IBMhas started shipping itsLotus Notes 8 and Lotus Domino 8e-mail client and server platforms.
Both products will be available from 17 August, said Big Blue.
IBM said the two-year development of the products had greatly
relied on customer input to create the extra functionality,
including increased productivity and greater security.
IBM said Lotus Notes 8 integrates work by building in instant
messaging and presence awareness, office tools to create and edit
documents, presentations and spreadsheets, and "infusing" a
business' custom applications, including help desk,
CRM, salesforce, discussion forums, blogs and more.
Built on
eclipse.org open standards, Lotus Notes 8 supports businesses'
existing applications and extends their life by combining them
through mashups with newer applications, resulting in composite
applications.
Lotus Notes 8 software starts at £50 per client, and the cost of
IBM Lotus Domino server software is based on workload.