fme AG
fme SRL
Overview of the blog post series
- Modernization: OpenText WebTop to D2
- Development of an individual administration client
- Phasing out the OpenText WebTop
- Interface to other systems
- Change Management / Communication
Background facts
- More than 100,000 users
- More than 70 million documents
- Used in numerous countries and companies
Part 1: Modernization – OpenText Webtop to D2
The OpenText Webtop is technology that has been outdated for several years. Both the user interface and the functionalities have not been further developed by the vendor, so users must adapt to the rigid web application. At the same time, the application reaches its limits and can no longer handle large amounts of data. The result: dissatisfaction, frustration and acceptance problems among users. The goal on the part of our client was therefore clear: user acceptance must be increased again and at the same time future security must be ensured.
What doesn’t fit is made to fit – the development
Existing technology
- OpenText D2 21.4
- OpenText Content Server 21.4
- Oracle 19c
- Red Hat Linux 7.9
- Apache TomCat 5.5.
With OpenText D2, a standard application was available that was also set up for modern technology such as the latest browsers. This was a good starting point, but of course the standard did not take all the client’s needs into account. So, we developed and customized together with the client, got power users on board in an early pilot, and then successively expanded the pilot user base.
The result
- A modern and chic interface – consisting of a wide variety of widgets
- All necessary functions for normal and power users are available
- Fast document display of numerous formats
- Customizable interface
- User can switch between different interfaces (workspaces), depending on work style and focus
- User can customize individual interface according to his wishes and needs by selecting relevant widgets
Please find further information here: Datasheet Application Modernization
From development to user acceptance – with change management
The functioning technology is the basis, but it is essential to bring the users along with the change. Even if the new system obviously holds many advantages – most people do not like to change. For this reason, we supported the entire rollout with change management to explain the new options in an appealing way and to ease the transition. This included a custom design, information sessions, help documents and short videos. We will provide a more detailed insight into our change management approach in the last part of our blog series.
Last but not least, the most important question: Did we succeed and achieve our goal?
We remember, the goal was to ensure future-proofing of the document management system and to improve user acceptance. Against this background: Yes, the goal was definitely achieved. The system is secure for the future – new technology, compatible with the latest browsers and all relevant functions are available. And user acceptance has also increased significantly again. The new, customizable options are being actively used.
The attentive reader may have noticed that so far, we have only talked about the users. But what would a document management system be without comprehensive administration options? Since OpenText D2 did not offer the possibility to implement customer requirements in the standard version, we developed a customized administration client, through which the assignment of authorizations, preassignments, regular authorization confirmations and many other administrator activities take place. But more about this in the next part of our blog series…
To discuss your own document management system modernization journey, please fill out this contact form and we’ll put you in touch with our experts.