IBM is building a common fix acquisition strategy across all our software products. The strategy encompasses common tooling, common terminology, a common repository, and of course a common delivery web site. The customer facing web site is known as Fix Central, and it's operational today. The value proposition is clear: A single location to visit for all software fixes, and a common user experience no matter what IBM software product you are dealing with. The single location also allows easy identification and delivery of pre- and co-requisite fixes, which is especially important for stack products like WebSphere Portal, Web Content Manager (WCM), ActiveInsight, etc. It will also become increasingly important as we launch composite application support with Notes/Domino 8. Fix Central holds both ifixes, fix packs, and maintenance releases.
Version 1 of Fix Central went live May 1st 2007 with our WebSphere Portal (core) product being one of the two products to participate in beta tests and go live with the initial release. Informix was the other. We have since added Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections. Six Portal customers evaluated the beta release. Feedback has been outstanding. In spite of this being a first release with limited functionality, customers are already very positive about Fix Central, giving us 4 and 5 ratings on a 0-5 scale for statements like: "It's easy to find the fixes I need" and "I am confident I am downloading the correct files". They have also expressed in comments that they particularly like having an 'all fixes' option allowing them to see all available fixes for a release, and having the option of de-selecting individual files they might not need to download. With future versions, we'll continue to expand the functionality. Intended enhancements include a full text search of fix descriptions, supersede processing, and limited availability functionality. The vision also includes the ability to automatically recommend fixes based on the customer's current inventory. Integration with client self-assist tools like IBM Workplace for Customer Support (IWCS), IBM Support Assistant (ISA), the Electronic Service Agent (ESA), and the Platform Level Reporting Tool (PLRT) is planned.
Lotus WPLC has taken a leadership role in implementing the new Fix Acquisition strategy with three products implemented already. We decided to implement Lotus Quickr and Lotus Connections in June because they are initial releases without a pre-existing fix delivery method. Now we are moving on to additional Portal components, Sametime and Notes & Domino because these are mature large volume products, where implementation will benefit the most customers. Notes & Domino has a sophisticated fix pack publication system today. It will take time to integrate with the new Fix Acquisition strategy, but that work is starting now.
But remember, you can already find Portal, Quickr and Connections fixes in Fix Central. Visit here: http://www.ibm.com/eserver/support/fixes/
Flemming Christensen | 16 July 2007 08:47:00 AM ET | Westford, MA | Comments (1)
