IBM's upcoming release of Lotus Notes for Linux is, according to Novell survey responders, among the most eagerly anticipated events in Linuxdom. And rightly so.

Notes for Linux will allow shops already running Lotus Domino Server on Linux to adopt the same platform for its integrated client. Notes provides e-mail, instant messaging, calendar and scheduling. It includes personal information management utilities, discussion forums, teamrooms and reference databases with basic workflow. And it's all based on a desktop platform that encourages collaborative applications.

Luckily for IBM's Lotus team, millions embrace the current version of Notes. But continued success doesn't accomodate standing still. Microsoft is blatantly stalking the Notes/Domino combo with its upcoming feature-rich Office/Exchange 12 on Vista.

emailbattles.com