Abstract on Advantages of Lotus Notes Over Outlook!

Emailing is undisputedly a sole mode of business communication. Hence this arena is widespread and today it is being captured by several email services. Lotus Notes and Outlook being the most dominant email platforms, there is always a debate over which mail service is better. Overall, both Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook perform well while providing basic facilities like email, address book management, calendaring, etc. But when we analyze both email services more closely, Lotus Notes stands upright with its bright features and exceptional service. Security, architecture, and customizability are prime and opulent facilities Notes nurtures. To be honest, there is lot more to explore! Let us take a glimpse on advantages of Lotus Notes over Outlook email platform. 

How Notes Excels Over Outlook? - Parameters Explored!

Offline Access: Notes email data in various mailboxes are stored in as per-user databases known as NSF files. These mailboxes can be copied locally for better performance and it also lets users to get a grip on what should be copied from server to mailboxes in an organized manner. One can provide extremely minute details for this to enhance this functionality. For example, settings can be done to receive emails as; partial, only-summary, or full email. You can also specify to download smallest emails first or limit attachments’ size to pre-defined size. Criteria can be set as per formula language for documents meeting; you can receive emails in pre-defined folders to manage disk space.

Just like Lotus Notes, MS Outlook works in both modes as online and offline for Exchange mode. Cached mode can be utilized to create an OST file which can be used offline using Outlook. However when compared to Lotus Notes, Outlook does not allow you to choose what to download and what to not. It will rather replicate all the data of server data. The only way available to apply conditions for downloading is Office Customization Tool which is unfortunately available for administrators only in volume licensed environment. 

Security: This is the main key where Lotus Notes outrivals MS Outlook application. It has got a potential to provide protection at every level of access. And this means if any intruder manages to get through first layer, he still will not get needful access. Further, Notes access levels is also applied with encryption for databases, fields, etc. It is authenticated with various modules like; Field Access Control, Document Access Control, View Access Control, Database Access Control, Public/Private Key Authentication, etc.

On contrary side, Outlook lacks this kind of security. And once the application is open, it is open to full access of emails, contacts, calendars, etc.

Multiple Operating Systems: Notes is not for Windows only, it is a multi-platform application. Eclipse lets Notes to run across many Operating Systems like; Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. On the other hand, MS Outlook is meant for Windows only. If you are Mac user Outlook for Mac can be utilized but both applications are way too different.

Customizability: This parameter is important for different needs for distinct companies. Email platforms should be flexible enough to perform the settings according to requirements. Few features can be extremely important for one company and for another these features can be waste. Lotus Notes provide a better control over such settings which lacks in MS Outlook. Of course Outlook too manages to provide necessary customization but not to the extent Notes provides it.

Conclusion:

Eventually, the choice amongst users fluctuates according to requirement, usage, environment, Operating Systems, etc. But for a dignified experience of email service, one must go for the more reliable, more secure, and resilient email platform which is undoubtedly Lotus Notes. This application has better grip when it comes to advance features like Instant Messaging, Search facility, and Social discovery of information. There is no perplexity that at enterprise level, Lotus Notes surmounts Microsoft Outlook application.