Lotus Development Canada has launched a new product designed to ease the hassle of developing and maintaining World Wide Web sites – and it’s free to Lotus Notes users.
However, in the tradition of software companies intent on rejuvenating sales, it’s even easier to use with a soon-to-be released Notes upgrade.
Domino is a Web server solution that is easier to use than other Web development tools, says James Wentzell, the company’s national marketing manager. ‘You can do things on the fly,’ he says. For example, with Domino, a user does not need to know html, the ‘language’ of Internet programming, to make changes or additions to Web pages.
This is vital, says Wentzell, because companies that recognize the need for a site often hire outside programmers for its creation and soon find that updating the site involves re-hiring professionals to make the necessary changes.
As well, Domino makes it easier to make a site interactive, says Wentzell. Using traditional programming methods, it might take two to three months to work out the glitches in a program designed to track trends on a company’s site; with Domino, Wentzell says employees can finish the job in as little as 20 hours, with no need for sophisticated programming experience.
The launch of Domino is being supported with print advertising, created by Toronto’s Doner Schur Peppler. Double-page spreads are appearing in trade and national publications, including The Globe and Mail. The company is also sponsoring free seminars across the country where users can learn how to use the product, says Wentzell.
The release of Domino predates even bigger news from Lotus – the release of Notes 4.5, the upgrade to its industry standard client-server platform, with 6.5 million users worldwide.
According to Wentzell, just two years ago Notes was used by a mere one million people globally. To expand the market, Lotus slashed the cost of Notes – by as much as 50% in volume purchases, he says. At the time, the company announced that the approximate retail price of the full Lotus Notes would be chopped from to $396 from $484 per single copy, or $223 for bulk buys of 50 or more licences.
The upgraded program will be on the market in a few weeks to a couple of months, says Wentzell, adding that software due dates are often ‘soft.’ The platform will likely be supported by a larger ad campaign, although he cannot comment on its scope.
However, Wentzell can confirm that the new campaign will be created by Ogilvy & Mather. The agency picked up the Lotus worldwide business when o&m client International Business Machines decided to consolidate its business after purchasing Lotus in July of last year.
Lotus’ worldwide account is estimated to be worth us$70 million.
