Andy Pedisich Technotics

Making Lotus Notes Sticky in the Cloud, Distributed Services,and Other Technology Transitions Andy Pedisich Technotics

In This Session ... • Lotus Notes, Domino, and other on-premises collaboration applications are under fire • There are forces at work trying to take those functions to a faraway place called “The Cloud” • Do you remember before “The Cloud,” when stuff like this was just called “Online Services”? • For around 14 years, millions of people used Hotmail, but they didn’t use a “cloud email solution” • If you’re life is potentially or currently being affected by this on-line cloud thing, then this session is for you

Let’s Get Biases Out of the Way • I am neither for nor against the cloud • Since moving to the cloud isn’t a trivial professional services activity, it is great for our consulting business but … • Here’s our position on migrating to the cloud for email • Each organization needs to do a careful analysis of their goals and the value proposition of the cloud in their environment • This session is filled with opinions • And it’s more about you than the choices in the cloud • This isn’t about social business or social media • It’s about your company using distributed services and how you are going to live with it one way or another

What We’ll Cover … • What the heck is going on? • Why do I feel so angry about this happening? • What can we do to prevent this? • Does this move to a non-Notes environment happen overnight? • Does being the “voice of reason” help the situation? • Why have people determined they will not go cloud? • What happens if the train has left the station? • Wrap-up

Here’s the Story • Companies are constantly re-evaluating their current positions regarding operating system platforms, messaging, collaboration environments • It’s all part of the technology refresh cycle • Positive developments in online offerings for services and hardware are impossible to ignore • Enterprises are looking at making a fresh start • Part of this exploration is the evaluation of online services for messaging and collaboration • Also thrown in the mix is an examination of other on-premises solutions

A Short Time Ago There Were Fewer Options • A few years back it was simpler, and yet just as contentious • How many times did we do the MS Exchange versus Lotus Notes comparison? • I wish it was still that simple • We have pretty much pulled away from this short story of migrating to a different in-house email system

CIO’s Top Pains with Their Current Messaging Platforms • When asked why are you interested in migrating collaboration platforms, the number one driver is cost, but there are other considerations Source: IDG Research Services Survey2009

What’s Really Making the Change Happen • Executive personal preference for email client is usually the real #1 driver for moving to an online provider • Do you find that surprising? • No • Mergers and acquisitions are forcing the re-evaluation • There are new requirements to integrate into other applications • It’s part of a strategic IT change moving to SAS offerings • On an older collaboration platform (ND6/Exchange 2003/Groupwise) and need to upgrade anyway • Dislike of current collaboration platform • It is the “in” thing and management doesn’t want to look like it is behind the times

It’s the Budget, or Is It? • Cost of current environment is a factor • But very few can talk about how much their current email environment actually does cost • And its difficult to get a grip on what it is going to cost in the cloud • A year ago all the cloud vendors were talking about cost savings • That’s changed because reality set in • People now realize that in some cases a good on-premises solution can be less expensive than the cloud

Other More Visceral Reasons for Cloud Movement • Some IT departments really dropped the ball • They allowed preventable, unplanned service outages which annoyed everyone • They weren’t as proactive as they should have been about fixing client problems or server performance or stability issues • I know this for a fact after doing dozens of Domain Audits over the years • Take note though that some did not screw up at all but they are still under the microscope

Plus, We’ve Had Professional Help • In addition, IBM/Lotus did not help the situation • Minor example ... • They shot themselves in the client foot a bunch of times • Smart Upgrade is 10 years old and is still wonky and limited in its functionality • Remember that time spent on solution management like upgrades was the number two pain for IT management • And lately change of marketing message to the social aspects has put off enterprises that don’t want or need social networking • Seriously! Has any manager said to you that we need a working environment that acts like Facebook?

