Some products will be familiar to you from prior years, but please take note of the newcomers as well.

The LOTUS ADVISOR EDITORS' CHOICE AWARDS for 2003 go to...

• CLIENT MANAGEMENT TOOLS
• COOL NEW TOOLS
• BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
• DATA INTEGRATION
• DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
• INFRASTRUCTURE TOOLS
• INSTANT MESSAGING
• MOBILE & WIRELESS TOOLS
• MESSAGING MANAGEMENT TOOLS
• SECURITY

Client Management Tools


ServerAdmin Plus
Percussion Software
http://www.percussion.com

Many administrative functions aren't fully addressed by the core Notes and Domino offerings from IBM, and many vendors have created tools that address one or two of the missing areas. Percussion Software ServerAdmin Plus addresses far more of them than any other single offering. Targeted at large Notes and Domino deployments, ServerAdmin Plus lets a single administrator or a small group handle the tasks that would otherwise require a much larger staff. ServerAdmin Plus 8.0 introduces the Client Manager module, which lets administrators upgrade users without visiting each desktop. With the Client Manager, administrators can manage upgrades, plus track and generate reports on user progress. Including excellent support for automation of upgrades to server and clients, this tool demonstrates the depth of understanding Percussion has gained from its many years supporting and developing for the Notes/Domino marketplace.


Automated Deployment Toolkit
Wolcott Systems Group
http://adt.wolcottgroup.com

Wolcott Systems ADT continues to set the standard for application deployment tool-kits based on Notes and Domino. Support for distribution of all kinds of applications and data make this tool thrive and extend its power despite the addition of some parts of its functionality into the core Notes/Domino offering. Wolcott has added great media and network-based distribution and comprehensive discovery tools to the product.


Migration Pro for 6
Cool Notes Stuff Inc.
http://www.CoolNotesStuff.com

Anyone with more than 20 users to upgrade to Notes 6 from any other version and/or platform would be well-served to start with a small investment in this planning and documentation tool. Cool Notes Stuff Migration Pro for 6 provides all the planning information you need to customize an upgrade project for your organization or enterprise. Exceptional features, such as the upgrade costs calculator, help you determine if automated tools such as Wolcott's ADT and others would be cost effective for you. Instead of wondering what to do next, Migration Pro for 6 guides you through each step in the process to assure cost effective and timely completion of the upgrade project.

Cool New Tools


SpamJam
Granite Software
http://www.gsw.com

Granite Software SpamJam delivers on promises of drastically reducing spam that your Notes clients and employees would otherwise have to expend resources to deal with. It's a huge time saver and ensures that e-mails delivered to a user's inbox are genuine. By combining the rules processing in a unique manner, SpamJam reduces the administrative effort required to reduce unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE). The user can have whatever level of control over the process the administrator wishes to give him. From creating a personal "white" list of acceptable e-mails to adding phrases to the "grey" list of probable UCE messages, SpamJam is ahead of the others in attacking this problem across all Domino platforms.


DLI.Uploader
DLI.tools Inc.
http://www.dlitools.com

DLI.tools DLI.Uploader provides a robust, customizable, and programmatic way to add attachment-handling capabilities to your Web applications. The tool is an ActiveX control you can add to your application with just a few lines of code. The first time you use the control, it's automatically installed on your computer. Uploader functionality is similar to the attachment capabilities in iNotes, but with Uploader, you can customize the tool and plug it into any Web database. A LotusScript class provides advanced attachment manipulation of uploaded files. For users, the DLI.Uploader provides a friendlier, easier way to interact and manage attachments in their Web documents.


NoteMan
MartinScott
http://www.martinscott.com

MartinScott NoteMan contains dozens of features in a single, easy-to-use interface. With it, you can save time using the integrated Notes utilities for everyday development, testing, and administration tasks that would be manually tedious. SmartIcon-based NoteMan tools are non-invasive and don't require you to modify the design of your target database. If we had to pick one time-saving feature above all others, it would be the ability to view a list of all readers and authors for a document, regardless of where those readers and authors are located. Second is the ability to sort design items by the "item last modified" date.


