Stock of the Day
|
IBM (IBM)
IBM Goes After Google with Cloud-Based Email Service
Google (GOOG: Charts, News, Offers) and Microsoft (MSFT: Charts, News, Offers) have been slowly killing IBM's (IBM: Charts, News, Offers) Lotus business. In a bold counterattack move, yesterday, IBM launched LotusLive iNotes, a new cloud-based hybrid e-mail service that starts at $36 per user per year. This is a direct lunge against Google who charges $50 annually per user for its more comprehensive package. And indirectly against Microsoft by capturing businesses that want to move their email off their existing on-premises Exchange servers to the cloud. Is this counterattack move too late in the game? Can IBM carve out its own niche with this new offering?
|
| Daily Chart |
If you are not able to see the chart, your email client probably does not support javascript. To view it, please click here
|
| Stock Analysis |
IBM's LotusLive provides integrated file sharing, web conferencing and social networking services. iNotes add web-based email with POP3, IMAP4, and authenticated SMTP, with anti-spam and anti-virus features along with SSL encryption, secure password recovery, and a suite of administrative tools to manage user accounts and global settings. All employees in an organization can operate under a single domain, using a shared corporate directory. The service includes 1GB of storage per user and comes with calendar and contacts management capabilities. Customers can also buy additional storage as needed. Meanwhile, Google starts off with a 25GB inbox and offers web-hosted word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, as well as a tool for building a business intranet.
|
As far as personal email goes, IBM is probably out of luck with Google's strong presence with Gmail. To differentiate its new offering, IBM is marketing LotusLive iNotes as a business-class solution with more security and reliability than Google's. This is a direct attempt to capture customers who are thinking about cloud-based solutions but are reluctant because they are afraid that sensitive company's information might be lost or otherwise fall into the wrong hands. IBM is also trying to play the reliability card and take advantage of Gmail recent outages. Moreover, IBM is justifying its stripped-down solution with slogans such as "Everything you need. Nothing you don't," and highlighting iNotes' simplicity and usability. In their words, iNotes is "a package not overburdened with features whose performance is typical of an on-premise e-mail system. "
|
From a business-person perspective, there is a glimpse of hope that IBM might be able to pull this off and carve out its own niche. IBM is leveraging its current user base that is using Lotus Notes, while going after Google's and Microsoft's market share. There is also a great opportunity with the federal government where IBM has a significant presence. Some stakeholders are concerned about the security of sensitive government data. If IBM can address this issue quickly, it has a strong fighting chance to grab this large and lucrative segment. With a brand like IBM, which always has been synonymous with security and reliability, it is possible that IBM's counterattack move is not too late.
|
Other Stuff Related to IBM:
LotusLive iNotes: Like Gmail, but Without the Outages -- IBM took advantages of Google's Gmail recent outages to pitch a more reliable solution. Will businesses buy this pitch?
IBM taking on Google in the enterprise email space? -- Google is the king of the cloud and software-as-a-service industry. Can IBM fight back and beat the king at his own game?
IBM's head is in the clouds -- Lotus Notes was the "undisputed holder of the World's Most Hated Software crown?" Can IBM break its former reputation with its new and more "user-friendly" iNotes?
|
More Stocks in the News:
Boeing Will Take $1 Billion Charge in Quarter --The 747-8 program is costing Boeing more than anticipated and the challenging market conditions forces Boeing (BA: Charts, News, Offers) to take $1 billion charge in the third quarter.
Emerson to Acquire Avocent for $1.2 Billion in Cash - Mergers and acquisitions are slowly coming back. Today, Emerson Electric Co. (EMR: Charts, News, Offers), the maker of power and cooling systems for data centers, agreed to buy Avocent Corp. (AVCT: Charts, News, Offers) for about $1.2 billion in cash.
Verizon Wireless, Google in Android partnership -- Google (GOOG: Charts, News, Offers) is teaming up with Verizon (VZ: Charts, News, Offers) to develop new Android smart phones. Step aside Apple (AAPL: Charts, News, Offers) and AT&T (T: Charts, News, Offers)?
|
Profile |
Click here to view a detailed profile of IBM.
|
|
|
|
|
