What is around the corner for Lotus Notes?
I do a lot of work with IBM technologies, especially within the Lotus Notes Market.
A number of my clients that are non IBM Partners are migrating from Lotus Notes referring to it a “legacy” system.
Do you think that Lotus Notes will continue to compete in the market?
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Good Answers (7)
Personally, I've given up on Notes back at 4.6 - the user interface has been horrible back then and hasn't got much better, really.
Like it or not, Schedule+ and later Outlook have been easier to use intuitevely, which is the most important point for non-IT-users. Unless Lightning will take over the existing corporate infrastructures, Exchange/Outlook will take over the existing Notes user infrastructures...
Christopher G
Senior Enterprise Architect at
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Matthew,
Hear what you're saying being a Notes/Domino developer not that long ago, then Novell Groupwise and now Exchange. Purist would still argue that the Notes in the backend is the more stable and accessible product, however Exchange 2007 and a number of accompanying Microsoft suites (most notably Sharepoint Portal 2007) on a common .Net platform really does change the playground.
Is there hope? I think so, but IBM really has to become more agile in its thinking. IBM certainly has some clear opportunities in the Open Source path and certainly Novell recognised that with Suse. Right now Star Office sits there as a office suite with not much in the back, but an XML platform to do so much more with. If IBM took Notes/Domino down a integrated StarOffice8 Path with Sun, the sky is the limit. I would suggest that IBM also play ball with an interface and not try to be clever by making the Notes Interface unique but adopt menu and configuration interfaces that the public are use to (thats been the main stumbling block with Notes). It also has a strong relationship with SAP which has Small Business One built on a MYSQL and open platform. IBM could build SOA/Messaging architecture that integrates major open source applications.
Asus recently launched the EEEPC and has sold out world wide based on a cut down Linux OS with StarOffice and Firefox. The time is right for IBM to move Notes down a common path and use the SOA strength of IBM to create innovative enterprise solutions once numbers begin to stack up.
I have often gazed at IBM in wonderment. Some of their business arms are world leading and forward thinking whilst others stay in the past as if saying that its all to hard, but I hope, and I suspect a reinvention of the Notes/Domino platform is not only possible but can lead to more success in the future, but only time will tell.
Regards,
Chris
The simple answer is YES!
IBM will continue to compete in this area. Strongly.
Lotus Notes and Domino are now on version 8, which brought a completely refreshed UI, and IBM Lotus is openly talking about future versions and further innovation with the product. They have a clear roadmap for their products. Just because Lotus Notes has been around for so long, does not make it legacy.
I suggest you invest some time in getting up to date on the Lotus product portfolio, which has seen some great innovation this year with Quickr, Connections and Symphony, on top of Sametime and Lotus Notes of course!
I have included some links which I hope you find useful.
Links:
Stowe S
Owner, Intermarket Solutions LLC
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Lotus Notes is the most secure environment within which you can develop. Secure granulation occurs at many levels with built in easy-to-use encryption key sharing on a per field, document, section, topic level. It is simply an amazing product.
People who do not know much about it more than an email client, might think it is cludgy, or was at one point, and it got a bad rep. They did not understand that, at the heart, it is a mail-enabled database that is VERY extensible. I have built very secure and very large applications using it that were very well received by clients who had no idea you could that with Notes.
Having spent 8 years developing applications in Notes/Domino, you will never find a stronger more secure way to develop applications. For those newbies, it is easy to develop serious application without ever writing real code, using the formula language - much like spreadsheet macros.
Several branches of the government use Notes as a platform in many of their projects for the above stated reasons.
What is lacking is the understanding of how to develop application using Notes. Stop thinking of it as a glorified email server and realize it's full potential, you will be amazed.
Clarification added December 10, 2007:
On more item I forgot to mention is Notes has been doing database replication for off-line users for 10 - 15 years. This is what google gears is throwing out now as the greatest thing since sliced bread, or .Net did several years ago.
The security model exist even when off-line and replication occurs when you are back online.
@Juergen, Notes 4.6 came out in 97/98. Comparing it to current products would be like comparing other operating systems to Windows 98 and saying that windows is flawed because of this. 4.6 hasn't even been supported for a few years now.
The latest note client doesn't even compare to that version.
Clarification added December 11, 2007:
In relation to the OP. I am not sure how it can be called a legacy system. You can build standard web applications, DB2 integration, Web Services, Java, RCP, CompApps. Prehaps you can define what they mean by "Legacy".
Henry F
Information Technology and Services Consultant and Professional
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To paraphrase Mark Twain, "reports of the the death of Lotus Notes have been greatly exaggerated."
As Simon says (no pun intended), comparing Lotus Notes 4.6 to any e-mail product today is about a relevant as comparing any operating system to Windows NT 4.0.
Lotus' main problem, was, and this is no secret, the user interface. Finally, with the release of Notes 8.0, Lotus is demonstrating that they have learned the lesson that the user interface matters (a lot).
And all of the things that made Lotus Notes great in all other aspects remain. It has rock solid stability, legendary security, extraordinary workflow abilities, can scale beyond beyond belief, allows just about any application to work anywhere (read: off-line, completely disconnected), and costs a lot less to maintain than other solutions.
If you look at the current set of main offerings from Lotus (Notes, Sametime, Quickr, and Connections), you will find a very modern interface and rich feature set for each.
There problem today is not unlike what GM faces with their latest automobiles; they are fighting the ghosts of past reputation.
As time goes by IBM / Lotus will pleasantly surprise a lot of people. It will take some time.
Links:
Henry F also suggests these experts on this topic:
Ricardo S
J2EE Systems Architect at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
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I began working with Lotus Notes back in 1989 with version 2.0, and continued to work with it until 1999. I decided to bail at version 5.0 but not because I thought the product was defective or bad, but I just needed a new challenge.
Working with the product all those years made me understand just how good the core product is. Sure the user interface sucks, but the underlying infrastructure is absolutley rock solid and will be here for years to come.
I no longer work with Domino, but still respect the product for the simple fact that no other product does what Notes/Domino does as well even today. Until this changes, I cannot see it going away...
