First the app stores that I have worked with include Salesforce.com's AppExchange and the Apple App Store. I have never purchased an app from the Salesforce.com App Exchange however I have downloaded and installed "test drive" apps in my developer instance. After test driving the apps I never purchased them, primarly because I was unable to get them to work correctly. Removing the apps was quite simple as I can simply go to the installed apps section of Salesforce.com and nuke them. Pufff.....gone. The apps were also highly constrained as to not let developers get their hands on the underlying code. While my hopes were high for the entire AppExchange experience, I always come away dissapointed.
While end-users can explore the AppExchange they are unable to install anything into the Salesforce instance they are using as that is managed by an administrator. Yes I am one of the administrators for a large manufacturing company with hundreds of users and not once has a user come to me suggesting we purchase an app from the Salesforce App Exchange. Again, the AppExchange is clearly in their face all of the time due to the highly skilled Salesforce.com master marketing department.
The Apple App Store for the iPhone/iPod touch is something as an individual that I use a lot. Most apps that I do download are free and others are $2-$5. The paid for apps include a Google Analytics app, Super Monkey Ball, Tweetie and the Mac OS Ken podcast app. Most of the free apps are from companies like Facebook, Starbucks, ZipCar, Yelp and of course the obligatory flashlight app. Also, I don't mind risking a few dollars on app that may or not be good. I consider my phone a "personal" piece of technology that I have 100% control over.
Now let's talk about Notes and Domino and more specifically Notes first. Notes clients are typically centrally managed and controlled by an IT departments. Now let's say there was a Lotus app store that could be optionally placed in the menu or sidebar. OK it's there and the XYZ Company with their 55,000 Notes seats allows their staff to download and install 3rd party Notes apps. First who is going to pay for these apps on the corporaate Notes clients? If I pay $5 bucks and install one of these apps on my system who is going to support it? Do I call the IT department or do I call the vendor. Do I even get support with the vendor for a $5 app? What if the app screws up my corporate Notes client? Now of course the opposite would hold true for companies that don't manage their Notes clients and allow the end-user to do whatever they want. I haven't even touched on the port 1352 firewall issues that may exist.
Domino apps like IdeaJam, IQJam and LinkJam I can't see ever being able to purchase/deploy via an appstore. Possibly remote Domino apps with Lotus Foundations like Bob Baehr has blogged about in the past but I would have to see this in action first. For a hosted solution with Elguji sure: been there, done that.
So what does Bruce think can work and should be done by IBM? Just what they are doing - developing a new Product Catalog which they are currently doing and continue to invest in the Lotus Knows air-cover campaign.
In a few days please go back to the posts linked above and see what others are saying in response to the blog posts. I wish I had more time to tell you some more of my thoughts on this but not enough time in the day.
Comment posted by Jeff Gilfelt11/03/2009 01:09:21 PM
Homepage: http://jeffgilfelt.com
Spot on Bruce. I find some of the analogies made between Notes and iPhone utterly absurd. Notes & Domino, while end user facing, is not consumer software and IBM are wise not to position it as such.
Salesforce.com has the advantage of being entirely cloud based, so it can offer the provisioning of AppExchange solutions through the platform quite easily, yet the Force.com ISVs I have spoken to do an awful lot of bespoke implementations of their products directly for clients despite having presence on the AppExchange.
Why has BlackBerry App World not gained much adoption amongst 3rd party developers? Because corporate admins cripple the devices to avoid the headaches involved in supporting the apps.
I think there is also an expectation amongst some vendors that there ought to be some sort of magical IBM fairy that does all their own product marketing for them. A direct distribution channel is great, but as anyone who has put anything up on the iPhone app store will attest, without any significant marketing of your own, even a the greatest app will go nowhere.
Comment posted by Peter Presnell11/03/2009 01:16:56 PM
Homepage: http://www.xpagesblog.com
Hey Bruce,
It seems everyone might (or might not?) be looking for IBM to take the lead in developing this as a concept. I see an opportunity for an enterprising BP to build the store and then charge a "small" commission on the sales it generates.
