IBM Lotus Notes and Related Suites

Introduction to Collaborative Tools

Collaboration: According to the Oxford dictionary, it is the action of working with someone
to produce something.

Tools: A device or implement, especially one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular
function.

Collaboration tools are those which enable remote collaboration. In many cases, a
collaboration tool is synonymous with a communication medium or device.

When people are asked to define or suggest collaboration tools, audio conference systems and
videoconferencing software typically top the list, reflecting a traditional view that
collaboration tools should mimic face-to-face meetings. These tools have often emphasized
sharing of the physical characteristics of people. While such tools are important and will
likely continue to be the mainstay of collaboration tool suites for many years, several
emerging tools are spawning social practices that may prove to be invaluable in bridging
more than just the physical distance between participants. One such tool is “Collaborative
Software” or groupware, which is software designed to help people involved in a common
task achieve their goals.

Background
During the mid-1990s project management started to evolve into collaborative project
management; this was when the process in which a project’s inputs and outputs were carried
out started to change with the evolution of the internet. Since the geographical boundaries
broadened the development teams increasingly became more remote changing the dynamics
of a project team thus changing the way a project was managed.
Former chairman of GE Jack Welch believed that you could not be successful if you went it
alone in a global economy. Therefore Welch became a driving force behind not only
collaboration between organizations, but also collaborative project management.
The first few examples of successful commercial groupware were seen from the early 1900s,
when companies such as Boeing and IBM started using electronic meeting systems for
internal projects. Thus Lotus notes was introduced for group collaboration, when the internet
was still in its infancy.

Why Use Collaborative Tools?

In the time of crisis, where there is a shortage of every resource there is a need of paperless
communication. We can get this sort of communication from collaborative technologies
reducing much paper work, confusion and even time.

Collaborative technology is emerging as a major tool for most of the organisation nowadays
for enhancing their quality performance and assignment and completion of task by the groups
on time.

The software helps to initiate action oriented team working together in various geographical
regions by providing them various tools to help the groups with task assessment, assignment
and shared calendars. Some companies also use collaborative technologies for filling up the
information required by the organisation in the form of feedback.
Software system such as email, text, chatting and bookmaking form a part of Collaborative
tools. Collaborative software pertains to the technological elements of computer supported
cooperative work.

Collaborative work systems become a useful analytical tool to understand the behavioural
and organizational variables. It also includes functions such as document sharing (including
group editing), group calendar and instant messaging, web conferencing, among others.
The need for collaboration in the organisation arises when the company wants the groups
made within the organisation works in a coordinated fashion towards a common goal.

Collaborative uses all the latest information technology that supports the individuals and
groups and helps them in decision making process as well. Brainstorming also comes under
collaborative technologies only as it focuses on rapid exchange of ideas in order to facilitate
rapid decision making process. Collaborative software provides areas that support multi-user
editing with virtual whiteboards and chat or other forms of communication. Better solutions
record the process and provide revision history. An emerging category of computer software,
a collaboration platform is a unified electronic platform that supports synchronous and
asynchronous communication through a variety of devices and channels.

Collaborative study is also regarded as an alternative of cost cutting solutions. For example-
National Australian Bank( NAB) also uses collaborative technologies in order to cut the
travelling cost by 40 %. It has also helped them to improve their working environment and
have increased the amount of circulation of bank papers and information. So it helps the
company in many dimensions.

Who Uses IBM Lotus Notes and Other Collaborative Tools?

Virtual Teams for Teaching

Selecting which technologies to use and how to use them in online teaching and learning
environments is a critical variable to ensure the quality of the process and the performance of
teamwork. It is done under the framework of three different modes of teamwork (i.e.,
communication, cooperation, and collaboration). Teamwork is one of the most widely used
instructional activities in traditional classrooms as well as online learning environments.

Many studies point out that teamwork activities provide a pedagogically-rich context to assist
students in building meaningful knowledge in online environments. When teamwork is
introduced in online environments (where it is typically referred to as ‘virtual teams’), the
context for the teaming activities becomes different from that of traditional classroom
teamwork.

