Aligo unveiled Omni Mobile Platform, a mobile platform that combines a Java-based back-end with a flexible development environment that supports Microsoft .NET and J2ME standards. Aligo’s pre-built applications have also been migrated to Omni Mobile Platform for seamless integration with the platform. Mobile Access provides instant access to groupware for users of Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino, IMAP, and Sun ONE Messaging and Calendar Servers.

Internet Week has this article on the future of Lotus Domino. The goal for Domino 7 and 8 over the next few years is to provide full client access to applications whether the user is connected or disconnected from the Web. In the short term, Lotus plans a Domino 6.5.1 update in the second quarter of next year that will integrate instant messaging, Team Workplace and Domino document management. WebSphere Portal 5.1 is due in the third quarter and Workplace 2.5 with better support for disconnected clients and more mobile devices is due in the fourth quarter.

IBM announced four new Lotus Workplace software products that will enable customers to add modular collaborative capabilities — such as email, instant messaging, and Web conferencing — to their business applications and corporate portals. The new products include IBM Lotus Workplace Messaging 1.1, IBM Lotus Workplace Team Collaboration 1.1, IBM Lotus Workplace Collaborative Learning 1.1, and IBM Lotus Workplace Web Content Management 1.1.

Stampede Technologies announced its plans to support IBM’s Lotus Workplace. With this new release of TurboGold Enterprise Edition, Stampede expands its Web acceleration and data storage solutions beyond the Lotus Notes/Domino environment to include all the IBM Lotus Workplace products. TurboGold Enterprise Edition provides acceleration and storage solutions for any Web-enabled application built on J2EE, or used in a portal. This includes IBM Lotus Notes/Domino 6.5, Web Access, and Team Workplace, as well as IBM WebSphere Portal and IBM Lotus Workplace Messaging, all key components of the new Lotus Workplace environment.

The Radicati Group released Market Numbers Summary Update, Q4 2003, a new study showing year-end 2003 market share figures and four-year forecasts for all core market segments tracked by the Radicati Group. According to the study, there are 513 million email users worldwide, which send and receive over 57 billion email messages every day. In the enterprise messaging software market, Microsoft Exchange continues to lead the way with about 30% of the total installed base. IBM’s Lotus Notes/Domino product follows closely behind with a 26% market share at year-end 2003. On the client side, Microsoft Outlook is by far the most widely used desktop client. Within the corporate market, Outlook has a 62% market share.

FaceTime Communications announced it will integrate the FaceTime IM Presence Manager with IBM WebSphere Portal. This announcement was made in conjunction with the launch of IBM Lotus Workplace. The integration of IM Presence Manager with IBM WebSphere extends the portal’s Lotus IM-enabled presence capabilities to interconnect with the enterprise and public IM networks.

Novell announced this morning that it will acquire SUSE LINUX in a $210 million cash deal subject to regulatory approval and the winding up of shareholder agreements. Novell also announced that IBM intends to make a $50 million investment in Novell convertible preferred stock. In addition, Novell and IBM are negotiating extensions to the current commercial agreements between IBM and SUSE LINUX for the continued support of SUSE LINUX on IBM’s eServer products and middleware products to provide for product and marketing support arrangements related to SUSE LINUX. Both of these agreements will be effective when the acquisition of SUSE LINUX by Novell is completed.

Vodafone Group announced it will begin selling BlackBerry devices and servers from Research In Motion. RCR Wireless News says that Vodafone will sell the BlackBerry enterprise edition in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom starting this month. The BlackBerry personal version will be available in December. Vodafone will sell the BlackBerry server with the color-screen 7230 handheld, which features cradleless synchronization and support for Internet, Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino email services.

Sphere Communications announced a free seminar that will focus on addressing the key considerations and requirements for deploying IP-based solutions for enterprise telecommunications. Sphere components can be used to employ multiple applications for the enterprise, providing a path to an all IP telephony environment, including PBX networking, voice and video conferencing, and unified messaging to integrate voice messages into Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes.

Four out of every five real-time business intelligence solutions online today are successful, according to a new study released by TDWI entitled: Building the Real-Time Enterprise. The study’s survey included responses from 846 BI professionals, 108 of whom (13 percent) said they had implemented a real-time BI solution. Of those, 38 percent dubbed theirs as highly successful, while another 42 percent reported fair success.