Delay of Domino R5 May Spark New Quality Trend

7.8

Delay of Domino R5 May Spark New Quality Trend

by Ron Herardian
©1999 Global System Services Corporation (GSS)

At Lotusphere 99, Lotus announced a further delay in the release of Notes and Domino 5.0. As a Lotus Business Partner this delay has affected certain projects we are working on, especially because we are doing so many cc:Mail to Domino e-mail migrations before the end of 1999. Nonetheless, we are glad to see R5 delayed rather than be saddled with an unstable product that could harm the trust between the Lotus, its partners, and our mutual customers. As a Qualified Lotus Business Partner involved with Domino messaging for the past 4 years, my firm, Global System Services Corporation (GSS), has been through the crucible with some of the past releases, particularly of the MTAs.

I commend Lotus and the leadership of Jeff Papows wholeheartedly for going against the insane trend towards pushing half-finished products out the door for the sake the press or for short-term gains in investor (not customer) confidence. Working with all the major messaging products and vendors as we do, I know I speak for all of our clients when I say that we are tired of down time and data loss and of living in a state of emergency due to poor product quality: because someone cut testing or just didn't want to miss a release date. It is a far, far better thing to have no product whatsoever than to have one that's unreliable.

Unstable products cost productivity and damage vendor credibility, which reflects poorly on integrators like GSS. If one reads the cost of downtime studies, just a few days of ongoing problems can obliterate anticipated ROI from the use of a product for quite some time Despite the problems that the delay of R5 presents, we feel strongly that Lotus is doing the right thing. I hope that other vendors will take a page out of Lotus' play book and focus first on what really counts. In a time when short-term quarterly profits make or break companies it's refreshing to see someone taking a long term view and making the kinds of tough choices that separate leaders from the followers.

About GSS

Global System Services Corporation (GSS) is the leading provider of consulting and professional services for large-scale and distributed infrastructure systems such as email and messaging, directory services, groupware, and wireless solutions. GSS customers include Fortune 500 companies, large services providers and telecom companies, government agencies, major messaging product vendors, and innovative technology startups.

GSS provides a complementary suite of services including strategic technology consultation and competitive vendor and product analysis, product and system architecture and design, system development deployment, customization, and testing, technical support, email migration, and other IT services. GSS has been directly responsible for some of the largest global systems and solutions and counts as customers many of the largest companies in the world.

From its offices in the Silicon Valley California, GSS delivers services and solutions to customers worldwide through a network of mobile consultants and qualified GSS Affiliates. With industry certified professionals on staff, GSS is a Qualified Lotus Business Partner, a Certified Microsoft Solution Provider (MCSP), a Principal Partner in the Sun Partner Advantage program and a member of the Sun Software Partner Council, as well as a member of key industry organizations.

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©1995-2005 by Global System Services Corporation (GSS). Portions of this material are copyright ©1995-1999 by Ron Herardian