A couple of articles on the same topic, the City of Cornwall has decided to move off of IBM Notes to Microsoft Office365 (emphasis, mine).
Cornwall’s information technology department is asking to spend almost $900,000 on software and equipment to keep up with the times.
The budget is proposing $898,000 for several different projects. There is a three-year phase in for a Microsoft Office upgrade and desktop virtualization.
. . . There is also money for moving corporate emails to Microsoft Outlook which will more seamlessly integrate with the other programs the city uses. The migration to Microsoft programs will lead to the city abandoning Lotus Notes, a software suite now owned by IBM, in favour of Microsoft’s shared and remote-computer platforms.
There is also money for a new records management system called for social housing after the province pulled support for implementing such systems recently in favour of producing their own system.
But the “money quote” comes from a second article:
“Hallelujah!” Coun. Bernadette Clement remarked on word the city would be ditching Lotus.
That is exactly the problem IBM has long confronted but never addressed. Now, that same sentiment will spill over to HCL. You can argue the technological advantages of IBM Notes/Domino all you want, but it doesn’t make any difference in the minds of a lot of users and, more importantly, the decision makers with the purse strings.
So, I ask, “IBM, how is Domino 10 going to change those people’s minds?” Because until you can show me that the updated version is positioned to make people think well about their Domino investment, and I don’t mean the faithful that have attended some or all of your #domino2025 webinars and sessions, it won’t matter. Oh, you’ll keep some accounts that were waffling, maybe gain a couple of new ones, but until you can change the minds of the users, all of the work you are doing on Domino 10, and beyond, will only make the faithful happy.
Gregg Eldred 
I’m curious whether you mean will ordinary users like their email and collaboration software once Notes or Verse 10 is out. Chances are, they won’t. Lots of users hate Outlook. Lots of users hate Outlook 365. Lots of users hate Notes. Lots of users hate Verse. Gmail seems a little less hated, but users hate almost all the rest of the Google apps.
No matter what IBM, HCL, or anybody else does, users will grumble and complain about their work platform. I used to think somebody could design the perfect email, but even if they did, people wouldd still get emails they didn’t like and complain about their email system. There are plenty of reasons to ding IBM, but user grumbling is hardly the best reason. I hate Outlook, like Outlook 365 only slightly more, like Gmail, hate Google Calendar, hate Outlook 365 Calendar, dislike my Notes email, like my Notes Calendar. There’s no winning if that is the criteria.
Ben: I’ve not thought of it that way, as my experience has been primarily in the Notes/Domino world. Oh, I have used Outlook, but I don’t think that I “hated” it, I made do with the tool that was given to me. Gmail, the same. I have it, I use it, it’s fine. Maybe what we’ve been reading all these years are journalists that love to have people hate something and quote them. Especially when it comes to moving off of one platform in favor of another. Perhaps a bit of “anti-IBM” bias?
I hate the lack of apps in all of them. You always have to bring another third party solution that does a part of your daily work and does not well integrate with the others.
I have been an Outlook user since 1998 and I don’t hate it nor have I ever.