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Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Sad news at Philips
Living near Eindhoven, the birth town of Philips, the company with one of the oldest and largest Lotus Domino infrastructures, this is not exactly new to me, but it still is a shock to read this:
In the year ahead, we’ll be introducing a new, much more cost-effective Microsoft-based communication and collaboration environment, which will replace Lotus Notes and is based on a “pay per use” service model. And it’s not only less expensive, it’s also easier to use – a real win-win situation!
“We want to make our IT systems as easy for employees to operate as their home PCs.”
Daniel Hartert,
Chief Information Officer
I ask you what Microsoft-based communication and collaboration environment is less expensive and easier to use than Lotus Notes? Smells like outlook to me or is there a new product being developed to suit there needs?
And although I can imagine that 'pay-per-use' will save a lot of money on licences, maintaining a Microsoft-based communication and collaboration environment will lengthen their ROI by years if not decades.
Update: They are now discussing out-sourcement of their e-mail to BT and Domino will be in use for several years as application server. So I'm curious what role is reserved for the 'Microsoft-based communication and collaboration environment'
1. Re: Sad news at Philips
Chris Whisonant on 02/06/2007 05:01:48 PM
They will soon find out their ROI... ;)
Wild Bill on 02/06/2007 05:32:17 PM
Ah-ha. BT are looking to put in a web based solution (not Microsoft - too expensive), all the PD's are scrambling to re-host their domino apps themselves.
Medical for instance, said to Daniel. "Are you going to continue with Domino?".
"No".
"In that case, we have to pull our apps onto our own domino infrastructure before you pull the plug"..
"..... No".
Its a shame. I was part of the team that collapsed 30 separate mail systems into one, and provided a unified application infrastructure there.
Daniel - because of some spat with IBM - is now going to pull the plug in the least business-concious manner possible.
The Product Divisions - the ones that actually make money - are having to scramble around to fix this themselves - thus decentralising their systems again.
I'm sitting back, enjoying the fireworks, watching a very successful company waste a lot of time (and probably two years of progress) over some silly emotional decision.
---* Bill
3. Re: Sad news at Philips
Vince on 02/06/2007 05:43:24 PM
Rumours about Yahoo.
Don't know if that is decided on yet though.
4. Re: Sad news at Philips
Mike on 02/07/2007 04:52:49 PM
Yeah, Lotus Notes is easy to use... give me a break. To call it a "communication and collaboration environment" is stretching the meaning of those terms to the point of nonsense. Bring on Outlook! It should have happened yesterday!
5. Daniel appears to be missing something fundamental...
Philip Storry on 02/08/2007 03:42:08 PM
Too much for one comment. So I threw it all up here: http://www.not-so-rapid.com/philipstorry/dxblog/not-so-rapid.nsf/dx/08022007144600MDOKBT.htm
Cheers for pointing this out...
6. most applications to OpenNTF then?
Patrick Kwinten on 02/12/2007 08:52:16 AM
Since their applications will become useless in the future, maybe they should contribute them to OpenNTF then?
Maybe Philips should have selected a better business partner for LN much more earlier in stead of sticking to that Atos Origin (MicroSoft) club?
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