Companies worldwide are developing new technology strategies and solutions, and there is a fundamental question that can keep CEOs awake at night: Build or buy? Choosing whether to buy or build has historically depended on the type of tech that a company needs to implement. But in an environment in which more people than ever are working remotely and app developers need to cater to more user modalities (such as mobile, wearable, and desktop devices) than ever before, a clear shift is emerging in favor of buying. [button link="https://www.hcltechsw.com/products/volt-mx" type="big" color="black"] Build consumer-grade multiexperience apps — fast — with HCL Volt MX[/button] The hidden costs of building It’s understandably tempting to build new solutions — companies have teams of talented developers and want to maintain control over their costs as well as their technology. However, what initially seems like the cheaper, more reliable option can be riddled with hidden costs. Organizations tend to underestimate both the time and money it takes to maintain security and operations when building new tech — plus it’s hard for development teams to control or push back against “scope creep” when those requests to add features or functions come from upper management or the head of IT. There are often many more building steps required before deployment than companies often realize when they first plan projects and solutions.  The time and IT support that building internally requires can slow the deployment of new tech drastically. We are living in a time when time-sensitive information and updates are as important as ever, and remote working conditions make it impossible for IT teams to address company tech issues in person. Once an app or other technology solution is built, the journey is far from over — development teams have to maintain and update it to keep up with the needs and demands that can come from employees, partners, and/or customers. Enterprise organizations bank on success by choosing to buy A recent Forrester study interviewed five companies with revenue from $5 million to $6 billion and found the net financial benefit of buying new tech (over building) to be $1,686,884, with an average ROI...

If you joined us at Digital Week 2020, you’ve probably heard about the preview of Domino v12. (It was the most popular session of the event!) Now that the release of v12 is around the corner, we would like to provide all current customers an exclusive preview. Today, we’re officially launching the first public beta of Domino v12!   We are inviting you to join this beta program and take part in shaping the future of our product, helping us deliver the best-ever product experience! All existing Domino customers are automatically entitled and will be able to download the required software packages from Flexnet today. (See below for Q&A.)  The goal of the Domino v12 Beta Program is for our community of beta participants to conduct an honest, constructive, and thoughtful review and testing of the Domino v12 beta software, which includes HCL Domino V12 , HCL Notes V12 , HCL Domino Designer & Admin V12 and HCL Traveler V12    In the first phase of the beta program, we are delivering the following components:    Domino on Docker (English)   Domino for Windows, Linux, AIX (English)   Traveler for Windows, Linux, AIX (Multilingual)   Notes Standard for Windows (English)   Notes Standard for Mac (English) Designer and Admin Client (English)     At a later stage of the beta program, we will be providing Domino and Traveler for IBMi, as well as additional language support.  Beta participants, please let us know how you think about the product by submitting your feedback in our beta forum. For general input and new ideas or feature enhancement requests, please use the Domino ideas forum here.   v12 Beta 1 Highlights  Domino  Reduce your total cost of ownership by using DAOS tier 2 objects across servers   A wide range of security improvements including: - Two Factor Authentication (TOTP) - Automated SSL/TLS certificate management with built-in support for Let’s Encrypt - Implementing IP based blocking of failed authentication attempts based on this idea - And many more Automate your Domino server installation and initial configuration Domino directory enhancements: A variety of improvements around the Domino directory design (pubnames.ntf) to improve usability for administrators   Domino Designer  XPages now Bootstrap 4.4.1 - Thanks to Howard for this idea.    Improvements to build responsive and...

Cloud-native adoption can seem complex and daunting — but it doesn’t have to be. Digital experience platforms that connect and integrate some or all parts of your enterprise require thoughtful planning, organization and testing to successfully make a cloud-native transition. The benefits to adopting a cloud-native approach, however, are huge. From reducing your total cost of ownership (TCO) to speeding up the development process and delivering experiences during peak times without service interruptions, adopting cloud will accelerate business processes, improve system reliability, and preserve the value of your investments.  With HCL SoFy you can dramatically simplify and accelerate a cloud-native deployment of HCL Digital Experience … it will take about the same amount of time it takes to make a cup of coffee(!).  You can also connect other HCL products and services in just a few clicks — and discover the native synergies within HCL’s family of products — in a cloud-native environment.  Testing New Possibilities  Deploying HCL Digital Experience cloud-natively in minutes may sound too good to be true, but HCL SoFy makes it easy. HCL SoFy paves the way for rapid testing and prototyping cycles that enable organizations to speed cloud-native adoption, reduce TCO, auto scale services based on demand, and even accelerate the deployment of your feature pipeline keeping organizations ahead of competitors.  HCL SoFy enables organizations to quickly assess and test cloud-native strategies to see what best fits adoption plans. It also helps organizations quickly gain the expertise to successfully adopt cloud-native and establish an understanding of what is required to make a transition to a cloud-native environment.  Using HCL Sofy, businesses can gain valuable insights to help plan cloud-native adoption transitions based on hands-on expertise and real-world scenarios.  Watch this video to learn more. Taking the Guesswork Out  The move to cloud-native solutions has many benefits but getting started and assessing the differences in implementation (compared to an on-premises installations) has historically stopped many organizations from taking the plunge. Learning how to transition your HCL Digital Experience platform to a cloud-native deployment using container, Kubernetes and microservices technologies used to be painful, but, now with HCL SoFy, it’s much easier to understand, plan and take the guesswork out of making the cloud-native transition. With HCL SoFy, you can also connect other HCL products — such as HCL Unica and HCL Commerce — to provide a world-class experience to your customers with just a few clicks.  Tell Me More  HCL is not only committed to providing the latest cloud-native technology, but also to helping organizations successfully transform to being entirely cloud-native. Learn more about how you can take advantage of HCL SoFy’s powerful features with HCL Digital Experience by registering to see it in action in a short webinar and live demo or through scheduling a free personalized workshop where our team can help you get started.  [button link="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7194598673384101135?source=blog" color="silver"] Register Today[/button] [button link="https://leap.hcltechsw.com/apps/anon/org/app/9f05f80f-f0d9-4559-8eb6-9f025699aa91/launch/index.html?form=F_Form1" color="silver"] Schedule a Free...

