Revamped iSeries Lets Zollar Get Down to Growing Biz

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Many of you know Al Zollar, the new general manager of the iSeries line within IBM's Server Group, because he has been in charge of IBM's Lotus unit for several years. He's unfamiliar to many of us beyond that, but this much can be said: Whatever he did at Lotus to compete against Microsoft in the groupware and messaging market, he did it to the satisfaction of his superiors.

The fact is, Zollar has just been given a plum assignment. He is taking over the iSeries organization--which is several times larger than Lotus, even in down times--one week before the launch of a much-improved iSeries line that has set the stage for a resurgence in sales of the platform and for enthusiasm among the OS/400 customer base. His predecessor, Buell Duncan, told me last week that Zollar is the perfect guy for the job. So who is he, and what does he bring to the table to help push the iSeries? Let's find out a little more about him.

I'm curious. When did you find out you'd be taking over the iSeries line? And, as general manager of the Lotus unit, did you know about the revamping of the iSeries product line before taking the job?

I'll answer the second part first. Yes, I did know about the announcement. Buell Duncan did a nice job connecting with his Software Group colleagues. We had extensive briefings between our teams. With respect to the job, I knew a few days into the New Year, and was delighted to have the opportunity to come to the iSeries team.

Buell Duncan had extensive channel experience and ran some OS/400 platform units in Europe before he became GM for the iSeries, which is a channel-driven solution. How does your experience at Lotus, and several other executive and development jobs at IBM, position you to take the helm of the iSeries line?

I tell people that I take every job like it's the last job I will ever have. That is the attitude I will bring to this job, and that is the one that I took with my prior job. I see a lot of parallels. Both Lotus and the iSeries brand are very dependent on channel partners. About 50 percent of Lotus sales come from the channel, which is a similar number compared to the iSeries, and about 80 percent of fulfillment is done through the channel. Lotus was not able to be successful without the channel, and I have had experience working with the channel, specifically in the midmarket. I would say that Buell's extensive channel experience is exactly why he was chosen to take on another important part of our go-to-market strategy, which is targeting developers.

During your tenure at Lotus, Domino became an increasingly important product for companies in the small and midsized business [SMB] market and IBM's strategy to reach them. The bulk of Domino users rely on Windows servers, but the iSeries plus Domino gained ground in the SMB market as well. How much of a gain can the iSeries make against Windows in this area? Can you sell Windows customers on the idea that the iSeries should be their Domino server, and if so, how?

I think it is very straight-forward. The iSeries is the best-performing platform for Domino, as measured by the NotesBench benchmarks. When we combine that with the Windows integration features of the iSeries, it is really a superior server for Domino.

But the iSeries is not exactly known to the Windows base. How do you get the iSeries message to current and prospective Windows customers?

This really brings us back to this week's iSeries announcements and the new competitive capabilities of the machine, which revolve around a few principles. The first is this notion of simplicity, the simplicity of the iSeries in a complicated world. I think the other significant thing is that multiple workloads can realistically bring into the iSeries environment an ease of management, whether it is Linux-based or Windows-based applications. And, by the way, Domino on Linux is proving to be a very capable platform. The iSeries as a platform for integrating multiple workloads--traditional OLTP workloads, Java workloads, and so forth--is, I think, what this announcement is all about.

The iSeries organization encompasses many thousands of employees worldwide and thousands of key business partners. You're just one person. What are the practical limits of a general manager's power within an IBM product line? I don't know if you've been warned, but in the iSeries we often expect a lot from our GMs.

[Zollar laughs.] I think that the job is really a leadership position. As a leader, I am asked to make clear, both internally and externally, where we are going to take this very important franchise. You're absolutely right. One person, especially in a leadership position like this, has to depend on many, many outstanding people. I always had nothing but tremendous respect for the Rochester team, which I have interacted with quite a bit in my 26-year career at IBM. Every time, I have come away impressed by the depth of technical talent and innovativeness of that team.

If history is any guide, you'll be in the GM position for the iSeries for around two years, give or take a few months. I realize that this is only your second week on the job, but what do you hope to accomplish in that time? And don't say world peace.

That's a hard question. Right now, what I am trying to do most of all is listen to all the stakeholders in the iSeries. Over the next 90 days, in the aftermath of all of our announcement activities, I expect to hear from a lot of our customers and to hear from our business partners at PartnerWorld. I've already reached out to the employees in Rochester, and I will be in contact with the employees in Dublin and our other locations around the world. I will be listening to other folks like yourself, and taking in as much as I possibly can. I feel really fortunate, because this announcement sets the stage for the next 12 to 18 months.

Some might call you lucky. You got the job at exactly the right time.

[He laughs.] That's what I've been saying, too. It's really fortunate timing because Buell's team has worked hard putting together this announcement, and now part of my job is to make sure that people understand it.

Well, I'm not easy to please, and while I realize that I've only seen half of the announcement--we're still waiting on pricing for the new hardware and packaging--I like what I have seen so far.

I think that if you saw the value of the Green Streak promotion and the way our customers responded to what is in essence a 50 percent price reduction, you'd be very pleased with the new iSeries. Depending on the configuration--and even simplified, we still have somewhat complex pricing--some of our customers will see 80 percent price reductions, with the average being closer to 50 percent. And when you add in all the other software, like OS/400, DB2, and WebSphere, it is really a compelling offer.

Sponsored By FAST400

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