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Speaking big picture, what are the benefits of Lotus Notes over exchange. Is exchange meant for smaller companies who don't want to spend a lot of time maintaining their systems... but not as scalable? Is lotus notes more secure?

Brett G
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  • There probably *is* a reason why you can find lots of software products to manage Notes->Exchange migrations, but not a single one to go the reverse path... – Massimo Apr 17 '12 at 07:02

4 Answers4

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Lotus Domino and Exchange are completely different products.

What do you want? Do you only want email/calendaring? If so, I would avoid Domino.

Domino provides a 'database infrastructure' of sorts. Databases can be webpages, email, calendar info, address books, CRM systems, configuration pages, everything. It's a way of life, not an email platform.

Email using the Notes client is simply painful.

If you're simply looking for an email system, go with something else.

Why single out these two products? Do you happen to be looking for simply an email/calendaring solution compatible with BES (Blackberry Enterprise Server)? If so, I'd suggest considering either Zimbra or Exchange.

MikeyB
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    Agreed - Notes/Domino munges email in ways I would have never thought possible. – EEAA Apr 07 '10 at 19:28
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    +1 for Lotus Notes client sucks. Domino/Notes is an integrated development platform with calendaring/email/collaboration bolted-on. Exchange is a calendaring/email/collaboration platform with integrated development bolted-on. – jscott Apr 07 '10 at 20:17
  • @jscott: you should turn your comment into an answer and get at least my upvote for it, that's a concise, accurate description of how the two products compare. – Ward - Reinstate Monica Apr 07 '10 at 21:41
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Domino/Notes is a world of pain, hurt, suffering, weeping, and gnashing of teeth. Period, end of story.

...okay, now that I got that off of my chest, I'll continue :)

Speaking from the experience of maintaining Domino environments at two different mid-sized companies, the only think that Domino has going for it is a superior system for deploying multi-user database apps. Beyond that, it has nothing on exchange in my opinion.

EEAA
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They are Apples and Oranges, really. Lotus Notes handles email and does a whole lot more with collaborative applications for your business. Exchange is simply going to handle email. It is no surprise that Exchange is going to be better if you're only looking for an email solution (email/calendaring/to dos, that is). If you're looking for a very secure application platform for collaborating with distributed teams, and you want that platform to be tightly integrated with email, then Lotus Notes may be your answer.

Ken Pespisa
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    But Exchange is so much more than just email - calendar, notes, to-do lists, not to mention that a hell of a lot more products integrate with Exchange & Outlook than with Domino/Notes. IMHO, there's a reason for than and it's because Exchange is a far superior product. – Ben Pilbrow Apr 07 '10 at 19:52
  • True, but Lotus Notes can do calendaring, notes (of course!), and to-do lists as well. By "email only solution" I meant to include all of the above. I've corrected it in my answer. – Ken Pespisa Apr 28 '10 at 14:55
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Sadly long-term cost of ownership is cheaper using the Lotus solution. Yes, it is and yes I didn't believe it either until I completed the research, 18 months ago. However, Exchange and now LINC are better products in my humble opinion.

Klaptrap
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    LINQ is a database quesy language used in the .NET Framework. Maybe you were referring to *Lync*? – Massimo Apr 17 '12 at 07:01