does Xerox expect to sell DocuShare at $50/ per seat/per year with essentially no learning curve and no after sales support.

Meanwhile, PARC University, anyone?

And by the way, how's that erasable paper thing working out over at Xerox?
Do you think it might be time to get some proof of concepts running the real world? My bet is that our amazingly talented engineers and middle management are still busy with focus groups, meetings, while someone at a higher level is still figuring out how to protect the legacy revenue stream. No doubt, the last is a very hard problem. But that's why C level people get the big bucks.

Here's IBM's education piece:

IBM to open its first innovation center in RP
read at Latest Philippine News - BETA

"MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine unit of IBM will open its first Innovation Center in the country – and the second in Asia – at the UP-Ayala Techno Park in Quezon City.

Although the company refused to disclose the project’s actual amount, the center will focus on developing open-source and Web 2.0 solutions geared towards helping the Philippines move up the BPO chain.

The Philippines “has a big pool of developers who can create applications and solutions that will allow people and corporations to collaborate and gain access to technology,' Janet Klein, director for developer relations at IBM Asia Pacific, said during a small media gathering.

The laboratory is also intended to give students, particularly those interested in BPO or services industry, a clear road map to develop their skills, Klein said."