Lotus Sends A MessageLotus Sends A Message

IBM Lotus Software has taken the wraps off its Lotus Workplace Messaging application, revealing a surprisingly affordable Web-based E-mail tool companies can use to bring deskless employees such as retail clerks or factory line workers into the electronic information loop.

The app, first unveiled at the Lotusphere show in January, is designed to let companies quickly deploy a Web-based messaging architecture accessible to workers who don't have a dedicated PC or other device to access information. Such workers would be able to see their E-mail, contacts, and calendars by entering a password on a shared PC or kiosk located in a store or on a factory floor.

The list price for Lotus Workplace is $29 per licensed user, plus $5.80 per year per user for upgrades and support after the first year. But John Caffrey, manager of Lotus messaging solutions, says "nobody pays list price," and he points out that over a four-year period, the software's cost is less than $1 a month per user. Lotus also estimates that with hardware, administration, downtime, and training, the total cost of ownership will be less than $3 per user annually.

Lotus Workplace represents the first in a series of tools that will fall under the Lotus Workplace name and are designed to create a Web-based productivity environment that uses open standards to extend communication and collaboration throughout a company. Lotus hasn't revealed what types of functionality it will introduce down the line, but it intends to release an update to Workplace Messaging, complete with enhanced capabilities, by year's end, Caffrey says.

The new offering brings Lotus into a maturing market populated by smaller messaging vendors such as Critical Path, Rockliffe, and Mirapoint. But the IBM unit's presence legitimizes the market for deskless workers' E-mail, says David Ferris, principal analyst at Ferris Research. Ferris says about 30% of employees don't have desks and that low-cost tools are a priority for such workers because they're in positions that tend to have high turnover.

Caffrey insists Lotus will stand out because of its breadth of messaging and collaboration products, as well as its widespread market acceptance. "To us, it's not a living. It's part of us trying to satisfy the customer," he says. "One of the things we have going for us is, we were here how many years ago and we'll be here how many years from now?"

Ferris agrees. "Many organizations already use Lotus as a supplier," he says, "so it keeps the numbers of suppliers smaller--vendor management simplified."