IBM launched its Lotus Notes/ Domino7 messaging platform
last week, with new features to make it easier for administrators
to manage the software.
Instant messaging and collaboration are core features of the
suite. It also comes with predictive tools, which can fix problems
before they happen, according to IBM.
Darren Adams, IBM technical specialist for Lotus Messaging &
Collaboration Solutions, said the user interface had been updated,
but there were few radical changes. "We are evolving it, not
revolutionising it," he said.
The new Notes now offers more Lotus Sametime tools, so users can
switch an instant messaging session over to video or audio
real-time collaboration.
In addition, the buddy list has been improved, so users can
bring up a list of the people they commonly work with from within
applications, to see who is online.
Employees are "online" if they are logged into the Sametime IM
client, Websphere Portal Server, Quickplace, or a web application,
or even if they are using a mobile device connected to the
network.
Lotus Notes is also evolving a "universal inbox" - where the
e-mail client can receive and store e-mails, voicemails, faxes and
instant messaging threads. "Being able to save IM chat transcripts
in your inbox really allows you to capture your corporate
knowledge, which traditionally tends to be discarded," said
Adams.
One feature that has been postponed, probably until the first
maintenance release later this year, is the ability to use IBM's
DB2 database as a data store. This is because not enough users have
tested the option, said Adams.
Alan Bell, member of Lotus user group the Collaboration User
Group, said DB2 integration "will make it easier and faster for
programmers to create some pretty powerful applications, which
merge the collaboration and offline features of Domino with core
business transaction processing systems.
"Other suppliers seem to be compartmentalising their e-mail
solutions, so that they just do messaging, whereas Domino is
developing into a flexible application platform covering all
business processes."
Jim Moffat, another member of the Collaboration User Group, said
rival platform Microsoft Exchange had a big advantage over Domino
because more people were trained in Exchange administration.
But he added, "Domino's other goal in life - and this is an area
where organisations achieve real productivity gain - is as an
application server, hosting applications built in its own rapid
development environment.
"The consequences for workflow management, development
capability and support capability are enormous."