FIGURE B


Domino is the Swiss Army Knife of database application platforms. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Since email is just another database application, it can be completely modified and customized. Most quality email packages are somewhat customizable. They allow you to filter mail, file it automatically based on criteria, or automatically reply to certain specified originators.

However, every aspect of Notes email can be changed. You'll need an experienced Notes developer to do it, but it can be done. In addition, the email system can be utilized by other databases to perform complex business process workflow. These complex custom applications can be designed to work with the Notes client, with Web browsers, or both at the same time.

Secure
The last item in my academic definition involves security. Notes is as secure as they come. In fact, the CIA was an early Lotus customer (and still is), and much of Notes' security was built to CIA specifications. A full treatment of security features would take an entire book, so I can't cover the topic completely here. If you're interested, check out the Lotus IT Central Security Zone at http://www.lotus.com/security. I will try to touch on some of the highlights.

The keys to the castle
In any computer system, there are three kinds of authentication: those based on something you know, those based on something you have, and those that combine the two. Something you know is typically your user ID and password. Something you have could be a certificate or smart card product, like a SecurID card. Notes uses the third kind of security.

To access a server, you need to possess a physical ID file on your hard drive and know the password to go with it. The physical ID file contains certificate information that the Domino server recognizes. Knowing someone's user ID and password information isn't sufficient to impersonate that person in Notes. You need to physically possess the ID file and know its password.

Password stays personal
Notes has provided RSA public-key encryption and digital signatures since day one. This means you can send an encrypted message to someone without having to share an encryption key or password. That way you don't need to communicate that key or password to the recipient and possibly have it intercepted. The digital signature guarantees to the recipient that you, not an imposter, sent the message.

Unfortunately, security in Notes is a double-edged sword. There are so many security features and issues to take into consideration that it requires an experienced Notes administrator to configure the product correctly. The odds that a person configuring a Notes environment for the first time will get it right are almost zero, resulting in unnecessary security holes.

No software is perfect
Notes can count replication, open standards compliance, workflow automation, security, and platform independence as strengths. But it has its share of weaknesses too. Scalability, reporting, and product support top the list.

Scalability
Scalability is in the eye-of the beholder. It depends on your goals. Yes, Notes can provide email and workflow services to 50,000 employees and it can handle lighter e-commerce sites quite easily. However, it would never work as a large-scale e-commerce Web server tending to millions of orders. We can't fault Lotus for this; the software wasn't designed for that purpose.