LotusLive iNotes vs. Google Apps

October 4, 2009 by Jimson Lee

Please note it is your responsibility to evaluate the accuracy, completeness and usefulness of any information, opinion or advice contained in the content below.

If you think Microsoft Office Web Apps is the only competitor to Google Apps, think again.

Self-hosted software “Lotus Notes” is alive and well, and last week, IBM launched a bare bones web-based email system.

LotusLive iNotes service starts at $36 per year per user, compared to the $50 per year per user for Google Apps Premium Edition.

For $14 a year difference, IBM LotusLive iNotes includes 1 GB of storage compared to Google Apps Premium Edition 25 Gb storage.  The latter also includes Google Doc’s Spreadsheets and Presentations.  However, LotusLive iNotes users can buy an additional 100GB storage if required.

As a former sysadmin, I can tell you the Executive’s mailbox storage is anywhere from 2 to 10 GB per user from all their attachments.   Even the free Gmail user account of 7376 Mb of free storage is challenge to keep lean.

LotusLive iNotes main selling point is anchored toward the small to medium business owner who needs to step up their email platform without the expense and overhead of a heavy duty feature-rich collaboration capabilities such as Microsoft Exchange.

But then again, it’s hard to beat Google Apps Standard Edition which is free.

At $3.75 monthly, LotusLive iNotes cost the same as a single premium coffee at Starbucks.  Not a bad business case, right?

The only caveat is at $9 per month, IBM has an existing premium package called LotusLive Notes (note no “i”).  This product competes with Microsoft’s web-based email package at $10 per month.

IBM is also banking on their hardware reputation as a selling point for reliability to all those anti-Google and anti-Microsoft users out there.

But I am sure there are anti-IBM people out there, too.

And all Executives care about is uptime and Blackberry support.  Then the CFO will cut the check.

Post to Twitter


Tagged:

Related Articles on CRM Help Desk Software.com

Recent Articles on CRM Help Desk Software.com

Free Newsletter

Sign up for the free Daily newsletter, filled with tips and ideas on how to choose a proper CRM, Help Desk, Customer Support, or Enterprise Content Management software system. Your email address will be kept confidential and won't be shared. Easily unsubscribe at any time.

If you enjoy the free information available on this site, you're sure to enjoy the free newsletter as well:

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Share and Enjoy:

Comments



CRM Help Desk Software