Enterprise Messaging: Linking Minds Together Across The Enterprise
by David Matthiesen and Stacy Hunt
Application Development
The groupware tools on the market usually provide at least a forms-development
capability. Some, such as Lotus Notes, go much further in providing a replicating
object-store back end and a very flexible front-end development environment.
Integration with the World Wide Web is the important trend to look for in
upcoming releases.
Groupware tools are very complementary with the Web. They allow multiple
authors to contribute documents that can then be published on the Web very
easily. One of the most time-consuming aspects of being a Webmaster is managing
documents and hypertext links. Most groupware tools provide some form of
hypertext link and document management capability, which can be extended
to the Web.
Groupware tools such as Lotus Notes are moving away from just publishing
databases to the Web. They
will support HTTP natively, so Web browsers can
access groupware databases just as they would any other Web Server. This
opens the information stored in a groupware repository to anyone with a
Web browser. Some vendors may choose to go this route for some client platforms
rather than take the time to develop a platform-specific front end. The
trend is for the Web browser to become the universal client, and unless
groupware tools vendors recognize this and make their tools complementary
with it, they will miss the boat. Your groupware tool should support or
be planning support for HTTP, HTML, Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP),
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Secure HTTP, Java and ActiveX.
Communication with the Web should be two-way if possible. Web clients should
be able to post information to the groupware back end as well as retrieve
it. For example, you could survey your external customers for information
that could be published to a groupware database. It could then be manipulated
and reports could be run from it. Discussion forums could be constructed
where both Web browsers and the groupware clients could post discussion
items and responses in the same forum.
In addition to providing integration with the Web, groupware systems should
offer an easy development environment for end users and a true structured
programming language for developers. One of the problems with Notes (up
until version 4.0) was its lack of a structured programming language. Professional
developers, who were used to a structured programming language, were frustrated
by the limitations of the @language. With Notes Release 4, they have access
to Lotus Script. It is a BASIC-compatible programming language that works
across all the client platforms Notes supports (Windows 3.x, Windows95,
Mac, Unix, OS/2, NT). Other development front ends to Notes are Lotus Notes
HiTest Tools for Visual Basic, Revelation Technologies (ViP for Lotus Notes),
Gupta Technologies (SQL Windows) and PowerSoft (Power
Builder Libraries
for Notes), to mention a few. APIs are also available for C and C++.
When rolling out a new groupware product, it is important that the application
development department in your company is involved at an early state. They
are usually the most familiar with customer needs and will not view your
new groupware development environment as a threat if they are a stakeholder
in its rollout. In shops where the traditional development environment has
been the mainframe, groupware tools that support rapid application deployment
can be a severe change in paradigm. Time should be taken to train the application
development department on the strengths and limitations of the groupware
tool.
Conclusion
There are many things to consider when investing in a messaging/groupware
system. Rarely is there a more utilized network application than e-mail
at most companies. Usage tends to grow exponentially once trust in the system
is established. We hope this article will provoke the thoughts of those
chartered with making the decisions in your company, and that we at least
save you some time and money in your quest for the field of dreams messaging
system roll out.
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