IBM's Lotus Notes/Domino Hits 6.5

IBM's Lotus division has upgraded its Notes/Domino workplace to version 6.5 less then a year after 6.0, in stark contrast to the 3 years it took v6 to hit the shelves. The software is the first in a series of upgrades timed to hit the market at 12-18 month intervals to fit IBM's commitment to a new accelerated release schedule.

The main objective of version 6.5 is to enable office workers to improve productivity by utilizing a single window that integrates many common and dispersed program features such as e-mail, messaging, an updated spam filter, presence awareness and an integrated calendar.

Lotus Notes 6.5 builds upon its already mature client architecture with the addition of new security, organizational and productivity features.

IBM points out that Notes is built around public key infrastructure (PKI) and designed to be resilient to virus attacks.

Tim Kounadis, Senior Product Marketing Manager in IBM Lotus Messaging Solutions group feels that, in the wake of two recent and massive virus attacks, customers will find Notes and Domino's security features particularly attractive.

"At social gatherings in the past weeks -- outside work -- eventually talk got around to who got the viruses and who didn't, and the people who used Notes for messaging didn't get them," Kounadis says. "Our security is really another TCO advantage. Think of how much productivity customers lose when a virus brings down desktops or their network."

New management tools are included in 6.5 to organize and tag messages for follow-up. A user defined search engine -- built into the interface -- allows Lotus customers to scour through messages strewn across corporate networks and the Web.

A slight modification to the Notes interface permits frequently accessed applications, documents, databases, and Web sites to be on hand through one-click access.

Deeply integrated native messaging functions are courtesy of IBM's enterprise IM client, Sametime. For example, customers can message a colleague directly through an open e-mail window without having to switch to another program. IBM feels that these convenience and productivity features substantiate the sticker price.

"It's important to understand that 6.5 represents the major product release for our flagship - Notes/Domino product line for 2003," said Kounadis. "But Notes 6.5 includes first-of-its-kind instant messaging integration, as well as new and advanced mail management tools and other features that improve end-user productivity. And Domino 6.5 adds major new operating system and platform support, including support for Linux on IBM zSeries servers and the Domino Web Access client running in a Mozilla browser on a Linux desktop."

To sweeten the deal and encourage adoption, IBM is including incentives for 6.5 licensees to receive free 20-license packs of IBM Lotus Instant Messaging and WebSphere Portal Express. The offer is only good from October 1 to December 31.

Lotus Notes/Domino 6.5 will be made publicly available September 30 with an associated cost of $89.82 USD per user. Partners and beta sites have already experienced an open beta program.