Comment posted by Eric Mack11/03/2009 02:28:52 PM
Homepage: http://Www.EricMackOnLine.com
Jeff, I like the idea of a "magical IBM fairy that does all their own product marketing for them." where do I sign up?
Comment posted by Ian Randall11/03/2009 09:58:20 PM
I agree with Bruce that a Lotus Apps Store may not work due to IT support issues and policies, however there might be a way in which a sandbox approach such as the Lotus Greenhouse might be another way in which software developers could promote and demonstrate their commercial products to users (without those users needing to install the server component onto a Domino server behind their firewall).
Such a try-before-you-buy service might also generate an alternative revenue stream for low cost plug-ins or portlets that are not free or open source. This test-drive environment would need to provide some protection for the IP of these software developers, but just because others have not developed a successful model, doesn't mean that it's impossible.
Comment posted by Bruce11/03/2009 10:04:52 PM
@Ian - this is exactly what Elguji does with their products.
Comment posted by John Head11/03/2009 10:48:01 PM
Homepage: http://www.johndavidhead.com
@Peter - no, the app store model only works if it's on the Home Page of the Notes client every time you load up the software. Anything else will not have a momentum shift. And many companies have tried it - Lotus911 on BleedYellow, and more. It has to be built by IBM, pushed into every client, and focus on end user apps. It will create a new product space in our market.
Comment posted by Palmi11/03/2009 11:17:55 PM
@john there is noway companies are going to let a App store been pushed into client for lots of reasons , I dont think i need to go into details. But i agree with Ian "Such a try-before-you-buy service might also generate an alternative revenue stream for low cost plug-ins or portlets that are not free or open source" i would like to see a Notes Apps Store - my friend Scott has "kinda like a apps store" http://notescode.com/ 
Comment posted by John Head11/04/2009 07:03:48 AM
Homepage: http://www.johndavidhead.com
@Palmi - this was discussed at LoLA - and the big customers were in the room. Give them policy control and the ability to filter purchases and display thru a proxy store and they will buy into it. But just because a few of the bigger companies wants control does not mean you do not do it. We need a revolution in the end user paradigm - and this would help bring it
Comment posted by Mike McP11/04/2009 07:06:06 AM
Homepage: http://www.openntf.org/mPortal
I would think this is still doable. First, we'd need to make the assumption that most visitors to the store will be corporate users, while a minority will NOT be, but we still need to make it work for them. In this example,
For discussion, I'll use IP range as the method for identifying users, but there's a bunch of other ways. IP address as a means of identification presents a host of problems, but we can probably agree that it's doable somehow so we don't need to linger on the 'how do I identify what or a user is from and if they're an admin or regular user' question.
What if the app store were designed such that you could buy an app in three ways: You could "buy" a site license, you could "buy" an individual license, or you could simply allow site purchases.
In the first case, you buy a site license for a range of IP addresses, and tie the purchase to a central IT person for admin purposes. Then that IT person could distribute the app store link as he sees fit to his/her users. When the user visits the app store, they see just the apps that have been purchased for their site.
In the second case, buying an individual license...that's a no brainer. If there's no 'policy' for that IP, then allow them to buy any app.
In the third case, this is where a site admin decides which apps are allowable, and they are offered for purchase to anyone from that IP range. So when they visit, they see stuff that is both purchased via site license and allowed for individual/departmental purchase.
This is more complex than the iTunes shopping experience, but it's admittedly a more complex situation than iTunes. That said, I don't think it's as different as some folks are making it out to be, as the iPhone is rapidly becoming a corporate device. We're currently struggling with the problems of ownership and support of independently purchased apps on corporate iPhone devices.
Comment posted by Bruce11/04/2009 08:12:11 AM
@John - remember your LoLA NDA. I was in the same room as you and heard something else from customers.
Comment posted by John Head11/04/2009 09:34:26 AM
Homepage: http://www.johndavidhead.com
I am very aware of all my NDA's and am quite sure I didn't come close to them. Thanks for the heads up.
And what I heard, was clearly in support of this.
Comment posted by Bruce11/04/2009 09:43:14 AM
@John - we all make the community go round. Good stuff. See in NYC.
