While many businesses and organisations are now switching to using Google Apps, many so far still use other software such as Lotus Notes.
This got me thinking. What is Lotus Notes and why are people switching away from it?
From what I gather, Lotus Notes is similar to Microsoft’s Office suite in that it is used on a computer rather than on the cloud. Yet at the same time it isn’t like Microsoft Office because it is aimed at people wanting to communicate with others. I suppose the nearest system to it is Microsoft Exchange.
In other words, Lotus Notes possesses the following specifications namely: calendaring and scheduling, e-mail, address book, database, web server and programming. This is different from Microsoft’s equivalent products that are split into individual components.
Lotus Notes also works differently as each component is a database system with each system integrated with each other. This has one major advantage, namely the ability for many users to share information.
Without doubt Lotus Notes is an admirable piece of software, so it begs the question why are businesses and others moving to Google?
To my mind there are two likely reasons. Firstly, the software is run from a company’s IT system. It also requires computers within an organisation to be linked via an intranet in order to share information.
Secondly, information will be stored on a company’s servers, implying the cost of maintenance will be high.
Google’s cloud computing system is cost effective for a business as the latter does not need continual pay out for maintenance or upgrading work. Everything is stored on Google’s servers.
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