Lotus Mobile Connect

June 29 2009

This week will mark nine months since my return to product management.  What I love about product management, as I think I've said before, is that every day brings an unlimited amount of opportunity to get involved in "stuff" -- the tactical and strategic decisions around what products we build and how they are brought to market.  The key to being successful in product management is to know which of those daily opportunities present the ability to be impactful, and which ones are too tactical or time-wasting.  For me, this is especially interesting triage because I own or contribute to a whole range of products -- not just the Notes/Domino core, but also Symphony, Alloy, Notes Traveler, and even lesser-known products like Lotus Mobile Connect.

I'm going to guess that most of you haven't heard of this product.  It is a VPN product that used to be WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager (WECM).  I use it every day to connect my MacBook to the IBM corporate network...but it's an app I almost never think about.  See, Lotus Mobile Connect has one advantage over other VPN clients I've used before -- it's persistent.  I started it at some point, logged in, and never have to re-connect.  When I take the laptop out of standby, it re-establishes the VPN connection.  It even has roaming support, so if I switch networks, the connection remains intact.  Lotus Mobile Connect also has support for a gazillion clients and devices, and even has a client-less access mode to support tools like Lotus iNotes.

Lately, my team and I have been talking about plans for Lotus Mobile Connect.  One aspect of that decision-making is understanding where we are at in the market.  I realize that VPN software is pretty commoditized at this point, but perhaps it will be useful to some of you to know that there is another option available with an IBM Lotus name.  And hopefully, some of those interesting tactical decisions over the last few weeks will lead to something more interesting for Lotus Mobile Connect in the future.

Ed Brill | Highland Park, IL USA Category:  Lotus  Add/View Comments [27]

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  1. 1  Declan Lynch http://www.qtzar.com | 6/29/2009 10:59:20 PM

    Out of pure curiosity was Lotus Mobile Connect an external product that IBM bought and repackaged. I swear I once rolled out a product that sounds extremely similar to allow windows mobile users the ability to get email and calendars etc. and I just can't remember the name of it.

  1. 2  Mike Brown  | 6/30/2009 12:45:30 AM

    A company I was at recently used Lotus Mobile Connect. I liked it for its Mac and Linux versions.

    I was surprised and annoyed when they decided to retire it in favour of a Windows-only solution.

    You're right about VPN becoming a commodity though, Ed. Ubuntu contains OpenVPN and a Cisco-compatible VPN in its repositories. Once installed, they're integrated directly into the network settings icon on the main Ubuntu toolbar. Neat.

    Cheers,

    - Mike

  1. 3  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 6/30/2009 2:02:45 AM

    Lotus Mobile Connect comes into it's own when you're on a train and using a 3G card. Our 'other' VPN solution needs a manual reconnect when it drops, whereas LMC just reconnects silently when the 3G service comes back.

    At home I have LMC on the Mac and on the ThinkPad. I tend to leave the Mac on, but close the lid on the ThinkPad every night or when going somewhere. When the lid opens, it's back.

    One interesting point of comparison about our 'other' VPN solution and LMC is that the other supports dial-up but LMC doesn't. Yes, LMC works if a dial-up connection is established through another route, but in itself it can't dial a telephone number. However, not as issue... I can't remember the last time I had to use a modem to get a network connection - it certainly would be measured in years, probably 5 or 6, maybe more.

  1. 4  Dave Hay http://www.davehay.f2s.com | 6/30/2009 2:54:41 AM

    I've been using LMC since it was WebSphere Everyplace Connection Manager (WECM), and love it to bits - I'm currently using it on the Macbook to connect into IBM's intranet, as I'm sitting on an external network ( albeit within an IBM location ).

    Over the years, I've used LMC on Windows, Linux and now Mac OSX. It's a fantastic solution ( as others have attested ) and much much better than the previous VPN solution that we used to use - I do take Darren's point about dial up but ... really, dial-up ? That's so 90s ( 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s etc. etc. etc. ).

