Category Archives: Work

And the day arrived — I am an IBMer !!

Posted on by — 3 Comments ↓

I am officially an IBMer and the first thing I did was to put some form of disclosure on this site — thanks Andy and Kelly, I just plagiarist yours.

Actually I got connected to the IBM network a day or so ago allready and are trying to find my feet in the IBM systems.  Got to read up about all the people I have met and what they say about themselves in the Bluepages.

I have not been into work yet so will have to see whether all my access keys still work and they allow me into my own building 🙂

Technorati Tags: , ,

Saying goodbye to SCS (Safmarine Computer Service)

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Last night we said farewell to SCS on our way to becoming IBM.  What a nostalgic evening, talking about the good times, bad times and more importantly the fun times.  Although I was only with SCS for the last 18 months, SCS started in 1974 so there was a lot of stories to be told.  And believe it but 3 SCSers from that era is still around today.

Thanks to Tertia (our famous writer and celebrity in making) that arranged this memorable evening and also Paul and Richard who will be footing the bill. Oh and thanks for the great gift .. will come in handy looking into the far distance.

It was a great evening enjoyed by everybody — great food, great music and great people.  Now we will wait for the 5th of December to see if IBM can do the same with our Welcome party 🙂

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Today I become a IBM guinea-pig !!

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

They will be loading some IBM software on my work laptop today to allow me to access the IBM internal network while still being connected to my customer (Safmarine) network.  This will be through some VPN connection and I am looking forward to seeing how this will be working.  At last I might have access to all things IBM and internal contact to all the IBMers I allready met via non-IBM means.

That reminds me — first thing I need to do is find out where the Leave system is.  Need to put my leave in for the the Christmas holiday period :).

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

New way of getting introduced to IBM-way of doing things

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

IBM will be using Virtual Worlds for Global Training according to a article on Serious Games Source.  This must be a lot more fun than just sitting through a presentation or lecture room.

Hope that some of these Virtual World training material will become available when I join IBM in 14 days.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

IBM invests $100million in new ideas

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

IBM’s Sam Palmisano announced that $100million will be spend over the next 2 years on new ideas that was generated earlier this year.  Of the 10 that caught my eye was:

“Digital Me”: Creating a secure, user-friendly service that simplifies storage, management and long-term access to the deluge of personal content that people accumulate (digital photos, videos, music, health and financial records, personal identification documents, files, etc.).

3D Internet: Partnering with others to take the best of virtual worlds and gaming environments to build a seamless, standards-based 3D Internet — the next platform for global commerce and day-to-day business operations.

and

Simplified Business Engines: Developing and bringing to market an intuitive, easy-to-use and pre-packaged set of Web 2.0 services and blade server offerings that allow small and mid-size businesses to easily tap applications customized to their own specific business needs.

 
Will keep and eye on these and see how I can get involved in these initiatives.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Greater IBM

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Just read on the GreaterIBM blog about their visit to Germany.  Quoting

….opportunities for this network to support business goals in key current markets, such as Germany, as well as emerging ones like China, India and Brazil.

I would like to see this also extended to South Africa which is a growing part of the world when looking at IBM.

Technorati Tags: , ,

Move to IBM now in the final stretch

Posted on by — 4 Comments ↓

ITWeb has a story on our move to IBM … as they say in South Africa — it is now  “min dae” (for my non-Afrikaans friends and readers that mean that we almost there).

On the one side I am a bit sad in leaving SCS behind and some of my coleagues that are staying behind in Safmarine.  On the other hand I am realy existed to become an IBMer with all the opportunities and new things to learn.  It is almost like being born again.  I have already virtually met some great IBMers like Kelly and Andy.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Customer Requirements and complexity

Posted on by — No Comments ↓

Mark Cathcart wrote on his blog about complexity and completeness and I quote one statement he made:

The real challenge though that IBM faces, is not the complexity of our products, but the complexity of our customers.

 
This is so true.  How often does we not stare us blind against the complexity of products (anybody that has worked with WebSphere know what I talk about)? Sometime there is a very simple solution to a customers complex requirements.  The customer does not care how complex your product or solution is, all he cares about is whether his requirement is met and his business problem is solved.  In the end it is all about customer satisfaction!

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,