South African organisations are moving quickly to acquire IBM`s first major point release of its Lotus Notes and Domino version 6 messaging and collaboration software.
So says IBM SA`s WebSphere and Lotus technical sales lead, Mark Mallabone: "Our customers have reported a two to three times improvement in server and client access performance in moving from version 5 to version 6. That set the bar very high for us for future releases.
"But, customers have been quick to see that we`ve given them the step-change enhancements in 6.5 that we promised, and are not hesitating to capitalise on them. They are particularly keen on the performance improvements for low quality networks - a huge benefit here in SA, where we battle for bandwidth."
Network enhancements include compression between client and server, enabling extension of networks to areas where low bandwidth would otherwise have been a challenge.
Living up to the product`s status as industry leader since 1989, Lotus Notes and Domino 6.5 is one of the few products to actually run faster on existing infrastructures.
That, along with enhanced performance within the product, improves return on investment (ROI) - as does the ability to upgrade client software without revisiting the desktop. The software also enables better server performance and memory management and provides advanced systems management functions.
It integrates IBM Lotus Instant Messaging and Web Conferencing functionality, giving users on-line "awareness" capabilities and the ability to initiate instant messaging (IM) sessions directly from their in-box or from within a collaborative application. This helps end-users manage the increasing volume of electronic information and the increased speed of business - boosting productivity and giving organisations on-demand capabilities for rapid response to customers and market opportunities.
Expanded support for Linux, including Domino Web Access and Domino for Linux on IBM zSeries eServer, gives customers additional flexibility through a broad choice of rich-featured Linux-based solutions and helps drive down the total cost of ownership.
Lotus Notes 6.5 is also the first Lotus Notes release to embrace IBM`s new Lotus Workplace strategy for integrating people with business processes. The Lotus Notes 6.5 interface provides a unified entry point into various collaborative applications and capabilities such as messaging, instant messaging, search, and calendaring and scheduling. Users can access them from the client, rather than as separate applications.
Additional new features include enhanced junk mail (spam) handling features, allowing users to block unwanted e-mail and quickly sort the e-mail they want to keep.
A simplified user interface maximises responsiveness to e-mail.
Inbox and information management has been enhanced with a new print e-mail without distribution list option, drag-and-drop capabilities to Calendar and To Do bookmarks, and the ability to easily export Notes data to a spreadsheet or other applications.
With Lotus Notes and Domino already the most secure messaging and collaboration platform in the industry, security has been tightened further for Domino Web Access users with new delivery options for sending encrypted mail messages.
Lotus Notes and Domino 6.5 also enables application developers to effortlessly add instant messaging and online awareness to an application without additional programming.
There is increased support for the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and infrastructure standards, such as Java Server Page (JSP) tags, Java application programming interfaces (APIs), Lightweight Access Directory Protocol (LDAP) and relational database (RDB) integration to assist developers interested in working in both the Domino and WebSphere application environments.
IBM is running a special promotion until 31 December 2003, whereby all Lotus 6.5 customers with active maintenance agreements are entitled to receive a licence allowing up to 20 individual users to use IBM Lotus Instant Messaging, as well as a licence allowing up to 20 individual users to use WebSphere Portal Express at no additional charge.
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Lotus software from IBM sets the standard for truly innovative software and services that reflect the brand`s unique representation of the new ways individuals and businesses work together to achieve success. Lotus software is further redefining the concept of conducting business through practical knowledge management, e-business and other groundbreaking ways of connecting ideas, thinkers, buyers, sellers and communities around the world via the Internet. Lotus software is marketed in more than 80 countries worldwide through direct sales and extensive business partner channels.
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