Above and Beyond... Collaboration!

I was recently presented by an interesting customer problem which turned out to be a great success story for Lotus Domino 8.5.1 and DAOS.  The customer has been running a Lotus Domino based Quality Management System since about 2003.  Due to various reasons, the customer chose not to upgrade their Lotus Domino and was still running Lotus Domino 6.5.x.  Now, as with most good Quality Management Systems, their system included a Document Control database containing all their controlled documents,  with revisions and history.  The bulk of the database content consists of MS Word and PDF documents, and over time this database has grown to almost 30GB.  Probably not the largest Domino database in the history of Domino databases, but large enough to cause significant problems and failures in Domino 6.5.x.  The problems ranged from failures in Full Text Indexing and searching to more severe errors preventing them from adding additional content.

The customer was faced with a dire situation after the issues with this failing system resulted in a finding during their last Quality Audit.  The customer contacted the supplier of the QM System who suggested that they split the Document Control system into multiple databases based on document types.  But this was not an easy solution as this created other challenges with trying to find documents using searches etc.

After listening to the customer’s description of his problem and all the potential solutions they have considered and tested, I recommended an upgrade to Domino 8.5.1.  I explained the new features, specifically the Domino Attachment Object Service (DAOS).  The solution was simple – firstly, by upgrading their server to Domino 8.5.1 they would be able to handle databases up to 64GB.  Then, by enabling Document Content Compression and DAOS, the database size could be reduced to improve performance on operations such as indexing and searching.

The results were astounding!  The Document Control database which was previously about 30GB in size, is now only 500MB.  That’s a 98% reduction!!!  Unbelievable!!!  Needless to say, the customer was astounded by the result (and so was I).

In my mind, if ever there was a success story to prove the value of DAOS and Domino 8.5.1, this is it.

Another customer upgraded to Lotus Domino 8.5.1..... CHECK!

Database size reduced and problem solved.....  CHECK!

Customer expectations exceeded.....  CHECK!

Another great day at the office thanks to IBM Lotus Domino 8.5.1.  (",)

 

Sametime bots have been around for quite a while.  I started playing with some basic Bot development and created one or two prototypes thinking “This is great! I wonder where I’ll ever use this....?”

A recent customer requirement got me thinking and sparked the idea for a Bot that would address not only the immediate customer requirement, but extend the reach and usability of their application!  The requirement was to force users to perform a specific action as soon as the user signs into Lotus Notes each day.  The challenge was to find a trigger that I could use from the Notes client that would detect when the user logs in (and maybe there is another way but for the life of me I couldn’t think what it was at the time!)?  Sametime immediately came to mind as each user automatically logs into Sametime as soon as the Notes client starts up, and Ta Da! – the idea for a Sametime Bot was born.

Using the presence awareness I was able to detect as soon as a user comes online and fire a message off to the user prompting them to provide the required update.  By using listeners, I could even restrict who the Bot monitors seeing that it is a relatively large site and the application only applies to a specific group.

The user’s interaction with the application was further enhanced by allowing them to issue specific commands to the Bot that would query or update the underlying Lotus Notes application.  Needless to say, the customer was extremely impressed with the solution and they are already thinking of additional ways to use Bots in their organisation.

This got me thinking too – finally I have a real-life Bot implementation, but what else can I do with it?  Through all the reading I’ve been doing I came across a couple of really cool Bot ideas – from network and server monitoring bots to bots for managing service desk queues.  The opportunities are endless!  Have you used or considered using Sametime Bots in your solutions?

2009 brings with it (amongst many things) the release of the long awaited 8.5 release of Lotus Notes and Domino.  Just like most "die hard" Lotus fanatics, I wasted no time in downloading the installers from PartnerWorld and couldn't wait to get it installed!  Most of the Domino servers at work run on Linux and I have performed these upgrades 100's of times in the past.  It's not a particularly exciting upgrade - and don't get me wrong, this is not a complaint, it is actually testament to the ease of upgrade IBM has managed to deliver with every new version of the Domino Server software.

