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By Matt Hines, 8 September 2005 09:00

NEWS IBM's Lotus division has introduced the latest updates to its desktop messaging and collaboration server software.

With Notes 7 and Domino 7, released on Wednesday, IBM is offering new collaboration features as well as tools for building new applications - and targeting an area of the business software market that's heating up.

Big Blue said it's added more than 100 new features to the Notes client software, many of which are aimed specifically at managing large amounts of data coming into an inbox.

IBM said much of its work was aimed at improving the underlying server software that controls the performance of Notes. The update boasts new visual indicators to help people manage and organise messages, in addition to expanded group email settings and new memory features for saving and opening various types of documents directly from Notes. IBM said it also broadened access across the system to the Notes instant-messaging client.

In Domino 7, IBM is touting increased capabilities for building new collaborative applications in Notes. As part of the undertaking, the company said, it upgraded the package's software development tool-set to integrate better with businesses' web services efforts around service-oriented architecture, or SOA. For example, the company said, a new feature in Domino 7 will allow developers to use the software as a "web services host", for tools designed to expand on Notes' existing features.

In terms of performance gains, the company said Domino 7 will allow some of its customers to run up to 50 per cent more users per server, requiring up to 25 per cent less processing capacity in order to handle the same workload.

Ken Bisconti, vice president of IBM's Workplace, Portal and Collaboration business, said more customers than ever are pushing the company to expand capabilities for creating and using new collaborative tools.

"There's a huge shift under way in today's market," he said. "Customers are recognising that collaboration technology and people's productivity can substantially provide business value and really help the bottom line. Customers are looking for more than just email from their collaboration platform."

IBM's pursuit of the end-user collaboration software market has pushed it into more heated competition with long-time rival Microsoft. Like IBM, Microsoft is bulking up its Office System product line to incorporate more workflow and collaboration tools. IBM said the Notes/Domino business experienced double-digit growth during the first half of 2005, driven by more than 500 new deals.

Pricing for the Domino 7 server software starts at $1,145 per processor, IBM said. The Notes 7 software starts at $101 per user, and the web-based version of the messaging client is being offered for $70 per person.

Matt Hines writes for CNET News.com