Reporting
On the other hand, Lotus should be taken to task for Notes' reporting and printing capabilities. They range from inadequate to non-existent. There is no report-generation facility like you find in similar database products. Notes can print a simple list of records. It can also sort, categorize, and group them in whatever way you like. Lotus calls this functionality a view. However, that's the extent of it.

If you want to create a report or generate mailing labels, you'll need to purchase a third party add-on product. An entire cottage industry has risen from Notes' inadequacy in this area.

Lotus did take a small step in the right direction in Release 5 with a new feature called embedded views. The feature allows Notes database developers to embed the view in a form, thus creating a simple report. There is a slight problem however. If you try to print a report with an embedded view, it shows up as a solid black box. Release 5 has been out for a year now and has undergone nine revisions. The problem has yet to be fixed. This is a real shot in the foot for Notes in my opinion.

Product support
One final area I'd like to talk about is product support. Lotus does a fair job of getting technical problems resolved, but you should be prepared to pay. Unless you buy a discounted support bundle up front, expect to spend $350 USD per technical support call. Compared to Microsoft's fee of $245 per call for products in the server category, I think Lotus is a bit pricey. In addition, Lotus doesn't provide a way to report bugs through their Web site, at least so far as I have found. Believe me, I've looked.

Conclusion
In summary, Notes and Domino are strong products with a lot going for them. If security is your primary concern or if you need disconnected mobility for your database applications, Notes may be just the ticket. However, be prepared to buy additional software if you need any kind of report functionality, and be careful of that embedded view problem.

Five years ago, Lotus saw the Internet and World Wide Web as a growing technological and cultural force. Fortunately they made the right decision, embracing and integrating these technologies instead of fighting them. The result is a flexible platform that can host an amazing variety of business applications.

Contributing Editor Tom Lowery is President of Portage Associates, Inc., a Notes and Domino consulting firm. He holds principal-level certifications in application development and system administration. His hobbies include chasing after his two year old son Duncan and flying. Tom can be reached at tom@lowery.net.