IBM has opened a new front in its Move2Lotus war. It’s called “Migrate to the Penguin.” (The Penguin is Linux.)

The migration campaign centers around the limited-time rebate program we told you about last week. Select IBM Software Resellers who move Microsoft Exchange shops to Lotus Notes and Domino get $20 per qualified seat, up to $20,000 per IBM Business Partner.

In addition, they get free updated Lotus Notes and Domino 7 education and certification, while prospects can play in a Lotus Notes/Domino 7 sandbox dubbed “try before you buy.”

IBM hopes its $300 million campaign will blunt the effect of Microsoft’s $500 million “People Ready” campaign, in which IBM marketers complain that Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer “portrays IBM as mainly a services business whose consultants help companies and then depart or a company seeking to outsource customers’ businesses.”

They capture Ballmer saying, “IBM has an army of relatively expensive consultants. They enable their people to run your business.”

To which Ken Bisconti, IBM VP for Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software retorts,

IBM is the #2 software products business in the world today, not just the services company that Microsoft tagged it. IBM has $15.8 billion in annual software revenue, over 125 million users of Lotus Notes across 40,000 customers, and over 4,000 businesses using WebSphere Portal. IBM is the leader in portal, real-time collaboration and team workspaces. And IBM is tied with Microsoft in the email market. IBM is clearly more than just a services company.

Lotus and Microsoft have been duking it out for years, with each company regularly trotting out “disinterested” third-party analysts who predictably predict their favorite company will win. The big losers in this campaign have been the analysts. Nobody trusts any of them anymore.

IBM contributions to the Linux community have helped bring the open source product up to enterprise quality. Its legal work has stiffened Linux’s back in dealing with the SCO patent copyright nonsense. And IBM’s loyalty to its own resellers puts Microsoft to shame.

Then there’s Microsoft’s “People Ready” campaign, to whit:

  • A people-ready business is a “destination workplace;”
  • A people-ready business maximizes the satisfaction levels of all its constituents;
  • A people-ready business tempers its management’s “force;”
  • A people-ready business is characterized by vision;
  • A people-ready business is focused on insight and action;
  • A people-ready business is marked by speed and flexibility;
  • A people-ready business is optimized for performance at the individual level;
  • A people-ready business means never having to say you’re sorry;
  • A people who needs people is the luckiest people in the world, and of course;
  • Short people got no reason to live (present company excepted).

Unfortunately, the latest iteration of Microsoft Exchange is not ready for regular people to manage. Like Domino 7, Exchange requires trained professionals for proper management. Any shop that needs a consultant to set up and administer one will likely require similar outside help with the other.

As for marketing insight… Though “People Ready” sounds like a heap of feel-good advertising schmaltz, it’s backed up by a no cost (to Microsoft) offer: Discounts of up to 30% for various Client Access Licences (CALs).

Thus, despite the self-congratulatory blather, Microsoft is spending $200 million more and offering bigger first glance incentives than IBM.

Any guess as to who will end 2006 on top?

Email Battles Backgrounder: