Notes is good

I was thinking about this the other day. MVPs are credible sources of information, but are fallible and in most cases are human.

Sometimes things do not go quite according to plan. Advice falls mainly into easy to define categories. Examples are as follows:

Category 1 - Simple, straight forward, no problem, no cost.
Example - Exchange server user is having a problem with spam.
Solution - Download GFi Mail Essentials. It is free and has no downside.

Category 2 - Complex, no real problem, no cost.
Example - Exchange server user is having a problem with a backup.
Solution - Move back to ntbackup. Free, no problem, works well.

Category 3 - Complex, takes time though, no cost.
Example - Exchange server is completely ruined.
Solution - Reinstall Windows Server 2003, install Exchange Server 2003, restore database.

Category 4 - Simple, straight forward, some problem, some cost.
Example - Exchange Server running out of space.
Solution - Buy a new hard drive for your existing solution.

Category 5 - Complex, some problem, some cost.
Example - Exchange Server running on a slow, old server.
Solution - Keep Exchange, change the hardware.

Category 6 - Very complex, lots of problems, lots of cost.
Example - Lotus Notes on an unworkable server.
Solution - Ditch notes, embrace Exchange Server.

The trouble is, I have an old fashioned heart. Once you get beyond the simple, you get into complications. Money is an obvious one (that Yorkshire blood runs through my veins). Complication / downtime / change is a major consideration. User impact must also be considered / upheaval to the organisation.

Lotus Notes is a good product. Misconfigured it can be disliked, well configured it can be great. Misconfigured but paid for can be rectified. You just gotta have the right Administrator to do the job. Again, my Yorkshire blood says don't make wholesale changes when you have bought and paid for one product.

An Administrator sitting on a poorly configured Lotus Notes implementation may see the benefits of Exchange Server. The trouble is, I am not exactly going to demonstrate an Exchange Server on its knees and perish the thought that it would be less than perfect. This does not mean that everyone should ditch their Lotus or Merak or ccMail server just to migrate to Exchange.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Hmm, let's qualify that. "Change is generally bad unless things are awful".

The problem is, I'm just a guy making suggestions. There isn't a right answer beyond Category 1 (the good, honest, straight technical answer). Especially where there is significant change, getting rid of an existing mail system has impact for all users. So even though Lotus Notes may not be the ideal product for you (and I mean no disrespect to Lotus), when well configured it can work for you. It just needs a bit of a rework.

The feature set may be slightly limited and it may not have every bell and whistle compared to other systems, but in the right circumstances it can provide the bulk of the facilities most users want. And isn't that enough?

We now return you to your normal broadcast.