Many companies use groupware as a tool to facilitate information sharing and communication within an organization. Among these, "Notes/Domino," released by Lotus in 1989, is considered the pioneer of groupware, and at one time boasted a market share of over 70%. In recent years, however, there has been a wave of migration from Notes/Domino to other cloud-based groupware. Yusuke Ikegame, Executive Officer and General Manager of Works Applications Enterprise Ariel Division, explains the reason for this: "Notes/Domino is developed using LotusScript, a proprietary scripting language and environment. This language is not compatible with other languages and requires training for engineers to learn it, so there is a shortage of engineers who can operate Notes/Domino. Another background is the change in the way companies work. In recent years, the use of groupware via a web browser has become the mainstream style, and flexibility is required to accommodate various business situations, such as smartphones, tablets, and remote work. Notes/Domino, which has been used as a dedicated application, is difficult to support because of the man-hours and costs required to convert it to the Web. Due to these factors, an increasing number of companies are migrating to cloud-based groupware from other companies," he explained.

　Furthermore, with the announcement of the end of support for Notes/Domino v9.0.x and v10.0.x on June 1, 2024, it is necessary to review Notes/Domino operations. There are many companies that are still using Notes/Domino v9.0.x," said Mr. Kurokawa. With the end of support, an increasing number of companies are considering migration to Notes/Domino in order to resolve issues they are having with Notes/Domino and to review their operations.

　For such companies considering migration from Notes/Domino, Works Applications Enterprise proposes migration to ArielAirOne, the company's groupware low-code development tool.

　ArielAirOne is a groupware low-code development tool equipped with functions necessary for information sharing, including address book, calendar facility reservation, bulletin board employee notification, file management, approval workflow, customer management, and IT asset ledger. Because it is an all-in-one package, there is no need to build or manage a system for each function to be used, and functions to be used can be added or selected only by configuration.

　The groupware is equipped with functions that support work styles such as teleworking and paperless working. For example, the "schedule and task management" function allows users to manage their own schedules, as well as those of their company members, to smoothly coordinate schedules, such as making meeting room reservations during common free time and managing members' tasks.

　In addition, there are many other functions to support information sharing and business operations, such as "electronic meeting rooms" that allow multiple users to post and view documents in a discussion format, and "integrated full-text search" that allows users to search Excel, Word, PowerPoint, PDF, and other files.

　Another feature is the ability to flexibly set access privileges. One of the features of the system is the flexible setting of access privileges, which can be configured in considerable detail for individuals and organizations, from application, document, field, and view units. This prevents information leaks and contributes to strengthening internal controls," said Ikegame.

　The workflow development tool enables application development using screen development tools that do not require programming knowledge. By using the standard components provided, input screens, information flows, and list displays can be defined in low-code settings.

　ArielAirOne also provides a Notes/Domino migration tool. It supports consistent data migration from direct data extraction to conversion and uploading. With ArielAirOne, it is possible to migrate data while taking into account the layout and access privileges when using Notes/Domino," says Ikegame.

　In addition to data, ArielAirOne can also migrate attachments, document links, and application (database) links, and by rewriting LotusScript code into JavaScript code, it is possible to migrate Notes applications that are difficult to migrate using other companies' products.

　ArielAirOne has been developing additional standard functions in response to user requests, and from July 1, 2022, we will newly start API integration with various chat, video conference, and calendar products from Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, Zoom, and LINE WORKS. products.

　This has enhanced business convenience by enabling users to receive notifications of schedules, workflow, etc., which previously could only be received via e-mail, via chat services, and to create a meeting URL for videoconferencing services with a single click at the same time as creating a schedule in ArielAirOne. Mr. Ikegame concluded his presentation by saying, "We will continue to develop new features for the future.


Mr. Ikegame concluded, "ArielAirOne will continue to support the promotion of corporate DX by enhancing its functions and other features. While providing new added value to our customers, we will continue to support not only customers who are considering migration from Notes/Domino, but also those who have various concerns about improving business processes and transforming work styles," he said.

*Reprinted from: https: //swri.jp/article/1117