Something free from IBM?

IBM/Lotus have provided some excellent self-paced online software tutorials at no charge to Business Partners. Some of the tutorials need to be updated with current software versions but there's more than a few nuggets of gold in Them There Hills for the Business Partner who wants to get a toehold into a previously unexplored Lotus technology. Some examples are:

• IBM Lotus Quickr 8.2 Workshop: The Workshop will provide you with an understanding of the features of Lotus Quickr 8.2, both those that are new and those that were introduced earlier. The course will show you how to operate and manage Lotus Quickr Activities and tools. It will illustrate how to install and configure Lotus Quickr 8.2, how to use connectors to integrate productivity applications and customize Quickr themes and places, and how to manage a Lotus Quickr environment.
  
  
• Lotus Notes/Domino 8.5 Building Collaborative Applications Workshop: The Workshop will show a student how to use the Lotus Notes client to write collaborative applications that use the features of the Lotus Notes platform. The student will also learn how to package applications and deploy them to the Notes client through the Domino server. The XPages technology will be introduced and the student will learn how to develop XPages applications. After completing the workshop the student should be able to describe the primary features of the Notes and Domino platforms, describe how these platforms can enhance an enterprise’s business, define common terms used with this technology, and write a composite application and an XPages application that will run in the Notes client to provide additional capabilities. The student will be able to write Eclipse plug-ins which extend the user interface of the Notes client and deploy them to the client platform, and be able to incorporate widgets for use in collaborative applications.

• IBM Lotus Connections v2.5 Workshop: This technical skills hands-on workshop will show you how to leverage the eight integrated services for social networking delivered by Lotus Connections 2.5. You will learn how to use the functions and features that capture, communicate, share, collaborate, organize, and deliver social software for business. Setup and use of Lotus Connections features, how to integrate them with each other and incorporate them with other applications and Web sites. Learn how to use the tools and underlying servers to configure the products for use. All reinforced by hands-on labs.

These courses won't take you from from Zero to Hero but they will give you the ability to talk confidently to your customers about the products.
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