In only a few short months after we first covered the IBM i Manifest effort in Japan, there’s been a lot of new action: The effort spread to Europe, then jumped the pond to America. And just what is that effort? iManifest is a grassroots movement led by IBM i-focused Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) who see a need to revitalize the IBM i ecosystem.

The initiative started in Japan earlier this year when a group of 71 IBM Business Partners and ISVs created a joint “IBM i Manifest” declaration of their support, faith, and investment in the IBM i platform. They all chipped in to buy a full-page ad in the Nikkei newspaper, which would have cost somewhere around $100,000 in U.S. dollars--just $1,400 or so per partner.

The Japanese initiative has three basic goals: to revitalize the IBM i market in Japan and increase the customer installed base; to assure IBM i customer organizations, resellers, and ISVs selling IBM i solutions that IBM i will not only survive, but more importantly, continue to prosper; and to inform the wider IT community of the unique value proposition of IBM i.

Europe Jumps In

In July, Martin Fincham, LANSA’s general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), used his My Midrange Meddle blog to kick off a similar initiative for EMEA. Not surprisingly, LANSA is a sponsor, but the EMEA iManifest effort has been largely led by Fincham, and his blog is technically a personal blog.

In his call to action, he wrote, “It was bold of our Japanese brothers-in-arms to announce their pledge in a national business newspaper. The cost of such a public declaration sends a clear message of intent to the market and makes this initiative standout from other ‘flash-in-the-pan’ endeavors. While Europe has several pre-eminent business newspapers from which to choose, I am inclined to believe that the Financial Times has the best pedigree and broadest reach in Europe. The rate card for a full-page advert with European distribution is £69,800 (€81,000). We need vendors from the IBM i community in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to come forward and agree to participate in funding and forming iManifest EMEA.”

Fincham’s launch plan requires 50 founding members for the EMEA region. In his plan, which is based on a metaphor of tiered seat pricing for airlines, nine members would pay a larger share of the manifest publication costs (business and premium economy fares), while most members would pay just 1 percent (economy fares). LANSA has already agreed to purchase one of the business-class seats to get the ball rolling.

The next step in the plan is to create a transition board of directors based on the founding sponsors to develop the bylaws for the group and develop a plan to get the initiative off the ground and flying.

As of this fall, the action and interest seemed slower than you might think--or rather, slower than I think. After all, if most of the ISVs in our market jumped in with just chump change in sponsorship, it wouldn’t take long to get a full page ad created and placed. And yet, there’s some concern in the wind about the need for a full-page ad in a major newspaper--might it be smarter to spread the money around and hit a lot of different channels with advertising?

Fincham addressed the issue on My Midrange Meddle, noting, “In my mind a manifesto of any kind - political, charitable or commercial - needs to arrive on the scene with a loud bang to get noticed. This means that the founding supporters must be credible and vocal on the topic and the launch must be sufficiently symbolic to encourage long-tail coverage. One of the benefits of making a splash is that the bold act itself is reported on throughout the media world, thus generating the kind of authoritative coverage that modest amounts of money just can’t buy.”

Plus, there’s the notion that reaching IT types instead of both management and IT at the same time through a major publication, wouldn’t do as much good. For iManifest EMEA, the publication would be the Financial Times, which seems to be the most widely read and respected publication, though not necessarily in every country and pocket in EMEA. Which brings up an important point: Can a full-page ad in the Financial Times pack the same kind of punch as an ad in the Nikkei? After all, the Nikkei pretty much covers all the movers and shakers in Japan; there might not be as potent a channel anywhere else in the world.

And What of IBM?

Another concern is IBM itself. In some ways, an iManifesto is a slap in the face to IBM. Seriously, anyone who thinks it’s not is kidding themselves. Basically, if you’ve got some sense of the market and IBM’s strategic efforts to sell services, software, and create new markets in areas that never existed before, you know that IBM’s direct marketing of hardware and operating system platforms is no longer in the backseat--it may have been left behind altogether.

So when IBM’s Business Partners--with a capital B and P--band together to proclaim their support for IBM’s product, can anyone say this isn’t just a bit embarrassing? For the vendors and for IBM?

