WebSphere Revolution

The WebSphere User Group As the number of WebSphere users began to grow, so did interest in a WebSphere user group. So IBM helped form the WebSphere User Group which was launched in March 2001 in Las Vegas. They began to hold meetings and built the WebSphere User Group Community Website. By 2003, there would be over 5,000 members and today membership is over 25,000. e-business. They orchestrated a very successful overall marketing campaign entitled “fast, flexible, and fearless” that relied heavily on deep market insight that was pitched to clients on a consultative basis; this was several years before IBM acquired a business consulting practice. One noteworthy component of this effort was a series of three vignettes, each focused on a different aspect of e-commerce and very futuristic; wireless handheld devices used for executing Web-based commerce were one feature area. This advanced insight helped clients see the potential of this market changing product and propel it to a leadership position. At this point, IBM was playing the role of the underdog and they played it well—even making a video depicting WebSphere as a “go kart” racing (and winning) against Indy 500 race cars. And it was working. Things were moving very fast. IBM revenue from e-commerce products and services grew 300 percent year to year during this period, making IBM number one in market share according to IDC. Sandy explains, “It was a brand new brand and brand new creation and we were very successful at making WebSphere the e-business brand of choice through WebSphere Commerce.” WebSphere had become the industry leader and thereby gained another hallmark of success not as a stand-alone application server but as a brand—any company’s most valuable asset. More on the Web • WebSphere User Group As Sandy and her team were focused on the e-commerce angle, they noticed the market was turning toward the need to do everything over the Web not just commerce. Another change was in the wind. The core Web application server function was growing in importance, so Sandy’s team began looking at competing Web application server offerings and, as Sandy puts it, “There was a competitor that was number one in that space and we wanted to be number one in that space.” So the team decided to raise the bar and broaden the discussion by creating a new category known as the “e-business platform.” The e-business platform was a complete infrastructure that could support a wide-range of enterprise-class, e-business functions. WebSphere Application Server became the application engine for this bigger and broader new category. The WebSphere brand was to become an integrated family of software that would provide a complete foundation for enterprise level e-business. A foundation that would allow clients to quickly build applications and add value to their business. Sandy’s team began spreading the word about the WebSphere brand’s new role as an e-business platform. As Sandy recalls, “We took that message out, and not just in the United States it was one of the first brands where we actually executed worldwide launches. We launched the new face of WebSphere as the e-business infrastructure brand of choice.” This new message was well received and WebSphere continued to grow and grow quickly. 2001 IBM e-commerce revenue grows 300 percent year to year. 2001 WebSphere becomes an e-business platform. 30 http://www.websphere.org/websphere/Site?page=home

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of WebSphere Revolution

WebSphere Revolution Table of Contents The Rise of Internet Business WebSphere Takes the Stage WebSphere Application Server Evolves Beyond the Application Server WebSphere and On Demand Business New Flexibility through SOA An Eye Toward the Future

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