What Are Lotus Notes Used For?

Lotus Notes software fosters teamwork and collaboration.

IBM Lotus Notes is an application software platform that is used for email, productivity, database management and collaboration. Notes also provides standard Web browsing and secured access to Web-enabled applications. Lotus Notes can be used as a stand-alone application or as the client software for Lotus Domino networked applications on Windows, Unix, Linux and AIX platforms.

Email

Lotus Notes can be used as a stand-alone email client with most Internet email hosts, similar to Microsoft Outlook. The email client provides Web-browsing services internally or can be configured to launch a default Web browser of your choice. Lotus Notes offers more robust email and collaborative services when used as the client in a Lotus Domino messaging infrastructure.

Productivity

Lotus Notes provides contact management, calendaring and instant messaging services that are integrated into the email client. These services can be used by individuals as stand-alone tools, or as a "Groupware" client in a corporate Lotus Domino network similar to Novell GroupWise and Microsoft Exchange.

Database Services

Lotus Notes is also the client application used to program and run Notes databases locally, on networked Lotus Domino servers or across the Internet. Lotus Notes databases are developed on a special version of the Lotus Notes client called "Designer." The Lotus Notes Designer client is also used to write Web-enabled databases that can be run from standard Web browsers.

Collaboration

Collaborative applications that allow teams to work together effectively are the strong suit of Lotus Notes. The synergy of the messaging, groupware and database-programming assets of Lotus Notes creates a powerful platform to develop and implement "workflow" applications. Applications that require documentation, routing and approvals -- such as MIS, helpdesk, purchasing and personnel applications -- are uniquely suited to Lotus Notes.

References

• "IBM Lotus Notes 7.0.4 Help File"; IBM Corporation; 2009

Resources

• IBM Corporation: IBM Lotus Notes Features and Benefits