InformationWeek
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January 12, 1998
Lotus To Reveal Details Of Notes-Domino Upgrade
Vendor expected to make Notes applications database-independent
Sources expect a major theme of version 5.0 of the Domino server and Notes client to be the uncoupling of Notes applications from individual Notes databases. Lotus is also expected to move more of the functionality of its proprietary Notes client into Java applets that can be accessed from Web browsers.
Lotus officials say Notes-Domino 5.0 is scheduled to ship in the first half of this year, though a source familiar with the development plans says the shipment date is likely to slip to October.
In the current versions of
Notes, applications are represented by icons on the Notes client interface and are connected to single Notes databases on the Domino server.
In Notes-Domino 5.0, applications will be able to access documents that may reside in any number of Notes databases, on remote Web servers, or in relational databases connected through Lotus' Domino.Connect middleware.
As a result, Domino applications will function more like Web sites, which are made up of linked files stored in different locations, says David Marshak, an analyst at the Patricia Seybold Group in Boston.
Database independence appeals to Web developer Rob Bilson, senior Webmaster at Amkor Electronics Inc., a $500 million semiconductor maker in West Chester, Pa. "You're not just limited to pulling information from a single flat file," he says.
Database independence will also let Lotus deliver a Notes 5.0 client that presents information from multiple sources-E-mail documents, group scheduling, Notes documents, and Web pages-in one interf
ace tailored to the individual user.
Similar integration is provided by Microsoft's Outlook 98 client, which competes with Notes. Says Matt Cain, an analyst at Meta Group Inc., "It's in Lotus' best interest to prevent users from using Outlook because it could lead to Microsoft creeping into the [messaging and collaboration] market via the client."
BM's Lotus division will formally unveil details of the next major release of its Notes and Domino groupware at the company's Lotusphere 98 conference, which starts Jan. 26.
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