IBM Software news: IBM Lotus Notes and Domino roadmap -- customers can chart their own course (2004-8-3)

IBM Software news: IBM Lotus Notes and Domino roadmap -- customers can chart their own course (2004-8-3) "“Like Lotus Workplace, Domino 7 will support DB2 as an alternative data store,” he says. “The support includes API compatibility, so that any application written to use one of our public Domino APIs will work without modification to the design of that application if you change the application to use a DB2 back-end; it also includes DB2 administration features. Leveraging DB2 will benefit application developers who want to access their Domino data using SQL, easily integrate DB2 data or take advantage of other DB2 capabilities. The Notes 7 client will include increased presence awareness throughout the inbox, discussion forms, and databases as well as improved interoperability with Lotus Workplace Instant Messaging and Web Conferencing. And the release will include the Notes application plug-in, which will let users run existing, native Notes and Domino applications without modification within the upcoming IBM Workplace Client Technology, therefore extending the reach and viability of those applications without making any additional investments in modifying the design of those applications. This is just another example of how we are protecting the investments our customers have made in the Notes/Domino platform.”
Dumont ticks off a list of other features in Notes 7:
The ability to paste Notes urls (doclinks) into instant messaging (IM) windows. Now someone can paste a link in an IM chat window and the IM client will render it as a link you click.
Sort by subject in the inbox and provide disclaimers on outbound internet mail. Both of these features have been frequently requested for the Notes client.
Improved Microsoft integration. Smart Tags support allows you to send mail, create an invitation, show details and take actions on names that appear in Office documents and Office 2003 viewers.
Productivity enhancements. - The improvements include (1) asynchronous database open allows you to work while a database with a big view index opens up in the same way you can work while a big attachment is saved, ( 2) Autosave of docs in edit mode (3) Ability to view a mail thread from within a message.
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“Remember, Lotus Workplace is a relatively young offering, and while it’s evolving quickly it doesn’t yet offer the breadth and depth of Notes and Domino’s existing collaboration capabilities. So the more a customer depends on Notes and Domino applications and key advanced features in the product set, the longer that user may want to wait to take advantage of Lotus Workplace. The same goes for customers using non-Lotus messaging and collaboration tools – the more deeply they rely on the advanced features of their messaging and collaboration feature set, the more likely they will be to choose Notes and Domino initially as part of a plan that brings them to Lotus Workplace technology. On the other hand, customers with existing portals, customers using WebSphere, customers who use more browser-based clients, or customers pursuing open standards as a priority might move more aggressively to Lotus Workplace.”
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“Eventually, IBM Workplace will include innovations you just won’t be able to get in the Notes and Domino platform,” says Dumont."

This and the following post via Bruce Elgort