Lotus Domino / Notes and Microsoft Exchange are the main two products on the mail market, and its competition is intense to be imagined, and it is good for users. But in fact, Exchange and Domino / Notes cannot be equal to from the product's function.
As a core product of the Lotus / IBM Internet / Intranet, Lotus improves system openness, security, ease, manageability, scalability, development capabilities, and withdrawal through continuous enrichment of Domino and Notes. Operating system, enterprise integration capabilities, etc.
Exchange is a member of the Microsoft Backoffice product family. Its main feature is email. In addition, through public folders, the basic, demand for collaborative applications, which require a lot of development, such as workflow automation applications. And integrate other products or techniques (even third parties). Due to the restriction of Exchange features, Microsoft requires users to adopt the entire BackOffice family product to provide enterprise users necessary product function support. Microsoft often advances the Exchange solution is actually a BackOffice solution (see this existence of misleading users: Application system).
Due to the complexity of product functions, users need to face a variety of comparative materials or information when choosing a product, because this information comes from different channels is often contradictory. Therefore, this article wants to clarify some users who care about to help users understand the competitive advantage of Lotus Domino / Notes.
Cross-platform support, with NT integration Lotus Domino / Notes is an enterprise information infrastructure in cross-operative system platform, which is widely used in Enterprise (IBM AIX, HP-UX and Sun Solaris) and Microsoft NT, IBM OS / 2 Novell NetWare and other systems, even support IBM host series S390 and AS / 400. This cross-platform support capability gives a wide range of users. Lotus Domino / Notes has a cross-platform feature, and Lotus also fully recognizes the value of Microsoft NT (actually long Domino, Notes is the most successful NT application), so Lotus especially emphasizes seamless integration with NT. The main features include: Domino can serve as NT; you can use the standard NT tools such as performance monitor and NT event logs to unify server management; user mailbox and NT network user accounts are also established simultaneously; Domino directory with NT directory Two-way directory synchronization; Domino user password and synchronization of the NT directory service password, and a single login at the NT workstation. Lotus has also announced support and integration of NT new versions, including connecting to Active Directory. The seamless integration of Lotus Domino / Notes and the Microsoft NT system provides system administrator's single management capabilities, which reduces the overall cost of the system. Microsoft often refers to Domino / Notes's functionality or redundancy of the operating system, or Domino is unnecessary. In fact, Domino / Notes feature features, such as hierarchical document data inventory, replication technology, hierarchical compliance with X.500 standard directory service, permission control, dual key encryption and digital signature technology, identity authentication, application Level cluster technology, mail routing, calendar schedule, proxy service is not available to the operating system (including NT), and these functions are the most basic requirements of mail, group, intranet / Internet application system. As a software platform, these rich features of Domino / Notes greatly reduce the cost of user integration, development, implementation, and improve efficiency. Email (packet delivery) system is the top part of the operating system or the basic platform for collaborative applications? This is actually one of the main focus of Microsoft and Lotus debate. Lotus believes that the mail system is the foundation platform for collaborative applications. Because Lotus believes that the mail system (more accurately is packet delivery or communication infrastructure) to satisfy the function, with the continuous development of user needs and technology, it has long surpassed the simple email delivery function, but also includes security Control, directory service, mobile computing support, web integration, integration with enterprise applications, real-time collaboration, and extensive calculations (ie support phone, fax, pager, PDA and other generalized client devices), etc. Communication infrastructure should develop as business requirements, such as users need real-time collaboration, then the original system (such as a directory structure) should be easily added to new functional support. Lotus fully realized this, developing a flexible, scalable product architecture for collaborative work. Microsoft uses the opposite strategy. Based on this understanding, Microsoft's development direction is increasingly strengthened with Exchange and NT. However, if the communication infrastructure is the top portion of the operating system, each development will be subject to the development of the operating system, thereby reducing the speed of development. For example, the user must wait for Windows 2000 to wait until Exchange 6.0, no other choice. However, when today's communication infrastructure has become the system and foundation of the "mission" system of business applications, can the user service?
Therefore, Lotus constructs products from user communication and collaborative needs. Domino / Notes can use the functionality of the operating system, including the integration with NT, but make the product relatively independent of the operating system, adapt to corporate user heterogeneous computing environment and continuous development of user needs.
