Whatever Happened to ... Lotus Notes
Category IBM/Lotus
From ServerWatch.com: Whatever Happened to ... Lotus Notes
Interesting look at Notes, it's pedigree, and what the future may hold:
Let's not beat around the bush — mention "Lotus Notes" to people, and many will have a reaction ranging from "Is that still around?" to "Ugh." Notes has, perhaps unfairly so, a reputation for corporate stodginess that is the technology equivalent of 1980s music videos.
To be fair, Notes' roots reach all the way back to the early 1970s. And for those of us also from way back in the early 70s, let's face it — we're not the cool kids anymore. But we are still here, and maybe we know a thing or two the young upstarts have yet to learn.
I think Alan Lepofsky has pointed out a number of design "innovations" (tabbed browser windows, anyone?) now in vogue that have been there in Notes all along.
Although Notes has continued to add support for modern messaging technologies, it faces headwinds from several directions. Building on a product with such a long history can be a blessing and a curse.
The blessing is that deep institutional knowledge helps leverage Notes' fundamental architectural advantages. Not only do Lotus and IBM own a great deal of intellectual property that drives Notes, but large clients have mature programs in place for using Notes in their workplaces, including employee training and support. In other words, inertia is a blessing.
The curse of legacy is especially tricky in the fast-moving world of computers. By far, the most common criticism of Notes users — and the motivation behind the all-too-often "ugh" — is its interface. Built on metaphors and principles that stretch back to Notes' origins, it is a difficult balancing act for Notes to continue to support existing institutional knowledge while also meeting the expectations and user interface habits of today's users.
In fact, some of Notes' original design decisions are the very same that today can rub users the wrong way. Because Notes is cross-platform, its interface isn't quite like that of Windows-native software. The reality, though, is that most users — particularly in corporate environments — are using Windows machines, which makes learning the Notes interface an exception to their normal experience.
This is very true. Cross-platform is a feature that, if you're standardized on Windows, may not be perceived as a feature so much as a hindrance. But given the growth of the Mac and Linux desktop models (and the backend server selections), that cross-platform mentality may yet still be one of the saving graces of Notes as people look for Windows alternatives that still play well in the Windows world.
I especially like his summation at the end...
The challenge, as it always has been for Notes, will be how to add substance without adding bulk.
From ServerWatch.com: Whatever Happened to ... Lotus Notes
Interesting look at Notes, it's pedigree, and what the future may hold:
Let's not beat around the bush — mention "Lotus Notes" to people, and many will have a reaction ranging from "Is that still around?" to "Ugh." Notes has, perhaps unfairly so, a reputation for corporate stodginess that is the technology equivalent of 1980s music videos.
To be fair, Notes' roots reach all the way back to the early 1970s. And for those of us also from way back in the early 70s, let's face it — we're not the cool kids anymore. But we are still here, and maybe we know a thing or two the young upstarts have yet to learn.
I think Alan Lepofsky has pointed out a number of design "innovations" (tabbed browser windows, anyone?) now in vogue that have been there in Notes all along.
Although Notes has continued to add support for modern messaging technologies, it faces headwinds from several directions. Building on a product with such a long history can be a blessing and a curse.
The blessing is that deep institutional knowledge helps leverage Notes' fundamental architectural advantages. Not only do Lotus and IBM own a great deal of intellectual property that drives Notes, but large clients have mature programs in place for using Notes in their workplaces, including employee training and support. In other words, inertia is a blessing.
The curse of legacy is especially tricky in the fast-moving world of computers. By far, the most common criticism of Notes users — and the motivation behind the all-too-often "ugh" — is its interface. Built on metaphors and principles that stretch back to Notes' origins, it is a difficult balancing act for Notes to continue to support existing institutional knowledge while also meeting the expectations and user interface habits of today's users.
In fact, some of Notes' original design decisions are the very same that today can rub users the wrong way. Because Notes is cross-platform, its interface isn't quite like that of Windows-native software. The reality, though, is that most users — particularly in corporate environments — are using Windows machines, which makes learning the Notes interface an exception to their normal experience.
This is very true. Cross-platform is a feature that, if you're standardized on Windows, may not be perceived as a feature so much as a hindrance. But given the growth of the Mac and Linux desktop models (and the backend server selections), that cross-platform mentality may yet still be one of the saving graces of Notes as people look for Windows alternatives that still play well in the Windows world.
I especially like his summation at the end...
The challenge, as it always has been for Notes, will be how to add substance without adding bulk.
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