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Software IBM Rains On iPhone, Lotus Notes Parade
Jason Mick (Blog) - January 24, 2008 6:20 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 37 comment(s) - last by bethereornot.. on Feb 1 at 11:58 AM
IBM clarifies that it is not releasing LotusNotes for the iPhone at its upcoming LotusSphere conference

Earlier this week, DailyTech provided coverage of Apple's record setting fiscal first quarter, which was thanks, in part, to growing acceptance of its iPhone among business circles.  There was growing rumors that there would be even more good news for business-oriented iPhone users, as several sources close to IBM claimed that the electronics giant was about to release a version of its Lotus Notes business email suite on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Now IBM is making it expressly clear that while such a product is in the works, it will not be releasing it at IBM's LotusSphere conference next week, as previously anticipated.  An IBM spokesperson spoke with ZDNet Australia, stating, "It's not something that (is) ready to go out and market or launch."

The spokesperson, when questioned about why the rumors started up, attributed them to an earlier demonstration of the upcoming software. 

This official statement from IBM contradicts the Associated Press report that started the buzz this week.  The Associated Press report claimed that the software would be released at LotusSphere and would be available free of charge via download to users with an active Lotus Web-access license or for a yearly fee for new customers.

The software was supposed to drive further business sales of the iPhone, but whether users even care about this revelation remains to be seen.  Some analysts remain skeptical that the hip iPhone and the somewhat droll world of Lotus Notes even overlap in terms of user base.  Says Kevin McIsaac, an analyst at research firm IBRS, "I can't really imagine someone who's really hip and cool--like an iPhone user--wanting to use Lotus Notes."

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Analysts...
By Cygni on 1/24/2008 6:41:38 PM , Rating: 5
quote:
Says Kevin McIsaac, an analyst at research firm IBRS, "I can't really imagine someone who's really hip and cool--like an iPhone user--wanting to use Lotus Notes."

That, right there, is why analysts so consistently miss their mark. The employee using the smart phone did NOT make the decision as to what communication/productivity suite to use on his work computer. Decisions like that are made by high ups who look, primarily it seems, to unlimited license costs to make their choice (hence why the federal government still uses Notes 6.5 for all of its computers...)

Lotus Notes has nearly a 50% share of all workplace computers, and its safe to say that a good percentage of iPhone owners sit down to Notes 5 days a week.




RE: Analysts...
By sweetsauce on 1/24/2008 7:16:30 PM , Rating: 5
Actually you missed the mark. He screwed up by assuming someone who owns an ipod is hip or cool. Stupid sheep.


RE: Analysts...
By Yawgm0th on 1/24/2008 7:17:53 PM , Rating: 5
6


RE: Analysts...
By RjBass on 1/25/2008 5:12:13 PM , Rating: 3
fer real. 6+++


RE: Analysts...
By WileCoyote on 1/24/08, Rating: -1
RE: Analysts...
By WileCoyote on 1/24/2008 8:37:40 PM , Rating: 2
correction = a smart (not hip) move.


RE: Analysts...
By eye smite on 1/25/2008 1:14:43 AM , Rating: 5
We're all happy you like your iphone, but it's considered more a tech toy/luxury than a true business instrument. I guess you'll have to wrap your mind around that eh?


RE: Analysts...
By Shoal07 on 1/25/2008 7:25:02 AM , Rating: 1
Whatever it's considered, it's almost just as business functional as any windows 6.1 phone. Sure, I loose the ability to edit word and excel files, and that may be important to some, but no serious edits to any document are going to be done with any smartphone (unless a person hates themself). On top of that, the interface is much more efficent, easier to use, and quicker. Once set up, I can access _all_ my email accounts faster than I ever did on any other smartphone.

Lotus notes will help to change this perception but that's all it is really going to do, change a perception. The functionality for what most business users use a smartphone for is already there.