Virtual team members are dispersed in physically and culturally different environments. Idea
exchanges and decision-making within such teams via technologies require more time, effort,
and detailed guidelines than traditional classroom teamwork.
Banking Sector
Another area where collaborative tools such as IBM Lotus are increasingly finding usage is
the banking sector, due to the advantages they possesses of clear communication, superior
customer service and ease of use. It facilitates the provision of better service much faster, and
for multiple stakeholder groups. It helps save costs by reducing travelling. Meetings between
various parties can be organized online.

Incorporating changes in various documents is simpler using collaborative tools. Multiple

people can work on the same document at a time, making tasks less time consuming.

Applications in Healthcare
Globally, the healthcare industry is confronted with many challenges, ranging from great
disparities in the levels of care available to the need to provide more holistic patient care for
less money. Technology and collaborative tools provide the catalyst for some of the most
innovative solutions to these healthcare challenges helps to revolutionize the delivery of
healthcare across the globe.

Today, healthcare funding and compliance have become major issues. The requirements for
performance benchmarking (i.e., establishing that diseases are in fact being managed
effectively) are becoming increasingly stringent, and are coming from both the government
and health insurance companies. The data warehouse is essential to meeting these
requirements. It allows, for example, records for the entire patient population to be quickly
examined for pertinent measures, such as blood pressure. Previously, this information was
either difficult or impossible to derive as there was a lack of synchronization. Collaborative
tools take care of solving all these difficulties by providing a data warehouse as mentioned
above.

Customer Care
IBM’s Collaborative suites are increasingly being used by customer care executives, and for
other back office operations, as they enable easy logging of call data, and make it easier to
build teams with the help of instant messaging. Collaboration tools make it possible for the
team members to interact with the team leader, and get assistance whenever required.
IBM Lotus Notes
Of all the collaborative tools that are being used today, one which is most prominent is IBM
Lotus Notes. It is widely used in the industry the world over.

According to IBM, Lotus Notes is an integrated desktop client option for accessing
business e-mail, calendars and applications.

History

This was initially developed as a desktop application in 1994 by Iris Associates. It was
formally named as NOTES, but during the same year Lotus Development Corporation
purchased Iris and in the year 1995, IBM purchased Lotus. Development of Lotus notes was
hugely inspired by PLATO NOTES, which was developed by David Woolley at University
of Illinois, in 1973. In today’s world, PLATO would be a message board, it was a community
that lived on for more than twenty years on PLATO systems.

When Lotus Notes was initially released, the name "Notes" referred to both the client and
server components. However, today it is considered to be the client end of a client-server
collaborative application.

Features of IBM Lotus Notes

Client/Server

Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino is a runs in a true client/server environment and the servers
are virtually independent of the hardware and software. The server software is called Lotus
Domino and the client software is Lotus Notes. The Domino software can run on Windows,
Unix, Linux, AIX, AS/400 and even IBM mainframes. It can support up to tens of thousands
of users per server.

From the client side, a flexibility that can be useful is the ability to easily copy individual
records between databases. This includes individual memos from mail files, something that is
not possible within Microsoft Exchange/Outlook. Numerous templates are also included with
the software, as are links to various forums and other resources.

Data Replication

One feature that sets Lotus Notes apart from other suites is its general replication facility. The
standard container for data in the Notes architecture for storage are the Notes Storage Facility
(.nsf) files. No special programming, tagging, or other configuration is required to enable
replication. Creation of a local replica of an NSF file on the hard disk of a Notes client
enables the user to fully use Notes databases while working off-line; the client synchronizes
any changes when client and server next connect.

Database Security

Being a desktop application that is used by employees in a corporate world, security plays a
vital role. Lotus note uses public key cryptography for client-server and server-server
authentication. Data encryption is also done in the same manner. According to the current
norms, it uses 128 bit symmetric keys and 1024 bit public keys. The server side of the
application uses security tool support S/MIME, SSL 3.0 with industry standard keys sizes.
Other internet protocols, X.509 client certificates and an integrated certificate industry are
also used for security purposes.

