IBM touts email/messaging for 'deskless' employees

By Steve Malone

Posted on 21 May 2003 at 11:19

'Deskless' employees who so far have escaped the tyranny of email are to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st Century. IBM has launched a new product Lotus Workplace Messaging, a Web-based system which gives staff who don't need a computer access to company email and messaging.

Lotus Workplace Messaging is aimed at factory floor workers, sales staff and others who do not have access to e-mail, yet who might benefit from access to company bulletins and who may need to send or receive the occasional email. IBM claims that the system requires little or no training. Employees can access the system via either a kiosk or by a shared computer. Of course that may beg the question of how do they know when they have received a communication.

Lotus Workplace Messaging runs on the IBM WebSphere Internet infrastructure software and uses IBM's DB2 Universal Database as the back end. More on the IBM web site.