RE: Analysts...
By lukasbradley on 1/25/2008 9:30:36 AM , Rating: 5
Two key words from your post.

Almost and perception.

In my personal opinion, those sum up all of Apple's products.


RE: Analysts...
By bhieb on 1/25/2008 9:39:36 AM , Rating: 2
Your insane it is no where close to my Tilt.

Yes it is a bit quicker, for showing off pictures and videos, but how is that business related?

However it needs the following.

3G! If you are serious about business then high speed is a must, not for the phone but when you tether it. Most people on the road have a laptop with them, they just don't want to drag it out. Which leads me to the next line.

Tethering - again when I do need to remote in to the office and do some real work I want to use my laptop, and I don't want to pay for another data plan.

VoiceCommand - I cannot overstate how good this feature is. To be able to manage calls and appointments without taking the phone out of my pocket is awesome (and with no training Recording Voice Tags is a joke).

Full Keyboard - The iPhone's will do in a pinch, but for any serious typing a tactile is much better.

Built in GPS - Google maps is free and with TomTom I can have a full blown GPS.

Exchange DirectPush - Waiting 10-15 minutes for an email to show up on IMAP is a joke, if you can even get your office to enable it. And even if all goes well it still does not sync the calendar and contacts. Great for those who have assistants that keep their appointments up to date.


RE: Analysts...
By retrospooty on 1/25/2008 9:44:22 AM , Rating: 4
You are forgetting the most important app - email. 99% of the enterprise email market uses Blackberry Server or MS Exchange ActiveSync. Apple needs to support one or the other (or both) to succeed in this sector. IF not, they will never even get anywhere.


RE: Analysts...
By retrospooty on 1/24/2008 7:23:55 PM , Rating: 2
"Lotus Notes has nearly a 50% share of all workplace computers"

Thats way WAY off. I beleive its more like 90% or more is using MS exchange. Anyhow, in mobile business email, there are 2 camps.

1. Blackberry server (compatible with MS-Exchange and Lotus notes)
2. MS-Exchange active sync.

Apple will need to get one, or the other or both to succeed in the business sector of the smartphone market (which is by far the largest part of the market).


RE: Analysts...
By WileCoyote on 1/24/2008 8:34:52 PM , Rating: 2
Misinformation on DailyTech? You don't say...

"Gartner analyst Matt Cain says that among enterprises with more than 100 users, Microsoft holds about 62 percent share, compared with about 26 percent for IBM." That was from a few days ago.

And considering that IBM doesn't cater to small businesses with under 100 employees, their share of all workplace computers is less than 25%.


RE: Analysts...
By Mitch101 on 1/25/2008 9:55:52 AM , Rating: 3
As an Exchange Engineer I get constant calls on if am I willing to head up a project to migrate from Lotus Notes to Exchange. I never in the past 7 years received a call asking to migrate from Exchange to Notes. For the record I have worked for 2 Dow 10 corporations and several Dow 100 corps.

Lotus Notes is either dead or close to dying. The user gui to it hasn't evolved and is very counter intuitive. Go ahead and kick and scream how programmable the back end is that no end user or manager cares about. What's with still requiring a personal database file why cant it create one on the fly already this is a huge hands on technical expense that is not needed?

Lotus Notes is a great product for collaboration however the majority of people just use it for e-mail. As for collaboration Sharepoint is the new collaboration tool of choice ending any advantage Lotus Notes had.

For the small 100 employee shops I have some Microsoft engineer friends who do this on the side and they are all putting in Exchange generally Small Business Server in these shops. I don't believe they ever hear of Lotus being in a small shop.

If someone were to try and learn Lotus Notes today they can barely find any training or documentation on the product. How many companies make video training for Lotus Notes today? Maybe 2 and they looks like homebrew stuff. This limits anyone who wanted to learn the product.

