IBM/Lotus will ship the next version of its free Symphony productivity suite, code-named Vienna, before the end of June and then follow it up with two more versions by March 2011 that include a laundry list of news features.

A beta of Vienna will be made available at next week's Lotusphere conference. During the next 12 months IBM/Lotus will release two more new versions, code-named Amsterdam and Berlin.

Vienna will move the suite onto the OpenOffice.org 3.x code base and will include support for the Open Document Format 1.2, support for OLE objects and VBA macros, and signed plug-ins.

In addition Lotus will provide an add-on installer for Notes, enhance existing import features in Symphony for Office 2007, add new charts capabilities, graphic objects rendering, and richer Java and LotusScript APIs. Vienna also continues support for the .docx format that was at the heart of the i4i patent infringement suit against Microsoft.

Vienna, which will officially be called Symphony 2.0 when it ships, also will feature nested tables and multi-page display in the Documents application, an increase to 1,024 in the maximum number of columns allowed for the Spreadsheet program, and multi-monitor support and audio/video support in the Presentation application. Those three applications make up the Symphony suite, which Lotus touts as a cost-effective alternative to Microsoft Office and Google Docs.

IBM/Lotus plans to follow-up Vienna with a "feature enablement and maintenance" update code-named Amsterdam by the end of September. The release will further refine VBA macros and Office 2007 support and include document filters for the HTML file format. The release also will include enhancements to APIs for presentation and documents, templates for business content, and central management tweaks centered on preference, policy and deployment.

In the first half of 2011, IBM/Lotus will again update the Symphony suite with more VB macro enhancements, improve links to other Lotus software such as Foundations and Connections, and add more API enhancements.

IBM, VMware and Keepod products family manufacturer NSEC, today announced that they have partnered to offer IBM's Lotus Symphony productivity software suite on Keepod devices for the first time.

IBM's Lotus Symphony software suite helps users create, edit and share documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Based on an open, secure platform, the intuitive business productivity offering is easy-to-use and free of charge. With today's news, for the first time, users can access the information they need anytime, anywhere securely via the Keepod.

This portable version of the software, packaged using VMware ThinApp™ and made possible through an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement between IBM and NSEC, can be launched directly from any Keepod device, without installing anything on the PC and without leaving a footprint on the system. Launching Lotus Symphony directly from Keepod means that users won’t leave any trace of their work, which may be confidential in nature.



Keepod is the world’s slimmest USB secure portable device. Sized as a credit card and equipped with robust enterprise class encryption, Keepod provides a complete offering for business users. With up to 16GB of secure storage, Keepod stores all the user’s files and run applications on the go.

“With this Keepod offering, we are able to extend Symphony benefits to many new users,” said Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president, Messaging and Collaboration, IBM Lotus. “Our goal with Lotus Symphony software is to provide a fully capable alternative to Microsoft Office, giving business and consumers alike real choice and cost savings.”

VMware ThinApp is an enterprise-proven, agentless application virtualization solution with the lowest total cost of ownership. ThinApp seamlessly fits into any environment, streamlines application deployments by packaging an entire application including its settings into a single executable that is isolated from the OS, ensures compatibility and portability, and reduces costly regression testing and application conflicts.

VMware ThinApp application virtualization software enables IBM to deliver the complete Lotus Symphony suite on Keepod devices to enable maximum mobility to end users and allow them to work securely anywhere.

“The combined solution of Keepod, VMware ThinApp and Lotus Symphony allows for greater mobility of office automation software and provides secured access to corporate applications on the road or from home,” said Patrick Harr, vice president of Enterprise Desktop Marketing, Desktop Business Unit, VMware.  
The Keepod-compatible version of the software is being offered free of charge, exclusively via the Keepod Online Store (store.mykeepod.com). Visitors can download the virtualized Lotus Symphony on their Keepod after a fast registration process. The solution is available for current Keepod customers as well as new users who can download and test the software after registration.

“A free of charge professional office productivity suite, that is available to use at any-time, in a secure way, on any PC regardless of internet or network connectivity, sounded like a very good idea,” said Nissan Bahar, CEO of NSEC. ”Delivering applications on the Keepod platform provides a real added value to businesses in terms of mobility, IT flexibility, security and cutting costs. Partnering with IBM and VMware created a solution that is a safe choice for IT managers in businesses of any size.”

