Lotus Domino For Midmarket

Lotus Domino Collaboration Express and Lotus Domino Utility Server Express shipped in August and are modified versions of Domino that are priced and tailored for the midmarket.

IBM has released several Express versions of WebSphere and DB2 this year and plans to unveil another Synchronization Express offering later this year, company executives said. The vendor's Express offerings are limited to companies with 1,000 or fewer employees.

Like the Domino server, Domino Collaboration Express offers e-mail, group scheduling, discussion forums, team workplaces and custom application capabilities, but it doesn't include a Domino Designer license or a WebSphere Application Server. It costs $119 per user, or $89.25 per user for customers who upgrade from competitors' offerings.

Domino Utility Server Express is an application-only Domino server that gives users unlimited access to Web applications, extranets and third-party Domino applications accessible from Web browsers or Notes clients. The utility, which is designed for applications only and doesn't offer individual user mailbox or calendar files, costs $5,000 in two CPU increments with a maximum of four CPUs per server.

"These pricing options are great news for [SMBs] and business partners," said Carl Tyler, CTO of Instant Technologies, an ISV and consultant in Durham, N.H. "Previously, the price point for the Domino server put many companies off using Domino. The question really should be what made them take so long to offer this deal."