It’s been awhile since IBM Press Books published a Rational book.  This one is whopping – coming in at almost 700 pages. You can pre-order now and it will ship at the end of Ocotber, 2009.

Software Test Engineering with IBM Rational Functional Tester: The Definitive Resource

Here’s what the book covers:

Chapter 1:  Introduction to Rational Functional Tester
2. Chapter 2:  General Script Enhancements
3. Chapter 3:  XML
4. Chapter 4:  Managing Script Data
5. Chapter 5:  Debugging Scripts
6. Chapter 6: Managing Script Execution
7. Chapter 7:  Handline Unsupprted Domain Objects
8. Chapter 8:  Advanced Object Map Topics
9. Chapter 9:  Open Source Solutions
10. Chapter 10:  Domain-Specific Topics
11. Chapter 11:  RFT and Source Control with ClearCase 
12. Chapter 12:  Advanced TestObjects
13. Chapter 13:  RFT Proxy SDK
14. Chapter 14:  Issues Specific to Developing Scripts in VB.net
15. Chapter 15:  Using RFT on Linux
16. Chapter 16:  Internationization
17. Chapter 17:  Messaging Systems:  WebSphere MQ

TEST away!

Chris Anderson’s book, Free – The Future of a Radical Price,  is all about the price point of “free”.  Chris is a great guy and in honor of listening to him yesterday on CBS’s Sunday Morning show, I am giving you a link to free chapters from IBM Press books.

Free chapters from the following books are available along with the ability to purchase the entire book at 35% off.

• The Social Factor
• Web 2.0 and Social Networking for the Enterprise
• Multisite ecommerce
• Search Engine Marketing Inc.
• The New Language of Marketing 2.0
• Do it Wrong Quickly

Save 35% and Free Shipping with the following coupon code – Good until 6/30/2010

Joey Bernal does it again!  Joey is an IBM Press author, and is about to have his third IBM Press Book published.  While there a lot of Social Networking books in the marketplace – Joey’s book shows you how to implement inside the firewall.  Lotus Connections and WebSphere Portal users will really appreciate the content!

This book provides hands-on, start-to-finish guidance for business and IT decision-makers who want to drive value from Web 2.0 and social networking technologies. IBM expert Joey Bernal systematically identifies business functions and innovations these technologies can enhance and presents best-practice patterns for using them in both internal- and external-facing applications. Drawing on the immense experience of IBM and its customers, Bernal addresses both the business and technical issues enterprises must manage to succeed. He offers insights and case studies covering multiple technologies, including AJAX, REST, Atom/RSS, enterprise taxonomies, tagging, folksonomies, portals, mashups, blogs, wikis, and more. He also presents practical guidance for building robust, secure, collaborative applications by using applications and services from multiple sources with powerful tools such as WebSphere Portal, Lotus Connections, and IBM Mashup Center.

From now until 6/30/2010 you will be able to save 35% and get free shipping with the following coupon code:

IBM4898

http://www.ibmpressbooks.com/bookstore/product.asp?isbn=0137004893

Innovation Passport: The IBM First-of-a-Kind (FOAK) Journey From Research to Reality  just came off the presses.  This book, written by Mary Jo Frederich and Peter Andews contains over 250 pages of content…

 How can you promote innovation that delivers real, profitable business value–again and again, year after year? For 14 years, IBM’s FOAK program has done just that. In Innovation Passport, FOAK’s leaders share the powerful lessons they’ve learned. Through actual project examples, you’ll discover how to craft more effective processes for making innovation happen…encourage collaboration…manage innovation portfolios…protect intellectual property…and systematically improve the chances of marketplace adoption. Whatever your role in innovation, this book will help you do it better, faster, and more profitably.

Chapter 1: A Program That Works    

Chapter 2: The FOAK Process: Phase I    

Chapter 3: How Ideas Take Shape    

Chapter 4: Getting the Most out of Partnerships     

Chapter 5: Choosing the Best Projects    

Chapter 6: The FOAK Process: Phases II and III     

Chapter 7: Clarifying Project Plans        

Chapter 8: Ensuring the Work Gets Done    

Chapter 9: Telling the Story: IBM’s Industry Solutions Labs    

Chapter 10: Portfolio Management    

Chapter 11: Contracts and Intellectual Property    

Chapter 12: A Guide for Creating Innovative Programs    

Chapter 13: The Future of Collaborative Innovation

We certainly are pumping out  a lot  of IBM Press books.  It’s really keeping me on my toes.  The topics we have published on this year just seem so darn important – Lotus Notes Admin, Greening of IT, Social Networking, Career Development, Hiring in Asia, Multisite Commerce, DB2 pureXML, SOA and BPM…all really good stuff for our customers.  So it’s exciting to cap off this wave of publishing with a book that looks at the money.  You can’t escape the recession.  Whether it’s your own personal wallet or the bottom line at your company – the pinch is on.  For decision-makers- this new book will be a great way to tackle the $$ side of the equation.

