The Future of Notes / Domino

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Internet Week > Lotus Domino > Lotus Preaches Richness, Open Source For Future Domino Apps > November 5, 2003 provides a badly need vision for the direction of the Lotus notes client (if not the Domino Server) in an age of internet thin clients (the browser) and new thick clients (such as demo in Microsoft’s “Longhorn” FUD demos just recently)

  • the goal for Domino 7 and 8 over the next few years is to provide full “rich” client access to applications whether the user is connected or disconnected from the Web…This rich client will be based on open-source Eclipse code.

    • The Eclipse code demonstrated the performance and functionality that a end user client needed, much better that others that were unacceptably sluggish.

  • Domino 7.0 is due in the fourth quarter of 2004 and promises DB2 support, enhanced portlet support, and integration with Lotus’ other Workplace offerings.

    • Further DB2/portal and integration (beyond what is already available in Lotus R6.5) is all very good. The time frame is going to be tricky for firms now looking to move from R5 to R6 infrastructure (do they go forward or delay?).

  • The continued existence of Domino, even as its underpinnings shift from proprietary code to a standards-based J2EE foundation, is no small matter.

    • No kidding! It a huge deal for the developer community who need to re-skill. If it can be done so as to preserve the existing investment in applications, which IBM/Lotus is promising, is however badly needed.

    Moving to a J2EE foundation (JSP and servlets, plus relational DB ) would allow a huge improvement in development practices : unit test, tag libraries, object coding (too painful under LotusScript).

    Currently it is very diffused to justify Domino as a server versus Websphere. Domino wins as a mail server, as a document workflow environment, as a RAD tool. Websphere wins for raw functionality (sometimes too raw) and scalability, and for it java skill set. If a shop does not currently use Domino or have mobile users that worked unconnected to the internet, I would not endorse Domino as a Application server. (Which is painful to say). When Domino (or at least the Mail and NSF (database format) portions) get abjured by WebSphere+DB/2 then a new Lotus Notes Client (with single user version of Websphere and DB/2) can gain new marketshare.

    updated 1 Via Ed Brill a IBM pdf :

    John D. Head aka “Starfish”he future of Notes, Domino, and Workplace …

    I’ll think about thiis more…after…

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