Category Archives: Sametime

Notes and Domino v12 is here!

Posted on by Posted in Formula, HCL, Lotusscript, node.js, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Volt, Web Development, XPages Leave a comment

HCL Software is launching the new version of the collaboration platform HCL Domino on June 7, together with the latest version of the meeting platform Sametime. If you already are a customer with entitlement to the products, you can already download them from FlexNet today.

Some of the new features in Domino v12:

  • Support for storing DAOS files in Amazon S3, to offload your own servers
  • Active directory password sync
  • Two-factor authentication and additional enhancements to internet security
  • New mobile capabilities
  • New icons and view list styling options
  • Hide fields or view columns on devices with lower resolution
  • Bootstrap 4 for XPages
  • Support for formula language in DQL queries
  • Aggregate document collections (e.g. from a search) across Domino databases
  • Button in Administrator client to find all groups a user belongs to
  • Enhancements to mail-in databases

And much more. Find out at the launch!

It is not only the Domino server and the Notes client that is being launched. The latest version of HCL’s no-code/low-code development tool Domino Volt is also available, as is a new version of the AppDev Pack that allows node.js developers to work directly with data stored in the Domino NoSQL-database. But wait, there is more!

A very exciting product HCL will present at the launch is Nomad Web, a client for Domino built for the browser with no downloads or plugins required. The client is written in Web Assembly, so it runs native in modern browsers. It can execute formulas and Lotusscript code, everything you can do in the regular client can be done (with a few exceptions like XPages). There has even been new classes added to Lotusscript to access hardware common in mobile devices and laptops, e.g. the camera and GPS. Nomad for iOS and Android has already been released, but with this zero footprint web client it is incredibly easy to deploy existing Domino application without having to convert them to true web applications. They will simply work as-is. This is truly an impressive engineering feat by HCL.

If you haven’t done it yet, sign up for the launch of the new Domino and Sametime on June 7.

CollabSphere 2019 – Submission deadline is closing soon!

Posted on by Posted in #DominoForever, #IBMChampion, CollabSphere, Community, HCL, IBM/Lotus, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse, Web Development Leave a comment

CollabSphere_2019

The deadline to submit an abstract for sessions at CollabSphere 2019 is tomorrow, Sunday August 18. If you want to speak at the conference, you don’t have much time to act.

So why would you like to speak at CollabSphere? Perhaps your reason is the same as mine was when I started speaking at conferences: I wanted to give back to the community from which I had learned so much over the years. I wanted to share my knowledge with other developers, and perhaps inspire them by showing what could be done with Notes and Domino.

What if you are afraid of public speaking? That is absolutely normal. With practice you get more used to it, and one place where you can practice it in a safe and encouraging environment is at Toastmasters, an international organization focused on public speaking and leadership. There are local Toastmasters clubs all over the world, and you can join at any time.

Even if you are not speaking, you can still register to attend the conference. This year it is held in Boston, close to the HCL office in Chelmsford, and we can expect a lot of exciting news about Notes and Domino 11 (which is due in the end of the year), and perhaps even about Domino 12. This is a can’t-miss conference!

HCL Software Creates Portal for Customers and Partners

Posted on by Posted in Community, HCL, IBM/Lotus, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse Leave a comment

HCL_Software_PortalHCL Software today launched a brand new portal for customers and partners. HCL Software is a part of HCL Technologies, and this new division was announced as late as yesterday (June 1, 2019) at the same time as HCL announced that the purchase of IBM’s collaboration products had been completed.

The new portal is built using Domino and Portal, and provides customers and partners a place where they can receive product information, learn about purchasing software, get support, connect with partners, and much more.

If you are a customer of IBM Notes, Domino, Sametime, Verse or Connections, or if you are a Business Partner, go to http://bit.ly/mlnHCLw3 and sign up. At the moment the sign-up is disabled, due to the acquisition. But I would suggest to check back in a few days.

The deal is done: HCL takes over Notes, Domino, Connections and more

Posted on by Posted in #DominoForever, Domino 11, HCL, IBM/Lotus, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse Leave a comment

Today the announcement we have been waiting for arrived. HCL and IBM closed the acquisition that was announced back in December. HCL now owns (among other products) the collaboration products Notes, Domino, Sametime, Verse and Connections.

