PROFS
| Company type | Proprietary software |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | 1981 |
| Founder | IBM Endicott team, Paul Gardner and associates (OFS predecessor) |
| Products | Office support software including email, calendaring, document management |
| Owner | IBM |
| Parent | IBM |
OfficeVision was a proprietary office support software developed by IBM.
PROFS, DISOSS, and Office/36
The origins of OfficeVision trace back to PROFS (PRofessional OFfice System), designed for the VM operating system and initially launched in 1981. Initially introduced as a PRPQ (Programming Request for Price Quotation), PROFS was created by IBM’s Endicott, NY team in collaboration with Amoco Research. It evolved from an earlier prototype called OFS, which was developed in Poughkeepsie, NY by Paul Gardner and associates. Later development efforts continued in Dallas. The word processing and document management capabilities of PROFS were built upon the programmable editor XEDIT.
PROFS was derived from the earlier OFS (Office System), first deployed in 1974 to automate office tasks that previously required manual tracking of inter-office communications. OFS implemented a centralized database virtual machine (DBM) to provide shared document storage and introduced a centralized mailman master machine to handle mail transfers between users, improving upon the prior system that depended on personal virtual machines. By 1981, IBM’s Poughkeepsie location supported over 500 PROFS users.
In 1983, IBM released PROFS version 2 along with software that enabled document exchange among PROFS, DISOSS, Displaywriter, IBM 8100, and IBM 5520 platforms.
The email feature of PROFS, known as PROFS Notes, became notably significant during the Iran-Contra investigation when investigators recovered archived messages despite users’ attempts to delete them.
Two other systems also carried the OfficeVision name: OfficeVision/MVS, which was based on IBM DISOSS, and OfficeVision/400 derived from IBM Office/36.
IBM’s European Networking Center in Heidelberg developed prototype enhancements for OfficeVision/VM that supported Open Document Architecture (ODA), including converters between ODA and Document Content Architecture (DCA) formats.
OfficeVision Family
OfficeVision existed in multiple versions tailored to distinct IBM platforms; these versions shared only the brand name without common underlying code.
OfficeVision/VM operated on IBM's VM environment using the CMS interface. OfficeVision/MVS ran on IBM MVS systems for System/370 and System/390 mainframes. Meanwhile, OfficeVision/400 was designed for the IBM AS/400 midrange computer.
Each variant delivered fundamental business functionalities such as e-mail, shared calendaring, document storage and management, along with integration to word processing applications like Displaywrite/370 and Document Composition Facility (DCF/SCRIPT). The OfficeVision brand was officially introduced through IBM’s announcement in May 1989, with subsequent releases enhancing enterprise collaboration capabilities.
OfficeVision/VM for Asian Markets
The development of OfficeVision/VM tailored to Japanese, Korean, and Chinese markets followed a distinct path. This version originated from IBM’s Office and Document Control System (ODPS), which was adapted to support Double Byte Character Sets (DBCS). Essentially a port of PROFS with document editing, storage, and search features comparable to Displaywrite/370, it ran on IBM mainframes under VM and provided email, calendaring, and document processing functions optimized for Asian languages.
ODPS was later rebranded as OfficeVision/VM; however, its MVS counterpart based on DISOSS was never marketed. After IBM acquired Lotus Development in 1995, users were encouraged to transition to Lotus Notes.
Primarily developed at IBM Tokyo Programming Center (later part of IBM Yamato Development Laboratory) with cooperation from IBM Dallas Programming Center and others, ODPS debuted in 1986 for the Japanese market and was subsequently localized for Korean (by IBM Korea) and Traditional Chinese (by IBM Taiwan), though Simplified Chinese was not supported.
The IBM ODPS suite consisted of four main components:
- Office Support Program (OFSP): An enhanced version of PROFS supporting Asian DBCS for email, scheduling, document management, plus switching to English PROFS.
- Document Composition Program (DCP): A DBCS-capable port of Document Composition Facility enabling SCRIPT-style editing for document creation and printing.
- Document Composition Program/Workstation: Allowed document authoring on IBM 5550, PS/55, and other workstations with support for the IBM Kanji System.
- Facsimile Program: Provided functionality for sending and receiving fax transmissions.
OfficeVision/2
The advent of the Personal Computer and the client–server model prompted a shift in office automation toward graphical user interfaces, which significantly boosted the need for PC-based e-mail solutions.
In response, IBM introduced OfficeVision/2 concurrently with its PS/2, AS/400, and ES/390 product lines. This system, following a server-requestor architecture, was developed as a key component of IBM's Systems Application Architecture. The server software was compatible with OS/2, VM, MVS (XA or ESA), and OS/400, while the requester client operated on OS/2 Extended Edition for IBM PS/2 machines or DOS environments. IBM also launched OfficeVision/2 LAN targeting workgroup collaboration; however, this variant did not achieve market success and was discontinued in 1992.
Originally, IBM intended to incorporate the Workplace Shell interface within OfficeVision/2 LAN but ultimately deferred its deployment to OS/2 2.0 in 1991. This improved graphical user interface enabled users to trigger processes through drag-and-drop actions, effectively unifying desktop features across multiple applications.
Migration to Lotus Notes
With the rise of Lotus Notes and Lotus cc:Mail as successors to OfficeVision/2, IBM began distributing these products under its brand. To resolve ongoing issues related to OfficeVision, IBM eventually acquired Lotus Software through a hostile takeover, securing Lotus Notes—a premier platform for business e-mail and calendaring.
Prominent organizations utilizing OfficeVision included the New York State Legislature and the European Patent Office.
IBM officially ceased support for OfficeVision/VM on October 6, 2003, encouraging users to transition to Lotus Notes and IBM Lotus Domino. Migration tools and professional services were made available to facilitate this process. The initial migration tool was created by Guy Dehond, an AS/400 beta tester. Meanwhile, OfficeVision/MVS continued to be sold until March 2014 and received support up to May 2015 on IBM's z/OS. This extended support period offered an alternative migration option for customers still running OfficeVision/VM.
Further reading
- James Martin, Kathleen Kavanagh Chapman, Joe Leben, IBM Office Systems: Architectures and Implementations, Prentice Hall, 1990, ISBN 978-0-13-447806-7
- IBM, IBM OfficeVision/VM Release 4.0 Documentation Library, 1997
- Debra Cameron, IBM's OfficeVision family, Computer Technology Research Corp, Holtsville, N.Y, 1990, ISBN 978-0-927695-42-8