Someone wanting to learn Exchange can find tons and tons of documentation, free books, free online training, free online seminars, Whitepapers, free downloadable trial versions which can be reloaded many times to learn exchange. Also every video training site out there sells an Exchange product from $99.00 to whatever your willing to pay. Plus they have free seminars you can go to and learn about the product and ask questions. They also finally have $99.00 one day hands on training sessions. This means you can find and Exchange admin as apposed to not being able to find people who do Lotus Notes.

Lotus is for places with incompetent management. Cough Wachovia. cough.


RE: Analysts...
By MatthiasF on 1/25/2008 12:02:30 PM , Rating: 1
Kind of one-sided don't you think? No one migrating TO Notes would call you, so how is this an objective opinion?

I get calls regularly from people migrating from Novell to Microsoft, but not the opposite. That's most likely because I don't have experience running a Novell environment. So it leads to reason I wouldn't get calls on how to migrate from Microsoft to Novell.

I've never seen Notes in a small shop either. Microsoft's SMB is so easy to install and maintain (as well as a good deal), I doubt IBM could compete without making their own install of Linux.

I have fooled around with IBM's solutions though, and they aren't much difference from Exchange in practice. Different nomenclature of course, but email is email.

The battle doesn't rage between corporate no-nothings. It's between staff's familarity. Some industries use Notes heavily, others are Microsoft. I know a lot of financial companies uses Notes (anyone using Sun workstations like Goldman Sachs and Legg Mason), so that explains why Wachovia has it.


RE: Analysts...
By Mitch101 on 1/25/2008 2:12:48 PM , Rating: 2
Wachovia is slowly moving toward Exchange but there is a lot of pushing back mainly from the people who aren't educated in Exchange today but there is a bigger push to get rid of Notes and go to exchange. I would imagine they will go full exchange within the next 3 years once they get rid of some of the dead wood there.

Bank of America is now an exchange shop. No more Lotus Notes.

A lot of Lotus Notes to exchange Migrations are happening in the Charlotte area or planned in the near future. No one seems to be running the other direction.

Within the next 3-5 years I would say Notes will be less than 5% of the market.

Are you related to Rob Matthias in NJ?

It does remind me of the Novell days when NT 3.51 and 4.0 came out. Novell talked a good game on how Microsoft is a desktop program and could never compete with Novell in the server area. Where is Novell today?

I know several Goldman Sachs Microsoft Exchange admins. Goldman Sachs will be Notes free sooner than later.


RE: Analysts...
By kenyee on 1/24/2008 8:56:06 PM , Rating: 2
It's hard to say what percentage is which. MS bases their numbers on copies of Outlook/Office sold or bundled whereas IBM has to base their numbers on actual sales of licenses.

It's like comparing apples to oranges :-P

A lot of big companies that care about security or have a lot of custom Rapid Application Development use Notes (where you can easily do a secure P.O. approval app within a week). Even the ones who have "migrated" to Exchange from Notes continue to use the Notes apps because despite what MS says, they're not worth the ROI to move them to the MS technology of the year (I had to try to migrate a Notes app to MS' "Lotus killer of the year" Outlook while back before MS killed that and started pushing ASP instead, then Sharepoint, now it's Office).


RE: Analysts...
By retrospooty on 1/24/2008 9:38:12 PM , Rating: 2
Good point on the meail servers... But the rest remains true...

in mobile business email, there are only 2 camps.

1. Blackberry server (compatible with MS-Exchange and Lotus notes)
2. MS-Exchange active sync.

Apple will need to get one, or the other or both to succeed in the business sector of the smartphone market. Lotus notes is 100% irrelevant.


RE: Analysts...
By MatthiasF on 1/24/2008 10:18:11 PM , Rating: 2
MS bases their numbers off client access licenses sold.

IBM bases their numbers off client access licenses sold.

No apples or oranges.

Meanwhile, IBM has two products that compete with Exchange, Notes and Workplace. Combined they equal close to or more than 45% market share worldwide. So, in reality IBM and Microsoft have been running neck and neck for more than 10 years.

