New Lotus GM Takes On .Net

The new Lotus General Manager doesn't mind competing with Microsoft Exchange Server in the marketplace. But this .Net thing? Forget about it.

".Net is an architecture. I can't quite get my fingers around it. I don't mind competing product to product, but with .Net, I don't know what to talk about," he told CRN in an interview Monday at Lotusphere here.

"I see a large fraction of people starting in J2EE, but .Net gets very complicated to me. ... With .Net, I don't know what to talk about."

He is not alone. Even Microsoft executives admit that the .Net marketing has been muddied in the process, even stripping the .Net moniker from the next server operating system release as a result. (See story.)

IBM Software's strategy remains what it has been for some time: Let customers continue using what IT foundations they already have, and add new capabilities without them having to "rip and replace."

IBM continues to support Windows but has also thrown its considerable weight behind Linux and a full complement of Unix flavors. "With Microsoft, every operating system but Windows is a second-class citizen -- not even a second-class citizen, but ostracized," Goyal noted.

On this issue, "Microsoft is on the wrong side," he said.

Goyal, a 21-year IBM veteran, is replacing Al Zollar, who held the Lotus GM spot for three years. Goyal's done stints as GM of IBM's Solutions and Strategy Division, handled WebSphere business integration and set strategy for the IBM Software group.

Now he has the daunting task of competing with Microsoft Exchange at the high end with Domino in collaboration and now at the low end with Lotus' upcoming "Next Gen" Web mail offering, which is expected to ship next quarter. (See story.)

"If customers want to use the Microsoft environment, that's fine," he said. The new POP3 mail offering, geared for thousands of corporate employees who now do not have e-mail, will integrate with Exchange Server or Domino back ends.

Industry observers agree that the new "Next Gen" mail will open up an important second front against Microsoft Exchange at the low end at a time when Microsoft is already under fire in corporate accounts over licensing changes that are perceived as price hikes.

Asked if he expected Microsoft to react with its own low-end mail product, Goyal said: "I've never been able to figure out what Microsoft says or does. They have an amazing marketing machine that sometimes gets ahead of the products."

""If you have something bring it and we'll compete. But code talks....," he said.

Partners at the show liked the idea of a basic e-mail to open up new opportunities but were concerned that Lotus' emphasis on its so-called "next gen" lineup, spells the end of the road for the current Domino and Notes code base.

"When I hear a company say that it will continue to support X,Y, or Z, I know that the end is in sight for X,Y or Z," said one Lotus business partner at the show who requested anonymity.

Goyal emphatically denied that. "We have two more releases of Notes Domino in our plans," he said. "We typically only do one at a time."

In addition to those major releases, the company plans a Domino 6.5 update for the third quarter of 2003. "The key focus will be extending the value proposition for non-Notes clients users ... iNotes Web Access users," said Jeanette Horan, vice president of products for Lotus.