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Lotus Looks Ahead to R-Next

Gearing for next release of Notes/Domino, Lotus admits Release 5 lines aren�t hitting marks.

By Dana Gardner, Infoworld   

In a briefing with editors, Lotus officials described how the current R5 version of Notes/Domino will build on its client richness as a browserlike desktop, while the server component will gain additional knowledge management attributes via XML and added scalability to meet the needs of the emerging application service provider industry.

Lotus is also building on its QuickPlace products, available for download at www.quickplace.com, to bring Notes-like client features to the consumer desktop market. Coupled with Domino Runtime Services (DRS), consumers can use either a browser or Microsoft's Office 2000 applications to access Notes services via DRS, Lotus officials say.

While the scheduled release for R5 in the first quarter of this year was some 12 months late based on earlier Lotus plans, and was delayed again at the last leg of its journey, the product is not faring as well as past major Notes releases in its adoption rate, Lotus officials confirm.

By this stage of the game, past versions of Notes have entered some 20 percent of the installed base, but R5 has yet to hit that mark, officials say. They declined to break out R5's adoption statistics in detail, however.

Recent research by market researcher International Data Corporation shows that Microsoft Exchange has recently outsold Notes/Domino, but Lotus still holds to the top market share for messaging and collaboration products.

R-Next will focus on the needs of the enterprise, and the server will come on Linux by year's end, officials say. Lotus calls R5 the best client available for use offline, and newer versions will have additional mobile user support, officials say.

The future release will also sport better use of the Lotus Sametime instant messaging platform, better calendaring features, broader use of bookmarks to navigate, and better searching capabilities -- all designed to offer users the ability to craft their own "personal portals," says Ken Bisconti, senior director of communications products marketing at Lotus.

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