IBM, Lotus take on Netscape, Novell (2)

IBM and Lotus plan to use a number of applets such as e-Business Enterprise Connectors and Enhancers to address the need for access to intranets through products such as Notes. Sorensen added Lotus Notes already gives the company a sound footing in groupware and a user base with which it can work with the new products, but denied this was effectively the end of the road for Notes. "Notes is a client and we'll respect that many users will still want to use Notes as a front-end business communications tool," he said.

Part of the IBM/Lotus intranet announcement were the following: a family of Web application servers; an entry-level server codenamed Lotus Go; a developer bundle codenamed Lotus Go Pro; and the Internet application and messaging server, Lotus Domino. Products will be available in the summer.

Iris Neumeier Mackert, IBM's newly appointed EMEA director of software marketing referred to the strategy as a "redefinition of killer application" where online content would drive the need for intranet-enabling products.