Mark Shearer got personal last week during a Fireside Chat sponsored by iSociety.

Members of the iSociety community questioned the IBM System i general manager about everything from IP telephony and PHP to marketing, getting back to basics, and less expensive entry servers.

Shearer answered questions Thursday in the chat "auditorium" set up by iSociety and COMMON.

One of the first questions Shearer faced was whether IBM has plans to release an inexpensive model of the System i for small businesses. "Current i5s are too much for these little companies, both in price and performance," one community member lamented.

Although his answer was vague, Shearer suggested that a small-company-affordable, entry-level i5 is making its way down the manufacturing conveyor belt. "This requirement, for a more competitive, entry-level offering, is completely understood by me," Shearer said. "I hear this in the U.S. and very loudly in Europe. Watch this space. I hear you loud and clear."

Also on the sales side of the equation, iSociety members asked about marketing plans for the System i.

"The marketing team has some clever approaches in development to reach audiences that we have not reached in the recent past," Shearer said.

He also talked about combining forces with other divisions within IBM to increase sales. "We're working very closely with our SMB colleagues to include the System i in their solutions marketing and selling initiatives," he said.

He spoke about what sounded like the System i sales priority for 2007 — expanding market reach through vertical business communities. "We're going to try to speak to businesses in more business terms," Shearer said, noting that IBM plans to focus on 80 industry vertical markets around the world. "These things should make us more visible to specific markets."

He said the strategy would bring the System i back to its basic game plan of selling industry vertical solutions based on the platform. Incorporated in the vertical industry program are provisions for having solutions-based discussions with C-level executives. "C-level discussions have to be done in the language of the industry and business they're in," Shearer said. "We will do this for selected industry sub-segments."

On the technology side, Shearer fielded several questions about the new IP telephony solution from 3Com that runs on the System i. One community member wanted to know exactly what the big deal is with the solution.

"Almost every company I've spoken to sees a huge opportunity to save money and improve services by implementing IP telephony," Shearer said. "The System i offering is the industry's first scale-up solution that allows you to virtualize the entire IP telephony suite on a single system. It's simple. It's integrated. And it has a very rapid financial payback. One other plus: It's easy to integrate with business applications on the same platform."

Shearer also wasn't shy when it came to boasting about PHP on the System i. "About 4,550 companies have downloaded the PHP offering across 150 countries," he said.

Many of the final questions Shearer fielded during the chat encompassed his personal tastes.

He said his favorite websites outside IBM are SeamlessWeb.com and OpenTable.com. "The answer for publication is food," Shearer said. "I'm into food. I live in New York City when I'm not traveling, and I use two sites: SeamlessWeb.com (1,000 restaurants that deliver to your door after you order online) and OpenTable to make reservations. I eat too much food."

However, he shied away from giving out too much information. When asked about his favorite post at i4everyone.com, he took the fifth. "Not a chance," Shearer said.

The System i general manager said he doesn't have any plans to get into the marketing phenomenon himself. "iSociety is sponsoring a contest to create amateur videos about System i, called 'A Star is Born,'" one iSociety member pointed out. "Do you plan to enter?"

"That would not be a pretty sight," he responded. "I know my own strengths."

You'll soon be able to read the transcript of the Fireside Chat with Shearer when it's posted online at the iSociety.org website.