Lotus Eyes ISPs as Distributors

July 5th, 2007

Lotus Development is enlisting Internet service providers to distribute its new collection of Java-based applets, code-named Kona Desktop.

In an entirely new pricing and distribution model for collaborative applications, users with Web browsers will be able to rent customized applications incorporating Kona applets on a pay-as-you-go basis from their ISP.

US West and Interliant (formerly WorldCom) are among the carriers that will participate, officials at both companies disclosed privately. Lotus outlined the plan last week at its annual Lotusphere conference in Orlando, Florida.

The software rental setup is targeted at users who may need to collaborate on a project for a short time and do not want to buy the applications required, nor license them for a long time.

For instance, 20 engineers could rent a collaborative engineering application that incorporates Kona graphics and project-scheduling applets, plus a URL and passwords to a secure workspace, for roughly $30 for one month, estimated Eric Sachs, chief technology officer at Interliant in Houston.

If somebody…can do that on an international basis, then they have something to offer us, said Dean Johnson, senior technical specialist at the Bristol, New Hampshire division of Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, a car parts manufacturer.

The Kona applets previewed at Lotusphere on IBM’s forthcoming Network Computer include a spreadsheet, text editor, chart builder, calendar, personal information manager, e-mail client, graphics applications, and a project scheduler.

The Kona applets are expected to ship this summer, and will likely be bundled on IBM and Sun NCs, a Lotus official said.

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