NSEC recently launched its Online Software Market, which leverages the VMware platform, and began providing virtualized open-source software that Keepod users can freely download and use on their Keepod devices.

Thanks to Lotus Symphony software, businesses can control software acquisition and upgrade costs, provide compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats, protect future access to documents with support for Open Document Format, and support a global workforce with Lotus Symphony's native language support for more than 28 languages.

American IT giant IBM plans to have its staff abandon Microsoft office software. According to a report in German daily Handelsblatt, the some 360,000 employees of the firm are to switch from the MS Office Suite to IBM's own Lotus Symphony. The paper's report (German link), is based on leaked internal IBM correspondence from upper management. IBM's internal move away from Micrsoft Office began in June 2008 with early pilots. By the end of the year, IBM documents are to be created in the ODF format, which is license-free for everyone.

Microsoft Office will then only be installed at IBM with prior approval. The instructions from the end of August stipulate that Symphony has to be installed on all company computers within ten workdays. 330,000 employees have reportedly already switched. The goal is apparently not to save money. Rather, IBM wants to make sure that all information will remain available on all IT platforms and on the internet.

IBM apparently plans to use only open formats, but not necessarily open source; Lotus Symphony is based on the old version 1.x of OpenOffice and supports Documents, Spreadsheets and Presentations. Although the OpenOffice code was open source, the license at the time allowed companies not to release their changes; IBM made use of this and Symphony source code changes have not been open sourced, although Lotus Symphony is free of charge, requiring only user registration. IBM developers have changed the office suite in some crucial areas too. For instance, IBM's office suite has its own interface, and three programs have been left out: Drawing, Formula, and Database. The most recent version was Lotus Symphony 1.3 which was released in June.

IBM Thursday announced upgrades to and a roadmap for its 15-month-old Lotus Symphony suite of productivity tools, emphasizing it indeed offers an alternative to Microsoft Office.

The move comes after Microsoft recently said that a court order to remove Office from store shelves next month could leave consumers and businesses "stranded without an alternative set of software."

Microsoft is battling a patent infringement case brought by Toronto-based i4i over XML file formats. The 2007 case resulted in a $290 million judgment against Microsoft and an injunction that bars it from selling Word 2003 and Word 2007 after Oct. 10 unless the offending technology is removed.

"What we are trying to do with Symphony is establish that there is an option in the market and companies don’t have to spend the money they spend for productivity suites," says Ed Brill, director of product management for Lotus Software.

But for now IBM, which offers Symphony as a free download and the default productivity software in Notes/Domino 8, is adding a new set of drag-and-drop widgets that include integration with popular Microsoft backend software such as the SharePoint Server. The software also integrates with Google Gadgets and Lotus’s own Sametime and Connections platforms.
Part of the widget package is the OrgChart Widget, which integrates with profiles in Lotus Connections so users can be added into meetings that convene online with a single click.

Other widgets include the Learning Widget, which combines local and Web-based information; a Team Workspace Widget that provides access to documents stored in Lotus Quickr or Microsoft SharePoint; the Symphony 2 Wiki Widgets provide conversion of documents for publishing on wikis; the Treasure Box Widget keeps a "favorites list" inside Symphony of frequently used documents, graphics and applications; and the Export Graphic Widget supports export of common formats such as .gif, .jpeg, .png, .bmp.

In addition, the ChartShare Widget provides screen sharing for up to 20 people with support for co-creation and editing of presentations. It also supports integration with Lotus Sametime Unyte Live’s meeting capability. The ChartShare Widget also gives presence information on every contributor to the presentation and a link to instant messaging.

