[slantyyz]

I'll bite...

1 - Document Store (iirc, CouchDB was inspired by Notes/Domino)

2 - Replication - even past the 90s, it was one of the best tools for disconnected users

3 - Low barrier to application creation (it was about as easy as building something in Filemaker Pro)

4 - Easy publication of applications to the web (this was BEFORE 2000, so kind of a big deal back then)

5 - Administration of servers was pretty easy

6 - LotusScript (similar to vba) let you go much further than the prebuilt formula language (if you were willing to learn it)

Keep in mind, these benefits were available pre-2000, and in that time many were strong competitive advantages.

[tonyedgecombe]

Replication was huge, we didn't even have an internet connection when I setup a application replicating between three suppliers and a bank.

[slantyyz]

Yeah, when I first started to use Notes, using modems over POTS lines to call HQ was still a thing, so that replication was a big deal.

Hell, I don't even think all laptops had ethernet ports back then either. In a lot of cases, you had to buy PCMCIA cards for that.