Save 35% and Free Shipping with Coupon Code: IBM0616

Here’s what you will find in The Business of IT – How to Improve Service and Lower Costs:

Chapter 1: Introduction: Improving Service and Lowering Costs    

Chapter 2: IT Service Lifecycle: Improving Business Performance 

Chapter 3: Adopting IT Service Management Using ITIL    

Chapter 4: IT Financial Management: The Business of IT    

Chapter 5: IT Business Cases: Realizing IT Value    

Chapter 6: IT Performance Management: Defining Success

Chapter 7: IT Business Skills: Enabling Customer Outcomes 

Chapter 8: Success Stories: Improving Service and Lowering Costs

Chapter 9: Going Forward    

This book hit the shelves.  Take advantage of this great discounting.

Multisite Commerce: Proven Principles for Overcoming the Business, Organizational, and Technical Challenges

Coverage includes:

-Identifying scenarios in which multiple sites are necessary
-Systematically reducing the cost and complexity of establishing multiple e-commerce sites
-Organizing the business to effectively administer multiple sites
-Constructing a shared platform that makes it possible to build and deploy new sites faster than ever before
-Giving sites their own personalities even though they are being built on shared infrastructure
-Identifying the traps and landmines your project might encounter and maximizing the chances of success
-Managing project scope, organizational politics, and shifting executive priorities
-Choosing the best technical architecture pattern for your multisite scenario

Save 35% and Free Shipping with coupon code: IBM8875

Much has been written about Social Networking.  The missing piece is how companies deploy social networking INSIDE the company.  Until now.  Maria Azua tackles the power of collaboration inside the firewall.  Here’s what you will find:

The Social Factor: Innovate, Ignite, and Win through Mass Collaboration and Social Networking

• A treasure trove of strategic and tactical insights for the business leader
• Provides relevant experience from a host of powerful case studies and compelling business scenarios
• Secrets for avoiding costly mistakes that can cripple a social networking initiative

Millions of people use social networking sites, and companies are increasingly turning to social networking to build relationships with customers. But companies routinely miss the best opportunities to create value and promote innovation–by using social networking to build thriving communities of employees, partners, and customers.

Business leaders and strategists can drive immense value from social networking “inside the firewall.” Drawing on her unsurpassed experience deploying innovative social networking systems within IBM^® and for customers, Maria Azua demonstrates how to establish social networking communities, and then leverage those communities to drive extraordinary levels of innovation. Azua offers specific techniques for promoting mass collaboration in the enterprise and strategies to monetize social networking to generate new business opportunities.

I think the title of this book says it all.  If hiring and retaining top talent is Asia is your mission, then Christina has written the survival guide you need.  I love books with case studies.  Love to be able to see what is actually working at companies, versus reading about how it should work in theory.

Here’s more about Surviving the War for Talent in Asia – How Innovation Can Help

• Specific solutions for recruiting and retaining great people in North Asia, South Asia, Australia, and New Zealand
• Seven new case studies, plus in-depth insight into IBM’s experience
• For every CxO, director, manager, HR leader, strategist, or consultant working with or for companies in Asia

Right now, even as Western economies struggle, Asia is experiencing an unprecedented war for talent. Organizations are competing ever more aggressively to find the right people, motivate them, and retain their highest performers. There’s only one route to success in today’s Asian talent wars: innovation. In this book, one of IBM’s top Asia Pacific managers identifies powerful talent management innovations that are working in Asia right now for dozens of the region’s most forward-looking enterprises.

Last year we published Intelligent Mentoring as part of our portfolio in the business strategy portfilio of IBM Press.  Many of the book author’s decided to puruse another book and wala – hot off the press is, Agile Career Development: Lessons and Approaches from IBM.

Here’s what an early reviewer had to say:

“This book highlights tried and true best practices developed at a company known the world over for active dedication to their workforce. Mary Ann, Diana, and Sheila have captured the key issues that will enhance and streamline your career development program and, subsequently, increase employee engagement, retention, and productivity. I particularly like their practical, real-life understanding of the barriers to most career development programs and the manageable framework to bring career growth to life. They also teach us how to make a business case for career development–critical in creating the foundation for a sustainable program. This includes a good blend of benefits both for the individual employee and the organization as a whole. I only wish I had this book available to me years ago when I was managing a career development program!”

–Jim Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., author of Implementing the Four Levels of Transferring Learning to Behavior