Both Ed Brill and Gary Devendorf referred to an IBM DeveloperWorks article on integrating Lotus Domino with SharePoint. Something Gary has been doing for quite some time already. So I though I’d have a look to see what’s going on …
… Microsoft has been taking shots at the IBM Lotus Domino product line for years. Not long ago, Microsoft Exchange Server was going to take Lotus Domino’s place in the enterprise landscape. That prognosis fell flat, but Microsoft continues to take aim at the venerable Lotus Domino platform. Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services is Microsoft’s latest collaboration offering; it may be used standalone or combined with numerous other Microsoft products to build applications that attempt to duplicate Lotus Domino functionality. …
Well the introduction sets the scene quite clear. However … What exactly fell flat ? I do recall Microsoft Exchange overtaking the lead in marketshare (here, here and here).
Windows SharePoint Services is part of Microsoft Office System (yes, several products) (check here and here). And yes it “attempts” to duplicate Lotus Domino functionality, with very good success I can tell you.
… With SharePoint entering the fray, many customers mistakenly think that they must select it or Lotus Domino; however, the platforms can peacefully coexist and work together. You can easily harness the power of both. This article examines various ways to integrate Domino-based data and applications into a SharePoint environment. It begins with a brief introduction to the SharePoint platform.
The following tools are used in this article:
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with SharePoint Services
- Lotus Domino V7.0.1
- IBM Lotus Domino Designer V7.0.1 …
Good approach. It’s a pity the author did not look into Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and the related updated version of Windows SharePoint Services (Version 3). Simply because this is recognised as a huge upgrade in functionality eliminating a lot of suggested development effort.
Also “peacefully coexistence” is fine, but at the end of the day Lotus Domino and Microsoft Office System are both platforms with a huge overlap in functionality and at the end of the day organisations would want to consolidate / rationalise platforms rather than maintaining multiple platforms with a lot of similar functionality. I do agree that it does not make sence to migrate some (overly) complex Domino applications just for the sake of migration (Gartner Group confirms this).
All in all good tips and some useful resources as long as you don’t forget why you choose the coexistence route instead of migration. Coexistence is not a sustainable strategy for the longer term
Ah. This “coexistence doesn’t work” statement near the end does rather contradict Gary’s three-year or so position that it makes sense. Who’s correct ?
And co-existence not being a long term solution – do you mention this to the “Lotus Notes Migration Success” stories that you talk about – you know, the self-same folks who you tempt over to Exchange, but since there’s no replacement for Domino applications – are left running a dual-infrastructure for their applications ?
Something like this 70,000 user UK bank who have had to keep their Exchange 2003 servers on “intensive care” ? Would you therefore propose that for stability and because coexistence isnt a sustainable strategy for the long term – that they switch back from Exchange mail to Lotus Notes ?
Nice to see some honesty from Microsoft on this – the next stage would be to think through on the strategy.. ?
—* Bill
Bill,
I am not disagreeing with Gary, I merely highlight a diffrent perspective. I talk to different DMUs in organisations than Gary does I guess.
For all the other remarks, I conclude we live in different worlds ….