FIGURE A

The Road to the Future image should be one you keep in mind from now on. Click picture for a larger image.

One of the biggest things happening right now, of course, is the battle between J2EE and .NET that's heating up between those aligned behind Sun's Java and Microsoft respectively. This fight has a long way to go, but it's important to understand what is going on and how you fit in. IBM has clearly chosen the J2EE road, so that is the logical choice to pursue for someone interested in providing solutions based on IBM technologies, but it's always unwise to rule out Microsoft. And keep an eye out for how Web services will end up affecting how these platforms work together and how you develop your applications.

Don't believe those who say that Notes is dead or that it's going to get sucked completely into WebSphere. In the short to near-term future, say three to five years, I don't see that happening. Notes is alive and well. In fact, it's better than ever, with the release of ND6 in October. There I go making a prediction, but I think it's a safe one based on what I've read.

Now, is that to say that Lotus Notes and Domino development will stay the same as it has been? No, it won't at all, as there will definitely be some changes in how applications can be developed. Domino Designer will continue to exist, but you'll have more options in the future, such as being able to use WebSphere Studio Application Developer and the Domino JSP tag library to develop J2EE applications that connect to and leverage the power of Domino. Look at Domino and WebSphere as complements to each other and think about how you can integrate them to create truly powerful applications.

The sluggish economy and the fact that Lotus revenue dropped 15% in the most recent IBM earnings report certainly don't help things, but they don't mean that Lotus is dying or that suddenly there's a better solution out there. I always keep an eye out for any technology that can do similar things to what the Lotus products can, and I haven't found anything yet that measures up. If you have, let me know. This is not to say there aren't some good products out there, it's just that they're not magically far superior to Lotus products. In fact, they might even have weaknesses that the Lotus products don't have.

What has not changed?
Whenever I get a little down about what I do and the current market for it, I ask myself the question, "Do companies need the solutions that I can provide for them?" The answer is a resounding yes. I look around and see needs everywhere going unmet, and IBM/Lotus products could solve a lot if not all of those needs. Of course, the issue comes down to if companies have the money to pay for those needs to be solved, and that money has been a little scarce of late.

The point I want to get across is that just because companies might not be hiring today in the numbers they were in the past, don't assume that they don't have any need for you. The problems and challenges they're facing are growing, not shrinking. Focus on improving your ability to solve their present and future problems, and you'll be able to take advantage of an opportunity when it arises.