What are Domino and Lotus Notes and why the confusion of names ?

How Lotus Notes became Domino ...

Notes was the "original" product developed by IRIS. When acquired by Lotus the product became Lotus Notes.
Notes was created as a proprietary platform for the development of groupware applications.
Based on a client-server model, the Notes Server provided functionality to Notes clients ( and only to Notes clients).
Then came the internet !
Lotus realized that the Notes server could be enhanced to send data over the internet, using web browsers for the user interface.
A task was developed that ran on the Notes server which translated "Notes" design elements and data dynamically into HTML.
As this functionality was being tested it was code named "Domino".
The internet grew in importance and Lotus realized that a fully integrated development platform for the web was a valuable product.
The "Notes" server became the "Domino" server,
In addition to being a Notes server, Domino became a fully standard, Java -compliant, Webserver.

The Domino server can therefore play a number of roles...
1) It is possible (though unlikely) for the Domino server to play the part of a standard web server.
You could develop a web site in HTML, JavaScript, Java, cgi scripts etc. and have Domino act as the web server. The web site need not contain a single "Notes" database or piece of Notes code !
2) The Domino server can play the role of a traditional "Notes server".
The Domino server can be used solely to support a company network in which all employees have a Notes client on their desktop.
All applications would be pure Notes databases developed in Lotus @formulas and Lotusscript. No need for HTML code, JavaScript or Java.
3) The Domino server can take a database developed in Notes code and can translate it on the fly, into HTML and JavaScript.
In this scenario, the developer retains most of the strengths of Lotus Notes ( its security, its processing power, the ability to generate dynamic content on the fly, etc) while gaining the ubiquity of the internet and the flexibility of a generic web browser as the front end.
4) Since the Notes client is now also a fully functional web browser, the domino server can take a Notes database, developed in a mix of Notes code (Lotusscript, @formulas) and JavaScript/HTML/Java, and make it available to the Notes client. This provides the ultimate in functionality and flexibility. It is a combination of 1,2 and 3.
5) To complete the mix, the domino server (5.0) is able to convert some unique Notes functionality ( such as views, outlines and navigators) into Java applets. It can download these applets to a regular web browser. Thus, the web browser becomes a Notes client clone ( and can display some of the design elements that are unique to Notes).

Given all this powerful functionality, it is not surprising that most people are unsure what Domino and Lotus Notes are really about.
Even Lotus seems unsure how they should market the product.

My thoughts on the future direction for Domino?
I think #5) indicates where Lotus is heading.
They want the Domino server to be the leading Web site host platform.
At the same time they want the server to provide Notes functionality to the Notes client and, ultimately, to any generic web browser, over the internet.
Lotus is selling Domino as the integrated platform on which to develop your corporate web site.
In addition to the security, reliability, load balancing etc. necessary for an enterprise web site,
Domino implements the functionality required to support workflow, groupware, collaboration etc.
At the same time, Lotus must be careful not to alienate all those faithful Notes users with their "legacy" Notes databases.

The databases of the future, accessed via the web, will require functionality that is presently found only in Domino.
Imagine: We will each have our own "computer" with us constantly.
Although there will be no physical connection to the internet, the computer will almost always be connected.
As soon as we enter any building, the computer will wirelessly reconnect to the local server, and thus to the internet.
On occasion we will be disconnected; Maybe while travelling. At those times, we will still need to work.
As users continually disconnect and reconnect to the internet , the many copies of our databases stored around the world will need to be re-synchronized. And the most powerful and secure method of resynchronizing databases is the replication found in Domino.

This is why Domino, being a combination of Web server and Notes server, is so powerful.

Some companies claim that the functionality found in Domino is to be found in their own products. This is very unlikely, given the sophistication of Domino and the years that have gone into its development.
Even if true, the solution proposed by these other companies is not an integrated platform like Domino, but rather a loose collection of many different products that must be cobbled together by software engineers.
( IMHO !)

For some backgound on how Lotus, itself,describes Domino and Lotus Notes...
Read this >> The Domino Learning Center entry for Domino 5.0.
or alternatively this >> The Lotus Domino Web Server Guide, describes Domino's introduction into Lotus Notes 4.0

Now that you have a handle on "Domino" and "Lotus Notes" you can read about the issues that Notes was originally designed to address.