Help desks can be automated, as can project tracking, documentation, and review processes. Developers in different locations can use it to swap ideas, solutions, and bug fixes. Ken Wachs, manager of application development at USConnect Philadelphia, a network integration, training, and consulting firm, lists some needs that Notes can fill. If you need applications in which data has to be migrated long distances over phone lines on a periodic basis and modified in both places, it's a great choice. If your company is moving toward a decentralized data model, Notes is appropriate because people everywhere get access to it, modify it, and know that it will be replicated on all other servers.
Experts urge potential adopters to start their quest for answers with their own business.
One of the easiest Notes apps to build handles user complaints about too much e-mail. It can turn many internal e-mails into a database where workers can go to read when and if they need to. On the other hand, Ogdin cautions that without proper user training, the much-touted Notes discussion database can be abused. There's a tendency to just put up a discussion database and expect magic to happen. When Cultures Clash Far from providing an instant solution to multiple problems, an effective Notes implementation demands that users change how they work.