Best Electronic Messaging Software: Lotus Notes Release 4 Gets The Message
Across
Is it messaging? Or is it groupware? Whichever way you slice it, this stuff
is good. Lotus Notes Release 4 takes messaging from the "while you
were out--wanna buy a cat?" watercooler prattle that an e-mail system
seems to harbor and transforms it into a powerful, flexible applications
platform. Notes objects can be any combination of documents, forms, databases,
pointers, discussions and traditional messages. Notes scales extremely well
horizontally and vertically.
People can work either on or off the network
, since Notes uses sophisticated
synchronization to reconcile everything. In the data center, Notes can connect
to external database engines such as DB2, Oracle or Sybase.
Lotus Notes Release 4 dispels some of the classic Notes myths. First of
all, it is not expensive: The Notes Desktop runtime client runs applications
at the low, low cost of $69--far from the "expensive" expectations
of many users. E-mail is no longer broken: The Notes Mail interface is now
the cc:Mail interface. Furthermore, Release 4 is not difficult to program:
The built-in LotusScript 3.0 language or the Notes HiTest Visual Basic add-on
makes programming Lotus Notes Release 4 easier than ever.
Novell GroupWise 4.1 Has Its Merits Two other products also show their strengths
in this category and offer attractive features of their own. Novell GroupWise
4.1 is a well-integrated e-mail system, highlighted by personal calendaring,
group scheduling and task m
anagement. These attributes earn GroupWise 4.1
our Hon
orable Mention status. We love GroupWise 4.1's ability to retract
a sent message--just in case. Administration can be centralized or distributed.
It's easy to see why Novell wanted to hang on to GroupWise when it sold
PerfectOffice. In 1996, if GroupWise becomes a core client/server messaging
service integrated into NetWare Directory Services and ManageWise, it will
be a big win for NetWare 4.1 users.
Oracle Office 2.1 Weighs In The Honorable Mention nod also goes to Oracle
Office 2.1. This may come as a surprise to some. But if your shop has experience
with Oracle and can clear the installation hurdles, you will be pleased,
since Oracle Office 2.1 easily matches Notes in extensibility and low-level
API strength.
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