Title	URL	Format
Getting Started
New features overview - IBM Lotus Symphony 1.3	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/New_Features_13/Symphony13NewFeatures.htm	Tour
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets Tour	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/pdf/N8T40/start_n8t40.htm	Tour
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets Tutorial	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/tutorial/en/spreadsheets_tutorial/course_files/frameset.htm	Tutorial
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Documents Tour	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/pdf/N8T30/start_n8t30.htm	Tour
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Documents Tutorial	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/tutorial/en/documents_tutorial/course_files/frameset.htm	Tutorial
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations Tour	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/pdf/N8T50/start_n8t50.htm	Tour
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations Tutorial	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/tutorial/en/presentations_tutorial/course_files/frameset.htm	Tutorial

Title	URL	Format
On-line courses
Introduction to IBM Lotus Symphony 1.3	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009043253PMJBJBYH.htm	Course
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Documents 1.3	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009102311AMKMDJT4.htm	Course
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets 1.3	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki .nsf/dx/07022009025500PMKMDQ4W.htm	Course
Formatting and Protecting a Spreadsheet in IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07102009102247AMKMDJSS.htm	Course
Working with Advanced Calculation Tools in IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07102009103708AMKMDK3P.htm	Course
DataPilot Tutorial	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07202009101127AMLBAKR3.htm	Tutorial
Getting Started with IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations 1.3	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009045147PMJBJCCA.htm	Course
Working with Pages and Views in IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009051509PMJBJCSV.htm	Course
Modifying Text and Graphics In IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009050453PMJBJCLG.htm	Course
Delivering Screen Shows Using Templates and Transitions in IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009113901AMKMDLAF.htm	Course
Working with Charts, Flow Charts, and Tables in IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/lswiki.nsf/dx/07022009104258AMKMDK7E.htm	Course
Lotus Symphony 1.3 – Seamless Customization & Integration via Symphony Toolkit	https://www-304.ibm.com/jct01005c/isv/spc/events/description.jsp?event=9677D17B0BF0674D852574D60064F20B	Web Seminar – For Developers

Title	URL	Format
Reference Cards
Migrating from Microsoft Word
Moving from Microsoft Word: Toolbar Reference Card	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/refcards/1.3/toolbar/n8r30_refcarddita-pdf-minimal.pd f	Reference Card
Moving from Microsoft Word : Keyboard Reference Card	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/refcards/1.3/keyboard/n8r30_shortcutdita-pdf-minimal.pdf	Reference Card
Migrating from Microsoft PowerPoint
Moving from Microsoft Power Point: Toolbar Reference Card	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/refcards/1.3/toolbar/n8r50_refcarddita-pdf-minimal.pdf	Reference Card
Moving from Microsoft Power Point:  Keyboard Reference Card	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/refcards/1.3/keyboard/n8r50_shortcutdita-pdf-minimal.pdf	Reference Card
Migrating from Microsoft Excel
Moving from Microsoft Excel: Toolbar Reference Card	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/refcards/1.3/toolbar/n8r40_refcarddita-pdf-minimal.pdf	Reference Card
Moving from Microsoft Excel: Keyboard Reference Card	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/refcards/1.3/keyboard/n8r40_shortcutdita-pdf-minimal.pdf	Reference Card

