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IBM's Desktop Solution Supports Ubuntu

IBM made the announcement that they will start offering support for their integrated Open Collaboration Client Solution to Ubuntu users. The desktop solution is comprised of IBM's Lotus Notes and Lotus Symphony products. IBM estimates that full support for Ubuntu with its Lotus software will be completed with version 8.5 of Lotus at the second half of 2008. Is time running out for Microsoft Office? Do all these alternate desktop solutions spell doom for the billion dollar franchise?

"IBM's plans to deliver the IBM Open Collaboration Client Solution with Lotus Notes on the Ubuntu platform is a win for customers everywhere," said Mark Murphy, vice president of alliances, Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu. In addition to SUN's open office suite, the Lotus Notes and Lotus Symphony products will bring even more choice to Linux users in regards to desktop tools and solutions. IBM's client solution includes advanced calendar, email, word processing, and spreadsheet capabilities. The Open Document Format (ODF) will be readily supported by the Lotus applications. "This is an exciting development for Ubuntu users, too." Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise users were already given a quick, one-click solution to installing IBM's powerful suite of software. Red Hat has also gotten in the fun with a new marketing initiative to combine Lotus software with the powerful Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system.

In the world of Linux, choice is everything. OpenOffice.org isn't going anywhere; the awesome suite of office applications will most likely have a place with Linux users for years to come. This is just one more option in a vast sea of choices for Linux users. This isn't Microsoft; this isn't Adobe; this isn't IBM hoping to lock down the market and force everyone over to Lotus. Interoptibility has been a recent buzz word with regard to Microsoft's pledge to work alongside Linux and the open source community, but it's clear that other companies, such as IBM and SUN, are actually committed to making this come true.

Is this just one more nail in Microsoft Office's coffin? Between Open Office, Google Docs and Spreadsheets, KOffice (the KDE solution), and Lotus Notes all competing in the desktop solution market, can MIcrosoft hang on to its billion dollar baby? Aside from Windows itself, Microsoft Office is MIcrosoft's biggest money maker. With a growing number of alternatives surfacing, and those alternatives being free, how much longer can Microsoft hold the cloud of denial over the soon-to-be demise of its office franchise? Check out LinuxHow2's article on alternative software, if you're interested in learning about some of the great choices out there!

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