Commitment to collaboration

Fifteen years after the introduction of Lotus Notes and with more than 110 million Notes/Domino users, IBM/Lotus has renewed it commitment to collaboration and introduced a number of new products at the 11th annual Lotusphere conference.

The company reports new offerings for 2004 include:

IBM Workplace Client Technology—New standards-based software technology being used to deliver a rich client experience for the Lotus Workplace platform. IBM explains the offering is designed to deliver the power of traditional rich client software, like Lotus Notes and Microsoft Office, with the reach, rapid deployment and low cost of ownership comparable to browser-based solutions.

Lotus Notes and Domino 6.5.1—The latest version of the messaging and collaboration platform will now include embedded instant messaging capability, an optional portal-like interface, tighter integration with Lotus' extended product portfolio and a new connector between Outlook and Lotus Domino.

IBM Software Solution for On Demand Workplace—Responding to increasing integration requirements in the market, IBM claims it is the first vendor to make available a single comprehensive offering that combines the rich integration capabilities of a full enterprise portal, IBM WebSphere Portal, with the collaborative services in Lotus Workplace, including Web content management, all for a single per-user price.

ISV Advantage—Recognizing the need to provide ISVs and customers with collaboration technology to help them integrate people with business processes easily and efficiently, IBM is extending the availability of Lotus Workplace through initiatives with its ISV and business partner community. The ISV Advantage initiative, which is designed to provide select SMB-focused ISVs with technical and marketing support, is the first IBM-wide global business partner program to advocate Lotus Workplace technical enablement and go-to-market activities among its members.