Microsoft Unveils Add-In Connector For Outlook, Domino

The Outlook 2002 Connector is the first Microsoft-developed connector for Outlook and Lotus Domino. While Outlook is primarily designed to work with Microsoft Exchange, the add-in connector will enable companies with a Domino e-mail infrastructure,or a mixed infrastructure of Domino and Exchange servers,the ability to use Outlook 2002 in Office XP as a client, Microsoft said.

IBM will promote the Microsoft connector to its partners and installed base so customers that buy or merge with other companies know they can still keep Domino on the back end, even if the firm they merged with or bought uses Outlook.

Lotus cheered the decision, even as it issued a statement late last month claiming to have converted Exchange customers to Domino. "The Outlook 2002 Connector is a great example of industry cooperation responding to diverse customer needs," said Ken Bisconti, vice president of Messaging Solutions for Lotus Software at IBM.

IBM Lotus said it has converted more than 150 SMB customers from Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise as part of its Move2Lotus program, which is now offered by 500 IBM business partners.

For example, Greif Brothers, a Delaware, Ohio-based industrial packaging services and products vendor, converted 1,700 seats to Domino from Exchange in a six-month project that concluded in September, IBM said.

One Linux ISV said the Outlook 2002 Connector is a "brilliant marketing move" by Microsoft as faces competition on the messaging server side from Lotus Domino, especially on Linux.

"As far as the Outlook 2002 Connector, Microsoft did the best thing to preserve Office. Microsoft wants to see their enterprise customers upgrade to [Outlook 2002, and this allows them to maintain their desktop business," said Tom Adelstein, who heads up the server division at Linux ISV Xandros, New York. "I think [VARs will capture significant new business with Lotus on Linux on every IBM platform. I know of several Wall Street firms implementing Linux on the mainframe while leaving their Outlook install base in place," he said.