Title	URL	Format
Short Show Me Videos
Show me: Lotus Symphony Documents
IBM Lotus Symphony - Adding graphics	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Adding_Graphics/adding_graphics_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Changing preferences for a document	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/we/DocumentFilePref/DocumentFilePref_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Creating a frame on a page	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/we/DocumentsFrame/Docu mentsFrame_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Creating a table of contents for a document	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/we/tableofcontents/tableofcontents_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Creating charts	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/we/CreatingChart/creating-charts_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Creating lists	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/we/CreatingList/creating-lists_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Creating tables	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/we/CreatingTable/creating-tables_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Formatting text, graphics, and shapes	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Properties_Sidebar/properties_sidebar_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Installing plug-ins in Lotus Symphony	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Install_Plugin_Demo/Installing_Plugins.htm	Demo
Tracking document changes	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Tracking_Changes/tracking_changes_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Uninstalling plug-ins in Lotus Symphony	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Uninstalling_Plugins/Uninstalling_Plugins.htm	Demo
Using keyboard navigation (accessibillity) in IBM Lotus Symphony Documents	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Accessibility_Documents/accessibility_documents_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Show me: Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets
IBM Lotus Symphony - Adding graphics	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Adding_Graphics/adding_graphics_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Adding graphics and a title to a spreadsheet	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/se/AddGrahics/add-graphics-and-title_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Changing preferences for a spreadsheet	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/se/spreadshFilePref/spreadshFilePref_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Copying Notes view data into a Symphony spreadsheet	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Copy_Notes_view_spreadsheets_Demo/Copy_Notes_view_to_spreadsheet.htm	Demo
Copying data from existing spreadsheets to a new spreadsheet	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/se/CopyData/copy-data-to-new-spreadsheet_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Formatting text, graphics, and shapes	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Properties_Sidebar/properties_sidebar_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Importing and exporting a spreadsheet	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/se/ImportExport/Importing-exporting-spreadsheets_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Installing plug-ins in Lotus Symphony	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Install_Plugin_Demo/Installing_Plugins.htm	Demo
Modifying a spreadsheet	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/se/Modify/Modifying-spreadsheets_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Uninstalling plug-ins in Lotus Symphony	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Uninstalling_Plugins/Uninstalling_Plugins.htm	Demo
Using keyboard navigation (accessibillity ) in IBM Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Accessibility_Spreadsheets/accessibility_spreadsheets_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Using the Navigator to find a sheet in a spreadsheet	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/se/speadsheetNavigator/speadsheetNavigator_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Show me: Lotus Symphony Presentations
Adding a graphic to a presentation	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/pe/prezAddGraphic/prezAddGraphic_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
IBM Lotus Symphony - Adding graphics	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Adding_Graphics/adding_graphics_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Building a flow diagram with Symphony Presentations	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/symphony_flowdiagram/symphony_flowdiagram.htm	Demo
Changing a page layout for a presentation	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/pe/changeLayout/changeLayout_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Changing preferences for a presentation	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/pe/prezFilePref/prezFilePref_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Creating a basic presentation from a template	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Task_demo/create_presentation/create_presentation_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Formatting text, graphics, and shapes	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Properties_Sidebar/properties_sidebar_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Main features of IBM Lotus Presentations	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/pe/prezOverview/prezOverview_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Running a presentation as a screen show	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/pe/prezscreenshow/prezscreenshow_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Installing plug-ins in Lotus Symphony	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Install_Plugin_Demo/Installing_Plugins.htm	Demo
Uninstalling plug-ins in Lotus Symphony	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Uninstalling_Plugins/Uninstalling_Plugins.htm	Demo
Using keyboard navigation (accessibillity) in IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/Symphony/Accessibility_Presentations/accessibility_presentations_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Using views when building a presentation	http://symphony.lotus.com/idcontents/swf/pe/prezUsingViews/prezUsingViews_viewlet_swf.html	Demo
Working With Graphics in IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/idc/symphony/videos/video_6/video6.html	Demo
Working With Templates and Master Pages in IBM Lotus Symphony Presentations	http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/lotus/idc/symphony/videos/video_5/video5.html	Demo

Title	URL	Format
Courseware for Facilitators
•        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets Basics •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Presentations Basics •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Documents Basics •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets Beyond Basics •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Presentations Beyond Basics •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Documents Beyond Basics •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Spreadsheets Power User •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Presentations Power User •        Lesson Planner: Lotus Symphony Documents Power User	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/learnwiki.nsf/xpViewCategories.xsp?lookupName=Lotus%20Symphony	Courseware materials
Training Kit: Lotus Symphony	http://www-10.lotus.com/ldd/learnwiki.nsf/xpViewCategories.xsp?lookupName=Lotus%20Symphony	Courseware materials

What's New in Symphony 1.3?

Functional enhancements:

* Enabled Microsoft Office 2007 files import support.
* Significant enhancements in DataPilot in spreadsheets, including show/hide field items panel, drill down to details, DataPilot cache support, and default styles.
* Numbering enhancement in documents to improve interoperability with Microsoft Word.
* Enabled Microsoft Office and IBM Lotus SmartSuite password protection support for spreadsheets.
* Enabled network URI access and hyperlink support that allows you to create network connection hyperlinks for URI protocols including FTP, MailTo, and SMB.
* Enabled envelope support which allows you to create an envelope, set envelope properties, and set printing options.
* Enabled Widgets Catalog server support.
* Improved print performance.
* Enabled Sumproduct's ForceArray formula support in spreadsheets.
* Significant start-up performance improvement on Mac OS X.