You bet it is. And what vendor wants to get on the bad side of IBM? If sitting back and doing little to promote the i-focused industry is bad, angering your most important partner seems like a fast way to make everything worse.

So far, the rumors I’ve heard have been positive. Still, it’s not like IBM even has some formal way to acknowledge the iManifest efforts. I was on the phone with IBM’s Ian Jarman, manager of Power Systems Software, briefly in October, and while we were discussing a different topic, I asked him about the iManifest efforts. He was positive and said IBM thinks the interest is great. Of course, Jarman doesn’t speak for IBM as a whole, but I can tell you there wasn’t a hint of hesitation or negativity in his voice, and when guys like me ask loaded questions, we tend to listen closely.

Tiger by the Tail?

Meanwhile, here in the United States, Jeff Olen, an IBM i-focused consultant, looked around and realized someone from the U.S. needed to act, too. Consequently, he jump-started iManifest United States. His efforts are remarkably similar to those of his predecessors--create a web site, a call to action, and write up a bare-bones plan for sponsors. The idea is to create the group, pool the money, create the iManifest, and publish in the Wall Street Journal, where a full page ad goes for a cool $150,000.

For iManifest United States, the initial board would be made up of at least four large companies, eight midsize companies, and 36 small companies.

As of mid-October, pledges were up to about $30,000. The goal, Olen says, is to be fully funded by the beginning of 2010. While Olen says he’s seen a lot of positive action, he has run into a bit of apathy. “Some people and companies seemed to have resigned themselves to the idea that the IBM i and POWER6 are going away and we should all just accept it. All I can offer those people and companies are a different perspective and the assurance that IBM continues to have plans for IBM i and POWER6 for the foreseeable future,” he says.

As for the hang-up on the notion of a full-page ad, Olen and early members are working to dispel the myth that iManifest is just about a one-time ad. “The full-page ad is not mandatory,” he explains. “Once the initiative has its founding members and is fully funded then those members will elect a board of directors. It will be up to the board of directors to decide how best to get the word out.”

It’s Not So Much About i As It Is About Everyone

In some ways, the iManifest efforts have gotten a bit of skepticism for “doing the job that IBM should be doing” a.k.a. marketing IBM i. I’m wondering if marketing IBM i directly is more of a misnomer, in some ways--the iManifest effort in Japan seemed to be more about marketing the ecosystem, as in, here’s a group of solution providers that have IBM i expertise, that recommend IBM i, and will continue to be there for your organization if you choose IBM i.

That’s a pretty solid message, really, and i could ultimately benefit if customers and potential customers realize that there’s a whole IBM i ecosystem out and about, quietly humming away--like an IBM i system, no doubt--and that it’s strong and committed to continuing to deliver solutions that run on IBM i for years to come.

“It is very important for IBM and IBM i customers to know that there are ISVs continuing to advance the System i through on-going enhancements to current products or development of complete new software . . . not only to dispel the myth of ‘legacy’, but to show genuine advancement,” says Allen Hartley, CEO and owner of ProData, which is an iManifest sponsor.

“While it seems IBM has quieted its System i support, we have to recognize their continued involvement in groups that drive the System i, such as the Common American Advisory Council (CAAC), LUG, and hopefully now the iManifest,” he notes, adding, “There’s still a lot of pent-up passion out there for this box!”

It’s this pent up passion that brings hope for the iManifest initiatives and a rebirth of IBM i: if there’s enough brouhaha, it won’t matter if it’s embarrassing or exciting--IBM’s top brass may notice, may consider what’s going on, and if we’re lucky, see new opportunity in IBM i.

Chris Maxcer is news editor for System iNEWS (chris.maxcer@penton.com). “In some ways, Oracle’s planned acquisition of Sun may result in a situation where Oracle can create a compelling new value message of a new completely integrated stack--starting with hardware, adding the database, and building application solutions on top of both,” Chris says. “The integration message, of course, is bound to resonate with customers. Will IBM try to compete head-to-head via AIX? Definitely. But maybe, just maybe, it’ll see an opening where it can win with IBM i--which has a long history of being an integrated stack--and create a new generation of loyal customers. There are more than a few years left, anyway, before most applications live as services in the clouds!”