You’re in the Second Stage of the Kübler-Ross Model • The Kübler-Ross model, which was commonly known as The Five Stages of Grief, a theory first introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross • Denial –“I feel fine. We’re not leaving Lotus Notes.” • Anger –“Why me?!? Whose fault is this?” • (* current state) • Bargaining – “If only I can convince management” • Depression – “My career is over! I don’t know anything else!” • Acceptance – “It’s going to be OK. I might as well prepare for it.” • You can fight it, but it’s better to work with it • There are lots of things you can do about it • You just have to remember how you gotto where you are now

Here’s a Short List of Technologies I Once Worked With • Look how many of these things I learned • Basic, Fortran, Perl, Rex, Logo • dBase II and III, FoxPro, Visual FoxPro, Paradox • The VAX. OS2 • MS Office, Lotus SmartSuite, including macro languages • Microsoft Management System • Microsoft Exchange • Every version of DOS since version 1.0 • Every version of Windows since version 1.0 • Every version of Windows NT since version 4 • Every release of Notes and Domino since 2.1 • I am not stopping now!

Focus Easing Up on the Top 4 Pains • Costs, solution management, security, and user experience are the top five pain points • Lets look at each one with project sensibilities Source: IDG Research Services Survey2009

Cost Reduction from the Server Side • Many Domains have just too many servers • Infrastructure was built a few years ago • Are not taking advantage of improvements that affect scale • Disk space usage gets the attention of members of the board and sometimes places limits on the number of users per server • This is fixable but it takes some work • Fortunately it does not take a lot of resources • I know several companies that have done these things to the betterment of their environment and their relationship to management • Remember, if you can make it cheaper to work on the premises you might get to stay there Of the 10 things you can do

Server Consolidation • You’ll need to dig out the statistics on this one and determine if your servers are really breaking a sweat • Hopefully you have already implemented clusters to lower the risk of a service outage for servers that have been combined • Use transaction logging on the systems for faster recovery in the event of a server crash • Your server consolidation project saves hard dollars for the hardware and soft dollars from maintenance such as backup/restore • And it will project an aura of responsibility around you

Cost Reduction for Storage • You already have the definitive free tool for reducing disk space and it is free freefree • Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) • We generally see a disk space reduction of 30% to 40% where it’s been implemented on mail servers • In one case we saved 7TB of SAN • Plus we didn’t have to do backups of all that stuff • The space was redeployed to other types of servers

Client Upgrades and Fixpacks • Sad to say here that your best free choice is still Smart Upgrade • It works about 90% to 95% of the time as long as you’re doing something simple such as an upgrade or fixpack • And if your environment is as consistent as possible • It is super important to you to be as agile as possible deploying new releases and fixpacks • Generally the number of changes and functionality with each new release or fixpack is minor compared to the increases in stability • And stability affects the user experience, which is the #4 pain point for IT Executives

Improving the User Experience • Use Client Diagnostic Collection • Use an organizational level policy to distribute a desktop policy settings document to collect crash diagnostic information from all Notes users in the company • Don’t prompt the user to send the report or for comments

Fault Analysis • You’ll probably find, as we have, that users are so sick of crashing that they don’t bother calling the help desk when Notes goes down • Use the fault analysis feature to pinpoint the cause of problems on Notes client and then fix them

Server Monitoring • Don’t wait for people to call you • Actively monitor your environment • Know more than they do • Domino Domain Monitoring – the best tool you have for checking out problems in your domain • Pay attention! • Your job is at stake

Better ID and Password Management • Here’s another freebie that can help make Notes sticky • Implement the ID Vault • It is a project that has almost zero resource requirements • You build vaults, and then use security policies that connect users with the vault • It gives you awesome power to reset passwords • And will quietly provision passwords for your users behind the scenes • This project has a lot of user impact, has very little resource requirements, but is not at all cool to users

Improving the User Mobile Experience • Implement Traveler to really make users happy • It’s the most obvious change you can make to your environment that locks in Notes/Domino as a solution • I have not met a single traveler user who wanted to give it up and go back to BlackBerry • Traveler is a free entitlement with most Notes/Domino collaboration license packages

Overnight Changes Are Possible • A few years ago I saw 5,000 people migrated to on-premise Exchange in about 4 months • They still had a bit of the Lotus infrastructure to dismantle • Was it preventable? No. The new boss liked Outlook. • Another case moved a home office to Exchange, but kept Notes in branch offices around the world • This took the better part of a year for several thousand users • Obviously there was still a need to keep Notes around • Was it preventable? No. The old boss hated IBM. • Why did the boss hate IBM? • Because they dropped support for OS2some 10 years prior

