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The Next Wave at Lotus: Groupware, Messaging, and Java

Two new versions of Notes client, new cc:Mail, and Java e-mail clients ahead.

By Laurianne McLaughlin, PCWorld   

In a year that will be packed with new groupware and e-mail choices, Lotus%squots presentations to Notes developers and users at the annual Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Florida, signaled the company%squots intention to tout its experienceloudly. Lotus is going to spend millions of parent IBM%squots advertising dollars to make you a believer, starting with the $5.5 million spent in the fourth quarter of 1996, IBM officials said.

The first wave of new products includes two upgrades for the Notes client, a Eudora-like e-mail client, a cc:Mail upgrade, and a special e-mail client for Java-based Network Computers.

%dquotGroupware is one battle we intend to win and win decisively,%dquot IBM chief executive Louis Gerstner said during the conference%squots opening presentation. He gleefully touted an analyst report that compared Microsoft and Netscape as dueling emperors, both currently without groupware products that compare to Lotus Notes or Lotus Domino server.

%dquotNow%squots the time to build on that momentum before those dueling emperors put some clothes on,%dquot he said. %dquotWe cannot let them compare their promises with our facts.%dquot

Lotus will continue to enhance its Domino Web server, adding tools for electronic commerce and push technologiesspecifically, for corporate broadcasting of company news over an intranet.

On the client side, Lotus has four efforts under way. The next version of Notes, code-named Lookout, will ship in the first half of this year, likely late spring. Judging from the beta version, you%squotll have new ways to arrange the Notes desktop, integration with Web browsers including Microsoft Internet Explorer, and more links with applications. A subsequent upgrade of Notes, code-named Maui, is expected to ship in the fourth quarter.

Lotus Mail, a small, basic e-mail client that doesn%squott include extras such as calendar capabilities, will compete with such products as Microsoft Internet Mail and Eudora. The Lotus Mail interface looks a lot like cc:Mail, with hierarchical folders and a preview pane for messages. Estimated to sell for $35, the product is slated to ship in 60 to 90 days. It adds protocol support for LDAP (technology that%squots helpful for searching mail directories) and POP 3. Lotus will bundle in copies of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Client and server versions of cc:Mail 8, the next revision of the Lotus e-mail veteran, ship in 90 days. Lotus says it has improved maintenance, made installation and administration easier, changed the back-end components to 32 bit for better performance, and added support for Novell NetWare directory synchronization.

Lotus Mail for Java, designed for use with browsers and network computers, will ship in the first half of this year. The company demonstrated it on an IBM Network Computer that was also running Lotus%squot Java user interface, code-named Kona Desktop, which Gerstner says will ship on all IBM NCs.

Lotus Components for Java (small Java applets for tasks like charting) will probably also ship on IBM NCs. Lotus has not set pricing or a shipping date for this product.

For more details and demos, see the Lotus Web site at http://www.lotus.com.