    Final point - take a look at this LMC video: -

    { Link }

    It tells a great story, and is quite amusing - which is a bonus

  1. 5  Paul Mooney http://www.pmooney.net | 6/30/2009 3:14:40 AM

    @1 - Dec you are thinking of the Lotus connect product they used to have - sync'd notes mail/calander with windows devices. I remember it well - it worked fine.

  1. 6  Darren http://www.dadams.co.uk | 6/30/2009 4:25:40 AM

    @6 - maybe, EasySync Pro was developed by Extended Systems. It's what I use to sync Notes data to my Palm device.

  1. 7  Michael de Haas  | 6/30/2009 5:07:46 AM

    Ed, would this not be the solution to the lack of "http passthru" in the box for iNotes users? We have competitive issues with the MSE ability to do passthru for OWA. Clients currently enable a local ISP connection to have DWA/iNotes access, but for those on Notes clients, they use passthru. If so, concerning product direction, could the HTTP portion not be included in Domino Vnext? Am I missing an easier solution currently used?

    PS: 9 months already!!! Hope you're in for some time yet, look forward to the annual reviews and additional book chapters ;_)

  1. 8  Martti Garden http://www.ibm.de | 6/30/2009 5:15:00 AM

    @1, @6 & @7 I believe the product meant is IBM Mobile Connect, which was a licensed version and rebranded of what is today OneBridge (by then Xtended Connect) and had been a server based sync solution for Palms and Windows Mobile devices. It was around the years 1999 and 2002. And yes, when WECM was renamed to Lotus Mobile Connect I was confused at first, too. ;)

  1. 9  Adam Brown http://www.isw.com.au | 6/30/2009 6:44:38 AM

    Ed one thing that might be worth considering is Express pricing for Lotus Mobile Connect. Last time I looked for one of our SMB clients (they were implementing Traveler but wanted VPN to secure the traffic) it was cost prohibitive due to the requirement for server and client licensing. It may have changed however I proposed it to a client about 12 months ago. They only had about 20 users that needed it so unfortunately when the server and client licenses were added up it was too expensive an option and another solution was taken up.

    I am hoping that I am now wrong and this isn't the case but without Express pricing models I doubt there would be much traction in the SMB space.

  1. 10  Henry Ferlauto http://www.geniusinside.com | 6/30/2009 7:24:23 AM

    I vaguely recall seeing a demo of WECM a few years ago at a user group meeting and it was impressive back then.

    How about posting a video of some of the neat features, such as persistence?

    If it is a good stand-alone VPN client for the Mac, that ability should be conveyed as well. The only two Mac VPN clients that I am aware of are the Cisco VPN client and "VPN Tracker" from Equinux.

  1. 11  Travis Hiscock http://www.kelros.com | 6/30/2009 7:29:43 AM

    Adam you are spot on, Express pricing would make all the difference to SMB customers.

    In the UK @ £60 per user and £3,500 for a single core server, no matter how good Lotus Mobile Connect is, no SMB will buy.

  1. 12  Declan Lynch http://www.qtzar.com | 6/30/2009 8:23:49 AM

    @9, That's what I was thinking of, OneBridge. IBM Mobile Connect and Lotus Mobile Connect, two very similar names but completely different products.

  1. 13  Ed Brill http://www.edbrill.com | 6/30/2009 8:35:24 AM

    @10 / @12 I appreciate the feedback on the pricing model...can't make any commitments at this point, but it's one of the facets of the product that we're looking at.

  1. 14  Flemming Riis  | 6/30/2009 4:35:04 PM

    -In the UK @ £60 per user and £3,500 for a single core server

    and if its PVU based stay away from 55xx series cpu's

  1. 15  GarryL  | 6/30/2009 5:27:27 PM

    @11 - Wow that is expensive. Obvioulsy aimed at large enterprises.