Integrated Lotus with MS Office, IE fully understands the user's investment in Office, IE, so Domino / Notes emphasizes integration with Office, IE. These integration methods or techniques include: Word can be used as a Editor of Notes Mail In the RTF field of the Notes document, you can save the Office document Microsoft Office Document Set Database Template Office Support Notes FX Data Exchange Standard Notes Included IE ActiveX Control for Shows HTML Support Ole.Office File Filter and Reader, through Notes's MAPI support, direct use of files directly from Office App to send mail operation, support document management of ODMA protocols through Domino.Doc Application, where the Domino / Domino provided by Lotus Notes and Office, etc., such as Office Documentation and Enterprise Document Management Application System Domino.Doc, etc., fully utilize Office excellent desktop processing capabilities, but also combined with Domino / Notes powerful workflow support, security control With the characteristics of replication, the integration of the two complement, bringing users to users. Domino / Notes and Office, IE Integrated Core Technology is Microsoft ActiveX and ActiveDoc technology, which is actually the same technique as Exchange integration with Office. Microsoft's so-called Office documentation must be in the format conversion in Notes, etc., is not true. As the integration apps provided by Lotus, users can use ActiveX technology to develop their own application integration systems, and are not limited to the above-mentioned integration applications provided by Lotus. Copying, Domino / Notes replication technology ensures data synchronization of distributed databases (including directory), supports mobile office. Whether it is functionally or grainted (the minimum data unit when copying) is unmatched. Domino / Notes replication features include bidirectional and end-to-end replication, field level, selective, can be carried out in the background. All Domino / Notes replication operations use the same replication mechanism. Correspondingly, Exchange contains six copy modes: Site Server to Server Public Folders Copy Site Server to Server Public Folders Copy Site Server to Server Directory Sync Site Server to Server Directory Synchronization, Customer Simultaneous models of private folders between machines and servers These inconsistencies not only lead to huge management costs, but there is no rich feature that meets Domino / Notes single replication mode. Exchange replicates in a document level, not a more efficient field level. For complex data distributions and the ability to improve selective replication; it uses mail-based synchronization mechanisms, rather than verifying data accuracy synchronous algorithms, so data consistency and accuracy relative to synchronous algorithm is worse. many. Moreover, there is no advanced control mechanism for replication topology. Different connections or bandwidths between different locations, Microsoft recommends different MTAs, which makes a more inconsistent, because each routing mechanism (Exchange replication is dependent on this) function and control mechanism is different. If the information caused by different routing mechanisms is different, the subsequent data synchronization operation cannot be implemented. One important selling point for directory service Exchange is the commitment to integrate with Windownt. Microsoft often emphasizes Exchange to take advantage of NT's directory services. Unfortunately, this is more commit to not fact. Due to the flatness and finite characteristics of the NT domain service directory, Microsoft has to establish separate directories for Exchange, except that the surface is connected to the NT directory on the management interface, and gives the user an "integration" impression.
In fact, the Exchange directory is independent, separated by separate directory synchronization mechanisms, and a complete set of naming rules. The Exchange directory itself is very restricted, only 10 can be customized, only one RTF field is supported. Directory synchronization lacks accuracy due to mail-based directory synchronization mechanisms. So Microsoft Recommended administrators often check the synchronization status in Site and Site to check the status of the synchronization, prompting inaccurate replication. For a close related, corporate infrastructure, the corporate directory has such uncertainty, inconsistent, is unacceptable. Perhaps Microsoft often causes delays and failures in business implementation deployment is the directory limitations of Exchange. Regardless of corporate information infrastructure, organizational structure, institutional adjustment, how complicated, both, must use a single directory in an Exchange organization. This is bound to limit directory efficiency, distribution of management work, Internet connection, etc. Microsoft has announced that the next version of Exchange uses NT5.0 Active Directory, redesign the Exchange architecture, improves directory service, it is not only to delay the next version of Exchange (NT5.0 continuously postponed), more important The current Exchange users will face a fundamental upgrade and heavy migration.
Lotus Domino / Notes supports almost unlimited customization, expansion capabilities, with advanced synchronous replication technology, support complex distributed directory support, and multiple directorys can also be used in a single organization. Lotus Domino / Notes' directory service performance and scalability will greatly improve in the next version (99 years), such as supporting a total of millions of users.
Safety - authentication
MS Exchange verification relies on NT domain services, while NT domain services are limited to well. Because it is flat, the NT directory service is difficult to extends into large enterprises. The NT domain can only be paid to hundreds of accounts, and the complex trust relationship must be established and managed in order to extend NT directory services to large user environments.
