So, details. Workplace Collaboration 2.5 will ship in Q1. According to Akiba Saeedi, Manager of IBM Workplace collaboration products, this will include the Activity Explorer, which we'll have more of in a moment. There'll be new application templates, an API Toolkit, integration with Office and Windows (but why not with SmartSuite?), the WCT itself that also runs the Notes 7 plug-in, and some productivity tools to do the basic, and not so basic, functions that most users need--in other words, providing the office functions that otherwise would require a complete Office suite to be installed.

There was much made of Workplace Services Express, which was touted as a three-CD install in 30 minutes, complete Workplace for smaller customers; meaning they don't have to suffer the normal pain of a WebSphere, DB2, and then Portal install. It all comes ready to go as a pre-configured system, ready for 20 users or so. Just what the Domino users have expected for years. Stick in a CD, answer six questions, and you have a functional Domino server. Now, a smaller company can do just the same with Workplace Services Express.

Richard
It's interesting you bring that up, Mick. I thought it sounded good too, so I had a close look at the stated requirements for Workplace Services Express, which can be found at ftp://ftp.lotus.com/pub/lotusweb/workplace/WSE_data_sheet.pdf. The way IBM seems to be positioning this is as a single server installation. That would have to be a pretty robust server to have WebSphere plus Workplace plus Tivoli Directory Server all running on a single CPU.

The other thing people need to keep in mind is that WSE will give them access to their existing Notes email or their Exchange/POP3 or IMAP email within the portal UI. If they've got folks using iNotes (sorry, Domino Web Access), this is yet one more way to access the same messaging information.

I'm quibbling though. One of the single most impressive things I saw at Lotusphere was the Activity Explorer. But this piece is running a bit long, so we'll have to address the Activity Explorer in the second installment of our Lotusphere coverage.

Stay tuned for a lot more, next week.

Mick Moignard has been working and traveling with Notes since Release 2.0 in 1991. Mick is a VI>DominoPower Magazine Senior Technical Editor and a Principal CLP with Unipart Advanced Learning Systems, a Lotus Advanced Partner in the UK. Mick can be reached at Mick_Moignard@unipart.co.uk. Richard Echeandia a Senior Technical Editor for DominoPower Magazine and is President of Advecticus, at http://www.advecticus.com.