Here's a Pro-Microsoft study that's not kind to IBM's 2008 and 2009 projections.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/8/A/E8A15...

I've never actually used any of IBM's products, but recently they have been gaining some ground because the server software can be virtualized while Exchange cannot and perhaps will not until a major overhaul of it's storage system. I saw two big RFPs lose out because of this fact alone. Again, Microsoft is behind the times although I'm sure in 3-4 years Exchange will run virtualized as well and not lose much ground overall.


RE: Analysts...
By retrospooty on 1/24/2008 10:20:32 PM , Rating: 2
Again, in mobile business email sector, there are only 2 camps.

1. Blackberry server (compatible with MS-Exchange and Lotus notes)
2. MS-Exchange active sync. (this includes all Palm Treo's and Winmobile based devices, and others that support active sync as well).

IBM, and Lotus are irrelevent. If your company uses Lotus, then your wireless emaill has to be Blackberry.


RE: Analysts...
By MatthiasF on 1/24/2008 10:28:52 PM , Rating: 1
Actually, IBM's software is supported by more than three applications for mobile phones that allow people to connect to their mail, contacts and calendar. The three most popular are made by Commontime, IBM itself and Motorola.

They all run on more platforms or phones than just a Blackberry or Microsoft OS phone, including Symbian, Linux, MS Mobile, Blackberry OS and the old Palm OS.

So, no your wireless email doesn't have to be Blackberry if your company runs IBM's solution.


RE: Analysts...
By retrospooty on 1/24/2008 11:09:58 PM , Rating: 1
OK, read my lips. 2 MAJOR camps. Those other solutions are hardly used at all in the real business world. Blackberry has the vast majortiy of the market, Active sync is the vast majority of the rest. Anything not using the 2 above are tiny insignificant non-factors in the enterprise mobile email market.

Lets review... This is an iPhone thread. The point here is that if Apple wants in the enterprise market they will need to support Blackberry server or MS-active sync. Either one will require working with the big boys of the industry (RIMM and MS). If they dont, they wont be a factor.


RE: Analysts...
By MatthiasF on 1/25/2008 11:52:07 AM , Rating: 1
Actually, the title of the article is "IBM Rains On iPhone, Lotus Notes Parade", the first comment of this thread details Note's marketshare and the only thing you've pushed was that in YOUR WORLD people only use Blackberries or Microsoft ActiveSync.

As others have mentioned the marketshare for Notes is higher than most of us Microsoft Exchange users tend to believe and companies putting IBM solutions to mobiles is possible.

The fact remains that if IBM can get a Notes or Workplace connector onto the iPhone before Microsoft, it could propel their marketshare further.

After writing my last article, I spoke with a neighbor that has a Treo running a Notes connector (Motorola's) and he works for a company that has over 20,000 on Notes.

They are out there, even though we don't see them.


RE: Analysts...
By retrospooty on 1/25/2008 12:27:06 PM , Rating: 1
"you've pushed was that in YOUR WORLD people only use Blackberries or Microsoft ActiveSync."


Yes, my world being that of international smartphone businesses, which I have been in for 6 years, since the dawn of the smartphone age.

I know there are some large companies out there that use Lotus Notes, but they use Blackberry to do their mobile enterprise email, since it is compatible, secure and widely used.

I also know IBM has mobile solutions, but it is A) not widely used and B) not ever going to be.

If Apple wants to make it in the extremely lucrative enterprise email sector, they have to work with the big boys of the industry, either RIMM's blackberry, or MS's ActiveSync. Thats all there is to it, and that is all I am saying. End of story


RE: Analysts...
By Mitch101 on 1/25/2008 10:17:09 AM , Rating: 2
Countless times have we done Virtual Exchange servers in the lab. Microsoft provides a white paper with step by step instructions on this. In fact the Virtual configs we create in the lab are clusters no less.