    Most SME I know simply use the VPN capabilities built into their firewall appliances - and they start at a few hundred quid.

    We still run a Net6 VPN (now owned by Citrix). I think it cost us a couple of grand for the 20 concurrent user appliance - and that was a few years ago. Still going strong! (also has persistence). Not sure what we would use next.

    Can't IBM package this us as an appliance in the same way?

  1. 16  Peter Wilson  | 6/30/2009 7:31:54 PM

    Price needs to be much more competitive, especially considering Microsoft's new VPN service built into Windows 7 - { Link }

    Pete

  1. 17  nicky  | 6/30/2009 10:52:29 PM

    { Link } Shox Electric

  1. 18  Edwin Kanis http://www.eniac.nl/essentials | 7/1/2009 3:40:50 AM

    @7

    At LS2009 i talked to the Lotus Protector guys and told them to built in a HTTP rev proxy and Passthru for Notes clients. If they do so, that product is instantly usefull.

  1. 19  David Bell  | 7/1/2009 11:17:57 AM

    Lotus Foundations has LMC embedded I believe.

  1. 20  Djalma Britto  | 7/1/2009 5:59:48 PM

    Lotus Mobile Connect - It works absolutely flawless but... More important than VPN for customers a passthru solution for Inotes I would consider more important to customers..

  1. 21  Michael de Haas  | 7/2/2009 4:20:53 AM

    Ed, enjoy your long weekend to the max.

    @20, thanks for the feedback, good to know. I vote for an iNotes passthru, included with the server !?! Would be a dedicated server in the larger accounts anyway?

  1. 22  Jürgen  | 7/7/2009 11:17:45 AM

    Lotus Mobile Connect is an excellent product.

    And it is cheap... why? It simply works, has a simple user interface, can be preconfigured, works on many platforms and generates much less helpdesk calls then most other VPN solutions.

    In addition it offers seamless SSL/HTTPS access to iNotes.

    If you haven't tried it, get it.

    Regarding pricing, I would expect IBM could integrate it with every Sametime/Domino-Server license and charge a small price per user - would be a coool tool.

  1. 23  Bill Malchisky http://www.EffectiveSoftware.com | 7/7/2009 2:51:01 PM

    Great product, Ed. Just read the product page cited. Happy that it runs on Linux as well as Mac and Windows. Will make note of this. Always looking for a better VPN client.

  1. 24  Sachin Aggarwal  | 10/19/2009 7:15:20 AM

    Hi Guys

    Quick question : where do i download Lotus Mobile Connect for Mac OS ( non intel) machine? Can I pay online for it and download it?

    thanks

    Sachin Aggarwal

  1. 25  Adil  | 12/19/2009 5:22:03 PM

    Hi Ed,

    Wanted to know if I can get lmc to work with ubuntu. I have been trying to install it through wine but it does not work. i installed the lmc debian file but am not able to install the gui.

    sudo dpkg -i --force-overwrite '/media/666806DD6806ABBD/Documents and Settings/adil/My Documents/Downloads/Old downloads/lotus-mobile-connect-gui_6.1.1.0-10_i386.deb'

    Selecting previously deselected package lotus-mobile-connect-gui.

    (Reading database ... 136849 files and directories currently installed.)

    Unpacking lotus-mobile-connect-gui (from .../lotus-mobile-connect-gui_6.1.1.0-10_i386.deb) ...

    dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of lotus-mobile-connect-gui:

    lotus-mobile-connect-gui depends on libstdc++5 (>= 1:3.3.4-1); however:

    Package libstdc++5 is not installed.

    dpkg: error processing lotus-mobile-connect-gui (--install):

    dependency problems - leaving unconfigured

    Processing triggers for desktop-file-utils ...

    Errors were encountered while processing:

    lotus-mobile-connect-gui

    Is ther any way I can connect to he intranet through ubuntu. I have a T400 with a c4eb image and am running dual boot on my laptop with ubuntu karmic.


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