Lotusphere 2008 - Call for Abstracts

Call for abstracts - All submissions must be received before 12 pm EST on Friday, September 7, 2007

JumpStart Sessions
Audience: Developers, system administrators and technologists/IT Managers

Lotusphere JumpStart sessions are designed to get developers and administrators up and running on products, techniques, and technologies that Lotus offers. Get ready for the rest of Lotusphere by jumping into that AJAX, Web Services, Web 2.0 or JavaScript class you always meant to take.

And NEW for Lotusphere 2008: We're sub-dividing the sessions in the JumpStart track into the traditional, technology-oriented sessions, and a whole set of product-oriented "QuickStarts" for all of the new Lotus products that we shipped during 2007: Lotus Notes and Domino 8.0, Lotus Quickr 1.0, Lotus Connections 1.0, Lotus Sametime 7.5, and so on. Whereas the "traditional" sessions will continue to cover important tools and technologies, the new QuickStarts will be immersion style overviews of the new products, focusing on features and functionality.
Sessions will begin on Sunday, January 20th, and are two hours in length.

Hands-on Sessions
Audience: Developers and administrators of all levels

Wildly successful since being added to the agenda in 2006, the Hands-on track presents a unique opportunity for you to not only hear the talk, but you get to 'walk the walk' as well. Comprised of two hour sessions, our top experts will spend part of the session teaching you the latest about Lotus Notes and Domino, Lotus Sametime, WebSphere Portal and of course Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections, the newest additions to the portfolio (and much, much more!) -- and then you will have the opportunity to work 'hands-on' with the software and complete exercises live in the session. If you're the type that "learns by doing" then you do not want to miss this popular Lotusphere experience!

Track One: Futures and Innovations
Audience: IT, MIS and business managers and architects, developers and admistrators of all levels

Back with even more for Lotusphere 2008, this track concentrates on the brand-new, "hot-off-the-press" technologies and innovations coming from the engineers at the IBM and Lotus Research labs, including exciting new technologies and glimpses of the future from industry gurus. With "sneak peeks" at every turn, this track will be full of sessions that you won't be able to see anywhere else, we promise!

Track Two: Application Development
Audience: Developers of all levels

The focus of this year's App Dev track is on enhancing the efficiency of developers so that you can be more successful with your applications in less time. There is exciting news about improvements with every Lotus Software tool - from visual development to easing the integration between Lotus collaboration products. It's now going to be easier than ever to create new applications and update existing applications while at the same time making them attractive -- and lightening fast. You'll find a broad selection of sessions about application development tools and technologies for Lotus Domino and beyond, WebSphere Portal, Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections. You'll leave with lots of ideas, helpful hints and new skills to make your applications better-than-ever!

Track Three: Planning and Managing Your Collaboration Infastructure
Audience: System architects, administrators and integrators of all levels

Sessions in the infrastructure track tell you the "what's what" of the "how-to". These sessions dive deep into product architecture, features and capabilities, deployment, as well as system management topics such as administration, directory, security, and performance. You'll pick up top tips straight from the developers who wrote the code, product managers, or 'in-the-field' experts. Whether it's Lotus Notes and Domino, Lotus Quickr, Lotus Connections, WebSphere Portal, or Lotus Sametime, you'll find the 'how-to' and the 'when & why' right here.

Track Four: Best Practices
Audience: Business and IT managers, application developers, system administrators and integrators

The Best Practices track is designed to be the track where "the rubber meets the road" - where you learn all of the tips, tricks, and even how to avoid traps to help you keep your environment at its best. In order to ensure we provide the best content possible, this track is delivered by the best and brightest minds in the Lotus community - you! So, what exactly are we looking for? Well, the Best Practices track is targeted towards the "widely deployed" versions of the Lotus family of products - obviously Lotus Notes and Domino 6.x and 7.x, as well as Lotus Sametime 7.5.x and WebSphere Portal. We'll also sprinkle in some Lotus Notes and Domino 8, Lotus Quickr, Lotus Connections, and more. And we're not just focused on the technology - we're also interested in all the goings-on before you dive into the technology. Things like design concepts, controls issues, SarbOx Regulations, and more. But what if you've read through all of this and you don't see something you want to present to 8,000 of your closest friends? Fear not - we're always open to new ideas! The Best Practices track itself was a "new idea" at one time not so long ago, we're always looking for something new, exciting, and different. Put on your thinking cap, sit down at your keyboard, and blow us away with your ideas - and you too could be on a stage in Orlando in January!


Track Five: Customer Case Studies
Audience: Business and IT managers and professionals

Are you a Lotus Software customer who has implemented solutions that returned real business value? Have you discovered new methods to help cut costs or strengthen your infrastructure? Then we invite you to tell your story at Lotusphere 2008. These sessions will feature leading companies from a variety of industries, and will detail how they're utilizing Lotus Software to drive business results and empower people. They'll showcase how customers adopted Lotus technology solutions to enhance the effectiveness of their work force, to increase collaboration and to take full advantage of the collective knowledge within their organizations. Direct and candid, these sessions outline both successes and challenges - in the areas of collaboration, messaging, application integration, portals - and much more!

Business Development Day
Audience: IBM Business Partners

Lotusphere Business Development Day is the kick-off event for IBM Business Partners - the only place that delivers IBM Business Partner strategy and opportunity for 2008 and sets the stage for your successful year. Submit an abstract and help us design an agenda that helps YOU, and provides you with the key information on the latest technologies from Lotus Software: IBM Lotus Notes and Domino; IBM WebSphere Portal; document management, real-time collaboration as well as unified communications, social networking - you name it!
Focus areas for this year's program will be: 1) Providing you the business skills needed to identify new revenue opportunities for product sales and services, 2) Providing information on key marketing programs and best practices in order to maximize the market opportunity and win over competition; 3) Outlining product plans and marketing strategies for selling into the SMB market and 4) Covering new ways for you to expand your business offerings to include other emerging markets.

Birds-of-a-Feather Sessions
Audience: Any and all Lotusphere attendees

Come one, come all! Birds-of-a-Feather sessions are a popular feature of Lotusphere, bringing together communities and individuals with similar interests. These sessions are informal, interactive discussion groups for like-minded attendees to share ideas and experiences in an small group, open forum setting. Feel free to submit topics that interest you, that you would like to lead, or topics and discussions that you'd like to participate in! Once again, due to last year's success, Lotusphere attendees will vote and choose the best, and those topics will make the cut - so make your submission a good one!