Usability enhancements:

* In presentations, page layout is more visible by locating the Properties sidebar in the right panel.
* Provided better animation effects interoperability with Microsoft PowerPoint on font-relative effects, fade-exit effects, and multiple motion paths; and enabled the animation play at automatic page transitions.
* Provided an automatic cursor in presentation screen shows as a default option.
* Presentation pages can be deleted continuously without any prompt.
* Provided new graphic bullets and clip art.
* Provided enhanced color pallette in color picker.
* Enhancements in live text.
* Enabled support that allows you to open a file by dragging and dropping a file to the home page or the New.
* A continuous improvement in mail merge in documents.
* Default font is changed to Arial in presentations and documents.
* Enlarged the pull-down list length upper limit to 20 items to make more options visible.
* Enabled Ctrl+left Shift and Ctrl+right Shift hotkey support to switch BIDI layout.
* Enhanced toolbar and main menu usability.

Programmability enhancements:

* Provided rich Lotus Symphony document model APIs for Spreadsheets and Documents.

Online help enhancements:

* Enhanced help content for spreadsheets, common, and preferences topics.

Web site:

* Added drag-to-install function in the Plug-ins section.
* Added support for multiple downloads and enabled Atom feeds for clip art and templates in the Gallery section.
* Expanded search function for the Forum.
* Rotated announcements on the Home page.

IBM Unleashes New Symphony for Millions of Microsoft Office Customers

IBM (NYSE: IBM) is offering millions of companies and consumers the chance to save hundreds of dollars on each of their Microsoft Office licenses by providing support for Microsoft Office 2007 with the newest version of Lotus Symphony, IBM's free of charge productivity software suite. This could translate into millions of dollars in savings at many large companies that are looking for financial relief in the current economy.

The ability to import Microsoft Office 2007 files into Symphony means that Microsoft Office customers can save on licensing costs by switching to Symphony while retaining access to, and easy use of, the contents of their Office files. Lotus Symphony version 1.3 is now available free of charge on the Web at http://www-01.ibm.com/software/lotus/products/symphony/. In addition, Symphony is shipped with every copy of Lotus Notes and Lotus Foundations software. View the Symphony video.

IBM's alternative to Microsoft Office 2007 makes cost-free document software a legitimate option for many companies around the business world which want to realize cost-efficiencies in the current economic climate but require assurance of the quality and reliability of the technology.

In addition to adding support for Microsoft Office 2007 file formats, Lotus Symphony 1.3 offers DataPilot Table improvements that make it easy to drill down and analyze data. It also enhances mail merge and envelope printing for organizations that need simple, efficient ways to communicate with their customers. Symphony 1.3 also provides animation to add sizzle to presentations and interoperate with Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.

The new version of Symphony allows users to drag-and-drop plug-ins, extending its use to other business applications. For example, a new learning plug-in can be installed on the right sidebar to help people learn new Symphony capabilities in real-time use.

"IBM is delivering on its commitment to free businesses and consumers from having to pay licensing fees over and over just to access their own personal or company information," said Kevin Cavanaugh, VP of Lotus Software. "Now, it will be much harder to justify paying Office licensing fees when you can preserve and access your Office documents for free using Lotus Symphony."

Reducing fixed costs in challenging times is important to Cluttons, a partnership of chartered surveyors, founded in 1765. Through a network of offices in the U.K., Europe, Middle East, South Africa and the Caribbean, Cluttons offer a very wide range of professional property management, agency and consultancy services across the commercial and residential sectors, for both investors and occupiers. In recent years, Cluttons delivered Microsoft Windows desktop, including Microsoft Office, IBM Lotus Notes and business applications to its users via a virtualized environment based on Citrix. Now it plans to switch from Office to Symphony, used with Lotus Notes 8.5.

Mark Clemence, Cluttons IT Director, stated, "The opportunity to use fully supported office productivity tools as part of the deployment of Lotus Notes 8.5 was too good an opportunity to be missed. We plan to use the cost saving to further invest in Lotus productivity tool sets."