As for someone talking security I will say this Security is only as good as the people who maintain it. If you have Virus, exploits, etc with Microsoft exchange products you need to determine if the problem is your security staff which it probably is or the software products your company uses.

I will also say way too many companies look to spend money on 3rd party programs that just aren't necessary for their environment. I would guess most do this to place blame on their own incompetence. Way too many places have clusters that just wont increase uptime but they do it because it sounds good to management. Way too many use third party backup programs to backup exchange. Way too many don't use multiple anti-virus software companies because someone in accounting is too lazy to cut multiple checks. Way too many companies techs never explore whats in the resource kits.


RE: Analysts...
By Shark Tek on 1/25/2008 7:14:12 AM , Rating: 2
Agree at least I know in Puerto Rico Exchange is running on almost all the companies in the island. I only knew two companies that uses Lotus Notes and they were planning to migrate to MS Exchange the last time I visit them.


RE: Analysts...
By johnsonx on 1/27/2008 4:41:53 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
1. Blackberry server (compatible with MS-Exchange and Lotus notes)


Blackberry Enterprise Server supports Novell GroupWise also. There are more GroupWise servers (which run on NetWare, Linux and Windows) out there than many people think.


RE: Analysts...
By bethereornot on 2/1/2008 11:58:00 AM , Rating: 2
I hate to break it to you, but the 50% quote, comes from Microsoft about corp. email accounts. So that means the number is probably much higher, but for LN not MS. I have found any time MS is willing to admit something is OK, that means it is GREAT. So there virus targeted exchange product is the reason that LN has at least 50% in the corp. world. Plus, if a person wants to activate there LN account on there Iphone, they don't have to have a LN client for it. They just need to be able to ask the local administrator to hook them up with email to go to there iphone. But I agree with some of the other users on here, the blackberry is way ahead of the iphone or any other phone doing email worldwide. If they didn't say it just like that, I am now saying it. Blackberry is way ahead of IPhone for email. Keep your iphone as a techy toy but when you go to work, take the BB.


RE: Analysts...
By Martimus on 1/26/2008 8:32:03 AM , Rating: 2
The federal government does not use Lotus Notes 6.5 for all of its computers. Our agency has used Outlook for a long time, and every agency that I have dealings with also uses Outlook. Only GDLS uses Lotus Notes of the companies I deal with, and they are a contractor.


To do list
By JosefTor on 1/24/2008 7:44:43 PM , Rating: 2
I just want a simple To Do list on the iPhone. I know it has the Calendar function but that doesn't quite hit the mark.




RE: To do list
By hiscross on 1/24/2008 7:55:56 PM , Rating: 2
Here's one: http://justanothermobilemonday.com/Wordpress/2007/...

All IBM products are worth the time to use.


RE: To do list
By hiscross on 1/24/2008 7:57:21 PM , Rating: 2
Ops. All IBM products aren't worth using.


RE: To do list
By Mitch101 on 1/25/2008 10:25:38 AM , Rating: 2
How about lotus Sometime - Somtimes its up but a lot of times its down.

Dont get me started on Tivoli though that is the worst products ever that just wont die but so many companies were duped into putting it in.


RE: To do list
By MatthiasF on 1/24/2008 10:34:27 PM , Rating: 2
None of the solutions mentioned sync to anything, and most are web-based. How is this a solution to connecting a To Do list with a corporate software?


RE: To do list
By DeepBlue1975 on 1/25/2008 7:53:10 AM , Rating: 2
I'll answer for him:

To do: support push email standards on the iPhone if they want the phone to grab more market than just fashion driven people / gizmo geeks (like me, though I hate the iPhone for not having a real keyboard) / apple fan boys.

That's what should be on the iPhone's to-do-list :D

(j/K)


By ultimatebob on 1/25/2008 4:04:05 PM , Rating: 2
I don't. iPhone users aren't IBM's target market... large business users are. All of those folks are using Blackberries and Windows Mobile smart phones.




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