What is eSuite?


Why eSuite? Why now?
Powerful networking technologies that provide inexpensive, high bandwidth communications are the driving forces behind new ways to connect people together. These technologies provide the benefits of the mainframe, with the performance, flexibility, and ease of use of the PC. If you're an IT manager, this transition means you can rapidly build and deploy business solutions with less training and maintenance and with a lower total cost of operation. If you're an end user, you can focus on your work and not worry about the technologies. Finally, if you're a business partner, you can help your customers to build powerful and cost effective business solutions. Best of all, with Java, you can finally provide the cross platform portability that you've dreamed about for so long.

What is eSuite?
Lotus has created a comprehensive set of tools and applications in Java that takes advantage of our experience in client software, server software, communications, groupware, and application development to deliver a new class of software designed for both PCs and Network Computers. The eSuite family has two product lines: a Java desktop environment called the eSuite WorkPlace, and a set of tools for building Web applications called the eSuite DevPack. Both products leverage two innovative Java-related technologies called the InfoBus and the InfoCenter.

What is the eSuite WorkPlace?
Designed to run on top of any Java Virtual Machine (VM), the eSuite WorkPlace provides an elegant, intuitive, and simple user interface for network computers. Targeted toward enterprise users, the eSuite WorkPlace includes basic features used throughout the corporate world: browsing, file management, electronic mail, enterprise data access, and personal information management. The eSuite WorkPlace is task-oriented, allowing users to switch between everyday tasks at the click of a button. In addition, the UI is customizable, allowing you as a user or system administrators to tailor the WorkPlace specifically to meet your needs. More specifically, the eSuite WorkPlace provides a comprehensive set of pre-built, pre-tested, reusable, cross-platform, integrated JavaBeans-based applets, including:


What is the eSuite DevPack?
The eSuite DevPack includes many of the same applets found in the eSuite WorkPlace along with several additional applets. These include:
Also included are comprehensive documentation, sample code, and application templates. You can use DevPack applets individually, or snap them together to build powerful interactive Web applications. Each applet provides all the common functionality that you need, without the specialized features that you may not need everyday.

Does eSuite replace my Suite software?
Many users will continue to use PC hardware, and comprehensive suites of application software. But many current PC users, and tens of millions of people who use "green screen" terminals like 3270s and VT-100s, will move to Network Computers. And on those NCs, they'll use the Lotus eSuite WorkPlace. IT organizations and Lotus Business Partners will use them to build powerful and cost effective business solutions accessible from PCs, workstations, or Network Computers.

To read more about the future of net-centric computing check out our white paper, Evaluating Desktop Applications for the Network-Centric Computing Environment.