Second, NT query / response mode is compared to the certificate-based verification mode, and it is weak and it is not suitable for connecting to remote users and across the enterprise. Certificate-based verification mode requires that users need to hold digital certificates, such as Domino user authentication mode except for the security port. The certificate-based verification mode also supports cross-validation between cross-organization, special across enterprises.
Domino allows a single login and synchronization with the NT directory service, but Domino does not rely on this feature to verify. Lotus adopts a hierarchical verification mode (most suitable for distribution management) or a verification mode based on the X.509V3 certificate (supporting a variety of applications from different manufacturers). Domino also supports the distribution and management of X.509 certificates.
Similarly, Microsoft will support the certificate-based verification in NT5.0. To this end, Exchange will re-modify the architecture and the user will have to pay the price of the migration.
Safety - permission control
MS Exchange provides a very limited access control capability compared to Lotus Domino / Notes. The access control provided by Lotus can be a database, folder, document, or field level. Lotus also supports access control through roles and maintains consistency of ACL. Both functions are important for complex applications. Similarly, Exchange "will be improved in the next version."
Security - Encrypted / Digital Signature This is another example of a commitment and real contradiction. In the market publicity, Microsoft promises Exchange will achieve the lowest cost of ownership by making full use of NT functions. However, NT lacks a dual key encryption support, so Microsoft can only bundle the ENTRUST product of North Telecom in the Exchange server. The result is that the administrator must face two separate server installations to establish additional account and confidential passwords for each user, which means additional separate security mechanisms in NT and Exchange security mode. End users must not have the settings that are not uniform encryption feature, additional additional confidential memory (and makes the Exchange single login meaningless) to get a limited encryption / signature function. For Lotus Domino / Notes, advanced public key infrastructure is automatically and naturally integrated into the architecture of the product. This makes the management, installation, and use of encrypted digital signature functions. In addition, Lotus also provides functions that other products do not have, including automatic encryption of the message, encryption, field level encryption, key, and multiple documents, and a single document. Domino supports RSA encryption and just like SSL encryption mechanisms. One of the largest shortcomings of mobile users to Exchange and Outlook clients is to lack sufficient support for mobile users. Mixrosoft uses the "off-line folder" that inherits from the MS Mail that has been outdated, is very limited. The Microsoft scheme is not working in the background (the user must wait for the completion), only support the RSA connection (longer than the Lotus X.pc connection), only support to the document level (low than field-level replication efficiency), not supported Sexual replication (requires more disk space, less efficiency), can not be labeled for directory and idle time information, and only the most basic adaptability and control management capabilities provide minimal flexibility and control (no graphical Copy management and location setting conversion function). Lotus Domino / Notes provides powerful support for mobile users. Offline (local) storage encryption, two-way copying, field grade replication, large document interception and selective copying, offline directory synchronization, copy of the replicator page to the replication process monitor, offline web browsing, background operation capacity (not affecting Front desk), etc. Selective replication means that the user or administrator can define the amount of information, all, part of the required copy, etc. when copying, only modified. Thus, applications designed and implemented by Lotus Domino / Notes can work online and offline mode, greatly improves all users' work efficiency, including mobile users.
Workflow applications From product design, MS Exchange does not have support for workflow applications. The Exchange Access Control Mode is not refined to support Icon grade or sub-document level access control, and its digital signature capability lacks multiple digital signatures, and cannot be used for forms, "filters" does not support time-scheduling triggering methods . Lotus Domino / Notes provides a rich access control means for "segments" in documents or even documents. The segment-level access control is useful for approval / veto operations in workflow applications. Similarly, the role-based access control means makes workflow management easier. The advanced digital signature feature provided by Lotus supports multiple digital signatures in a single document; the agent running in the Domino server is allowed to trigger by events and schedule schedules. You can write an agent using a variety of methods as needed, such as Notes macro, "simple operation", LotusScript, even, Java. As contained in the workflow market of Gartner Group (Workflow Market, March 1998): "..... From functional, MS Exchange is more expensive than Domino, GroupWise needs more to fill the space."
