Guest Commentary: Native Domino – What’s all the fuss?
Business Intelligence, client/server, Java and Windows NT are all technologies on which the AS/400 performs so well. However, from a performance and marketing standpoint, there is one solution that stands out above the rest -- native Domino.
What is Domino? Ask most end users and even many IBM Business Partners and you’ll get at least two answers. "I’m not quite sure" or "e-mail". While both are correct, I don’t yet think we know how good Domino really is, or how far this technology can take us. From groupware, document management and business intelligence to rapid application development and Web serving, Domino is the AS/400’s killer app. This is the most dynamic solution to hit the midrange market since the proverbial slicing of the bread. But what exactly is Domino?
Domino is not something you can describe in one paragraph. Indeed, this article is not meant to be the definition of this powerful solution. I could not possibly describe the all the applications Domino can be used for. However, a general definition is required to point you in the right direction. Here it comes: Domino is anything you want it to be.
That sounds broad. But it is entirely accurate. Domino can be used for many business and customer relationship applications within your organization. As with most businesses, your company probably has amassed a great deal of data on your current application software. Information that can, and should be used to improve your business practices as well as keep your customers better informed. Domino can unleash the potential of this information. It can provide access to that information seamlessly over a corporate intranet, or through a Web browser to your customers. Using Domino’s integrated security, all data stays secure. All using Domino’s integrated security tools. Sound too good to be true? Read on.
How about automating sales requests and purchase orders? Using Domino’s customizable forms, your sales force can request an order, through the Internet or even a hand held computer, and automatically update accounting, inventory, and shipping with one request.
Need to find out how many black widgets were sold in New York compared to white widgets in Indiana? Yeah, Domino can do that. All using Domino’s integrated intelligence tools.
What about project management, work group collaboration, messaging and e-mail? It does that too.
But these are all solutions that Domino has been performing so well for quite some time. Then why all the fuss? Well, AS/400 users have enjoyed the luxury of reliability and integration for a decade. Up to this point the solutions mentioned have been developed on other, much less reliable platforms. The integration of the most reliable platform with the most dynamic application development software is a match made in heaven (actually Rochester). Native Domino is the right technology to start the AS/400 on its next decade of success.
Let’s look at what Native Domino offers compared to other platforms:
99.9 percent reliability.
Multiple applications on one server.
Multiple partitions on one server.
Integrated security.
Scalability to over 10,000 users on one server.
Investment protection.
Direct access to DB2 database.
For IBM, Native Domino was the right solution to demonstrate what the AS/400 is all about. It was the perfect opportunity to show the world that the AS/400 is here to stay. The outcome is an excellent example of the strengths of both solutions that has already taken the world by storm.
What’s all the fuss surrounding native Domino? Discover it for yourself!
Steve Churchill is AS/400 manager for Support Net Inc. (Indianapolis), IBM's largest AS/400 distributor worldwide. [email protected]