"There has been significant demand from companies seeking to increase enterprise productivity by leveraging LinkedIn’s powerful network of professionals," said Reid Hoffman, chairman and CEO of LinkedIn. "Today’s announcement represents a step forward in addressing that need."

LinkedIn gets the ball rolling by announcing three upcoming features of the integration with Lotus Notes, on the LinkedIn Blog. These are:

1. Network Updates
2. People Search
3. LinkedIn Profiles

"Those familiar with the LinkedIn Outlook Toolbar may recognize similar functionality," explains Elliot Shmukler at the LinkedIn Blog. "However, by working with IBM directly on the Notes integration, we’ve been able to make it richer, more seamless, and more robust."

Other products on the agenda for LinkedIn integration include Lotus Connections and LotusLive.com. The LinkedIn integration will not cost IBM Lotus customers anything extra.