FIGURE A


You can access your mail from anywhere if you use the browser interface. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The browser access method has several very distinct advantages. Most desktop environments are now deployed with web browsers from either Microsoft or Netscape. Therefore, workstation costs decrease as you no longer are forced to touch each desktop to perform installation. Users do not require a Notes ID file to access their mail file, lessening the management burden associated with creation and distribution of ID files.

Providing access through a browser may also allow your users to access their mail through the Internet (dependent upon your security policies), thus allowing them access to their mail and calendars from nearly anywhere on the planet. Last, the organization may develop an interface which incorporates the user's email and calendar with the corporate Intranet to provide a universal interface to organizational data.

The browser access method does have its drawbacks, primarily in the area of functionality. At the present time, there is no method of notification of new mail. There is also no forwarding capability built into the mail template for either 4.5 or 4.6. Additionally, users may also find the browser access method slow and the inherent limitations of browser technology tough to handle.

POP3 or IMAP4 clients
If the browser access method does not meet your requirements for email, you may choose to provide full email functionality to clients using inexpensive (in many cases, free) through the POP3 or IMAP4 interface. Most new desktops being deployed contain browsers from either Netscape or Microsoft.

Each of these include email clients capable of being configured as either POP3 or IMAP4. Each email client may also interface with NNTP-based newsgroups, meaning that clients using this interface may participate directly in Domino-based discussion databases.

Add to this the ability of these clients to directly access the LDAP-based directory for email addressing, and your users have full featured email capabilities. (I would be remiss if I did not mention Pine as a potential client here as well. Pine works very well with Domino as a backend server platform.)

Notes clients
Lotus Notes proprietary clients can be deployed to those users within your organization who require the capabilities of a full-fledged client, utilizing either messaging or groupware. Many organizations may feel that deploying multiple clients adds to the support infrastructure required, but by focusing on the user base rather than on IS requirements, IS departments will find that their users are more satisfied which leads to a higher rate of adoption. This makes email, calendaring/scheduling and groupware more acceptable to the organization as whole.

Winning flexibility
IS departments who fail to recognize this flexibility may constantly find themselves fighting departmental battles lead by renegade managers who do not wish client deployments forced upon them. In many cases, organizations may find that the user population is already skilled in using popular POP3/IMAP4 clients as they are already using these at home.