Superior knowledge management by design
In my opinion, Lotus has been and still is the established leader in the areas of groupware, business process reengineering through technology, and knowledge management. While many software companies have jumped on the knowledge management bandwagon, Lotus has been at the genesis of this discipline. Though much underrated by the press, products like Sametime, which will be tightly integrated with Domino, demonstrate Lotus' sophisticated and expanding vision for knowledge management. Microsoft, on the other hand, has flooded the marketplace with client-side communication and collaboration tools without a coherent plan for the back office other than NT, SQL Server, IIS, and Exchange; but even these products lack integration when compared with the sophisticated simplicity of Domino.

Microsoft's version of knowledge management is frankly simplistic. Microsoft would have customers believe that email, calendars, shared folders, bolt-on workflow engines, general purpose development tools, and a lot of marketing add up to "knowledge management" but it seems apparent from this approach that they are still learning in this area.

Return on investment
CIOs hoping to achieve a return on investment through integrated infrastructure solutions should look to Domino, particularly if they are developing or planning to develop in-house applications. If, on the other hand, the organization foresees several years to come in which only basic email and groupware capabilities are needed, then there could be an argument for Exchange, although the differences in total cost of ownership between Domino and Exchange are not typically decisive factors in themselves.

If a company invests in Domino, they are spending perhaps more than they would for Exchange but the potential benefits are much greater. A number of readily available studies show impressive ROI for companies willing to go all the way with Lotus Notes and Domino. It is important to note that for a business to be successful with Domino there must be a high-level commitment to the integration of this technology with fundamental business processes.

Conclusion
The development tools and capabilities of Domino for groupware and intranet applications are superior to those of Exchange. Domino represents a much more complete knowledge management framework benefiting directly from Lotus' years of experience in this area. The real power of Domino derives from delivering applications and data through a single, integrated infrastructure. Total cost of ownership is not sufficiently different between Domino and Exchange to be a decisive factor. Companies willing to act decisively and to persist in achieving an enterprise-wide implementation of Lotus Notes and Domino are likely to realize a substantial return on their investment.

Janine Sutphen (1946-2003) was a Durham, NC-based freelance writer and cellist. Sadly, she was murdered in the early part of 2003. She will be missed.