.NET 2 Notes (N2N)
Proposion Inc.
http://www.proposion.com/N2N

Proposion N2N marries the best of the Microsoft client application developer world with the best of the Domino server data delivery world. Proposion N2N (.NET to Notes) makes Lotus Domino a full provider in the .NET environment, letting you take advantage of Domino's data and functionality through .NET tools such as Visual Basic.NET, ASP.NET, .NET Web services, and so on. If you're using or planning to use .NET, Proposion N2N is an ideal tool to integrate your Notes/Domino applications into the .NET environment.

Business Solutions


iExtensions CRM
iEnterprises, Inc.
http://www.ienterprises.com

Domino is such a great tool for creating and managing CRM applications, that CRM developers have to work extremely hard to differentiate themselves from the herd. Aside from a great set of easy-to-use and configure features to manage clients, contacts, matters, documents, events, relationships, leads, and more, iEnterprises iExtensions CRM sets itself apart from the Domino CRM pack by providing multilingual support for contact information and client interfaces.


Relavis eSales and Relavis eMarketing
Relavis
http://www.relavis.com

Relavis' CRM products have been around for a long time, and the company continues to add innovations to these great tools year after year. This year's prize goes to Relavis eSales and eMarketing, however, for setting itself apart with new feature sets and by employing a bundling strategy that includes specific CRM configurations with IBM e-server hardware offerings, consulting, and training. This helps organizations quickly get up to speed on the new application and the new platform.

Data Integration


.NET 2 Notes (N2N)
Proposion Inc.
http://www.proposion.com/N2N

In today's technology space, it often isn't enough to have one technology platform. And when the need to have more than one platform arises, the first goal is to have the multiple platforms integrate and work together as much as possible. For instance, some companies make the strategic decision to install Microsoft's .NET platform as an application platform, even though they are currently using Lotus Domino. The integration of these two platforms would have been a challenge to say the least, until now. Proposion N2N (.NET to Notes) makes Lotus Domino a full provider in the .NET environment, letting you take full advantage of Domino's data and functionality through .NET tools such as Visual Basic.NET, ASP.NET, .NET Web services, and so on. And the integration is quite full-featured -- you can take advantage of the Formula language, execute LotusScript agents, and even validate forms in .NET by using N2N. Rich text and attachments are also available in the .NET environment through the use of N2N. So, if you're able to stay a pure Domino shop, great; but if you're required to use .NET in your environment, N2N makes the integration not only possible, but painless.


Lotus Enterprise Integrator 6
IBM Lotus Software
http://www.lotus.com/ei

For quite some time, there have been three players in the enterprise data integration space for Lotus Domino: Percussion Notrix, Casahl Replic-Action, and Lotus Enterprise Integrator (LEI). Each has its advantages, but LEI had been trailing the pack. This changes with LEI 6. It's built on a revamped version of the Lotus Connectors, which are now more robust and reliable, providing a much-improved foundation for LEI. But the most compelling new features in LEI 6 are the new "virtual" activities -- Virtual Fields, Virtual Agents, and most exciting of all, Virtual Documents. Although Virtual Fields are the same thing as Domino Enterprise Connection Services' Realtime Notes, which require a "key" document in the Domino database for every corresponding record in the external data source, Virtual Documents "trick" the Domino database into thinking it has documents in it when it really doesn't. That's right -- you can have a Domino database that performs as if there are documents in it (i.e., you can write agents to work on the documents, the documents show in views, and so on) when there isn't a single document in the Domino database. The ability to use the power of Notes and Domino against a relational database has long been a goal of developers -- and now LEI 6 makes it a reality.

Development Tools


NoteMan
MartinScott
http://www.martinscott.com

There are other tools that do a few of the things MartinScott NoteMan does, but none contain so many features in a single easy-to-use interface: edit hidden and computed values without writing agents; detect differences between two documents; open documents by NoteID; save, compare, and copy ACLs; and more. If we had to pick one time-saver above all others, it would have to be the ability to view a list of all readers and authors for a document, regardless of where those readers and authors are located. Second is the ability to sort design items by the "item last modified" date.


