Competing Platforms

David Marshak

COMPETING PLATFORMS

THE TOP THREE PLAYERS:  LOTUS, MICROSOFT, NOVELL


             PRODUCTS
             ========
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        Notes release 3.x                Notes release 4 (due during
             cc:Mail                          the second half of 1995)
             Lotus Organizer
             Lotus Forms

MICROSOFT    Microsoft Mail 3.x               Exchange (first release due 
             Schedule+                        during the second half of 1995)
             Microsoft Electronic Forms

NOVELL       GroupWise 4.x                    GroupWise XTD (due during the
             SoftSolutions                    first half of 1996)
             InForms
             MHS


             TARGET MARKET
             =============
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        E-mail, groupware, work-flow,    Same as CURRENT.
             and interenterprise 
             applications.

MICROSOFT    E-mail and groupware.            Same as CURRENT.

NOVELL       E-mail and groupware.            Same as CURRENT.


             OVERRIDING STRENGTH
             ===================
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        Wide-scale customer and          Same as CURRENT.
             third-party-vendor support.

MICROSOFT    See COMPONENTS COMPARED.         Potentially widespread customer
                                              and third-party-vendor support.

NOVELL       Tight mail, calendar, task       Same as CURRENT.
             and document management
             integration with NDS (NetWare
             Dir
ectory Service).


             OVERRIDING WEAKNESS
             ===================
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        Notes' proprietary image,        Same as CURRENT.
             especially for its development
             environment.

MICROSOFT    See COMPONENTS COMPARED.         Not everyone is willing to
                                              commit to an NT-only server
                                              to run Exchange.

NOVELL       See COMPONENTS COMPARED.	        Tight NDS integration may be
                                              critized as proprietary if
                                              GroupWise XTD runs only on
                                              NetWare.


             UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
             ====================
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        N/A
                              Will release 4 provide the degree
                                              of scalability, availability,
                                              and manageability required for
                                              interenterprise applications?

                                              Can Notes succeed as an enter-
                                              prise E-mail system?

MICROSOFT    N/A                              What is Microsoft's long-term
                                              design philosophy? Are the
                                              program's current weaknesses
                                              endemic to the design?

                                              Can Exchange succeed as an
                                              enterprise E-mail system?

NOVELL       N/A                              Can Novell successfully integrate
                                              GroupWi
se, inForms, MHS, and
                                              SoftSolutions?

                                              Can Novell add anything new to 
                                              what Lotus and Microsoft already
                                              offer?



COMPONENTS COMPARED


             E-MAIL (1)
             ========== 
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        cc:Mail is the leading LAN       Server provides client/server,
             E-mail program. Notes messag-    enterprise-level E-mail for Notes
             ing is built into both the       and cc:Mail clients. Supports CMC
             server and the client. Both      (Common Messaging Calls), MAPI,
             products support VIM (Vendor     SMTP, VIM, and X.400. Uses the
             Independent Messaging).          same mail interface as cc:Mail.

MICROSOFT    Microsoft Mail competes closely  Se
rver provides client/server, 
             with cc:Mail in terms of market  enterprise-level E-mail for
             share and technology. Supports   Exchange and other MAPI clients.
             MAPI.                            Supports CMC, MAPI, SMTP, X.400,
                                              and X.500. Integration with NT
                                              administration makes Exchange the
                                              obvious choice for E-mail with
                                              Windows clients and NT servers.

NOVELL       GroupWise provides file-sharing  A re-architect, MAPI-based, 
             post-office-based LAN E-mail     client/server messaging system
             with server-based rules. MHS     based on GroupWise that will
             (for file-sharing, post-office-  also support MHS.
             based LAN E-mail transport) is
             used by a number of mail 
             products.


             GROUPWARE (2)
             =============
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        The most advanced platform for   Will offer an improved user
             document sharing and threaded    interface for finding shared
             discussions. Supports custom-    information.
             ized views and full-text index-
             ing as well as mobile users
             in workgroups. Organizer's
             group scheduling is loosely
             integrated with Notes.

MICROSOFT    Microsoft Mail provides limited  Has public folders and threaded
             support for sharing mail         discussions for information
             messages in shared folders.      sharing. Exchange scheduler is
             Schedule+ integrates with Mail.  tightly integrated with mail.