Fast application development Lotus Domino product design is developing around the application, which allows users to quickly and easily develop application systems, such as workflow automation. Enterprises can make full use of the advantages of Domino integration development environment, that is, its documentation and form-driven application development model, effectively shorten the development cycle. This is more similar to Internet terms, the document is the web page, the form is a means of describing the web page layout and content. This means that Notes / Domino app is also a web application, and more than the unique choice for Domino has become a web application development. The user can make the developed application beyond the ordinary web release and increase interaction function through simple programming or Script technology. . Whether it is internal application or external web application, making the application development and efficient means, and a means of rich features are to make full use of Domino's rich core service functions, like mail / routing, directory, security, proxy, copying, etc. Simply put, Domino's application development strategy is "Code-by-Exception). In contrast, Microsoft does not provide similar strategies, but" code-by-default ". The core of the Exchange structure basically It is an email environment, not an integrated development platform. It only provides workflow applications and is limited to business integration applications. To support the most basic workflow applications, some important performances such as server-side Script proxy and routes Wizard (provided in Exchange is provided as a service package) is attached to the base product later. According to the view of Microsoft Exchange application developers, use these characteristics to establish applications very barely. Microsoft recommends, establish Software components based on COM are constructed of this constructor, but also require complex programming and integration skills. So, in order to gradually meet the basic functions of a single Lotus Domino / Notes platform, there must be a variety of Components (Exchange, IIS, Active Server Pages, Visual Basic or Visual Studio tools, CDOs, etc.), the large-scale integration, as well as a wide range of customization. Enterprise information integration Domino / Notes offers many products With technology implementation of the Domino document database or Domino application information and other components of the company's other data resources, the main means is NotesPump and Decs (Domino Enterprise Connection Service), where the connection method is not limited to ODBC, for Oracle, Database and other databases can be accessed directly; in addition, Domino can connect data resources that are not limited to relational databases, but can access enterprise-class applications such as ERP, MQ Series, and the middleware transaction processing system. Although Microsoft claims to provide similar general information access Ability, but in relation to Lotus Domino, it is phased. Compared to Domino "use" strategy, based on Microsoft defined interface method (Active Data Objects or ADO, and OLE DB) data access architecture, it is greatly increased programmers. The burden. Microsoft's strategy is greatly depends on the "database and other data source manufacturers to integrate OLE DB to their support" database and other data sources manufacturers in the database and other data sources must add OLE DB to their support. In the list of data access methods. ADO's purpose is A single application interface shields access to different data sources, different data format complexity.
However, support for this manner, currently only MS own products (SQL Server, MSMQ), and data interfaces provided by Microsoft themselves. Therefore, corporate users face limited technologies, and a large number of programming work, even in order to achieve the most basic application system integration, this not only increases cost, extending the development cycle, the stability of the application system is also affected. Open Microsoft depicts Domino / Notes as "closed", whether it is copy technology, document database, application development means, security mechanism, protocol support, etc. In fact, Domino has far from strong than Exchange. For example, Domino is a cross-platform, and Exchange must rely on NT, and its client only provides all the features of the Win32 platform; Domino supports almost all Internet protocols, support more than Exchange. Domino supports a variety of application development technologies such as ActiveX, Java, etc., Exchange does not support Java technology. Domino supports SNMP support and so on is Exchange does not have. In terms of corporate information integration, Lotus provides a series of complete products and integration methods, and Domino document database information can be integrated with other data resources of the company, including NT, Office, BackOffice, integrating each other. Lotus will continue to strengthen enterprise information integration technology. If the information retrieval technology will be strengthened in the next version, the full-text search engine of Domino / Notes will be expanded in Notes, and the Internet / IntraNet Web site, etc. can be retrieved. It must be pointed out that Notes / Domino does use "closed" technology (such as copy technology), but Exchange also uses "closed" technology, including information storage structure, application development technology, replication, permission control. In fact, the competition of software vendors is to enable custom new features to be widely used as soon as possible, and become an actual standard to be open. At this point, because Lotus / IBM has a wide range of customer base and actively participates in the latest protocols, the standard development, continues to lead the competitors including Microsoft. Support Java, IIOP, CORBA and DCOM, Lotus Domino / Notes support Java technology. These include: Users can use Java Applets in Domino applications, ie, users can insert Java Applets in either page and documents, and edit these Applets attributes through the Property box, and set the applets parameters through the formula; you can use Java to write Domino proxy; Notes The client and Domino server support Java virtual machines, you can run Java programs, and more. In the future, users can have more means, using Java directly using Domino internal functions and communicating with external system. Lotus will launch a Java developer's Java class library that you can use the Domino background service, you can access these Java classes in any Java development environment (ie, IIOP / CORBA); will launch the Java applet to use for browsers, Make web browser users can also use Domino's powerful features. In addition, Notes clients will become a Java Beans container, and the Domino server becomes a JavaBeans publisher.