As part of the deal’s close, HCL takes full ownership of the research and development, sales, marketing, delivery, and support for AppScan, BigFix, Commerce, Connections, Digital Experience (Portal and Content Manager), Notes Domino, and Unica.

HCL is also formally introducing HCL Software, a new division that will operate this enterprise software product business and meet customer demand. A Business Unit of “Products and Platforms” (Mode 3), HCL Software has successfully delivered more than 340 partner releases and more than 90 HCL releases, including such popular products as Informix 14.10, Domino 10, Workload Automation 9.5. The division aspires to reshape the enterprise software business, focused on innovation and cutting-edge delivery for customer success.

Read the full announcement at http://bit.ly/HCLSoftware. 

Over the last few months we have seen a number of IBM:ers who has been working with the collaboration products move over to HCL. In the last few days we have seen even more people at IBM announce their moves to HCL, including Mat Newman who will become Director of HCL Digital Solutions, Asia Pacific and Stephan Wissel, the new Solution Director at HCL PnP.

As a developer, it is very exciting and encouraging to see that Maureen Leland, who was in charge of Domino Designer for over a decade and have been with Lotus, Iris and now IBM since 1992, is now at HCL. Security expert Dave Kern is also moving to HCL, as is Wes Morgan, Adam Gartenberg and many others. The fact that HCL is bringing over all the brilliant minds from IBM is also encouraging. The investments in Notes and Domino that HCL already has made should show everyone that they see the products for what they are, amazing technologies and products that were decades ahead of the competitors. Just the other day (June 18, 2019), Mongo DB announced field level encryption. This is a feature Notes and Domino has had since day one, 30 years ago…

I believe the future for Notes, Domino, Sametime and Connections is very bright. The developers are ecstatic that they finally get to implement new features, make improvements and even bring the Notes client to mobile devices (iPad, iPhone and Android). We have already seen some great things come from HCL, like the new Domino Query Language created by John Curtis, as well as the node.js integration.

I cannot wait to see what HCL will deliver in the future. Notes and Domino 11 is planned already for the end of this year.

 

We live in interesting times.

Posted on by Posted in App Modernization, Connections, IBM/Lotus, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse 1 Comment

Yesterday it was announced that HCL Technologies will purchase the IP (intellectual property) of seven IBM-owned products, including Notes/Domino, Sametime and Connections, for a total of 1.8 billion dollar.

HCL and IBM already had a partnership on the product development side, with HCL doing the development and support with IBM still owning the products and handling sales and marketing. Now HCL is fully in charge of the product, and is not tied down by what IBM decides.

As soon as the HCL-IBM agreement was announced last year, HCL aggressively went on the offensive. They announced not one but two additional versions of Notes and Domino. Domino 10 was delivered just two months ago, and version 11 is promised in 2019.

HCL reached out to business partners and IBM Champions, as well as to the rest of the user community, to get feedback about what features were the most critical. Despite the quick release of Domino 10, a number of suggested features were included, as were several other impressive improvements.

Notable among these features is the new (and extremely fast) Domino Query Language as we as support for node.js through the domino-db module. On the administration side there were several improvements that will lower the TCO (total cost of ownership).

HCL has already announced several so called Jams in the near future to collect feedback on what the users want to see in the upcoming Domino 11.

So what does yesterday’s announcement mean for the future of Notes, Domino and Connections? I belive it will be extremely beneficial. HCL can take the products where they want them, adding functions requested by small and medium sized businesses instead of focusing on what a few very large customers wants, which is what IBM seemed to do.

By adding back low-code/no-code development into the core product, the citizen developers can again be engaged to create simple applications for their own or their department’s use. If they then need more advanced functions they can hand the application over to a traditional developer for further enhancements. This is what Notes looked like in the beginning, back in the early to mid 90’s. This is the strength of the platform, and what brought it its success.

