Lotus Notes application challenge: semi-structured data
Semi-structured data represent a specific challenge for modernizing classic Lotus Notes Domino applications.
First, rich text fields in Notes applications should be transformed to equally formatted HTML. Secondly, most classic Notes applications use “wysiwyg” forms — compound documents whose layouts are precisely designed for both data-entry and print. In modern applications, this concept has been replaced by responsive design for web and mobile (often combined with PDF output for printing or delivering customer-facing documents).
Lotus Notes application consolidation
There are also other reasons why migrating data from old databases can be more complex than anticipated. New applications don’t necessarily match old applications one-to-one. In some cases, business processes have evolved over the years; in others, mergers, acquisitions, or restructurings have taken place. Or, a company may have simply attempted to reduce IT complexity by consolidating applications and infrastructure.
Migration to the cloud is also a great opportunity to rationalize and consolidate your application landscape. The benefit of smart migration is unquestionable—potentially saving you hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual hosting fees.
Our approach
To jettison historical baggage and mitigate risks, companies can break the data migration process into three steps:
- Extracting historical Notes records to an archive repository
- Re-architecting databases and applications
- Migrating only necessary data to the new system
Following this process frees developers from the burden of supporting legacy data, which accelerates new application development and data migration. New databases will contain only live data, while historical records will be available to authorized users for future reference, especially in the event of litigation or an audit.
Do you have a specific Notes application modernization or data migration project you would like to discuss with us? Please send us your comments or questions, or download the Seascape for Notes trial.