Lesson from Lotus Notes: Why To Start From Zero Risk?

Lotus Notes offers an important lesson in the history of the e-mail and collaboration platform used in institutions for decades. When making a decision to build a completely new system, it is often a bug that has been overlooked the actual value of the existing solution.

Lotus Notes failed is not only due to technical inability:

• *When writing the new system that will replace the line code in the context, the business logic and integrations that exist were ignored *
• The user base of the system is so wide, the return cost has exceeded the most time of the investment required for change
• Modernization efforts have not been added to the value of existing infrastructure sufficiently
• The choice of radical change in place of historical updates caused producy losses during the transition period
• The status of the old system “running but outdated”, delayed its businesses if they force change

Technology managers often browse new, bright solutions. However, Lotus Notes shows examples, understanding the gradual modernization and current system, is much more rational than starting from scratch. It is good calculation that every business needs to improve existing or completely change by doing cost and benefit analysis.