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5 Patching Tips in Lawson v10

These 5 tips could make applying patches that much less stressful and are also good practice in general.

 

Tip 1: Check existing patch logs to see if a patch has already been applied previously and current versioning. This is good to check after a patch has been applied as well.

These logs can be found and generated here in LID:

perl %GENDIR%\bin\patches_installed_report <productline>

perl %GENDIR%\bin\source_versions_report <productline>

 

Tip 2: Restart the LSF server (or services) to ensure no processes are being held up and when it boots up, turn off Websphere LSF Appserver service before applying a patch to ensure users cannot log on, especially if patch needs to be applied during or close to work hours.

 

Tip 3: Run dbdef command to make sure there is a connection to the database before patching

 

Tip 4: When activating or staging multiple patches, run this command to speed up the post compile process:

qcontrol -jlocal,4  – This will set the servers cores to 4 when processing form compiles. Set it back to 2 when done. You can also check the status of the compiled jobs with command: qstatus | head -5

 

Tip 5: If a Plus dictionary is created after patching, its typically good practice to compile the entire product line with the command: cobcmp (be aware this can take up to 20-30 minutes to complete, tip 4 helps with this). This ensures that all programs are functioning correctly before passed to testers.

 

Bonus Tip: Verify security is on before sent to the testers!  Hope these were helpful.

 

If you require assistance with applying patches for your v10 system, it is common for organizations to engage Lawson consultant teams for managed services, which are available at a fixed monthly rate. These consultant teams possess significant knowledge and expertise and are suitable for larger organizations. Additionally, smaller organizations that do not require a full-time Lawson employee on-site may also find this service advantageous. Nogalis offers this service, and you can contact us through our contact page for further details.

Cybersecurity Fails and How to Prevent Them

Living in this digital age where our personal and professional lives mainly revolve online opens up so much vulnerability and risks for our privacy. Online predators are beyond skilled and unforgiving. That’s why it’s important to build a strong cybersecurity structure. Keri Pearlson, executive director of cybersecurity at the MIT Sloan School of Management, believes that enterprise leaders must shift their focus from protection to resilience. “We need to assume the bad guys are going to be in our systems, find new ways to hack us, and continually innovate to reach their goals,” she explains. It’s important to know how your cybersecurity infrastructure works, especially at an enterprise level. Technology Journalist & Author John Edwards shares an article on InformationWeek.com depicting common cybersecurity fails and how to prevent them from becoming a larger issue.

Coordinating Vulnerability. “Only by acknowledging and sharing the vulnerabilities and mistakes that lead to breaches can security be improved for all organizations. One way to embrace transparency is by adopting a vulnerability disclosure program (VDP) that provides a plan for how vulnerabilities should be reported. “At its core, it’s a ‘see something, say something’ policy,” says Kayla Underkoffler, lead security technologist at security services firm HackerOne. “This helps organizations coordinate with security researchers through clear guidelines and avoid premature or accidental publication of vulnerabilities that may still pose risks to an organization.”

Operations and Risk. “Alisa Chestler, chair of the data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity team at law firm Baker Donelson, urges organizations to stop viewing security planning as a strictly cyber issue. Chestler recommends creating a strong governance program, one that requires regularly scheduled management team meetings devoted solely to security issues.

One of the biggest barriers to implementing a working governance program is enterprise culture, particularly resistance from less-informed management team members. Chestler believes that winning management support for strong security governance can be achieved through persistent knowledge sharing. Continuing to present news about current cybersecurity events is one way to move management to understand how critical their role is in the continued effort to reduce risks to the organization, especially to new threats as they evolve, she recommends.”

Overconfidence Kills. “Perhaps the biggest cybersecurity mistake an organization can make is becoming overconfident in its ability to respond successfully to today’s sophisticated, wide-ranging attacks. ‘Threat actors are constantly evolving their tactics and techniques to circumvent defenses,’ explains Phil Quitugua, a director at technology research and advisory firm ISG. Keeping pace with the threat landscape and performing regular assessments should be table stakes for enterprise cybersecurity. ‘A continuous improvement approach to cybersecurity is key to avoiding overconfidence,’ Quitugua says. Additionally, validating that security controls are behaving as expected should be a never-ending process.”

