I have to admit… once Turkey Day passes I mentally tell myself “Ok, that’s it… Lotus isn’t going to release any new software until Lotusphere.” I mean: why would they?
And yet this year, they did.
Lotus Sametime 8.5 is schedule to be released next week and it promises to be a BIG upgrade. At the top of my list of favorite new features is the zero-footprint install. That’s been the biggest pain in getting people to use Sametime in our organization (they just don’t “get” why they ask for Sametime and get Java errors).
Of course #2 on the list is the pictured iPhone client. I’m anxious to see how that works! I did a usability lab on it last year at Lotusphere and can already tell they addressed some of the issues I had with it. Well done, Lotus!
A bunch of great links are out about the new version, here’s my roundup:
- What’s new in Sametime 8.5
- Sametime 8.5 Features/Benefits (PDF)
- Lotusphere 2010 Sametime Sessions
- Sametime 8.5. How-To Video
One additional note: the YouTube video above is GREAT. Not only is it a great way to show how the product works but its something I can pass out to other users when we launch it. This is precisely the kind of thing that’s extremely helpful to have (from IBM/Lotus) for our team!
December 30th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
[...] Lotus announces Sametime 8.5 before the end of 2009 (despite me being SURE they’d wait to [...]