This is the last
tn a series of
articles on the
strategic direc:
tions tkat Lotus
is pursuing and
the significance
of those strate-
gies to organiza-
tions planning
Jor the 1990s.

Software ven-
dors such as Lo-
tus Development.
Corp. are moving
swiftly to sup-

port user reguirements for applications
that run on networks of PCs and that
can access data anywhere within a dis-
tributed network of computers. Such
networked applications are often based
on a client/server model, composed of
front-end client applications and back-
end data servers.

Lotus plans to offer an integrated
family of products that may be used to
build front-end PC applications that op-
erate within a LAN.

Networked products from Lotus in-
clude 1-2-3 (releases 2.01, 2.2 and 3.0),
Notes and future products such as
1-2-3/G (a graphical version of 1-2-3/G
and aa M (a mainframe version of

1-2-3). i

Lotus offers a common application
programming interface CAPI) called
DataLens that provides a consistent in-
terface to external data sources.
DataLens drivers developed by Lotus
will permit users to access external data
and load it directly into a 1-2-3 spread:
sheet. Networked applications compati-
ble with DataLens will use database
servers to gain direct access to a wide
variety of data sources in many envi-:
ronments such as DB2, Oracle, dBASE,
05/2 Data Manager and CD ROM.

Lotus/DBMS Product

Lotus/DBMS is an unreleased product
that will consist, of a family of tools
used to build front-end applications that
access relational data from a back-end
database server. i

lnitial applications of the product are
likely to be the creation of forms linked
to external data sources. The product.
will work with a number of network da-
tabase servers, notably SOL Server from
Sybase.

Lotus' strategy is not to compete with
database vendors, such as IBM, Oracle,
Ashton-Tate and Ingres. Although.
Lotus/DBMS provides access to relation-
al data, it does not include a relational-
database engine.  '

Lotus has indicated that its front-end
tools will access Lotus/DBMS from both
DOS- and O8/2-based machines. Add-in

Vools will provide access to Lotus/DBMS
for 1-2-3 releases 2.01 and 2.2 under
DOS. Similarly, the Lotus Add-In Toolkit
for release 3.0 will provide access to
Lotus/DBMS for 1-2-3 release 30.

These add-ins will probably not sup-
port the extensive database-server ac-
cess to be provided through 1-2-3/G, a
graphical spreadsheet that will run un-
der OS/2 and the Presentation Manager.

Lotus/DBMS will be tightly integrated

Lotus Banks on Integrated Products to Win Front-End War

with 1-2-3/G, sharing a common menu
structure and programming capability.
The two products will transparently
and bidirectionally share data. 1-2-3/G
will be the single most important front:
end tool. The product is likely to be
available in the first guarter of 1990.

The database-server software shown
in'the figure is based on standard Struc-
tured Ouery Language (SOL) that oper-
ates with a set of data-management
tools and applications running under
OS/2 and the Presentation Manager. Us-
ing the DataLens API, 1-2-3 release 3.0 is
likely to be the first Lotus product that
will be interfaced to SOL Server,

The database-server race has been a

If properly implemetited, a move to
networked database servers will save
money. The focus will be to provide '
Lotus/DBMS database tools that will
work with multiple database engines
running on PCs, minicomputers and
mainframes. sila h

Significant players iri the SOL data-
base-server market include Gupta Tech-
nologies with SOLBase, Sybase with SOL
Server and Oracle with Oracle Server,
an SOL-based server for OS/2. IBM's
08/2 Extended Edition includes a Data-
base Manager component; that is expect-
ed to provide network support in a fu-
ture release. poči

Although Microsoft dnd IBM are de-

Lotus' Link to Data H
On a Distributed Network
Strategy Based on Lotus/DBMS; SGL Server

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Lotus' primary focus

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will be on the development of the

Lotus/DBMS tools that will work with databases that reside

on a number of platforms, including mainfi

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"me too" response from vendors, For
more than a year, database-server prod-
ucts promised to provide access to cor-
porate databases on a LAN. It is an im-
portant market that no large software
developer can afford to ignore,

08/2 is the starting point for the race
for a networked database-server prod:
uct because it is not possible to run a
database server without the memory en:
hancements and multitasking capabili-
tles of OS/2. Improvements to be gained
by moving to this technology include '
faster access to data, better security and
the elimination of the potential for sys-
tem crashes when two users simulta- ;
neously access the same record. /V//.!

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and PCs.

ii

sign partners on previous versions of
OS/2, the Extended Edition is currently
an IBM product; however, as announced
at Comdex/Fall, IBM may unbundle
components of 08/2 ded Edition
to create a common 09/2 product: The
goal of these alliances Is to create a de
facto standard or, minimally, to offer a
strong alternative to products from oth-
er vendora, s ; ;

Lotus initially based its database-serv-
er strategy on SOLBase. It then moved
to the Oracle Server and finally to SOL
Server. In September, Lotus purchased a
15 percent interest in Sybase with an
option to purchase an additional 10 per-.
cent. Microsoft and Asliton-Tate will . '

al: si
i

"[rontend tools market. The back-end da

jointly market SOL Server as part of
their product family. Thus, Lotus,
Microsoft and Ashton-Tate have all set-
tled on a database-server strategy based
on SOL Server from Sybase.

Lotus and Microsoft are implementing
different strategies with respect to
DBMS products. Although the SGL Serv-
er product to be used by both compa-
nies will run only under OS/2, Microsoft
would clearly like to "own" the SOL
Server standard and firmly put it in
place as systems software, Development:

of front-end tools will be facilitated and H
encouraged through third parties. ji

Lotus approaches the challenge of dis-

tributed-database support from the ap- j

plications end with the development of fi
tools to access a wide variety of data
sources.

These tools will work with SOL Server
as well as other database products by
using the DataLens driver technology.

Powerful Front End

The systems problems will largely be
the responsibility of Sybase, which will
be responsible for implementing cooper-
ative processing through LU 6.2 and oth-
er communication protocols. Lotus has
stated that it intends to support multi-
ple database servers across a variety of
hardware ervironments.

x ln the future, the real software battles
among vendors will take place in the

tabase-server products, used to process
aueries and manage the shared data, are
hidden from the user.

Lotus/DBMS promises to provide a
powerful front; end in a familiar format.
Lotus has stated that its primary focus
will be on the development of the front-
end Lotus/DBMS tools that will work
with databases that reside on a number
of platforms including mainframes,
minicomiputers and PCs. '

One element of the Lotus/DBMS strate-
gy is to move the Decision Support Sys:
tem (DSS) analysis to the desks of man-
agers who are comfortable working with
spreadsheets but who do not want to
perform ad hoc gueries using SOL. The
widespread use of the 1-2-3 spreadsheet
means that Lotus is well positioned to
support front-end spreadsheet, applica-
tions that use a database server to access
back-end corporate databases. This
networked client/server mode of opera-
tion will become increasingly common in
the enterprise information system of the ij
future.

Next week, I will begin a series of ar-
ticles on Rapid Application Develop-
ment, a new set of technigues and life
cycles that permit applications to be
created and modified much faster than
with traditional technigues. H

To learn more about the subject of'
these articles, please call The James
Martin Report, an information service
updated guarterly, at (800) 242-1240.
For information on seminars, please
contact (in the United. States and Can-
ada) Technology Transfer Institute,
741 10th St., Santa Monica, Calif.
90402 (213) 394:8305. In Europe, con:
taci Savant, 2 New St., Carnforth,
Lancs., LA5 9BX United Kingdom
(0524) 734 505.