 

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17 New And Enhanced Challenges That Can Come With A Multicloud Strategy

With growing technology means growing companies. The hot topic today is moving to the cloud. The latest trend with this is adopting a multicloud strategy, a move that comes with multiples benefits  – if done right of course. There are challenges involved in a multicloud strategy, but none that cannot be tackled head on to prevent future issues. Member of the Forbes Technology council share some of the challenges that can come with managing a multicloud strategy, with advice on how to help businesses through each issue to ensure multicloud success.

  1. Managing Data Security And Compliance. “One challenge in managing workloads across multiple cloud environments is ensuring data security and compliance. Businesses can prepare for this by implementing robust security policies, utilizing encryption and access control measures and conducting regular audits to ensure adherence to industry standards and regulatory requirements.” – Remo Peduzzi, ICR Informatik AG
  2. Avoiding Data Fragmentation. “In today’s business landscape, scaling your company naturally leads to an increase in the amount of data generated, processed and stored, making cloud environments a necessity. However, this growth in data can result in fragmentation, making it crucial to take control of your data through automation and standardization before it becomes unmanageable.” – Daniel Korogodski, First Bridge
  3. Ensuring Reliable Tenant Access And Resource Security. “Leveraging cloud technology across multiple cloud environments will enable business continuity in the event of downtime in any one of the environments. Two of the challenges l see will be maintaining access to the tenants and possible security issues. To prepare for this change, businesses should ensure that tenant access and resources within multiple cloud environments are adequately secured.” – Nihinlola Adeyemi, ErrandPay Limited
  4. Ensuring Integration And Compatibility Between Different Platforms. “Ensuring seamless integration and compatibility between different cloud platforms is an understated challenge. With the increasing popularity of multicloud and hybrid cloud strategies, businesses may find themselves using multiple cloud providers, each with its own set of tools, APIs and interfaces—blending all of them is a gargantuan engineering hurdle in itself.” – Prashanth Balasubramanian, Striga
  5. Getting The Most Out Of A Multicloud Strategy. “Taking cloud-native approaches to developing applications and incorporating good design principles from the beginning can help companies make the most of multicloud services. Instead of focusing on managing workloads, it is better to design applications to take full advantage of the capabilities of cloud services. Embracing containerization through infrastructure as a service instead of traditional workload management can be beneficial when serverless architectures are not suitable.” – Brad Mallard, Version 1
  6. Monitoring Permissions. “In my experience, basic controls are still an issue for many cloud deployments. Monitoring permissions for corporate data stored in AWS, Azure and other platforms is a fundamental control that is often reviewed only annually. This leaves corporate data at risk if permissions are not set correctly.” – John Bruggeman, CBTS
  7. Managing FinOps. “Organizations are on multicloud platforms to avoid vendor lock-in or to manage business demands (or sometimes even by accident). Whatever the reasons for a multicloud strategy might be, FinOps—matching the available cloud budget with costs across the divisions within an organization—is the pinnacle of all the multicloud challenges organizations face. CFOs often lack a real-time, “single pane of glass” view of the budget versus spending trends across cloud platforms.” – Srini Gajula, Sage IT INC
  8. Controlling The Cost And Complexity Of Collaboration. “One problem with multicloud setups is the cost and complexity of making them work together. Many providers make it prohibitively expensive to move data out of their clouds. In such cases, multicloud setups are not truly multicloud, as people are unable to take advantage of what each cloud offers. This makes simplicity, support, documentation and an open platform important, particularly for startups.” – Yancey Spruill, DigitalOcean
  9. Balancing Cost And Carbon Optimization.  “One challenge that comes with a multicloud strategy is trying to balance minimizing costs and carbon optimization. The pace of change and agility demands faster analysis of where to place a workload to minimize both the cost and the carbon footprint.” – Travis Greene, Micro Focus
