From Catalog to App Store? Submitting to catalog.lotus.com

07/12/2010 10:59 AM by Chris Toohey

I submitted the Controller API Utility - my MVC app for IBM Lotus Notes Domino - to the IBM Lotus and Websphere Portal Business Solutions Catalog. With my submission currently pending approval, I have to wonder if the Catalog could very well evolve into the App Store we all say the platform needs.

The My Submissions -- as each submitted application, widget, or portal plug-in requires review and approval -- lists your specific submissions... and quite frankly doesn't need to be restricted to high-cost apps. In fact, I think that flooding adding more niche applications will not only help to solidify the catalog as the go-to market for all IBM Lotus Notes and Domino applications, but will also give our solutions a wider audience.

Each submission is given a card which provides details about the specific product:

Not only are your submissions entered into the greater solutions catalog, but you - as a submitter - are given your own solutions page. The dominoGuru.com solutions page can be found at https://greenhouse.lotus.com/plugins/plugincatalog.nsf/home_full.xsp?fP rovider=dominoGuru.com&fProviderId=EE2E2E1CDD872A158525775E001B9E50.

... yeah, I need to clean that up a bit.

And you don't need to be an IBM Employee or even an IBM Business Partner to submit a solution to the catalog:

If you are an IBM Business Partner, you can login via your Partnerworld ID. For this exercise, I submitted the app under dominoGuru.com vs. Clearframe, going the Individual Contributor route.

This means that you - wielder of Domino Designer - can create and submit your own solutions to the catalog today. All you need is an IBM Site Login ID and you're all set!

See, I think if we populate the catalog with low-cost, consumer-focused (where in this case consumer == IBM Lotus professional) solutions, it will not only act to bring new talent to the platform, but overall strengthen it thru user adoption and the platform's use to address real-world business needs.

So what're you waiting for? Write a simple app to address a business need. Set the download URL of the Catalog entry to a Paypal Buy Now URL, and you're good to go!