In Lotus Notes, every database has an access control list (ACL) that specifies the level of
access a user or a server can have to that database. A user's access level determines what
tasks he or she can perform in the database; A server's access level determines what
information the server can replicate. (The names of access levels are the same for users and
servers.) Only a user or administrator with Manager access can create or modify the ACL. To
set an ACL, the Manager selects the access level, user type, and access level privileges for
each user or group in a database.
Programming

IBM Lotus Notes/Domino is a cross-platform, secure, distributed document-oriented database

and messaging framework. It is also a rapid application development environment that
includes pre-built applications like email, calendar, etc. This gives it an edge over other
commercial products, such as Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise which are
purposely built applications for emailing and calendaring.

Other Features

Lotus Notes can be used as an IMAP( Internet Message Access Protocol) and POP (Post
Office Protocol) e-mail client with non-Domino mail servers. Recipient addresses can be
retrieved from any LDAP(Lightweight Data Access Protocol) server, including Active
Directory. The client also does web browsing, although it can be configured to launch the
default browser instead. Features include group calendaring and scheduling, SMTP(Simple
Mail Transfer Protocol)/MIME(Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension)-based e-mail,
NNTP(Network News Transfer Protocol)-based news support, and automatic HTML
conversion of all documents by the Domino HTTP task. Notes integration with IBM's
Sametime instant messaging allows users to see other users online and chat with one or more
of them at the same time.

Other than these features, lotus notes can be used to develop customized client-server and
web applications. Constructing these customized applications with lotus notes, the
development code is less complex and easier to comprehend.
Related Suites

To create flexible infrastructure every company needs to react more quickly to changing
marketing conditions. These suites deliver better product and services with more efficiency
thus reducing cost and thus increasing security and better data and storage management.
Some of the lotus related softwares that are used by IBM to fulfil these criterias are as
follows:

Lotus Expeditor

Lotus Expeditor is a product of IBM pervasive computing (PvC) initiatives for devices. In
2001, PvC Device architecture serves as a basis for IBM PvC embedded software deliveries
in many areas such as automotive telematics, industrial control, handheld mobile devices
computing, residential gateways.
IN 2004 IBM introduces Workplace client technology (WCT) for creating managed client
applications for desktops. With time technology developed and in year 2006 IBM started to
re-emphasize the workplace brand in favour of existing lotus and it came up with Expeditor
brand.
IBM lotus Expeditor is a software used for construction, integration and deployment of
"managed client applications" framed by IBM’s lotus software division. Managed client
applications are used by remote server for deploying, configuring and managing on to a
desktop. The aim is to allow software developers to make applications that can take
advantage of running on a local client, while having the same ease of maintenance as web-
based application. Lotus expeditor toolkit creates expeditor applications and creates
customised Expeditor runtime.
With respect to usage, lotus Expeditor is categorised as

 Lotus Expeditor Client for desktop: It is used for running client applications on
Microsoft windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
 Lotus Expeditor client for devices: It is a configuration of platform for Microsoft
windows mobile devices and Nokia E90 communicator.
  Lotus expeditor Server: It is used to deploy, configure and maintain applications
running on lotus Expeditor clients. It is used for data synchronisation, transactional
messaging and automated, remote application management.

Lotus Quickr
Lotus Quickr can be described as social team collaboration software that can store and share
content through connectors. It can help one access and interact with the people, information
and project materials you need to get your work done. It consists of content libraries where
you organise and share content, team places where you can create online places for sharing
information, templates for using team prebuilt places and connectors for working on
applications without switching.

Features of Lotus Quickr

 Content Libraries: where you organise and share content

 Team places: where you can create online places for sharing information, projects
 Connectors: It enables you to  work  without switching applications
 Templates: use pre-built team places to get started fast
 RSS?ATOM feeds: stay up to date and in the know
 Content repositories: security rich places for storing libraries and team content on
lotus quickr server.

Benefits of Lotus Quickr

Lotus Quickr is easy-to-use, intuitive team collaboration software thus  providing users
various benefits:

 It helps team and workgroup become more efficient and more productive, including
teams that span multiple geographies and time zones
 It broaden team membership including business partners and customers thus
accelerating business cycles and creating better relationships
 Eliminating or reducing duplication of efforts and content inconsistencies
 Encouraging Sharing, accessing and collaboration in team
  Focuses on solving business problems, leveraging new ideas and reducing time to
market.
 Empower teams to set up and manage their information and projects in a security-rich
environment without requiring IT assistance.
 Provide an effective alternative to e-mail for storing and managing content
 Reduce "inbox bloat" by providing a central, shared way to share attachments and
large files
 Capture and reuse business best practices so that teams and projects can get "up and
running" more quickly
 Provide an intuitive and easy-to-use front end to enterprise content management
systems to get more out of them
 It connects you with other lotus softwares such as lotus notes, lotus connections,lotus
notes,lotus symphony and Microsoft softwares such as Microsoft office and outlook.

