Baking A Sharepoint Killer
For many years Microsoft have been trying to build a application capable to challenging Lotus Notes. For just as many years Microsoft have been falling short in that effort. Recently however I have began to notice that many of the organizations for whom I work Sharepoint is being considered as a solution for applications that would previously be the realm of Lotus Notes. Could it be that Lotus Notes now does have a viable competitor? It doesn't seem like it when you compare the products technically. But hey, to this day I still feel that Lotus 1-2-3 was a superior spreasheet application to Excel and I preferred Netscape Navigator over Internet Explorer. So who knows what the Microsoft marketing machine can convince senior IT executives.
As I see it, Sharepoint has a number of distinct weaknesses. First, it still seems to have more hype than substance. It is not as much out of the box as Microsoft would like us all to believe. It is also not a single product, requiring the usual mismash of products such as Sharepoint Server, SQL Server, IIS, Visual Studio, Active Directory to work. And it is a Windows only solution aimed solely at selling even more MS software....
If I had the resources of a company like IBM this is how I would go about baking a killer product capable of resigning Sharepoint to the same fate as the last "great white hope" - IBM Workplace.
1) The base product would continue to be Lotus Notes. Nobody has ever come up with a product that can compete with Notes for the simplicity of building and deploying collaborative applications. Notes consists of a single NSF that contain all the data and code. By adding integrated security, replication, directory services, and mail services the task of building and deploying an application onto multiple servers has never been made easier. Add to that the new slick Notes 8.0 UI, composite applications and the as-yet untapped capabilities of X-Pages and you have a platform that is truly capable of rapidly delivering modern high quality SOA applications on both thick and thin client platforms.
2) One of the strength of Lotus Notes has always been the speed with which customized solutions can be developed. The programming base of Notes does however need an urgent overall to bring it into the 21st century. This includes completing the work already started to migrate Domino Designer to the Eclipse platform. Java and LotusScript editors need to delivered quickly along with native eclipse editors for all the other non-xpages design elements. The LotusScript language must be expanded to offer many of the capabilities found in Java (and VB.Net/C#). Likewise IBM need to find a way to make Java available in all the same places LotuScript can be used. We then have a HUGE army of Basic (LotusScript) and java programmers able to fully leverage the product.
3) Sharepoints' current strengths over Lotus Notes include Document Management and Workflow. I would turn this weakness into a strength by taking the Lotus Worklflow and Lotus Document Management products and integrating them into the standard Notes/Domino product. These products have been neglected and are unable to effectively compete as stand-alone products. It is often an impossible task to convince IT executives to approve the purchase of new products such as these. But then, if they were part of the core Notes product I wouldn't have to. I can't believe these products are huge contributors to the IBM bottom line. If they were, they would get an occasional mention at LotusSphere (outside of appearing on the annual LotusSphere Bingo cards).
4) The out-of-the-box capabilities of Notes would need to be expanded to take on Sharepoint. Enhanced document library and teamroom templates are needed that exploit the features of document management and workflow and build on some of the great ideas found in QUICKR (including the SNAPPS templates). Added to that we need a killer blog template - perhaps taking the existing IBM blog template and combining that with the OpenNTF Blogsphere template. A wiki template is needed - again the openNTF DominoWiki template is a great start. We would also need to add to the mix some of the social software capabilities found in Lotus Connections. An improved PAB that adds some of the profiling capabilities of Connections and even a little sex appeal with something like Lotus911's Carousel. For DogEars it would be hard to go past LinkJam - and why not throw in an idea/suggestion scheme template (IdeaJam). For good measure some form of Activity management template is needed. And while I am not a big twitter fan, a twitter template may not be a bad addition too. Also build out the RSS Feed manager to be comparable with products such as FeedDemon.
Take the above ingredients and mix in a large yellow bowl until the right consistency is achieved. Then add to a hot oven and allow to bake for 3-6 months. Don't cook for too long now or Sharepoint will be selling like hotcakes and the juggernaut may become uncatchable. Served to a large corporate audience I am sure this new Sharepoint Killer would soon get that yellow blood pumping through the veins of organizations around the globe.
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Baking A Sharepoint Killer
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1 Gregg Eldred Permalink I'm surprised that there are no comments to this post.
I think that IBM has a Sharepoint killer in Quickr and/or
Connections. What you are proposing is, in my simple mind, to
extend the Notes/Domino platform to do more Quickr/Connections
tasks in order to compete with Sharepoint.
I don't see that happening.
You have the ability to add Quickr widgets to the Notes 8 client. I
don't see why there wouldn't be additional widgets for any of the
other Lotus branded products. By doing that, you have a framework
(the Notes client) with which to extend to the other products.
Other than the Sametime client, I really can't see Lotus embedding
additional features in the Notes client that are subsets (?) of the
other products.
I also can't see IBM embracing IdeaJam and LinkJam in a way that
either product would be released through the Lotus products.
