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Getting a Grip on a Unique Domino/Exchange Coexistence Functionality

There is no question; the requirements for seamless messaging and calendaring coexistence between Lotus Domino and Microsoft Exchange have kept pace with technology advancements. It seems that only yesterday users were satisfied with the ability to send simple emails and basic calendar invitations back and forth, and then, all of the sudden, virtually in a blink of an eye, it's all about full transparency. Users insist on perfect functionality of ALL calendar entries, complete and continuous synchronization of ALL directory entries (that's right, don't forget about Groups and Members!), instantaneous and accurate free/busy lookup, and uninterrupted workflow of mail-enabled applications with their custom emails, forms, and approval buttons. The scale of demands can only be matched by the creativity and ingenuity of the product creators with whom I have the privilege to work with everyday.

To experience what our customers live through on a daily basis, Binary Tree runs a mixed Domino/Exchange environment (even better, a hybrid on-premises/Office 365 Exchange environment, but more details about it later). So, we’re certainly familiar with the most annoying limitations of coexistence between these complex and significantly different environments. One limitation that really had us pulling our hair out over the years was being able to add Exchange users to existing Domino repeating meetings. For example, imagine that a standing Domino repeating meeting called “Weekly Sales Pipeline Review“ has existed for a while. A new sales person joins the team, so he or she is added to the meeting - what can be simpler, right? Actually, if the new Sales person is using Exchange for mail and calendaring, it’s not simple at all. It so happens that when you add a participant to an existing repeating meeting in Domino, the new invitee just receives a series of dates instead of a recurrence pattern like "every week on Mondays". Notes can handle these pattern-less invitations, but Outlook cannot - it wants to know the original pattern.  

So, how does one get a grip on such a situation?

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Posted on 8/11/2011 9:30:00 AM | with 0 comments