TeamStudio Analyzer for Java
Teamstudio Inc.
http://www.teamstudio.com

Domino Designer does a great job checking your Java Agent syntax, but it doesn't do such a good job helping you debug Java agent, application, and servlet code at runtime. TeamStudio Analyzer for Java is a great step in the right direction, and even helps boost Java performance by detecting common mistakes that can slow your Java code down. The addition of tools that help enforce project or organizational coding standards is welcome, as well.

Infrastructure Tools


TurboGold Enterprise
Stampede Technologies Inc.
http://www.stampede.com

Acceleration of Notes replication has been the forte of Stampede Technologies for several years. This year, as IBM introduced some basic streaming functionality into the core Notes and Domino products, Stampede TurboGold Enterprise goes even further in reducing bandwidth usage and addresses even more bandwidth-consuming tasks. New features include iNotes and DOLs support that enhances offline and connected performance as well as "Multicator," a tool that caches and streams data once for replication to multiple servers and clients. New traffic shaping by port technology lets TurboGold further optimize the traffic between servers and clients. All these features make TurboGold a must-see for any enterprise with a significant number of distributed users.


NetWorker for Lotus
Legato Systems Inc.
http://www.legato.com

Legato Systems NetWorker for Lotus effectively addresses the complexities of quality backup and reliable restoration in a complex messaging environment. Providing tools that assure users and administrators follow e-mail retention policies makes this package extremely valuable to companies that have concerns about retention or are legally mandated to archive mail. The ability to search the archived messages and to restore single messages to online status further assures the usefulness of this system. Administrators can assure the protection of the storage systems while decreasing the total cost of ownership of the system.

Instant Messaging


ikimbo Agenda for Sametime
ikimbo
http://www.ikimbo.com

ikimbo Agenda for Sametime is an innovative system that allows closed-loop, real-time resolution of opportunities, challenges, or operational bottlenecks. Agenda is tightly integrated with Lotus Sametime, which handles the real-time notification and coordination of a response to a critical situation. Organizations can define an "agenda" to follow when a crisis occurs, and Agenda monitors systems, such as ERP systems, for conditions that warrant a crisis. If a crisis condition exists, the "agenda" for that crisis is followed and the person(s) responsible are notified via Sametime of the situation. The Agenda system itself is comprised of two panes -- the left is the Sametime window, and the right is the Agenda workflow checklist. As the workflow is followed to resolve the crisis, the "chairperson" in charge of resolving the issue checks off the steps of the workflow. As each step is checked off, Agenda determines what the next step is and notifies the appropriate person(s) where necessary. After the workflow has been completed and the crisis has been resolved, you can configure Agenda to update and reset the crisis condition in the external system.


ActiveBuddy
ActiveBuddy Inc.
http://www.ActiveBuddy.com

ActiveBuddy is a great general "bot" tool that lets you easily create instant messaging (IM) bots that work across multiple IM platforms—Sametime, AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), Yahoo!, MSN, etc. The ActiveBuddy bots are interactive, and let you do things such as easily look up human resources information including benefits, vacation days, etc. ActiveBuddy works across multiple IM systems because it runs on a standalone ActiveBuddy server. ActiveBuddy also has a natural language interpretation feature so users don't have to remember a set of archaic commands to use the system. For instance, a user wanting to know how many vacation days she has left can simply ask the ActiveBuddy HR bot "how many vacation days do I have left?" and it responds with the appropriate number. ActiveBuddy bots are written in a simple scripting language through the use of the ActiveBuddy "BuddyScript" IDE. ActiveBuddy lets you get the most out of your instant messaging and ERP system investment, and is especially worth a look if you have a heterogeneous IM environment.