Another Symphony customer, The John Lewis Partnership (JLP), owns the leading U.K. retail businesses Waitrose, John Lewis and Greenbee. All 69,000 of its permanent staff are partners who own 27 John Lewis department stores, 210 Waitrose supermarkets (www.waitrose.com), an online and catalogue business, johnlewis.com (www.johnlewis.com), a direct services company, Greenbee (www.greenbee.com), a production unit and a farm with nearly 6.9GBP billion in revenue in 2008.

JLP was determined to control costs within a competitive retail environment to deliver first-class service and products to John Lewis customers. It plans to deploy Symphony to approximately 8,000 employees. Providing Microsoft Office to all staff in John Lewis Department Stores was evaluated, but determined to be cost-prohibitive.

Recently Italian food distributor Gruppo Amadori began converting its 6,000 employees to Symphony on Linux desktops from an Office and Windows environment as part of a cost-control strategy. The IBM Linux desktop includes Lotus Notes, Lotus Sametime and Lotus Quickr in addition to Symphony.

New businesses are forming around the rising demand to migrate from Microsoft Office to Symphony. For example, Indellient (www.indellient.com), based in Montreal, Canada offers migration services such as Asset Conversion Inspector and Notes Integration Inspector which can help larger organizations understand their Microsoft Office dependencies. Indellient is also providing products specifically for the small-medium business market and the Lotus business partner channel with Web-based Document Conversion Services and Personalized Template Packs. These services allow SMB business partners to offer their customers an easy and cost-effective set of business automated templates, for an efficient and professional look and feel to their communications.

The 2007 Microsoft Office system already provides support for 20 different document formats within Microsoft Office Word, Office Excel and Office PowerPoint. With the release of Microsoft Office 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) scheduled for the first half of 2009, the list will grow to include support for XML Paper Specification (XPS), Portable Document Format (PDF) 1.5, PDF/A and Open Document Format (ODF) v1.1.

When using SP2, customers will be able to open, edit and save documents using ODF and save documents into the XPS and PDF fixed formats from directly within the application without having to install any other code. It will also allow customers to set ODF as the default file format for Office 2007. To also provide ODF support for users of earlier versions of Microsoft Office (Office XP and Office 2003), Microsoft will continue to collaborate with the open source community in the ongoing development of the Open XML-ODF translator project on SourceForge.net.

The new entry to the mix is Microsoft Office 2007 SP2, which has added integrated ODF support. Unfortunately this support did not fare well in my tests. The problem appears to be how it treats spreadsheet formulas in ODF documents. When reading an ODF document, Excel SP2 silently strips out formulas. What is left is the last value that cell had, when previously saved.

In the other direction, when writing out spreadsheets in ODF format, Excel 2007 SP2 does include spreadsheet formulas but places them into an Excel namespace. This namespace is not what OpenOffice and other ODF applications use. It is not the ODF 1.2 namespace. It isn't even the OOXML namespace. I have no idea what it is or what it means. Not every ODF application checks the namespace of formulas when loading documents, but the ones that do reject the SP2 documents altogether. And the ones that do not check the namespace try and fail to load a formula since it is syntactically different than what they expected. The applications essentially display a corrupted document that is shows neither the formula nor the value correctly. For example, a SP2 document, loaded in MS Office using the Sun ODF Plugin looks like this:



Similar corruption occurs when loading the Excel 2007 SP2 spreadsheet into KSpread, Symphony and OpenOffice. Google doesn't import the document at all.

Of course, I am not that cynical. I was taught to never assume malice where incompetence would be the simpler explanation. But the degree of incompetence needed to explain SP2's poor ODF support boggles the mind and leads me to further uncharitable thoughts. So I must stop here.

Announcing the Public Availability of the Learning Plug-In for IBM Lotus Symphony!

Overview:
The Learning Plug-In for IBM Lotus Symphony is now available on the Lotus Symphony wiki.  Download and install the plug-in to access end-user learning materials.