Our mail gateway is hosted with our ISP and is accessible remotely through SSH.  I like to boast about the fact that we haven't actually seen the box since the day it was installed.  I have done all the previous upgrades remotely using PuTTY with no complications at all.  I also recently obtained a new Samsung Omnia and couldn't wait to get PuTTY installed on my new gadget.  This got me thinking - how about upgrading a Domino server using only a mobile phone???  Sounds like fun!

I launched the PuTTY client on my Omnia and in no time the Domino Server installer was running in Console mode.  The upgrade process ran without a hitch and I launched my brand new Domino 8.5 server right there from the phone!  The excitement of actually doing the upgrade this way definitely eclipsed (mind the pun) the boredom of performing the same old upgrade.

Although I don't believe for one moment that this is a unique experience, it sure was a different one, and it made me wonder how many of you have tried the same thing?

Over the last year IBM announced a number of initiatives like Blue House and now Lotus Notes Hosted Messaging.  All these initiatives seem to be moving IBM towards hosted solutions and cloud computing.  All very good and exciting – if you live in a country where internet connections are fast and affordable.  Unfortunately, this is not the case in most developing (and specifically African) countries.

 

Internet connectivity remains one of the biggest challenges and limitations when deploying systems in Africa.  Even implementing simple applications like e-mail presents all sorts of challenges.  One of the sites I recently implemented in Ghana, previously had a hosted POP mail solution.  They experienced various random delays on incoming as well as outbound mail even though the SMTP server was hosted by their ISP.  We implemented a Domino server, and implemented the Google Message Security SaaS solution for virus and spam filtering.  Google Message Security (previously Postini) automatically spools incoming SMTP mail if the mail host can not be reached.  This has proven to be a real life-saver as there are almost daily occurrences where the spooler is activated.  The mail host becomes unreachable due to the limited bandwidth and even due to power interruptions.  When working from the site in Ghana, I can sometimes browse the internet (patience is the keyword), but trying to replicate my Lotus Notes mailbox or even using Sametime proves to be a futile exercise.

 

As much as the whole Software as a Service and Cloud Computing concept excites me, I am afraid it is not something that will gain momentum in developing countries any time soon.  Maybe the introduction of SEACOM in June 2009 will play a role in addressing the bandwidth challenges of countries in Southern and East Africa?

I rediscovered this blog - created quite some time ago - while doing a Google search using my name.  (Yes, it's a strange yet satisfying experience to see some results when you search Google and find yourself there...)  Anyway, I decided there is no better time to join the thousands of other bloggers out there!

A bit more about me

I started developing software about 22 years ago (when I was about 10???) on an old SVI Spectravideo.  Just like so many other developers, I entered the world of coding with the famous "Hello World!" application using a simple line of BASIC code.  Today I am an established Software Developer and Systems Architect, specialising in Lotus Notes and Domino development & administration.  Over the past 10 years I have had the opportunity to developing and deploying a variety of systems for various companies representing a broad industry spectrum.  From Quality Management Systems to Document Management Systems - I've developed them all.  Over the last 7 years I have been developing a Lotus Notes & Domino based Workflow Engine called Agilit-e.

I am currently employed by Above and Beyond Concepts as Operations Manager.  ABC is an IBM Business Partner company based in Johannesburg, South Africa.  I am furtunate to work with a team of really talented software developers.  Everyone works hard, and plays hard!

The future

In November 2008 the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) contracted me to develop a Investor Tracking System.  The exciting prospect is that the system will be deployed to many Investment Promotion Agencies in countries across the world.  Not only will I get the opportunity to travel and see the world, but I will also be deploying Lotus Notes and Domino into all these developing countries!  And believe me - I will be wearing my "I bleed yellow" t-shirt while I'm doing it. (Yes, I've been there, done that, and got the t-shirt and Lotusphere 2008).

I am hoping that I can use this blog to share my experiences with the rest of the loyal Lotus followers around the world.  There is also an opportunity to make contact with other Lotus developers based in the countries I'll be visiting.  The deployment of Notes and Domino will definitely create an opportunity for future development and support in places where Lotus support is probably non-existant.

Goal

The Lotus products have very little or even no presence in many developing countries.  I have first-hand experience of this in South Africa.  I hope that this blog will somehow help to raise the awareness of the Lotus products in developing countries.