Some Moves are More Well Thought Out Than Others • Most sites examining the alternatives are deadly serious and put a lot of up-front work into the process • As a Notes worker, you want to be deadly serious about getting involved in the preliminary activities • You do NOT want to be seen as an obstruction • Being an obstruction almost guarantees your demise when the move happens • Be wise: No matter what’s going on, keep a clear head and find out the details • The vendors generally minimize the amount of effort it takes for the move, and this is to your benefit if you are proactive and take the proper interest

The Voice of Reason Gambit • Depends who is doing the reasoning • Since decisions like this happen at a pretty high level the people who will no longer be in charge are sometimes vilified • And I have seen not one case where management decided they wouldn’t even look for another solution based on discussions with their messaging team • The investigation almost always moves forward • One of the smartest things you can do is come up with an actual cost analysis of what your current environment costs to run • Then when the new choices emerge you’ll have a more factual, less emotional response • This is not a time when emotional responses are wanted

Going Cloudless • In some cases, there are legal issues • For example, the government is permitted to subpoena your mail at Google • You can’t fight it • Some managers don’t like that • Another case is that the enterprise is concerned about the security of the cloud • However the vendors offering a cloud solution have much more to lose than we do should there be a breach

Sending Mail Around the World to the Adjacent Cube • Still another case hinges around the location of the vendor services • Some vendors want to locate your company in one location, which is generally where the main office of your company is located • That works fine if your entire company is located in the US • But for the branch office in Tokyo, it means sending email to the US to get them to the person sitting next to you • Be sure to learn about where your servers might end up

Costs Higher Than Predicted • Sometime costs turn out to be more than anticipated • Certainly they are higher than the actual cost of getting the service itself • Migration of data costs serious money • Additional products to support single sign-on, directory synchronization, user life cycle management, plus the people to manage those services • One of the most amazing things about going to the cloud is the incorrect assumption that it will take away the need for managing email • Email will still need to be managed • User support will still need to be provided

When the Train Leaves, Be on the Train • Don’t avoid this train • Pack your bags and jump on • Incorporate this knowledge into your every day life • Pick a cloud product and embrace it

Exploit the Integration Points • Consider that all online alternatives are web based • If you have applications written in Domino, consider having them adjusted using XPages • I just saw some amazing work in XPages where I swear it was difficult to tell the Notes app from the app in a browser • If you like working in Notes and Domino, having an application development environment like Domino can be key

Keep Yourself Open to New Ways of Thinking • One thing that you’ll notice is that the rules for engagement of users changes with the cloud • With Notes, there were always questions about customization • There are very few customizations permitted in the cloud • It is by very definition something you cannot control • The rules of engagement on users has changed • The cloud introduces change and the users accept it • Google changes a little every week • Learn to embrace change

Back to School • Learn another technology • Virtual servers • Firewalls • Mail compliance systems • The SAS, online whatever that is being explored/adopted • You have to expand your horizons • Don’t be afraid to explore • It’s never too late to learn a new skill

Additional Resources • Jason Cross, “Stop the Cloud, I Want to Get Off”(PC World [US Online], May 2011). • www.arnnet.com.au/article/384920/stop_cloud_want_get_off_/ • Michael Vizard, Putting a Stop to Cloud Services Sprawl (IT Business Edge, February 2012). • www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/vizard/putting-a-stop-to-cloud-services-sprawl/?cs=49868 • “Make the Financial Case for Virtualization and Cloud Computing” (IT Business Edge). • www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/show.aspx?c=87828 • IBM/Lotus Notes Administrator Help

7 Key Points to Take Home • The number one pain with messaging platforms for IT Executives is cost • The number one reason for moving to a different messaging platform is personal preferences for the messaging client • The principal ways of reducing costs with Notes are server consolidation and DAOS • The sexiest part of Lotus Domino for end users is Traveler • The ID vault is cool, but won’t win you corporate points the way Traveler will • Domino Domain Monitoring – the best tool you have for checking out problems in your domain • Make sure you are on the train when it leaves the station

Your Turn! How to contact me: Andy Pedisich Andyp@technotics.com www.andypedisich.com

Andy Pedisich Technotics

Andy Pedisich Technotics

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