Category Archives: Lotus

LN to SharePoint Migration map

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An image is more valuable than a thousand words, so,

Main components of a Lotus Notes Application mapped to corresponding SharePoint 2010 Custom Application.LN-SharePoint-Components

The more challenging point on a migration to SharePoint from LN databases is the fact the final key users have to be aware of the target possibilities they have for the organization of the data.

Dear Mr Customer: “LN is not the same thing than SharePoint”

 

 

Migrating Lotus Notes Apps on the Cloud with Force.com

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Here a tutorial video of 16 minutesthat is so helpful to understand this migration process.

The steps for moving the application are:

  1. Re-create data model
  2. Create Forms
  3. Move data
  4. Create Workflow
  5. Create complex business logic

For step #3, they propose 3 tools

  • Apex Data Loader (through CVS conversion)
  • Cloud Converter (LN, Access, Oracle)
  • Detachlt (focused on attanchments)
  • DIY: build your own library

Ok, it’s a 16 minutes tutorial, but I missed:

  • Mentions related to security.
  • A quick demo of the migration kit.

From LN to anywhere

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My customer has a problem that is so common in the market: they are migrating from LN and has tons of Lotus Notes applications.

During the analysis process to migrate to other platform/s, some of these applications will be removed, some others will migrate or consolidate their data into other places, but what happens with the implemented business processes that the company want to run in the same way?

Researching sometime, several tools offer the migration of the data, but what happens with the business logic on the .NTF?

Then I found CEMTrek Migrator. I found also this video.

The video related to CIMTrek Migrator talks about:

  • You can migrate to an on premise environment or to the cloud.
  • SQL migration is done on the fly.
  • Pre-requisites: access to Domino server, a Notes client.
  • 1.- Configure CIMTrek Migrator: application source, LN user, database
  • 2.- Discovery: shows the list of applications on the server.You can analyse each type of Lotus component
  • 3.- Notes Data Export: export the data and propose a data model to avoid duplication of data.
  • 4.- Doc Export: You can export the attachments selecting them and exporting to Google Docs or SharePoint.
  • 5.- Migrate Application: he did for Java based application. The result is a folder with the .war file of the application. This just needs to be deployed on Web server.
  • The result?  It requires a revision of the look & feel. In addition the use of a Web 2.0 Framework will be desirable.
  • The behaviour is very similar to LN user interface.

I was also reading the FAQ, the more interesting for me were:

  • How long does it take to migrate an application? 1 day for an regular application.
  • How long does it take to migrate the data? 100Mb of data within 1 hour. Highly dependant on the environment.
  • How will the security of the migrated Lotus Notes/Domino applications be impacted? Some security features specific to the Notes client (e.g. public key encryption) will not be converted as they do not have a match on the browser. The ACLs are automatically captured and applied as part of the migration/execution process. However, the security on Notes applications is very sophisticated and sometimes complex – which means that there may be some instances where Post-Migration remedial effort is required.
  • The LotusScript agents are not migrated. This tool is still focused for applications based in @formula.

Some immediate questions came to my mind:

  • How is the ACL transformed to a .NET environment?
  • How is the migration of an application that is composed by 2 or more .nsf? You can define the migration process related to 1, 2 or more databases.
  • How Action bar actions are migrated? They are not migrated.
  • How scheduled agents are migrated? They are not migrated.
  • What is the price? Depends on the service you require. It can be based on number of applications, or number of full servers you want to migrate.

 

Why Lotus Notes will die and Cobol will survey?

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Just some notes to be read on future.

Lotus Notes will die because:

  • The volumes capacities that the companies require cannot be stored by LN.
  • The workflows these applications manage are being moved
  • There are so much companies that are migrating to Exchange.
  • There are not big new customers on LN since some years.
  • What is IBM doing with LN?
  • Nobody invest on a non relational database.
  • Could is the natural solution for replacing the need of replica (LN is the only replica system that really works).

