This change in leadership shouldn't be viewed as a black mark on either Lotus or Zollar himself. In all probability it will lead to some exciting and fresh ideas in the coming year.

Product name changes
The other big news of the past few weeks is that IBM announced many of the Lotus technologies are going to receive a name change. From now on they'll be known by their functions rather than their current product names. Those with high brand awareness, such as Lotus Notes and Domino, will stay the same, but others will take on more meaningful, if not as poetic, nomenclature.

For example, IBM Lotus QuickPlace will become IBM Lotus Team Workplace. Lotus Sametime (IM) will become IBM Lotus Instant Messaging. Lotus Sametime (e-meetings) will be re-branded IBM Lotus Web Conferencing. IBM Lotus Discovery Server, meanwhile, is considered to be quite descriptive enough, thank you.

For the remainder of this year, the new product names and the old names will exist side by side until IBM decides when to do away with the old designations.

Attempts to shake up the status quo can sometimes fail: consider New Coke or converting Americans to the metric system. Here's a personal example. In my home state of Pennsylvania the powers-that-be have seen fit to screw around with the highway exit numbers. The old numbers, which ran in a logical numerical order and which everyone had gotten used to through experience, are gone. They've been replaced by seemingly random numbers that correspond to the mileage separating the individual exits. So now, for instance, Exit 368 will be followed by Exit 384. Meanwhile, to avoid total panic and confusion, the state has left the old exit numbers up alongside the new ones, only they're much smaller and harder to read. When giving directions, we still give the old exit numbers. However, now they're harder to spot at seventy miles per hour.

The results of Lotus' brand tampering remain to be seen. On the one hand, it could lead to greater confusion, but on the other, it could help potential customers instantly see what a product does and how it can benefit their company.

As we head into Lotusphere, things are getting a bit of a shake up. Is this for good or ill? Only time will tell. The only sure thing is it will be exciting to watch as we move into 2003.

Steve Niles is Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. He is also an independent filmmaker and freelance writer. For more information, visit http://www.sn-films.com.