-Please tell us about the operation situation when you were using Notes and what made you think of migrating to Notes.

Mr. Fukuda:
Specialized development skills are required to operate Notes. However, at that time, we were only using basic functions such as e-mail, schedule management, facility reservations, and bulletin boards, and were not able to make much use of the workflow. Because of this situation, the development and maintenance of the NotesDB tended to become a person-driven task, and the data accumulated on bulletin boards, etc. was not fully utilized.

The reason for considering the migration was that the thin client system was being replaced, and it was difficult to run the Notes client in the new system. Therefore, instead of upgrading Notes, we started looking for a solution that would run on a web browser.

-What was important to you in the selection process and what were the deciding factors in choosing ArielAirOne?

Mr. Fukuda:
As mentioned above, the Notes database contains a huge amount of information that we have accumulated over the years. Our first requirement in selecting a product was to migrate our valuable information assets safely. While comparing many groupware products, we were under the impression that your "ArielAirOne" had the most experience in migration of Notes. We also heard from the person in charge of the company that actually introduced "ArielAirOne". From what you proposed in your presentation, we decided that your product would make the migration the smoothest possible.

-What were your innovations in starting the implementation project and proceeding with the migration?

Mr. Fukuda:
Normally, the main department with a system administrator would take the lead in product selection and implementation, but we decided from the beginning not to do it that way. Unlike other systems, groupware is intended for use by all staff members. So, the first thing we did was to interview all sales branches and headquarters departments to find out what they thought were the problems with Notes and what they expected from the new groupware.

At the same time, we asked a cross-sectional group of department managers who were in a position to disseminate information, and repeatedly asked them about the issues they were facing and what they would like to see if the system were to be replaced. In order to ensure the success of the groupware implementation, we proceeded with the selection and implementation of the system so that it could be implemented in a way that reflected the users' voices.


-Were there any situations in which the transition was more difficult or smoother than expected?

Mr. Fukuda:
Through an introduction from your company, we also received full support for our migration from Tokyo Systems, which has a wealth of experience in supporting Notes migrations. Thanks to their support, we were able to migrate all the bulletin boards smoothly, even though there were a fair number of them. The only difficult part was that we had many users who had been using Notes for many years and had left the company due to retirement or other reasons. There were many times when we had to make decisions on how to handle documents contributed by these users when we imported them, and we had to import them while scrutinizing them.

-We heard that you are using "ArielAirOne" to promote the paperless project.

Mr. Fukuda:
That's right. We are in the middle of a paperless transition, and the system department and the management planning department are mainly working on the project.

Mr. Koizumi:
We have been gradually shifting to workflow on "ArielAirOne" for applications, reports, and other tasks that were previously done on paper. What we are finding useful is the scalability of ArielAirOne. From simple step workflows to complex workflows that involve multiple departments, even I, who have no development or programming skills, am amazed at how far I can go with ArielAirOne, which helps me as the person in charge of promoting the project.

Mr. Fukuda:
How easy it is to create and operate workflows is what we focused on when selecting a company to migrate from Notes. The fact that we felt that ArielAirOne was the most flexible solution was also a factor in our decision. We are now working hard to transfer almost all paper-based applications to ArielAirOne, making full use of its workflow functions. Incidentally, as a result of our pilot implementation of digitization of workflow involving the systems department, the trays that used to be overflowing with mountains of paper submissions every day are now almost empty. I hope that all departments will do so in the next fiscal year.

-Please tell us about the unique way you are using the application.

Mr. Fukuda:
As a financial institution, we handle a wide variety of financial products and need to respond quickly to changes in the law, so we hold training and seminars for our staff more frequently than most companies. In order for staff members to participate in such learning opportunities, they used to fill out an application form in Excel format, print it out, and send it to the Human Resources Department after getting a seal from the branch manager. The human resources department, which manages the application, also had to look at the paper application form and enter the information into an Excel course ledger file to take attendance. In order to streamline this process, we created an application to manage the workflow and schedule of ArielAirOne from 2022. For participants, the application process has been simplified, and from the management side, we feel that it has led to greater operational efficiency since training operations can be completed in "ArielAirOne".

-What are some of the positive impacts of ArielAirOne on your business?

Mr. Fukuda:
Notes was used as a communication tool to send information from the department in charge of operations at the headquarters to each staff member, and the recipients were only passively viewing the information. Unlike a browser, the recipient could not do anything without opening the browser, which I think hindered active use of the system. Since the switch to ArielAirOne, I feel that there are many more situations where staff members are actively using the system. The viewer can easily use the system by simply opening it in a browser, and combined with its ease of operation, the sender is also devising ways to present information so that it can be seen more easily. In addition, the internal newsletter, which was converted from paper to the Web with the introduction of ArielAirOne, has helped to foster a sense of unity by visualizing the response to postings through the Good button.

As a credit union, we have been emphasizing the importance of listening to our customers and have declared ourselves "good listeners," and in order to do the same for our employees, we have set up a "listener box" on ArielAirOne, where employees can anonymously post work-related issues and questions from 2020. We have received nearly 1,000 submissions so far, and there have been cases where the headquarters has actually made improvements based on the submissions, which we see as a sign that the employees are now able to take proactive action.

-Are there any features that you use most frequently?

Mr. Koizumi:
"Tasks". For example, for the same report request, the response rate by the due date is much higher when a request is made using "Tasks," which have a due date management function, than when a request is made using "Messages. It is very effective for both work management and information sharing, and we are encouraging our staff to utilize the "Task" function. Currently, most of the minutes and reports circulated in the headquarters are received via "Tasks.

Mr. Fukuda:
We have also had the standard "survey" function added along the way, and we are really making good use of it. When we want to hear voices and opinions from the field, even if it is not necessary to send a "message," we feel that the "survey" makes it easy to get people to respond. The person who collects the data can also export it as a CSV file, which has greatly reduced the burden. We are currently using it in various departments, for example, for planning market forecasts and gathering the opinions of participants in training programs, and we would like to expand the scope of its use.

-Would you recommend ArielAirOne to other companies facing similar challenges?

Mr. Fukuda:
Yes, even now I am glad we made the switch to ArielAirOne. In my role as a system department member, I have the opportunity to investigate various systems and have relationships with many vendors, but even based on that, I feel that there are few products that can make such good use of Notes assets.

However, since ArielAirOne is a product for large companies, it is relatively difficult for small and medium-sized companies, with whom we have many opportunities to have close relationships, to adopt its licensing system. If we can flexibly select functions and licenses according to the size of the company, I think we will be able to better meet the needs of various companies that are trying to engage in digitalization in the future.

*This article is current as of December 2022.