Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise: Business as UsualAlcatel-Lucent Enterprise: Business as Usual

Uncertainty can wreak havoc, leading to postponement of marketing and a slowdown in the product roadmap. I saw no evidence of either on my visit to Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise headquarters.

In late July I wrote that it appeared a decision on Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s future would be made soon. That did not happen, the meltdown on Wall Street being at least one contributing factor. This kind of uncertainty can wreak havoc with a business, leading to postponement of marketing activities and a slowdown in the product roadmap. I saw no evidence of either on my visit to Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise headquarters last week. Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s ongoing Dynamic Enterprise Tour is I believe one reason.

Since the flagship event in Barcelona in April, ALU-E has taken the tour to over 35 cities in dozens of countries. The primary benefit of the events is to get face to face with customers, allowing them to not only hear the message but see demos of existing and coming products.

The secondary benefit I see is that both the corporate and field marketing organizations are challenged on an almost weekly basis with making sure that ALU-E’s messaging is current and that updated product information has been incorporated into the presentations to be delivered. It’s difficult to slack off, waiting for a decision on the company’s future, when there are hundreds of customers waiting to hear the message week after week.

In the video below, director of product marketing Craig Walker talks about how the Dynamic Enterprise Tour 2011 has evolved over the past six months.