Domino comes from IM division Lotus and is its sophisticated server-side messaging and groupware. Lotus uses the Domino name to refer to a set of Notes server applications that allow for collaborative work and development across an organization.
IBM will not abandon Lotus notes/Domino clients, but by 2009 the vendor plans to use a future version of Workplace of Lotus notes/Domino. Upcoming changes will mark the first significant steps in Notes’ evolution from the premier client experience among IBM Lotus software offering to the premier client experience in IBM workplace, the client side of IBM’s next generation software portfolio.
Lotus has looked into its crystal ball, and the IBM software division sees nothing but blue skies over its Lotus Notes/Domino collaboration and e-mail software. In reality, Lotus has several future versions in the planning stages; everyone will run independently as long as that is what customers’ desire.
At first glance, it looks like the new product will force another choice: migrate or switch. But as far as Lotus can see into the future, Lotus Notes/Domino has a secure position in its portfolio – one that will be invested in, improved upon, and marketed.
Going forward, Notes will support not only IMAP and LDAP and other establishes standards, but also an expanded programming model that supports Java and J2EE and emerging standards like Eclipse and SyncML.
The goal is to grow the use base of IBM/Lotus collaboration customers to 200 million, from the current 118 million users the company claims to have on Notes/Domino. It is clear that IBM Workplace will be the future of Lotus Notes/Domino.
Lotus software is security-rich, enables businesses to communicate, collaborate and increase productivity, helping the users to solve today’s challenges and prepare them for continued success in the future. IBM plans to enhance the next important version of Lotus domino with composite applications, activity-centric computing, service-oriented architecture, and support for server-managed clients.
Designed to work with the next major release of Lotus Notes, the version of Lotus Domino will provide some spectacular new functions and features, like team space. The next version of Lotus Notes and Lotus domino will be available in 2007.
There seem to be two main themes in this future world of Lotus Notes. First, there is the idea that WebShere Application Server is a rival to Lotus Domino and may eventually swallow it. Second, there is the idea that Java and J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) is a rational direction in which to take the development aspects of the Lotus products.
WebSphere is a server that runs programs written in the Java language, not a replacement for Domino, it is a replacement for a bit f Domino that runs agents known as the Agent Master, only a replacement for the bit that runs Java agents because the Agent Manager cal also run Lotuscript, Simple Action, and Formula language agents too.
The truth is there is no logic in merging the two products; they simply do not serve the same purpose.
Is Java and J2EE the right direction for lotus Domino because Lotus Domino is and all-in-one solution, a rapid application development environment. It does everything quite well; it’s a quick fix. The people who need Lotus Notes and Domino are not patient people; they want results now, and they don’t want to see lots of system flow charts and non-functional prototypes.
The lack of true application development and over-complexity are weaknesses of servers like WebSphere and Weblogic, and it looks like Domino is destined to help solve the problem. For customers of Lotus Domino, the fact that it helps J2EE based servers out of a hole is only a useful feature.
Lotus Domino integrates with everything: DB2, Oracle, LDAP, and SAP. Web application servers like Weblogic and WebSphere that implement J2EE are going to be very important in the future, and Domino must work with them. The integration must work smoothly.Â
Lotus’s vision of its software’s future is one of choice. Customers will be able to choose what they want for a collaborative messaging system, whether it is Lotus Notes/Domino, Workplace, or some combination of the two. “To make the story complete, we’re doing a number of things to make sure that people who have Notes and people who have Workplace are fundamentally buying the same product family�, says Art Fontaine, an IBM Lotus senior offering manager. Customers can use Lotus Notes as is or extend it with Workplace client technology that provides a more portal-like appearance and a more integrated collaboration suite. Customers will be soon able to plug the Notes client into Workplace for e-mail. In Notes versions beyond 7.5, users will be able to take advantage of server deployment capabilities available in Workplace, including no-touch deployment and ongoing administration.
Lotus Notes/Domino is doing well now. Lotus reports having a Notes customer base of more than 118 million users. David Ferris, president of Ferris Research, says: “Lotus’s share of the messaging market is holding at about 25 percent of the business seats in e-mail systems and about $300 million revenue�.
“Messaging and collaboration software has moved into the mission-critical category for many businesses, and IBM’s Lotus Notes and Domino products can uniquely handle the challenge of providing a secure, cost-effective, and flexible collaboration environment�, says Ambuj Goal, general manager of IBM Workplace, Portal, and Collaboration Software. “Our long-term road map for the platform will continue to attract new customers seeking competitive advantages through collaboration�, says Ambuj.
