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What is HCL Notes? I still get this question from time to time.
HCL Notes is the current name of the software we used to know as Lotus Notes and later as IBM Notes. Notes is best known as an email and collaboration client, but it can do much more than just handle email.
Together with HCL Domino, Notes forms a platform for communication, collaboration and business applications.
I have been working with Notes and Domino since 1995. Over the years, the product name has changed several times, but the basic idea has remained the same: organizations can use it to support and automate business processes and applications.
HCL Notes and Domino: Still Relevant
I get this question, of course: Is HCL Notes and Domino still relevant?
My answer: Absolutely.
There are certainly organizations that choose to phase out their Domino environment or replace existing applications with other solutions. But that does not mean that HCL Notes and HCL Domino have no future.
Quite the opposite. Domino is still a powerful platform for developing and running business applications. That can mean maintaining and modernizing an existing environment, but it can just as well mean developing new applications, adding new functionality or even setting up a new Domino environment.
Its strength lies precisely in the combination of a mature and proven platform with the capabilities that HCL continues to develop. A good example is the ongoing development around Domino IQ and AI, which opens up new possibilities within the Domino world as well.
Your data, your AI, your control
AI does not have to mean sending all your data to an external cloud environment. With Domino, you can instead consider an environment where your data, your applications, your email and your AI remain under your own control.
This makes Domino interesting not only for what you already have today, but especially for organizations thinking about AI, data sovereignty and the IT environment of tomorrow.
For organizations that have been working with Domino for many years, the question is therefore not only how to keep existing applications running. It is at least as interesting to look at what you can build and achieve with Domino today and tomorrow.
That is exactly the kind of work I do.
Modern Capabilities
Notes and Domino have been around for decades — and the platform continues to evolve. HCL continues to add new capabilities for modern application development, AI, integration and access to existing Domino applications.
The result is a mature platform that can support both existing business applications and new solutions, while connecting Domino with the technologies and services used in modern IT environments.
HCL Nomad: Your applications, anywhere and anytime
HCL Nomad is designed for organizations that want to bring their trusted HCL Notes applications to the modern workplace without complex redevelopment projects. With Nomad, you can access your existing Domino applications from a range of devices:
- Mobile & Tablet: Use your applications on iOS (iPhone/iPad) and Android devices. HCL Nomad can make use of mobile features such as the camera for scanning barcodes or GPS for location data within your workflows.
- The Browser (Nomad Web): Run your Notes applications directly in modern web browsers such as Chrome, Edge and Firefox. This means end users do not need to install the full Notes client, which can significantly simplify IT administration.
- Offline working: One of the unique advantages of Nomad is that applications can continue to work offline. Once connectivity is restored, the data is automatically synchronized with the server.
HCL Domino IQ: Intelligent support with AI
With the introduction of HCL Domino IQ (also known as HCL IQ), HCL is making a strong move into artificial intelligence (AI), while keeping the focus on control over your own data.
- AI on your own infrastructure: Unlike public AI services, Domino IQ can run on your own infrastructure, either on-premises or in your own cloud. This means sensitive business information does not have to leave your secure Domino environment.
- Intelligent features: Domino IQ can help summarize long email threads, translate documents and automate repetitive tasks within your applications.
- Development: For developers, Domino IQ introduces new possibilities, including the NotesLLM classes, for integrating AI functionality directly into custom applications and making them even more powerful and user-friendly.
HCL Domino Leap: Build applications quickly and easily
HCL Domino Leap (formerly known as Domino Volt) enables business users and IT professionals to develop applications significantly faster than with traditional development methods. It is a powerful low-code platform that runs directly on your existing Domino infrastructure.
- Visual drag-and-drop designer: Build forms, workflows and dashboards in an intuitive browser-based environment without requiring extensive programming knowledge.
- Seamless integration: Leap applications can store their data directly in Domino databases (.nsf). This means they can benefit from the proven security, scalability and replication capabilities of the Domino platform.
- Workflow automation: Design complex approval processes and automated notifications with just a few clicks. This makes Leap particularly useful for HR requests, expense claims and quality management.
- No additional footprint: Because Leap is integrated with the Domino platform, there is no need for a separate database or complex middleware. Your existing security and administration concepts can continue to be used.
HCL Domino as an OIDC Provider: One Central Identity
Starting with HCL Domino 14.5, Domino can act as an OpenID Connect (OIDC) provider. This allows Domino to authenticate users not only for Domino applications, but also for other applications, servers and services within your infrastructure that support OIDC.
This makes it possible to use Domino as a central authentication service and implement Single Sign-On (SSO), without having to rely on an external identity provider for every application.
Your users, your authentication and your infrastructure — under your own control.
Modernize your Domino environment with the HCL Domino REST API
The HCL Domino REST API (formerly known as Project KEEP) provides a bridge between your valuable Domino data and the modern web. It allows developers to expose Domino applications using standard REST technologies without requiring specialized Notes knowledge.
Why use the Domino REST API?
- Accessibility: Build modern web or mobile applications using popular frameworks such as React, Vue or Angular, directly connected to your Domino backend.
- Security: Control data access precisely using powerful schemas and scopes, ensuring that users can only access the data they are authorized to see.
