Come October and a Web client from Lotus iNotes Web Access
will be unveiled in India. "Since its worldwide launch in July, the new
Lotus product has brought in over US $ 5 million additional revenue for the
company," informs Ed Brill, director, core infrastructure, marketing,
messaging and collaboration products, Lotus Development Corporation. According
to Brill, clients had for long been suggesting the need for such an integrated
collaborative environment. No wonder then, one of them–the US-based Wachovia
Bank–started using it within first few weeks of the worldwide launch. The
banking and the process manufacturing industries, says Brill, would be the key
segments using the product.
Lotus iNotes Web Access aims at providing the functionality
of a desktop Notes client on a single template that talks to the server as well
as the web browser. This means that users can work with applications, email
off-line and send changes back to a central server at their convenience. It also
integrates with the company’s existing offerings like Lotus Sametime and
QuickPlace, enabling instant messaging, use of white boards for elaborate online
discussions and shared team workspaces.
"Unlike the traditional Lotus Notes that sits on your
desktop, we have tried to focus on achieving an ultra-intuitive user interface
which requires virtually no instructions in usage. A spell check, including
scientific dictionaries are available online" explains Brill.
Ed Brill’s Analysis of the Lotus brand | |
Strength |
Enterprise viability, consistency in architecture and cross platform functionality have ensured that users can run Lotus products on a client of their choice |
Weakness |
Microsoft is a serious competitor with sizable user mindshare. Asian markets have an inherent "MS mindset". This makes it difficult for Lotus to capture fresh users |
Opportunity |
|
Threats | The ISP/ASP market has commoditized e-mail. We have to begin with changing the mindset. |
In order to use the product offline, you need to copy it on
to your local machine. But then you will also have to limit your subscription
size according to free disc space that you have. To synchronize it and update
your files and mails, you would, however, just need to connect to the Net. The
product is primarily targeted at corporate mobile users including knowledge
workers who constantly access content rich messages as well as productivity
workers who access relatively simpler messages but in larger volumes.
"The product is suited for companies with tight IT
budgets as well as users who do not need a full-scale Notes client (airline
pilots, bank tellers, retail workers). These are the workers who will be
checking their corporate e-mail from Web cafes or the airport business centers.
They will be the workers who, with a URL, will be able to access company email
at home through their own ISPs," he says.
ISPs, ASPs and SMEs with limited IT resources are other
targets of this integrated collaborative environment. In India, the company
expects 80% of its iNotes revenues to come from the SME segment.
Brill pegs the corresponding worldwide figure at 20% to 30%
explaining that the SME segment is smaller worldwide but still the fastest
growing. SMEs may not have dedicated IT resources for each employee. Companies
have responded saying they do not want to install anything on the desktop. There
are growing instances of small and mid-size companies with employees spread
across cities that require managing infrastructure.
With iNotes Web Access, administrators can maintain
applications from a central server location, without having to configure each
individual desktop. Investment in laptops is also reduced. "With roaming
user support, you do not need to install software at as many workstations and
this brings down costs. Besides, network compression ensures more utilization of
bandwidth-another precious commodity!" explains Brill.
Manjiri Kalghatgi in New
Delhi