IBM dusts off Lotus Notes

Ken Bisconti, vice president of IBM Lotus Workplace, Portal and Collaboration unit said that the Notes code has included a document editor and can handle the new OpenDocument Format (ODF).

Currently a lot of US government organisations are moving towards ODF as a method of making sure that data is shared better with the public.

Those in the know think that by IBM pushing Notes into this area make it a logical alternative to Office for those who do not want to go entirely down the Open Sauce route.

IBM says that the changes will mean that users who switch to the new Notes version will find it easier to move away from Microsoft Office.

The new version, which will hit the shops next year will include an ODF-based word processor, spreadsheet and a graphics program similar to Microsoft's PowerPoint. All the programs will be integrated with Notes so that the user will not have to launch different programs to use them.

IBM is not saying how much it will all cost but the current version of Notes costs $1,195 for the server software, and $101 per user.

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