The Four Hundred

The sword fight between Microsoft and IBM over messaging and collaboration tools for small and midsized businesses is getting a little more intense now that IBM Lotus has announced two Domino Express products and Microsoft is on the verge of releasing Exchange Server 2003. Product features and pricing structures will be sliced unmercifully, but look for pricing--particularly licensing and service contracts--to be a big issue as Lotus attempts to woo Exchange customers as well as upgrade Domino customers who might think about Exchange.

In mid August, IBM's Lotus division trumpeted the general availability of Domino Collaboration Express and Lotus Domino Utility Server Express, which, in keeping with the IBM Express family of products, offer nearly the same functionality as their full-featured enterprise-level siblings. In this case, the two new Lotus products are adaptations of Domino Enterprise Server Version 6.0 that are simpler to install and administer. Another big distinction between the Enterprise and Express editions of IBM's software is that the Express editions have a lower price and a 1,000-user cap.

Price is a big issue for small and midsized businesses, and it will be central to this clash between IBM and Microsoft over groupware. At least on the Lotus side, the licensing issue will be huge as it fans the fire under those customers who are unhappy with Microsoft's Licensing 6.0 prices, which were announced last year and took effect in July. Before getting into a product comparison, Lotus wants small and midsized businesses to know that the per-client price of Domino Collaboration Express is not just reasonably priced, it also includes a year of free maintenance and support. On the surface, Microsoft looks like it has a price advantage, but a full disclosure of the hidden costs could end up being IBM's best chance of uprooting Microsoft's grip on this market. IBM says it will use a per-seat pricing method, instead of the complicated tangle of licenses and support agreements that Microsoft has become equated with.

Domino Collaboration Server Express is being offered at $89.25 per user for customers who replace competitive products, and $119 per user for new installations. Lotus officials estimate the savings to be approximately 30 to 40 percent, compared with the cost of enterprise-level Domino 6.0.

When Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 is released later this year, it, too, will have an entry-level price that is lower than the previous option. Exchange Server Standard Edition will differ from the Enterprise Edition in that it will not support clustering mail servers or multiple database stores. Microsoft has it priced at $699, with a Client Access License of $67 per user or device. How the support agreements are worked out will tilt the pricing advantage for either IBM or Microsoft, one way or the other.

Regardless, Microsoft has made several changes that should reduce user costs, even for the full Exchange Server Enterprise Edition. At the top of the savings list is the capability to handle more user mailboxes than the previous version. Another potential cost savings comes from the use of multiple databases to store user mailboxes. This will come into play if a database becomes corrupted. With multiple databases, it is easier to isolate the problem, which reduces recovery time.

Another consideration for Exchange fans is the capability to access Exchange through any client, which helps companies that have multiple users on a single workstation. The new Exchange Server will also have the built-in capability to support mobile servers, as opposed to needing a separate server for this purpose.

Domino Collaboration Express, like Exchange, includes e-mail, group calendars and scheduling, team workspaces for document sharing among workers, and discussion forums. It also has the custom application capabilities of Domino 6. Users have a choice of client access, including the Lotus Notes client, IBM's Domino iNotes Web Access, Domino Access for Outlook--which allows users to retain their Outlook e-mail client but to access Notes--or Domino Web Mail. Collaboration Express lacks the clustering and WebSphere application-development capabilities of the full Domino 6.0 server.

Utility Server Express is a less expensive version of Domino Utility Server. Although it loses messaging and group calendaring resources in the Express package, it has the application-development and deployment capabilities of Domino 6.0, and it makes Domino applications available to workers via the Notes client or a Web browser. Applications most likely to be deployed include workflow management and project approval, CRM, and sales-force automation. Utility Server Express costs $5,000 when run on a two-processor machine and $10,000 when run on a four-processor box. Those are the only options.

Domino Collaboration Express and Lotus Domino Utility Server Express are supported across multiple platforms, including OS/400 (iSeries), Linux on X86, Windows, AIX (pSeries), and Solaris. In addition to the favorable pricing, the Domino Express packages have reduced complexity of installation and administration. According to Lotus sources, additional benefits will be realized in areas such as scalability, performance, and security.

IBM plans additional forays into the small and midsized business market with its Express family of products. Each of its software brands--including Tivoli, DB2, and WebSphere, as well as Lotus--has Express offerings. Lotus Instant Messaging is expected to be one of the next products from this line.