In addition, Lotus develops a range of Java supported plans and develops a large number of Java Applets for developers, including electronic table, word processing, chart, calendar, email, presentation, project management, etc. Pure Java's Applets ( That is, the Lotus Esuite product line), can be used in Domino / Notes, making web developers to easily write web applications. In addition, Lotus has also announced that Domino will support the Microsoft DCOM object model, and the Domino background object class will be packaged as a DCOM object, integrate with any product supporting DCOM. High reliability and high availability mail infrastructure is a platform for enterprise applications, requiring high reliability and high availability. Lotus Domino / Notes supports high reliability and high availability of enterprise-class, which can be seen from the list of large enterprise users using Lotus Domino / Notes. In terms of technology, Domino supports high reliability and high-availability hardware, operating system platform, and cluster technology at the operating system level, including SMP, RAID technology, UNIX platform, IBM S / 390 and AS / 400, NT Enridend Edition (Wolfpack) and many more. In addition, in the application level, Lotus Domino also introduces Domino cluster technology, which is a cluster technology independent of the operating system, which means that the server is fully equipped with the server, which can also become a load balance and failover. Cluster member. From the new version of R5, Domino / Notes makes it easier to lose data by introducing the transaction log. And the database and recovery data can be compressed online, which greatly increases the high reliability and high availability of 24 * 7. The significance of value-added applications and knowledge management Domino / Notes as a communication infrastructure platform is to support various collaborative applications (workflow applications) and knowledge management. Developers can use Domino / Notes, such as document databases, postal routing, security control mechanisms, full-text search, etc., develop-oriented application systems and knowledge management applications. In addition to more than 109,500 partners develop and provide value-added application development and services on the Domino / Notes platform, Lotus has also launched Domino solution products for collaborative work and knowledge management, including: enterprise Life Document Management System Domino.doc, Real-Time Collaboration Tools Sametime, Distance Education System LearningSpace, TEAMROOM, SOLUTIONSPACE, Expert NetWork, and more for knowledge innovation, teamwork With Lotus's products and solutions, knowledge management is no longer a slogan, but encourage innovation, improve organizational response speed, enhance productivity and actual technology to strengthen skills. Microsoft has not had a complete and clear knowledge management solution system, and the knowledge management needs of users are increasingly needed, but only the most basic levels such as index and retrieval. In the same way, Microsoft's understanding of collaborative work is just in the basic level of email, clues discussions and information sharing, which shows Microsoft's product-centric strategy and cannot meet the user's solution-centered demand and Microsoft. Consistent is not a real innovator.
Overall cost (TCO) is a continuous system engineering for enterprise-level information management systems, from product purchase to application development, implementation, training and system maintenance and management, etc., must be considering, in overall cost (TCO) Concept on accounting investment. According to Radicati Group (independent technology and market research institutions), the market surveys of 105 Fortune 1000 and government agencies have shown that the use of Lotus schemes is 15.6% per year per user using the Exchange scheme, maintenance costs (including Training, system recovery, information tracking, end user support, etc.) low 15.9% (http://www.radicati.com). Total cost Lotus Notes 5.09% less than Microsoft Exchange, with the fifth year by year, Lotus Notes is as low as 13.22% over Microsoft Exchange. The industry reported Domino's competitive advantage is recognized by the industry. Here is some reports or investigations, typically expounded the customer's evaluation of Domino / Notes. As the independent survey report of Gartner Group (Nov.1997), Lotus technology leads to Exchange: "Lotus is still leading Microsoft: its core technical support field grade replication, the security of document level or object level, service Notes client and web browse Single programming mode of the device, far-prone management mechanism for supporting remote servers (especially through intermittent connection or bandwidth connection), far-effective support, more concise and focused on remote and mobile users Development tool set and a large number of groups (compared: Microsoft lacks applications). For general users, Notes user interface is easier to use (even if the superuser is not necessarily) "Bill Roberts on InternetWorld.com This is discussed this:" Although Microsoft It is growing with Netscape, but Lotus / IBM is still the domain of the market. Microsoft can overcome Netscape in groups in groups, but these two opponents are still phased compared to Lotus / IBM.