A digital experience takes place when a customer has an interaction with an organization exclusively through digital technology. The world was already heading in an increasingly digital direction, but in the wake of COVID-19, as more and more teams and organizations have been working remotely and relying on technology to power their workflows, a strong digital customer experience has never been more imperative. What are some steps you can take right now to maximize your digital experiences?  Invest in strong customer experience software In order to ensure that they’re providing the best possible customer experience (or CX), companies need to prioritize their customer experience platform — cheaper one-trick-pony solutions won’t cut it. A strong CX platform will offer personalized options to the customer, ensure that their information is secure, and offer quick and reliable self-service when needed. Advanced data collection and machine learning personalization solutions included in a CX platform make a well-rounded solution crucial to invest in.       2. Provide a secure platform When providing secure personal information such as a bank account or patient ID, customers need to be sure that private and personally identifiable information is handled safely and securely. Though customers are generally willing and enthusiastic to engage in convenient digital experiences, the major data breaches of recent years still leave plenty of consumers understandably skittish about providing organizations with personal info. According to data gathered by Lift361, “strong security increases overall customer satisfaction from 13% to 40%, and customers have shown they are willing to spend more with companies they trust to protect their privacy and data.” Ensure that your tech has personal security measures in place and be transparent with users and prospects about just how safe they can feel using your platform. [button link="https://www.hcltechsw.com/products/dx" type="small" color="silver" newwindow="no" textalign="center"] HCL Digital Experience is one of the most secure solutions out there, trusted by 8...

You’ve all heard the HCL Domino Volt tagline, “Build enterprise apps lightning fast.” But what do we really mean when we say “fast”? We recently hosted a webinar to show you what you can build in 30 days or less. You can catch the replay here or read the recap below. You’ll also find responses to our live Q&A during the webinar below.   If you don’t already know, HCL Domino Volt is a low-code capability for business users and citizen developers to easily build powerful, secure, and enterprise-grade workflow-based applications. From business-process apps to customer-facing mobile apps, you can create solutions for any industry, across different use cases. What Can You Do in 30 Days?   So, let’s imagine that you have a solution or app in mind but have little to no knowledge of HCL Domino Volt. How do you go about using it to build an app? Assuming you have a day job and can only squeeze in 1-2 hours a day, this is what a timeline could look like for you: Day 1-3 (3 days): Learn how to use HCL Domino Volt. Sign up for a free sandbox account and get access to a list of training resources.   Day 4-9 (5 days): Pick a use case and define the requirements. What are you trying to solve and build? Does your app need workflows and approval processes? How will those be mapped out? Your requirements might also require refinements and iterations along the way.   Day 10-17 (7 days): Build the app! Refer to our documentation and wiki pages along the way use our forum to participate in our community and ask questions.   Day 18-25 (7 days): Share, test, and refine the app. Building your app is an iterative process. This is where you’ll build the app, share and gather feedback, and work towards a finalized version.     Day 26-29 (3 days): Style the app. You can either use the current themes provided or add custom themes that align with your organization’s branding. Or use CSS or HTML to...

We are proud and excited to announce the HCL Ambassador Class of 2021 for HCL Digital Solutions.  The HCL Ambassadors program is an annual recognition program that rewards individuals who go above and beyond in their commitment, advocacy and knowledge-sharing of the HCL Digital Solutions products. HCL Ambassadors gain recognition from us in the following forms  Community calls and social networking forums   Access to exclusive, “invite-only” beta programs and events   Bi-annual calls with senior executives   Fast escalation of support tickets to subject matter expert engineers   Free-of-charge licenses to use HCL Software products   Enhanced exposure of published content through syndication into the HCL Ambassadors blog   HCL Ambassadors-branded merchandise   Access to the program is decided annually following a nomination and judging process. These typically take place in October and November, with the announcement of the next year’s HCL Ambassadors in December.  The HCL Ambassador Class of 2021 term runs from January 2021 through to December 2021. More details can be found on the HCL Ambassadors hub. Congratulations to everyone who has been recognized this year! We are thrilled to be working with you.