Mobile & Wireless Tools


Pylon Professional
AvantGo
http://www.avantgo.com

Several years' experience building applications that integrate Notes/Domino with mobile devices has given the new version of AvantGo Pylon Professional a maturity and capabilities that aren't matched by other offerings. Full function PIM synchronization is their forte, including effective handling of repeating appointments and meetings, handling multiple directories, etc. The new features supported by other applications are also a must-see. The performance of the synched applications on the Palm and Win/CE devices is superior to other offerings. Applications for mobile devices are easy to develop and administer with Pylon Professional.


SureWave
JP Mobile
http://www.jpmobile.com

JP Mobile SureWave is an effective tool for integrating Notes/Domino features with a variety of mobile devices. New features in PIM functions assure that synch issues are a thing of the past. Recurring meetings are handled effectively to assure that the Domino documents aren't damaged by changes made on the mobile devices. The inclusion of unique Direct Connect technology provides powerful real-time connectivity to Notes/Domino applications from the mobile device.

Messaging Management Tools


SpamJam
Granite Software Inc.
http://www.gsw.com

Unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) is rapidly becoming one of the major headaches of administrators of any Notes/Domino environment. Several vendors have created new and interesting solutions that extend the core Notes/Domino capabilities by providing "white," "black," and "grey" list detection of unwanted e-mails. Granite Software SpamJam combines some of the best concepts of each of these areas to assure that the most positive hits occur on offending messages while the fewest false-positive hits occur on real or desirable messages. By combining the rules processing in a unique manner, SpamJam reduces the administrative effort for reducing UCE. The user can have whatever level of control over the process the administrator wishes to give him. From creating a personal "white" list of acceptable e-mails to adding phrases to the "grey" list of probable UCE messages, SpamJam is ahead of the others in attacking this problem across all Domino platforms.


ClearMail
Corrigan Consulting
http://www.corriganinc.com

One powerful approach to unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE) management is to provide a rock solid gateway incoming messages must pass to be accepted. Corrigan Consulting ClearMail provides a user-definable "white" list that controls 100 percent of the e-mail messages received. If the sender isn't on the white list, the message is rejected by a server-based plug-in that can process hundreds of messages each minute. Populating the white list is very straight forward, just point the tools at the received or sent messages or the personal or corporate directories. Messages blocked by the filter are placed in an alternate folder to the user's Inbox so he can easily review them and determine if he wants to update the white list to let them through.

Security


dotNSF Tools 6.5
dotNSF
http://www.dotNSF.com

A few years ago, Lotus and IBM introduced a new technology called "single sign-on" (SSO), which lets a user log into a Domino or WebSphere server and if she navigates to the other server she isn't challenged to enter her password again. This was especially useful for truly integrated sites where the user doesn't even realize he is switching servers. SSO is extremely secure, because the credentials are strongly encrypted and stored on the user's system as a session-based cookie. SSO works great -- until you want to integrate your site with a server not from the IBM/Lotus family. SSO is a proprietary technology, and there hasn't been a way to integrate other servers into SSO -- until now. dotNSF Tools 6.5 provides a way to seamlessly include other servers, such as Microsoft IIS, Netscape iPlanet, and many more, in your SSO implementation. But this is just one of the many security-focused features of dotNSF Tools 6.5. It also lets Domino.Doc work with Microsoft IIS, and allows tight integration with Tivoli Access Manager.


Symantec Norton Anti-Virus/Filtering for Domino
Symantec
http://www.symantec.com

Symantec Norton AntiVirus/Filtering for Domino (NAV) has been a widely recognized leader in desktop antivirus integration for years. Symantec has also made a server-side solution for Domino for quite some time, but with today's increased virus infestations as well as the improvements to NAV for Domino this product rises to the top for corporate, server-side antivirus protection. NAV for Domino provides robust antivirus protection, including powerful admin tools and many features such as the ability to scan and repair attachments in databases on the fly. Some of the new features in NAV for Domino include support for Domino 6, flexible content filtering for things such as suspect attachment names, content, etc., and improved scheduling options for scheduling routine scans and maintenance.