Partners strike lucky with Notes

Lotus Notes is proving to be a goldmine for the company's businesspartners

Lotus Notes business partners are some of the most profitable resellers in the industry, an IDC survey claimed.

The survey, based on a sample of 275 Lotus business partners, has taken the lid off a 'highly profitable service business with a low cost of entry and aggressive growth prospects'.

The business partners surveyed record a 38 per cent margin on average and, over the next three years, expect to see a 71 per cent growth in Notes business. The 38 per cent margin figure is 'remarkably consistent across both small and large companies', IDC said.

Business partners expect margins to climb to 45 per cent over the next three years as sales increases outstrip costs.

The Internet is also proving to be a big sales kicker, according to the survey, with customers combining the technology with their Notes systems.

IDC also reports a 'large service multiplier' in Notes business, with an average of $7.15 of services purchased by customers for every dollar spent on Lotus Notes software.

Lee Underwood, Lotus business partner sales manager, said: 'There is a huge drag behind Notes sales. It requires a lot of services workflow, line of business application development, email, integration and consultancy to understand what the customer needs.'

Robert Dent, marketing manager at Gimlet Group, the Bristol-based business partner, said the company had more than doubled in size in the past 12 months from 20 to 50, purely through Notes related business.

Geoff Lawler, managing director of Lotus business partner Total Computer Systems in Epping, said: 'Our business is 80 per cent Notes linked, and we have been growing at 75 per cent per year. We see that growth being maintained in the next two years, without a shadow of a doubt.'