Domino Interface

With all the discussions about AI, automation and what it can do, there seems to be confusion about what is workflow? This has come up a number of times in our discussions with customers. IBM defines it as: "A workflow is a system for managing repetitive processes and tasks which occur in a particular order. They are the mechanism by which people and enterprises accomplish their work, whether manufacturing a product, providing a service, processing information or any other value-generating activity." Basically it is: Automation + Human Element = Workflow AI can assist in improving the effectiveness, but it is the human element that determines whether the workflow best reflects the needs of a business. Here is a brief fun video about workflow in ancient Rome from my colleague Rob Burton.

We are pleased to announce that the latest release of iPhora Automate, our no-code user-driven automation platform. This release (2025091002) brings a new iPhora user experience with significant improvements in capabilities and features, along with faster performance. It also provides business users and other citizen developers with more capabilities for designing and automating their processes. Unlike other solutions, iPhora Automate is built from the ground up as a scalable business automation platform.  iPhora Automate applies a layered approach to process automation. For solutions that need the support of application developers, iPhora Automate provides new enhancements to the PhoraScript language and improvements in creating custom web service connectors. There are now more extension points in the architecture, which allow application developers to utilize PhoraScript in forms, ActionStreams and processes to bet...

When building a web application, optimizing the loading process is important. Previously, we used Uglify-ES and recently Terser to minify individual JavaScript files to help reduce the packages and load time. With the next release of iPhora Automatic coming very soon, we wanted to significantly reduce the loading time needed and the number of HTTP requests handled by the Domino server. Our struggles for the past few weeks have been figuring out the right JavaScript bundler that works with our Dojo Toolkit-based framework. So why are we still using Dojo Toolkit you might first ask? Many have moved away from Dojo Toolkit, the granddaddy of JavaScript frameworks. Dojo provides us the core widget inheritance framework that is not just used for creating widgets like fields and combo boxes, but is used for building the many different app layers of iPhora not just statically but dynamically in real-time. It allows us to have a secure and fast SPA (single page application) architecture. We d...

Now that you have downloaded and installed iPhora Automate - Basic onto your HCL Domino server,  what's next. It is time to create your first workflow app using iPhora Automate - Basic. To help you create your first app, we have created a library of training videos covering the basics of iPhora Automate and how to create an app. Each video takes you through a step-by-step process in building, assembling and deploying an app in iPhora Automate.  Currently, there are 45 videos in this library with dozens of new videos in production that covers both beginner and advanced topics. In addition to these tutorial, we have more training content coming soon that highlights the different types of apps you can create using iPhora Automate. To access these videos go to: https://iphora.io/iphora.nsf/courses And start accelerating your business through automation.

We are pleased to announce the release of iPhora Automate - Basic, the freemium edition of our Domino-based automation platform.  This limited edition allows you to create and deploy up to 10 workflow apps each can have unlimited flows for up to 10 workflow participants.  Unlike some public cloud-based solutions, your flows never expire. A valid HCL Domino license for the number of users is required.  We recommend that you install it on a HCL Domino server running 12.02 FP4 or higher for Windows, Linux or IBMi. Go to https://iphora.io to download your copy of iPhora Automate - Basic. Instructions for installing iPhora Automate - Basic can be found here: https://iphora.io/iphora.nsf/documents To learn how to create your own workflow apps go to the iPhora Learning content: https://iphora.io/iphora.nsf/courses

This post was to be the final post of our "The iPhora Journey" series and summarize our entire journey and what we created.  However, as I was preparing the final post I realize there was one item that I hadn't discussed. That is the experience of purchasing a product and installing it onto a Domino server. So, Part 14 will be the final post of this series. Whether you are purchasing a product that you really want or paying bills online, purchasing services or products online has become the norm.  For a new product launch we wanted this easy-to-buy and deploy experience. Depending on the version of our product, different features are enabled. If a customer wants to upgrade the product to a more advanced version, the experience should be as easy as signing up for the upgrade, paying and the new features should available in the customer's installation. This is expected for most public cloud-based solutions. However, not so easy for private cloud/on-premises solutions. N...

Public vs Private In the digital automation market, which includes workflow and business process automation, there are literally dozens of no-code or low-code platforms available as public cloud solutions. They range from products like Zapier to Tray.io. In general, they all provide easy-to-use interfaces for assembling cloud services together in order to automate processes. Some are geared towards individual users and some towards enterprise businesses. However, aside from the ones intended for individuals or very small businesses, they may require some significant setup, configuration, and administration. Public cloud-based solutions have a number of advantages for process automation. You can sign up and get access to these services within minutes and have a new process up and running in a relatively short time. However, the majority of these solutions operate by routing your data (and the subsequent responses) through a series of different cloud services. Not only is your process de...

The world of data processing is far different than it was 10 years ago.  More and more of it is being done externally by highly specialized service providers. This enables companies to utilize the best available services -- without having to reinvent the wheel -- and incorporate those services into their core business processes. The resulting approach is also more agile, enabling companies to respond quickly to ever-changing business needs. You can think of your business users as your subject matter experts. They are the ones who have first hand, daily experience with your data and processes. In a perfect world, they are the people who would be designing your processes, and in today's environment, that means taking full advantage of external services. Your IT administrators are the gatekeepers. They are charged with protecting your business from threats and maintaining the security of your data. The last thing they want to see are your business users exposing the company's data...

By trade, I am an Electrical Engineer with a specialty in Microwave Engineering. And as part of my education, I had to take courses in process and industrial engineering which involved process optimization and automation. I hated these two courses and naively thought I would never ever use the information that I learned in these two courses. I only had interest in the technical aspect of engineering and with my first job out of college that is what I did. Never did I ever thought that I would spend the past 20 years focused on stuff that I hated in college. The concepts of iPhora came out of issues that we encountered as we rapidly grew another business many years ago from which spawn our business process automation business which we have been doing for the past 20 years. For the past few years, we have been transforming our consulting service platform into a commercial off-the-shelf product that focuses on the business user as the target audience. We would like to introduce iPhora Aut...