At its annual user conference here today, executives of the IBM subsidiary are detailing a more flexible strategy for its Notes/Domino messaging software that allows customers to choose whether they want to use the full Notes client, a mobile device client or just a Web browser to access Notes/Domino services.
The new strategy will go into effect this quarter, the company said.
Notes/Domino is a software package bought primarily by big companies to manage local area network email and messaging. It also provides discussion databases, group scheduling and other applications. Lotus competes with Microsoft and its Exchange product in the messaging software market.
The new Web browser client, iNotes, provides
Notes/Domino mail and
collaborative applications, offline support and
replication services through a Web browser interface.
The Web client works with a new software package
called
Domino Offline Services which is due to ship later
this year, Lotus said. Offline Services also includes
the new integration support for Microsoft Outlook
software, which the company
A mobile device client software application, called
MobileNotes, links Notes/Domino email, calendar,
directory technology and access to backroom business
applications to mobile device clients, such as the
those that support the WAP (Wireless
Application Protocol) standard.
"This is important in terms of Lotus recognizing
wireless" technology
as a viable way to access some of the
collaboration technology
within Domino, said Dan Rasmus, an analyst at Giga
Information Group.
"It also gets you around just synching information
from Domino to
actually working in real time."
With MobileNotes, Rasmus said Lotus allows users to
customize and transfer Notes databases onto handheld
devices.
"iNotes is different than earlier Web browser support Lotus has provided
because for the first time there is client level replication pushed out
to the browser, meaning users can replicate data right to their client
when they're offline," said James Kobielus, an analyst with The Burton
Group.
With iNotes, Lotus is recognizing big changes in the way users access information, said Kobielus. "Lotus is looking to provide more of Domino to the ASP (application service provider) paradygm. They'll still keep Notes all nice and spiffy looking, but they are positioning Domino to be a completely open product for users who do most of their
work on the Web browser."
A full Notes license is priced at $69, while the
iNotes license is $50
and the MobileNotes license is $20, the company said.
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