Lotus touts extension of Notes in workplace client

IBM Lotus Software is pitching its upcoming Workplace Client as an extension, not replacement, of the venerable Notes desktop.

The company has unveiled the new 'rich' client, to ship in the second quarter, which incorporates an embedded local database and promises to run existing Notes applications unmodified, according to Mike Rhodin, vice president of development for Lotus.

Additionally, a new Workplace Builder promises to let non-programmers, including Notes administrators, build in access to backend applications with an easy point-and-click metaphor, the company said. The goal is to provide a converged interface to all important applications in one spot.

Building on the Notes heritage, the Workplace Builder promises to allow the administrator set roles-based access parameters for applications centrally. 'Roles can be applied to an entire range of components, not just a single component or database,' according to Doug Wilson, chief technology officer for Lotus, speaking at Lotusphere 2004.

In stark contrast to Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference last year, where the company talked about the still distant Longhorn product wave, Lotus highlighted offerings that are expected to ship in the second quarter. Executives barely mentioned Notes or Domino 8, both of which are on the company's road map but not due until after this year.

While a few analysts at the show said Lotus' commitment to the existing installed base of applications was welcome relief to partners who have been worried about potentially dead-ended technologies, some partners themselves were more sceptical, especially about IBM Software's and Lotus' renewed partner push.

Company executives have reiterated for the past year how important ISV and other partners are to the company, especially in small and midsize businesses, but several long-standing Lotus partners said that message has not trickled down to others within the huge company.

It's all well and good for IBM Software to say they're a better partner than Microsoft for ISVs, said one. 'But before they go recruiting new ISV partners, they should take care of existing Lotus partners,' said one reseller. 'Right now, if the partner message isn't in perfect lockstep with theirs, you're out of luck,' he noted.