NOVELL       Shared folders and tightly       The next generation is likely to
             integrated mail, calendar/       tightly integrate Collabra Share

             scheduling features, and task    and SoftSolutions (or similar
             management. SoftSolutions        technologies).
             offers advanced document
             management. Collabra Share can
             be integrated for threaded
             discussions.


             APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT
             =======================================
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        A forms- and formula-based       Enhanced development environment
             environment. Data replication    via LotusScript. Can create
             allows immediate deployment of   Navigator, a GUI for highly
             applications throughout an       customized applications. Improved
             organization. Access to other    support for mobile users (inclu-
             data sources via ODBC (Open      ding location management and
             Database Connectivity) and       field-leve
l replication). OLE 2.0
             other protocols. Strong third-   support.
             party support (e.g., Visual
             Basic, PowerBuilder, and SQL
             Windows).

MICROSOFT    Currently, Microsoft Mail is     Has public folders and a forms-
             not an applications platform.    based development environment for
                                              building mail and groupware
                                              applications. Public folders will
                                              replicate between servers; rep-
                                              lication to remote and mobile
                                              users is promised for a later
                                              release. A forms registry can
                                              manage customized forms.

NOVELL       Currently, GroupWise is not      Applications-platform plans have
             an applications platform.        not ye
t been announced.


             WORK FLOW (3)
             =============
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        Integrates messaging and data-   Action Bars provide a work-flow-
             base work flow. Replication      oriented user interface. 
             supports distributed work        NotesFlow allows work-flows to 
             flows, including mobile users.   continue when you switch to other
             Work flow includes conditional   applications. A new agent builder
             routing, digital signatures,     simplifies work-flow development.
             access to relational databases,
             and server-based agents. Most
             third-party work-flow products
             integrate with Notes. Lotus
             Forms provides simple, mail-
             based, routing work flows.

MICROSOFT    The applications environment     Not positioned as a work-flow
             can be greatly
 extended with     platform. Microsoft relies on 
             Visual Basic. Microsoft Mail     third parties to integrate work-
             can be used with the third-      flow products with Exchange. 
             party WinRules product to        Exchange will offer server-based
             create simple, client-based,     rules to enable some work-flows.
             mail-routing work flows. Micro-  The rules will run on new
             soft Electronic Forms can build  documents and won't be able to
             simple, mail-based, routing      run on a scheduled basis.
             work flows.

NOVELL       Provides simple, rules-based     Work-flow strategy is as yet
             routing. GroupWise rules can     unannounced. Expect future inte-
             can be client- or server-based.  gration with FileNet's work-flow
             InForms can be used for simple   product.
             mail-based routing of work-
             flows.


             INTERENTERPRISE APPLICATIONS
             ============================
             CURRENT                          NEXT GENERATION

LOTUS        Popular in interenterprise       Enhanced Notes reliability, 
             applications, thanks to          availability, and scalability for
             security, data replication,      "carrier-grade" services. More
             and applications development     public services can use release
             tools. Several public Notes      4. Release 4 will tightly inte-
             services are available (e.g.,    grate Notes and the Internet
             AT&T Network Notes). InterNotes  through the InterNotes Browser.
             connects Notes networks with
             Internet WWW (World Wide Web)
             browsers and Usenet news groups.

MICROSOFT    Microsoft Mail is viewed as an   Server acts as an internal corp-
             internal corporate mail system   orate mail system. Microsoft's
             only, with messaging gate
ways    interenterprise platform is
             to other systems.                likely to be based on Microsoft
                                              Network.

NOVELL       GroupWise is viewed as an        Interenterprise plans are as yet
             internal corporate mail system   unannounced. Novell's NetWare
             only, with messaging gateways    Connect Services is being used
             to other systems.                by AT&T as part of Network Notes.



(1) = Mail services and clients.
(2) = Information sharing, threaded discussions, and calendar/scheduling
      features.
(3) = Tracking, automation, and management of business processer.
N/A = Not applicable.

---

David Marshak is a groupware analyst for the Patricia Seybold Group in Boston. You can reach him on the Internet at dmarshak@ psgroup.com or on BIX c/o "editors."