Especially as I see LinkJam as "competition" to features found in
Connections. But without the additional costs. I would think some
cannibalism would occur from the Connections product.
You won't be happy with me, but I think that IBM already is well
positioned to compete against Sharepoint with the current
offerings. Sure, there is room for improvement/enhancements, but
the basic building blocks are there and they leverage the strengths
of Lotus Notes and Domino. Quickr and Connections seem to be
getting some very good reviews and press, even though it has been a
while since both products were released. I think that they have
traction. It is up to IBM and the Business Partners to make sure
that the message is heard. Having a site like Greenhouse is
wonderful, in that it allows us to demonstrate the products without
having to invest in hardware and software.
As for your point about Java and Lotusscript, I hope that there are
more enhancements to those in R8.5 and beyond. It is good to see
that you recognize that development in Lotus Notes and Domino can
be done by existing VB and Java developers. That needs to be
communicated more, as well. Developing in Notes/Domino isn't a
dead-end street, but that your skills are welcomed. The interface
may be a little different . . .
2 Peter Presnell Permalink Hey Gregg, I don't disagree that in many ways Quickr can better compete with Sharepoint . But what if you are one of the many Lotus Notes shops where puchasing Quickr is not seen as an option? Do we abandon our ground to Sharepoint in the absence of Quickr (and/or Lotus Connections) or do we try to position Notes to better compete?
3 Nathan T Freeman Permalink Not that I object to your line of thinking here, Peter... but in what Notes organization would buying Quickr not be allowed by buying Sharepoint would be okay?
4 Gregg Eldred Permalink @Nathan: I was at that type of organization. Mgmt thinks that Lotus=e-mail. While the Lotus Reps have tried to sell other solutions, the prevailing thought is Microsoft. Even though their Sharepoint install isn't very popular. However, that may change as a small Quickr pilot is being undertaken.
Frankly, and this is the cynic in me talking, I think that this
happens more than we know.
5 Peter Presnell Permalink @Nathan/Gregg. Like Gregg, I see this time after time (admittedly a small sample size). I cannot explain it, but for some reason this is exactly what happens. Quickr and Connection are great products, but can IBM penetrate the market with these products fast enough to truly combat Sharepoint? Sadly, I suspect they will only ever be niche products.
Right now I am seeing organizations wanting to have less rather
than more software products. The strategic products of choice are
usually things like Oracle, SAP, Documentum, and anything with a
Microsoft label. Almost never products with an IBM label
(Websphere, DB2, Workplace or even Notes). It frustrates me no end
that time after time I come into organizations where Notes is in a
defensive, or at best hold, position.
The barriers to entry for Notes/Domino however are so much lower.
It is there largely because of mail, and it is there because it has
been so easy for almost anyone to start building Notes
applications. And its there on 130 million+ desktops. Nobody is
really going to question adding a few extra Domino servers or even
paying a 10-20% increase in the Notes client license fees for the
added functionality. Unfortunately they do seem reluctant to
purchase "new" IBM products such as Quickr, Connection, Lotus
Document Manager etc.
IBM (and its business partners) make a lot more money selling
consulting services so its #1 priority should be to keep "IBM"
products in as many sites as possible.
Note: I am a realist and don't take myself too seriously... My HIGH
end estimate of this ever happening is 0%. I don't expect IBM would
ever expand Notes more than it has to at the expense of new sales
for Quickr, Connections etc. Lotus Notes is merely the product they
had to keep. Lotus Workplace was the product IBM wanted to
build/sell and Sharepoint is probably the product that ultimately
will SELLl. (Or not)
6 Mike McPoyle Permalink @Nathan: The reality is that companies aren't buying Sharepoint, they buy server CALs and use Sharepoint Services, which is 'free'. I'm sure you know this, but It's basically the MS gateway drug that leads you down the parth of future CAL hell (SQL, Sharepoint server, infopath, Exchange, Office). Anything you want to do once you have Sharepoint services installed will basically require additional CALs. Trust me, I work at a company trying to use 'free' Sharepoint, which was billed as a logical replacement for Notes, which is turning into a bottomless pit of developers, SQL admins, and CALs.
@OP: I agree just about completely with the OP, but I disagree with
the idea of involving Quickr early on. You can do everything
Sharepoint does directly in Notes. If IBM would simply build some
killer apps that come out of the box in Domino after the install,
that's the way to kill Sharepoint. Regardless of the reality, execs
see that Sharepoint has 40 common apps out of the box, and they're
as giddy as a school girl.
I look at what comes with Notes, and I'm embarrassed to be
associated with the product. Thankfully, that's not a
representation of what the product is capable of. Notes needs some
turn-key, modern web apps as part of the install. In larger
organizations, like the one I'm leaving, we wouldn't even consider
purchasing Quickr, but we will utilize the free Sharepoint. Now
that we're realizing that Sharepoint free is about 20% of what we
need, and we have a significant investment in it, we're backed into
a corner, and we'll soon be buying CALs for Sharepoint
Server.