IT Factory, a provider of collaborative software and one of Lotus Development's largest business partners, will announce next week it is developing a collaborative application architecture for Microsoft 's Exchange 2000 platform.
The move amounts to a strong endorsement of Exchange's new capabilities. Until now, IT Factory has worked strictly on Lotus' Domino/Notes platform.
The announcement will be made Tuesday in Dallas at Microsoft's Exchange and Collaboration Solutions conference in Dallas, where Exchange 2000 will be launched.
IT Factory officials said the decision is not an abandonment of its Lotus roots, but is instead a move to exploit some of the improvements Microsoft has made in Exchange.
'Still committed to Lotus'
"The addition of the Web Store is really the change that made it possible," said Lars Johansen, CEO of IT Factory, in Cambridge, Mass. "We're still very committed to Lotus, but we can't ignore the Microsoft platform."
Johansen said the company plans to deliver a suite of office applications to Exchange users sometime in the first half of 2001.
The XML-based products, which will include sales-force automation, CRM (customer relationship management), human resources and help desk applications, will be developed using Microsoft's APIs to ensure a good fit with Exchange.
