Is Lotus Notes Still Used by Any Organization?
Is Lotus Notes still used anywhere in 2025? Yes, but you have to dig deep to find its active customers. A name that was once ubiquitous in business circles for its state-of-the-art email, calendaring, and collaboration has now degraded to just a shadow of its former self. That being said, Notes still lives on, not with the same name.
Many who could switch over have done it already, with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace being the favorite destinations. However, if you are an IT admin in an organization where the compliance requirements discourage, if not outright forbid, cloud, then Exchange Server is the best alternative. This raises the question of how to make the transition.
Don’t worry, we answer all that and much more through this in-depth discussion guide. We will explore how Notes evolved over the years, what its current status is, and where its future lies. So let us start off by exploring the origin of this software.
A Brief History of Lotus Notes and Domino
Everyone who asks, is Lotus Notes still around? must know when it first came to be.
Lotus Notes came into existence back in 1989 as one of the first enterprise collaboration tools. At that time, computer and digital adoption were in their nascent state. So an application with email, calendar, and database-driven applications all built into one single platform was nothing short of revolutionary.
Also Read: Troubleshoot Lotus Notes Errors
IBM, a hegemon of the 90s era, realized the potential of the software and acquired it. in 1995. After the acquisition, it was rebranded as IBM Notes and Domino. However, the original name stuck.
While Domino took care of server-side components, Notes became the interface that users came to know and love. This tag team combination spread to many different industries, including banking, government, and large enterprises.
In 2019, IBM sold Notes and Domino to the Indian company HCL Technologies, which followed the same rebranding blueprint, and that’s why Lotus Notes is now officially called HCL Notes.
Despite all the advances, HCL Notes continues to lose ground to on-premise-based Exchange Server and cloud-based alternatives like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, etc.
That’s where we are today; once a platform that formed the IT bedrock of a majority of Fortune 500 companies is now limited only to certain niche use cases and legacy clients.
Does Anyone Still Use Lotus Notes in 2025? Who Are They
Yes, it’s true that some companies still operate Lotus Notes as their primary email and collaboration management suite.
These are mostly regional banking entities or local businesses whose IT infrastructure is stuck in a different era.
It is now easy to shift away from decades of existing infrastructure that was earlier tied to Lotus Notes and is now taken care of by its newer HCL Notes version.
User training is the least of the concerns, for the majority that are still on Lotus Notes, it serves their requirements to an acceptable level. Not to mention that the sheer friction that is involved in making a change in terms of cost incurred overrides any advantages gained.
Why Microsoft Exchange Beats Lotus Notes and How to Migrate?
These are some of the top reasons why many of your peers and competitors have chosen Exchange Server over Lotus Notes:
- Enterprise-grade email facility
- Advanced contact and calendaring system.
- Native integration with Outlook across devices.
- State-of-the-art security and compliance controls for highly regulated industries.
To get to these advantages, you need a trusted partner, and that’s what the SysTools Lotus Notes to Exchange Migration tool is.
If you are an admin, try out the demo today.
Final Verdict
So, is Lotus Notes still used? Absolutely. While it’s no longer at the top and has lost significant market share to more agile and feature-rich platforms, there are still Lotus loyalists who continue on with the system.
However, lately, even the most committed customers have started to have second thoughts. For them, the most critical aspect is retaining hardware control due to strict compliance requirements. That’s why Exchange Server, with its brand-new SE version, is becoming the most likely replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Does anyone still use Lotus Notes in its original setup?
Highly unlikely, given that the first version of Lotus Notes was released almost 40 years ago, there is little to no chance that any business in the era of AI would still be using it. Although some hobbyists might maintain it as a private passion project but not in a real organization use case.
Q. Is Lotus Domino still used today?
Yes, in some organizations, but adoption is shrinking.
Q. Which company provides Lotus Notes and Domino in 2025?
That would be HCL (Hindustan Computers Limited).