- Integration: Easily connect your Domino data to external systems and modern API-driven tools.
- Future-ready: Keep the stability of the Domino platform while taking advantage of modern software development approaches.
INECO can help you get started. Implementing and configuring a robust API environment requires a careful approach. INECO has the expertise to integrate the Domino REST API seamlessly into your infrastructure. Whether it is the initial installation, securing your data endpoints or building integrations, we can help you get off to a strong start.
What can Domino and Notes do?
Domino is a powerful, full-featured mail server. The server supports IMAP, POP3, SMTP and Notes Mail.
Notes is the mail client software, but email can also be accessed through a web browser or a mail client that supports IMAP or POP3.
As a mail server, Domino is a good alternative to Microsoft Exchange.
Calendar
The Notes client can be used as a calendar and scheduling system, similar to Microsoft Outlook.
The Domino server allows users to share calendars with colleagues and schedule meetings, reserve rooms and delegate tasks.
Groupware
IBM was a pioneer in groupware: software designed to help teams work together more efficiently. IBM was already providing organizations with what we would now call an intranet before the term itself had even been coined.
The Notes client includes applications that can be deployed quickly, such as discussion forums, blogs, document management and collaboration applications.
End users can also build their own applications, if permitted by the administrator. The advantage is that these applications can then be made available centrally through the server and used by multiple users.
(Web) Application Server
The Domino server provides a full development environment, including LotusScript and Java, for building applications that run in the Notes client, a web browser, on tablets or on smartphones.
There is also a wide range of software available for Notes and Domino, including open-source solutions. In addition, Domino can be integrated with many other systems and databases.
Traveler
When HCL Traveler is installed alongside a Domino server, email, calendar appointments and tasks can be synchronized with mobile devices such as Apple iOS and Android devices.
HCL Notes and HCL Domino
Notes and Domino are often mentioned together, but they have different roles.
HCL Notes is the client that users use to access email, calendars and Domino applications. The Notes client also provides functionality for working locally with data and applications.
HCL Domino is the server platform on which databases and applications are managed and made available to users. Domino also handles, among other things, replication, security and access to applications and data.
A Domino environment can therefore be much more than just a mail server.
HCL Notes Client
The Notes client provides users with features including:
- email;
- calendars and meetings;
- contacts;
- tasks;
- access to business applications;
- offline access to locally replicated data.
The Notes client can be used together with a Domino server. For certain applications, Notes can also work locally with replicated data.
There are also other ways to access Domino functionality, for example through a web browser or mobile applications.
HCL Domino Designer
For developing traditional Domino applications, there is HCL Domino Designer.
With Domino Designer, developers can create and maintain forms, views, agents and other components of Domino applications. Depending on the application, developers can use technologies including LotusScript, JavaScript, Java and the Domino formula language.
Existing Notes and Domino applications can also be maintained and extended using Domino Designer.
This is one of the reasons Domino has been used for custom business applications for so many years. An organization can build an application that fits its own processes precisely, rather than having to adapt its business processes to a standard software package.
HCL Domino Admin
The HCL Domino Admin client (also known as Domino Administrator) is a software application that administrators can use to manage an HCL Domino environment, including servers, users and databases. It is the traditional client for administrative tasks and is also available through a web-based interface for modern administration.
HCL Domino Server
The Domino server is at the heart of a Domino environment.
Domino makes databases and applications available to users. It also provides, among other things, security, replication and server communication.
Domino can be used in both small and large environments and supports clustering for situations where high availability is important.
Domino can also make applications available through the web. This means that users do not necessarily need the Notes client for every application.
From Lotus Notes to HCL Notes
The origins of Notes go back to Lotus Development Corporation. The product was developed in the 1980s as a platform for collaboration and information sharing. Ray Ozzie was one of the key developers behind the original product.
In 1995, IBM acquired Lotus Development Corporation. Lotus Notes and Domino subsequently became part of IBM’s software portfolio.
In 2013, IBM changed the product names. Lotus Notes became IBM Notes, and Lotus Domino became IBM Domino.
In 2018, IBM announced that it would sell a large part of its software portfolio, including Notes and Domino, to HCL. The acquisition was completed in 2019. Since then, the products have been developed and marketed by HCLSoftware as HCL Notes and HCL Domino.
This history also explains why you can still find names such as Lotus Notes, Lotus Domino, IBM Notes and IBM Domino throughout the internet and in older documentation. In many cases, these are simply different names for the same product at different points in its history.
HCL Notes and Domino at INECO
I have been working with Lotus Notes, IBM Notes, Lotus Domino, IBM Domino and, more recently, HCL Notes and HCL Domino since 1995.
Over more than three decades, I have developed and maintained many different applications and managed a wide variety of Domino environments. I use that experience both for existing environments and for new development projects.
Whether it is maintaining and modernizing an existing Notes application, developing new functionality, integrating Domino with other systems or setting up a new Domino server, I am happy to think along with you about what is possible.
Do you have an existing Domino environment and want to get more out of it? Or do you have a new idea for which you are considering Domino?
I would be happy to explore the possibilities of HCL Notes and Domino with you — today and with an eye on the future.