Details:
The Learning Plug-In for IBM Lotus Symphony is a sidebar plug-in that is used to view and filter learning materials inside IBM Lotus Symphony 1.2.  Download and install the plug-in to access the following types of Lotus Symphony user training materials:
       •        Show me Demos
       •        Tutorials
       •        Video Tours
       •        Web Seminars
       •        Reference Cards

You can filter content by Symphony Documents, Spreadsheets, or Presentations.

You can provide feedback about the plug-in by right-clicking on any topic or resource. Select Feedback from the context menu to display a form that you can use to provide the plug-in team with your feedback.

The plug-in will be available soon on the plug-ins page of the Lotus Symphony Web site. But you can get it now on the Lotus Symphony Wiki.

My verdict: Desktop Linux is a great choice for many regular Joes with basic computer needs. And not just on netbooks.

In fact, I found that it makes a lot of sense to standardize office workers on desktop Linux. I now understand why governments in Asia and Europe say they want to get off the Microsoft train and shift to Linux. I thought these were empty threats meant to get better licensing deals or to blunt some of Microsoft's monopolistic power, but as it turns out, desktop Linux is a worthwhile option for both public organizations and private companies. Those who standardize on Linux would save serious money on the new equipment needed for Vista or Windows 7, not to mention OS and Office upgrades as well. Your business could, too.

Moreover, Linux-based shops would require significantly less training than they would to teach staff Vista or Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2007.

OpenOffice is a sound alternative to Microsoft Office, but I spent most of my time with the free IBM Lotus Symphony, which is a slightly better productivity suite than OpenOffice, in the InfoWorld Test Center's evaluation. It's simply more refined and will be easier for Office users to adapt to, even though it lacks the database and drawing applications that OpenOffice has. I'm sure there are features in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that Symphony and OpenOffice can't match, but you can bet that for 80 percent or more of your "knowledge workers," sales staff, and so on that Symphony or OpenOffice will do the job.

I'm not suggesting every organization chuck its Windows or Mac OSes for desktop Linux. But many companies, government agencies, and educational institutions can chuck at least some of them. Those based on XP -- or Windows 2000, which still has a huge installed base in government agencies -- can look to big savings on licensing, hardware, and training costs.

Desktop Linux and its core productivity apps are solid and worth serious consideration for many of your users' PCs. Try it yourself.

Overall Rating: 9; “I might keep this one and uninstall OpenOffice. I like it that much.”

A summary of all Lotus Symphony activities taking place at Lotusphere 2009:


Your guide to the symphony at Lotusphere 2009

Here is an overview of the opportunities to learn more about Lotus Symphony while at Lotusphere 2009.

Sessions


Labs
Come see Lotus Symphony in action and talk with the technical team in either the Meet the Developers Lab or the Lotus Solutions Development Lab.

Showcase floor
Come visit us at Pedestal # IBM30 to see Lotus Symphony and ask questions.

The Lotus Symphony Cafe
Join our team for coffee, tea or something a little stronger ... and learn more about Lotus Symphony. The Lotus Symphony team is offering a relaxed environment to meet with experts, ask questions, discuss future product directions. Or, just catch your breath and rest relax.
Conveniently located at the top of the Dolphin Hotel escalators at the Lobby Lounge.
Lotus Symphony cafe hours are:
Monday 4:00pm-6:00pm
Tuesday 7:00am-9:00am, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Wednesday 7:00am-9:00am, 4:00pm-6:00pm
Thursday 8:00am-10:00am

The Lotus Symphony Developer's Workshop
This hands-on lab teach you to integrate Lotus Symphony with your Lotus Notes applications with the new LotusSymphony LotusScript API. Space is limited, so register today:
Where: Europe 3, Dolphin
When: Choose from three session times:
Tuesday 10:00am-12:00pm
Tuesday 2:00pm- 4:00pm
Wednesday10:00am-12:00pm

This guide is also available as a PDF for download.

Great Opportunity: Lotus Symphony Developer's Workshop.
Introducing Lotus Symphony LotusScript API.

Notes Developers and Business Partners have been waiting for a Lotus Symphony LotusScript API -- it has arrived! This hands-on workshop will teach you how to integrate Notes and Symphony applications with the new Lotus Symphony LotusScript API.

