Lotusphere 99: Lotus ports Domino R5 to Linux

Lotus is to port its Domino R5 groupware to the Linux operating system, but said it has no plans to run the Notes client on the open source operating system in the immediate future.

Speaking exclusively to Silicon.com, VP of product management, Cliff Reeves, said: "You will have to watch and wait to see Linux on the desktop."

He added that Lotus has seen an "immediate demand on the server side," and it will continue to watch the market, and move when there is demand to port to Linux on the desktop.

Lotus CEO and president Jeff Papows admitted that his "personal perspective has changed over the year as Linux's importance has grown". He stressed that in spite of the deal, Lotus has no commitment to the open source movement as a whole.

The company claims that this week's announcement marks the first time that proven mainstream collaborative software will run on Linux. Domino R5 will use two commercial flavours of Linux - Red Hat 6.0 and Caldera.

Lotus officials and partners stressed that it offers a more cost-effective way to get Domino R5, and that will be attractive to small businesses.

A sneak preview for evaluation is been available on the company Web site,
and has taken 60,000 downloads since the beginning of August.

The Linux version of Domino R5 will be available by the end of November.