Are you planning to upgrade your Lotus Notes clients to R8.5 ?

“Get it right and keep it right” with Desktop Upgrader

Desktop Upgrader provides out-of-the box functionality for upgrading Lotus Notes clients.

Desktop Upgrader takes advantage of capabilities of Desktop Manager - such as the Audit results and ability to run scripts on
the client - to automate Notes client upgrades.

Using the capabilities of Desktop Manager after performing the upgrade assures the integrity of the desktops going forward.
 

Desktop Upgrader Key Features:

Checks the size of each clients’ hard drive and free space

Tests availability of the upgrade file destination on each PC

Offers customizable uploads of the new release files during Notes sessions (for example by packets of several MBs, or on a specific date)

Deploys and executes the Notes upgrade

Automatically generates a backup in case something goes wrong

Automatically launches the Notes Client when the upgrade is completed.

With Desktop Upgrader^TM, automate the upgrade to new releases of Lotus Notes, control the costs and manage the process, and assure that your desktop settings and configurations retain their integrity over time after the upgrade is finished. 

Ensure a smooth and trouble free Notes upgrade with Desktop Upgrader

What about automating the upgrade launch? For example at a specific date, or by suggesting the end user through a dialog box, to launch his Notes client release upgrade.

Desktop Upgrader^TM enables you to control and manage the launch of the Notes Client upgrade. You can select a list of candidate users through a Notes view, and launch the upgrade by just a simple click.

To fully automate and industrialize the upgrade process you must supply Desktop Manager with each PC administrator login and password. How?

Desktop Upgrader^TM stores in an encrypted file the administrator login and password of each PC. The update of certain information (mail server mail, user.id which should be used, etc…) is usually inputted by the user through dialogue boxes when the new release of the Notes client is launched for the first time. How can you avoid this interaction with the users?

Desktop Upgrader^TM prepares and uploads this information guaranteeing configuration standardization and compliance.

How can you control the project is running as planned, respecting deadlines, which clients were upgraded and which still need to be upgraded?

Desktop Upgrader^TM enables you to supervise, manage and control your release upgrade project from a single interface.

How can you maintain the integrity of Notes desktop configurations and settings after the upgrade is completed ?

 With Desktop Manager^TM, desktop settings and configurations are preserved after the upgrade is completed.

 For even more efficiency, fully manage your Lotus Notes environment with Desktop Manager - to find out more click here.

See the Best Practices for more details

Desktop Upgrader : the solution that guarantees the success of your Lotus Notes clients upgrade project!

Desktop Upgrader is seamlessly integrated with Desktop Manager following a specific process represented in the graph below.

The process and the tool were designed to fully automate Lotus Notes release upgrades, dramatically reducing project costs, project duration and impact on end users.

Following this process and Cooperteam's Best Practices (click here to download) approach guarantees the success of your Lotus Notes Upgrade Project!

Desktop Upgrader allows you to manage errors during the migration process (server side as well as client side).

Upgrading with Cooperteam's DESKTOP UPGRADER

Q. Do I need to install Desktop Manager to use Desktop Upgrader?
A. Yes.  Desktop Upgrader is a plug-in module which uses Desktop Manager as an engine to drive its modules.

Q. Do I still need to make a package with InstallShield Tuner?
A. Not necessarily.  If you only have a basic upgrade scenario, you may be able to simply run the standard Lotus Install .msi from within Upgrader, and perform all the customisation you want with Desktop Manager profiles.  All of the install switch options used by the standard Lotus .msi are supported by Desktop Upgrader, including the new Eclipse package option switches.

Q. Can't I just use Lotus' Smart Upgrade tool instead?
A. Desktop Upgrader gives you end-to-end visibility of migration progress status for ALL your clients, immediate customisable reporting, control over when the package is delivered and installed, profiling of client-readiness to upgrade, and avoids the need to configure Domino policies, 

Q. How do you avoid saturating the network with installation traffic?
A. You retain control over how many installations are deployed at one time, so you can limit the amount of bandwidth consumed.   Desktop Upgrader can also be configured to only distribute the package between designated times (i.e lunch times or out of core business hours), and then 'trickle-feed' the package to the desktop in small blocks. e.g. 20MB at a time if needed, to limit the impact to the network.

Q. Can a user defer the upgrade?
A. Yes. Desktop Manager can be to configure to allow the  user to defer the upgrade for a set number of times, or even indefinitely if preferred. The number of times the user defers is tracked within the Desktop Upgrader tool. 

Q. Human Resources require us to notify users of the progress of their upgrade. Is there any way we can we do this?
A. Desktop Upgrader allows you to preconfigure as many e-mails as you like and send them to users at each stage of the upgrade process.

Q. How does Upgrader get the package installed onto a 'locked down' desktops?
A. We allow a network administrator to create a 'Security Document', which is basically an encrypted network ID and password with access to install software on the desktop machine.  When users are give a migration profile, a Security Document can be associated with the profile and used when the software is about to be deployed.  If the Security document is created by the network administrator themselves, you do not even need to know the ID and password combination, if this is a concern.  The security document cannot be decrypted

Q. What if our Desktop Team still wants to deliver the package to the workstations with SMS, AD, LanDesk, ZenWorks,  or another similar software delivery tool?
A. Desktop Upgrader can work alongside this tool.   Simply ask your desktop management team to deliver, but NOT install the package to a standard location on the workstations.  Desktop Upgrader can detect when the package is fully arrived and pick up the installation procedure steps again from that point.

Q. My manager wants a daily report on the status of the migration for each business unit, can you do that?
A. Desktop Manager updates as each user gets installed.  The basic views tell you how each OU is progressing.  The database design is open, so you can also customise reports based on your own specific criteria.  You could also give your manager a read-only view to access.

Q. We have lots of different categories of users with different hardware and installation requirements; how do we manage this?
A. You can create as many different 'Migration Setup' documents as you need to cater to different categories of users.

Q. We have many different language groups, can Desktop Upgrade handle this?
A. Yes, we can automatically detect the operating system language and customise the messages users receive. 

Q. Will your tool work even with our version 5.x users (Smart Upgrade is not available for us)?
A. Yes.  As long as Desktop Manager is present and working, Desktop Upgrader can do it's work.  (Don't forget if you want to go from version 5.x to 8.x clients though, you will need to do a mandatory two-step migration via version 6.5 to avoid configuration problems.  We can also automate this for you.)

Q. Can I install the package directly off of a network drive?
A. Yes. This is not recommended due to potential network issues in your environment but it is possible.

Q. Does Desktop Upgrader remove the package and installation files after the upgrade has been completed?
A. Yes. You can choose to delete the package and project files post upgrade and track this task within the Desktop Upgrader tool.

Q. Can we install a Fix Pack or Patch at the same time as performing the upgrade?
A. Yes, we have a variety of ways to do this in sequence.   We can also help you to customise a more 'scripted' section if you have specialised requirements.

Desktop Upgrader compared...