Over on Dennis Howlett's blog which our colleague Scott Jones pointed me to this morning, is an interesting nod to 3 of our community members, Craig, Dan and Ed.
I particularly focused on the paragraph called "SAP's Business and Geek Networks"
SAP has SDN. This is a thriving community of developers. They’re passionate about code. IMO a few at least are in the wrong place. I’ve previously mentioned Eddie Herrmann and Dan McWeeney. I’d also count Craig Cmehil. These guys are geeks but they understand making a difference to business.
Hmmm....Great tribute to some of our heroes... but what's all this about "wrong place"? ...I then continue reading and it stings me to the core: The point seems to be that SAP should have a business community like SDN:
"Meanwhile, SAP has its impressive SDN, but there's no connection to the business side. The company needs to do a better job of getting the developers to connect with the managers and buyers."
I read further and see "The reason for that while SAP has a business community, it is a million miles away from the goodness you see at SDN. What SAP is doing is demonstrating a massive commitment to engineering. Not people."
Okay, I sigh a sigh of relief when I see that Dennis refers to business community as www.sap.com/community, ...but wait...my relief turns to dismay. What? Are we chopped liver? (yiddish grandma speaking). Are we not people? Didn't Dennis get the memo? Isn't the business community here called, BPX? Oh, but then I think further...if he didn't get the memo, why wasn't it delivered?
And back again, back to re-visit Ajay's blog: BPX - (Imaginary) first among equals? and the coin drops: Maybe the BPX community really isn't seen as a business community, or as the word "imaginary" implies, maybe this isn't really seen at all yet, or it isn't really seen as business....or even worse...it isn't seen by SDN as a complimentary business community.
Glutton for punishment, I return and read again:
"Meanwhile, SAP has its impressive SDN, but there's no connection to the business side. The company needs to do a better job of getting the developers to connect with the managers and buyers."
A few days previously, I posted a comment to Ajay's blog: Let’s look at the BPX as a community and place to:
- Evolve a cooperative environment where business and IT professionals can interact
- Mitigate separation of geeks and suits
- Invite technologists and business participants to sit at virtual round tables
- Generate Industry Specific Interest groups that collaborate internationally
- Provide opportunity for cross-training: Technology for Business Professionals and Business ROI appreciation for Technical Professionals.
and saddened I return to check https://weblogs.sdn.sap.com/pub/wlg/3764I [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] [original link is broken] , a blog entry I wrote back in June, after last year's Sapphire event.
I guess the challenge we now face is how to create active collaboration between the communities while retaining the unique "persona" of each of these communities...(developers and business process experts) all the while providing the appropriate contents to folks who represent very different roles. I think there's lots of opportunity here, as well as challenge. If there is an "IT/Business Divide", what better way to bridge it than by communication, and what better form of communication than collaboration....and collaboration is exactly what you can find on SDN/BPX.
And now, almost a year later, will BPX be recognized as a business community of people...not "massive engineering" or worse, marketing? Geeks wield great power and have enormous credabilty. Will they use it to include or exclude? Will they drive the success of BPX? Are we going to be stuck in a "Dilbertesque" paradigm where suits are scorned 'cause they are too dumb to "get" it if they don't "twitter"? Are our geek heroes going to continue and share and spread the SDN goodness here? It will take more than mere lip service and lots of participants and participation to see if developers can really connect with "managers and buyers" as this community evolves and incorporates new populations and demographics and then...well, just maybe...then...SDN/BPX will be recognized by Dennis and others, as the only website and community to provide its members equal access to business as well as technical content while offering collaboration channels and brokering services between/among Business Process professionals, industry practitioners and IT professionals.....a people place. In fact, it may very well be SAP's Business and Geek Network (singular and unique please)