The weakness of Notes and Domino has always been IBM:s (seemingly) lack of understanding of the product, and how it fits smaller and medium sized businesses. By going back to the original use of Domino, combined with HCL:s focus on on-premises (as opposed to IBM:s attempt to move everything to the cloud, despite what the customers want), I think HCL can bring a new life to Notes and Domino, and combine Collaborations into the mix. I can see an upcoming release of Collaboration where the data lives in a Domino database.

So for any Domino and Connections customers and business partners, I think the future looks bright. My belief is that HCL will bring new life and new functionality into the products.

ICON UK – Webinar about IBM’s Domino 10 and HCL partnership

Posted on by Posted in #IBMChampion, Community, IBM/Lotus, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse 1 Comment

On November 9 at 15.00 BST (16.00 CET, 10am EST), ICON UK will host a special edition of their “Around The Table” webinar series focusing on the recently announced strategic partnership between IBM and HCL. The partnership, which covers the Notes, Domino, Verse and Sametime product families, will deliver a multi-year roadmap for the products, and Notes/Domino 10 has already been announced for a 2018 release.

The webinar is free. You can read more about it at https://iconuk.org/iconuk.nsf/events.html, where you also can register.

Who wants to live forever? IBM Notes and Domino!

Posted on by Posted in #IBMChampion, App Modernization, IBM/Lotus, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse 1 Comment

We have heard people claiming for years that Notes and Domino is dead. Today IBM announced a move that hopefully should put those statements to a stop.

To Infinity And Beyond!IBM is partnering with HCL Technologies on the future development of IBM Notes and Domino, as well as SameTime, Verse, Traveler and the other associated products. The products will still belong to IBM, and they continue to manage the product strategy, marketing and licensing using the current offering management teams. The existing IBM development teams will be moving under HCL, where the actual development will happen.

From a customer standpoint nothing will change, except for an increase in investment and development. Support will still go through IBM, using the same PMS system as today. But it will allow IBM to get more developers and resources towards the development of new versions, using the finite budget they after all  have. It is a commitment to a sustained long-term roadmap and increased engineering ability.

The big news is that IBM is committing to releasing Notes and Domino 10 in 2018, and also announced that there is no end-of-live date for Domino. Not even an “at least until…” date like before. IBM are even discussing the next version after Domino 10.

What can we expect to see in Domino 10? Inhi Suh, General Manager for IBM Collaboration Solutions, said that application modernization is one of the big focus points. IBM will hold several “jams”, sessions where customers and business partners can give input on what they want to see in upcoming version. You can already register  for the first one, called Domino 2025.

Inhi says that not all functions will be in Domino 10, that is not even possible. But there is an increased commitment to the platform, and I expect that we will see many new and exiting features.

In addition, IBM will focus more on small and medium size businesses, not just large organizations. Domino is a great platform even for smaller organizations, so this is a welcome change in strategy.

So what do I think about this announcement? It is very exciting. Domino is a powerful and competent web application platform, and with some modernization, like support for HTTP2, support for Javascript everywhere (in the client as well as on the server), improvements to Lotusscript, and a modernization of the client user interface, the product could be truly amazing.

Anyone who knows their Notes and Domino history knows that the original product, Lotus Notes, was actually not developed by Lotus. It was Iris Associates who created it, under a contract with Lotus Software. many of the developers eventually went from Iris to Lotus, and then to IBM, as IBM took over Lotus. I truly hope that the amazing developers who have been working on the products for decades will be able to move over to HCL and their expertise will be utilized. In my mind that Is crucial for the future success of the products.

If you are a Domino user today, you should be very excited about this news! As more news are made available, I will post them here on my blog.

 

MWLUG Submssion Deadline

Posted on by Posted in #IBMChampion, Community, IBM/Lotus, MWLUG, Notes/Domino, Sametime, Verse Leave a comment

You have just over 3 days left to submit a session abstract for MWLUG 2017. The deadline is on Friday, May 26 at 5pm Central time.

If you don’t want to speak, registration is also open to this excellent conference. This year it takes place August 8-10 at Hilton Mark Center in Alexandria, VA. Expect a packed schedule with great sessions and speakers.

This is one of the must-attend conferences in the US for anyone working with the ICS (IBM Collaborative Software) family of products.