Lotus Sametime

IBM Lotus Sametime is a client-server application. It is a middleware platform that provides

real-time, unified communications and collaboration. It includes presence information, instant
messaging, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony capabilities and
integration.
It supports enterprise software and Communication Enabled Business Process, either through
a Lotus Sametime plugin or by surfacing Lotus Sametime capabilities through third-party
applications. Sametime integrates with a wide variety of software, including Lotus
collaboration products, Microsoft office productivity software, and portal and Web
applications

It connects client for end-users and the Lotus Sametime server for control and administration.
Lotus Sametime comes in 4 levels of functionality. They can be summed up as the following:
 1. Lotus Sametime Entry: It provides basic presence and instant messaging.
2. Lotus Sametime Standard: It provides additional functionality to Lotus Sametime
Entry, including rich presence including location awareness, rich-media chat, Voice-
over-IP (VoIP) and video chat, timestamps, emoticon, group and multi-way chat etc
3. Lotus Sametime Advanced: It provides additional real-time community collaboration
and social networking functionality to Lotus Sametime Standard, including persistent
chat, rooms, broadcast tools to tap into extended expertise networks etc
4. Lotus Sametime Unified Telephony: It provides additional telephony functionality to
Lotus Sametime Standard or Lotus Sametime Advanced, including telephony
presence softphone , click-to-call and click-to-conference, incoming call management
etc.

Lotus Sametime Connect, the client component of Lotus Sametime, is available for Microsoft
Windows, Linux, and Apple Mac OS X. Also available for web client for Microsoft Internet
Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari; mobile clients are also supported for Apple
iPhone, Microsoft Windows Mobile

IBM Lotus Mobile Portal Accelerator

This software provides an easy, cost-effective way to deliver portal-based content and
applications to virtually all mobile devices. Patients can use their device of choice to retrieve
last updates on readings and reports. Its intelligent Multi-channel Server adapts the content
for each mobile device based on the specific device characteristics and capabilities, as
defined in the device repository.

Advantages of IBM Lotus Notes

Using notes have helped many businesses in many ways, some of the advantages are
explained in this paragraph. By communicating through instant messaging, email and other
communicating tools, it has reduced the cost of doing business. The infrastructural costs,
travelling expenses, operational costs have declined by using notes. Further, it has helped
improve relationships between team members, customers and partners. By using online
method to sending invoices, customer related documents; it has allowed a two way
communication between various entities of business, hence, creating a sense of satisfaction in
customers, supplier and partners of the business. Another advantage that notes has is,
maximization of employee potential, it helps employees to do their work by collaborating
with their colleagues, accessing data and getting help from people with different talents,
without having to search rigorously for it. It has also made the business processes faster and
efficient, every business need to streamline their vital process and notes helps them to make
them happen faster with involving the right people. By getting faster outputs with reduction
in cost, the ROI is greater, it further improves the customer service of the business and
processes more transaction in lesser time. Another advantage is that, it motivates innovation,
employees when put in the right team are found to be thinking out of the box and getting
creative solutions for problems faced. Different people from different countries can come
together and work on the same project, hence it brings in various view point to the same
problem, and hence, getting a solution that has the least cost and the best outcome.

Future of IBM Lotus Notes

The future seems bright for IBM Lotus Notes, with more and more add-ons available to
enhance the user experience. It has recently tied up with Linkedin, a popular social
networking tool used by professionals the world over. A lot of Linkedin’s features such as
news feeds, and profile search would be available in Lotus notes, making it an attractive
enterprise solution.

There has been widespread criticism about Lotus Notes’ unintuitive interface. IBM has also
tried to work on these issues, making it more similar to its rival email client, Microsoft
Outlook, which is known to have a more user friendly interface.