IBM Lotus Launch First Domino Express Servers For Midmarket

Lotus Domino Collaboration Express and IBM Lotus Domino Utility Server Express, which are available immediately, are modified versions of Domino that are priced and tailored for companies with 100 to 1,000 employees, IBM said.

These are the first Lotus-branded products available under the IBM Express lineup for midsize businesses. IBM has released several Express versions of WebSphere and DB2 this year and plans another Synchronization Express model later this year, executives have said.

The Domino Collaboration Express server offers most of the functions of the Domino server including e-mail, group scheduling, discussion forums, team workplaces, custom application capabilities and choice of multiple clients including Notes or Domino Web Access (iNotes), Domino Access for Microsoft Outlook or Domino Web Mail. However, the solution lacks a license for Domino Designer and does not bundle WebSphere App Server.

It is $119 per user and $89.25 per user for customers who upgrade from competitors' offerings.

The Domino Utility Express Server is an application-only Domino server that gives users unlimited access to web applications, extranet self-service applications as well as third party Domino applications such as sales force automation, CRM, call center tracking and custom applications from either Web browsers or Notes client. However, It does not offer individual user mailbox or calendar files. The utility server is priced per server CPU and costs $5,000 in two CPU increments with a maximum of four CPUs per server.

Both servers are based on the company's Domino 6.02 code and run on multiple platforms including Linux on Intel, Microsoft Windows, IBM OS/400, IBM AIX and Sun Solaris. For midsize businesses, IBM Lotus also tailored its license terms for midsize businesses and offered simplified installation, administration and security features as defined by the IBM Express certification process. The Express offerings are limited to companies with 1000 or fewer employees.

One Lotus Business Partner applauded the move, which he described as long overdue.

"These pricing options as great news, not only for small to medium sized companies but also for business partners, I really believe that this will allow business partners to offer some great solutions," said Carl Tyler, chief technology partner at Instant Technologies. "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."

At least one observer, however, yawned at the Domino Express offerings. "The prices seem okay for what it includes--e-mail, scheduling, team workspaces, discussions, and support for Notes, Outlook Web Access and Webmail," said Mark Levitt, an analyst at IDC. "For customers looking only for e-mail, there are much cheaper offerings."