Making an IBM Lotus Notes application accessible via the Web allows for the widest range of design options available and provides several business advantages, primarily greater collaboration among your employees, customers, and partners. This is especially true when these users do not have access to Lotus Notes. A Web browser and network connection are all that is required to securely access your applications anytime and anywhere. TechFlow has the expertise and resources to rapidly "webify" your IBM Lotus Notes applications using the Lotus Notes Designer tools, as well as the latest Web technologies such as Java, JavaScript, and HTML. TechFlow also has substantial experience converting Notes applications for use via the Web and knows first hand the questions and prerequisites that should be evaluated. For instance:

• Who are the users of the application? Will they be existing Lotus Notes users, new users, or a combination of both? With that said, should the application operate solely for the Web or will it still require functionality through the IBM Lotus Notes Client?
• What will Web users be able to perform with the application? Will the functionality be the same as the IBM Lotus Notes version or just a subset? Will making the application accessible via the Web have an impact on server load?
• Where will the Web users be located? Will the application only be accessible through a corporate intranet or will it be open to the entire internet? What levels of access will users need?

Because different web browsers like Netscape or Internet Explorer display design elements differently, applications viewed over the Web may look different from the IBM Lotus Notes Client. TechFlow's expertise and certified developers can review your IBM Lotus Notes application in a Web browser and pinpoint any key areas where improvements are needed. One of the best practices our developers follow is to utilize multiple browsers (as well as different versions of each browser) in order to discover any differences your end-users may experience.

Each functional piece of the application can then be reviewed to determine if it needs to work on the Web, whether it can work on the Web, and how it would work on the Web. Some of these functional pieces include:

• Forms
• Views
• Data acquisition
• User interface and graphics

During this functional review of the application, some additional design concerns TechFlow would analyze are:

• Are separate forms needed for the Web, or can the existing forms be used with different subforms for Web users?
• How will the fields on a form be designed for the Web?
• The Web does not support some of the IBM Lotus Notes field options and may require the use of multiple fields to reproduce the same functionality.
• What type of actions will need to be included on the form?
• Web users will not have access to the IBM Lotus Notes menu commands. Therefore, additional buttons will be needed.
• How will the IBM Lotus Notes views be handled?
• IBM Lotus Notes views are less appealing over the Web and may need some modifications.
• Are other miscellaneous forms necessary for Web users?
• Web users do not have access to standard IBM Lotus Notes dialogs like error messages and authentication failures.

These key points will help make the transition from an IBM Lotus Notes application to a Web application much easier. Because each application is different, the topics discussed above are not all-inclusive as additional issues may arise. Keeping these ideas in mind when "webifying" an IBM Lotus Notes application will make for a quicker turn-around time as well as a more user-friendly application.