Cobol will survive because:

  • Cobol cannot be replaced easily in Banks or insurance companies without a big investment. If you know a bank that replaced it, please let me know, I’m interested to listen about the experience.
  • On the other industries, it will die, but I will focus on bank and insurance industries.
  • Some of the processes managed in a bank cannot be moved to other platforms: so much complex to be tested with real results, too expensive.
  • I know some banks that tried to get rid of Cobol, After some years and some million €, they decided to improve their Cobol environment.
  • They manage huge volume of data and transactions (some of them in real time).

Let’s see if when I read this post in ten years I’m right or wrong

Domino.Doc Vs Quickr

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Reading Paul Mooney’s blog I have found this post related to the tittle, and I couldn’t stop writting there. I feel very affected by this inheritance, 🙂

———————————————–
Domino.doc is that tool that all that has used it has hated it (at least a little bit).
If you look for technical information in the Internet, there is nothing new from years ago. This is a little bit frustating.

Nevertheless there are a lot of people who is using this tool daily and they cannot live without it.

Part of my job is Documental solutions offering, with Documentum, Domino.doc… and Dom.doc has its own defined niche and it’s difficult to compete against it in that niche.
The only thing I hope is that migration to Quickr will be planned by IBM as easy as possible.

I have had used Quickr in Lotusgrenhouse and as it looks like, in part as Domino.doc, I think it’s a good entry point for a lot of people to get introduced to the Web 2.0 applications. Believe me, there are a lot of people they don’t know what is this and they work in our companies.
———————————————–

Lotus & Blackberry with MDS Studio

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We are studying how to deploy lotus applications with MDS Studio & WSDL.

The starting was easy, but the real problem has started when we have tested the security of the Blackberry device to the Lotus Notes database.

We have been investigating about the Lotus Notes sessions creation and there is no easy way to get the session accesing with the the WSDL. I have done applications accesing using DIIOP and the NotesFactory object but this approach does not convince me at all.

Now we are thinking about to get the session using the POST method on the “?login” page of the Domino server and trying to use that session for the mobile user.

The questions that round my mind are:

– Is going to be possible to get the session with this method?
– Is able the Blackberry to store that session for next calls to the Lotus Domino Server?
– How is it possible that I have not found nothing about this problem on the Internet?

I hope to get some answers next week,

Translate the Technical explanations

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Today a client was asking me about the Limit of the folders in a LN Application.

After a while, I found a Tech Note in IBM site and I though, that’s the information my client is requesting me!

I sent the link, and after a little while, the answer was:

¿…?

….There is not a predetermined limit but the database is limited by the number of “handles” that can be used. The number of handles is limited to 10,495. …

How many handles is a folder?? Who are you trying to fool?

He was laughing but not kidding.

I’m also a little pissed off becuase I cannot find a clear answer for this “Technical” explanation.

Lotus Quickr

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Now it’s available Lotus Quickr in Lotus Greenhouse.

It’s defined like the fastest way to share everyday content across connected teams.

  1. Shared content libraries: You can share content in Lotus Quickr libraries, and access that content from desktop applications.
  2. Team places: Create online places with provided templates.
  3. Connectors to popular applications: Use connectors to interact with content in your Lotus Quickr libraries.

I have created a place based in a ‘Project Library’ template (there are around 8 templates).

After that you can visit your Welcome page, create announcements and Add Components!!.

In the body field of the announcement you can create tables, insert columns… The problem is that I cannot save it. I have post the problem in the forum.

As the template is a project library, I can create tasks, assign to a member, start date, end date… Then, from a view you can click directly on a progress bar to indicate the percentage you have covered (that’s cute). It’s really quick. Lotus Connections is slower that Quickr.

The basic template only contains these document types. After that, you can add components to your place: wiki, RSS, blog, libraries and contacts, so you can customize it. That’s very powerful.

You can add documents with the same features that you currently use in Domino.doc: check in, check out, edit profile…

To enhance your document management you can download a Plug-in for the Browser.

These 2 last facts are a good news for us. I have to pay more attention in these features in order to give to Domino.Doc a proper evolution, great!