With the API model and documentation structure similar to Notes or SmartSuite LotusScript API, Notes developers are going to easily and quickly be productive. Participants learn how easily one can access Symphony using LotusScript, and manipulate the most frequently used objects (paragraphs, tables, fields, charts, datapilots) in document and spreadsheet applications using LotusScript.

Upon completion, participants should leave a solid understand of how to control Lotus Symphony with Notes using LotusScript API. You can register here as these are popular sessions and quickly get filled.

https://www.ibm.com/events/swgeer/swgeer06.nsf/signin?openform&seminar=kwodcoe7n3ngv&lang=en

IBM announced the availability of Lotus Notes 8.5, as well as the upcoming availability, later this month, of Lotus Symphony document, spreadsheet and presentation software for the Mac.

Notes 8.5 improves storage efficiency over previous versions, offers a tweaked user interface, integration with Google, Yahoo, and hundreds of other public Internet calendars. Notes also runs in Windows and Linux devices.

Symphony is derived from the OpenOffice.org codebase. My colleague Serdar Yegulalp, who reviewed it last month as part of an overview of open-source office suites, described it as "OpenOffice.org, plus polish."

In this IDC white paper, we take a look at the importance of providing the appropriate set of productivity tools to diverse workforces. We provide a five-step process for ensuring that organizations are equipping workers with the productivity tools they need based on individual job requirements and skills rather than relying solely on a "one-size-fits-all" or nothing approach taken in many organizations.

There are three key challenges to organizations and vendors looking to change the productivity tool status quo. The first challenge is the limited awareness that exists among IT and business users about the growing range of productivity tools and suites that are available for business use. This creates a chicken-and-egg situation where users wait for these lesser-known products to become popular before considering using them, which limits the pace at which these products can gain popularity. Not surprisingly, business users, rather than IT, often feel the pain and try finding relief through free downloadable software and hosted services.

The second challenge is the notion that it is better to stick with the status quo because any change poses risks that are best avoided. This is a very common idea that applies beyond productivity tools to just about any decision inside and outside the workplace. The fallacy of this way of thinking is that maintaining the status quo actively perpetuates a past decision that may have been right when made but due to changing circumstances no longer represents the best option for today. Being blindly stuck to the status quo continues to disenfranchise workers who were not given access to productivity tools in the past but who could benefit from such tools today.  

The third challenge is the notion that continuing to use the most popular commercial productivity suites avoids file interoperability issues. The fallacy of this approach is that interoperability problems may still exist due to the use of different versions of those products. In addition, the degree to which common proprietary and open file formats are supported varies between productivity tools. Only by evaluating the file format support in different productivity tools and suites will organizations be able to determine which tools are best for their workers, taking into consideration file interoperability as well as other important criteria.

Open Source Software is about more than just the Linux operating system, and 2008 brought advances in the form of OpenOffice.org, IBM Lotus Symphony, Firefox and Android. But Linux is still the heart of the FOSS movement, and this year brought key developments in the operating system as well. Here's a look at the coolest open source products to come across the transom in 2008.

Desktop Application

WINNER: IBM Lotus Symphony
Lotus Symphony acts much like Microsoft Office, which is good if you are looking for something to replace Office at a fraction of the cost (free!). It's not so good if you are looking for something entirely different from Office, but there aren't many free suites that accomplish that yet. There are plenty of individual applications out there, but most office productivity suites at the moment are, more or less, Office clones.

Symphony consists of word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications. Based on the Open Document Format standard, Symphony saves all documents by default to that format. It can open and edit documents created under OpenOffice and other applications that also follow ODF. Symphony can also open and edit all Office documents saved in the older .doc format. Documents created in Office 2007 with the newer .docx (.xlsx and .pptx) formats can't be opened under Symphony.

The Office 2007 installation here at the Test Center by default saves documents in the Office 97-2003 format (in the interest of backward-compatibility) so there were no problems editing files created in Symphony under Office 2007, or vice versa. The Test Center found Symphony a snap to use, and switching to Symphony after years of using Microsoft Office was painless.

Great to see the recognition of the work the Symphony team has put in during 2008 to ship three releases (1.0, 1.1, 1.2), translate to 28 languages, and support millions of downloads during the year.  Congratulations to the team!