  10. Supporting Both On-Premises And Cloud Applications. “We’re witnessing fragmentation across the data landscape in terms of technologies, vendors and use cases. Organizations can’t operate in silos anymore; we have to be ready to support applications that are hosted both on-premises and in the cloud. Only with common tools and approaches will we see the efficiency gains this offers, allowing us to improve productivity and spend more time creating value.” – Jakub Lamik, Redgate Software
  11. Auditing Infrastructure Security. “When data is scattered across multiple clouds, it is vulnerable to data breaches. As cloud providers constantly add new features to meet customer needs, IT teams must continuously audit and manage their infrastructure to ensure their cloud environments meet security requirements. Some best practices include strong encryption and automated monitoring tools to simplify the audit process.” – Parvinder Walia, ESET
  12. Coping With Increased Security Complexity. “While a multicloud strategy comes with many benefits in terms of the ability to use the best cloud service provider for the workload, technology and cost, it increases complexity in terms of security. Since each cloud platform is different, cloud defenders need to learn multiple technologies, and they often end up using separate security tools for each provider, complicating policy alignment and increasing workloads.” – Avi Shua, Orca Security
  13. Managing Machine Identities. “Managing machine identities is a significant challenge for multicloud environments. Modern workloads driven by DevOps, containerization or Internet of Things devices often require an extremely large number of machine identities in the form of digital certificates or keys. Without robust management, oversight and automation, outages, security problems or even breaches can occur.” – Ted Shorter, Keyfactor
  14. Optimizing For The Strengths Of Different CSPs. “Companies using multicloud strategies or delivering cloud-native technologies must be thoughtful in optimizing for the strengths of different cloud providers, seeking out the best models for data storage, GPU performance, tightest integration with end-user suites and, of course, support for security capabilities and tools. There are differences, and prioritizing usage based on need is critical.” – Devin Redmond, Theta Lake
  15. Overcoming Data Gravity. “Data gravity is the newest challenge. It can make moving data between cloud providers difficult, leading to delays and complexity in workload management. By building microservices with high availability in each cloud environment, businesses can optimize data processing and storage for each environment, reducing the need for data movement.” – Darren Person, Circana
  16. Codifying Infrastructure. “As cloud environments grow more complex, infrastructure as code becomes more and more important. Codifying your infrastructure means you can tear an environment down and spin the entire thing back up with the click of a button. By codifying your infrastructure now, you will position yourself well to manage workloads that span multiple cloud environments in a scalable and secure way.” – Tim Mitrovich, Artisan
  17. Managing Cognitive Load. “Cognitive load is becoming more of a challenge as the answer to every question continues to be “shift left.” Where will enterprises turn to find employees who can set up and secure networks while also writing code and managing deployed applications? Some estimates indicate that developers spend 20% of their time working on infrastructure rather than writing code that solves business problems.” – Rick Kilcoyne, CloudBolt Software

 

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5 Tips For Overcoming The Challenges Of ERP Implementation

An enterprise resource management (ERP) can be the catalyst to lead your business to success. However, just having one implemented but not utilized to its potential doesn’t do much. It all starts at implementation and whether or not you have given  your team enough time and training to adapt to the changes with the new system. Forbes Council Member and CTO at Unit4 Claus Jepsen shares five ways to increase your chance of a successful ERP implementation.

  1. Define Your Goals. “You need to understand your current position and desired destination before determining the best way to get there. Examine your current ERP’s ‘as-is’ state compared to the desired ‘to-be’ capabilities, considering your business environment and strategy. This stage should involve assessing current business processes, technology infrastructure and employee skills.”
  2. Choose The Right Technology For Your Organization. Your solution should cater to your business model and industry. Seek a vendor that understands the intricacies of your business or sector, enabling them to hit the ground running, introduce best practices and help you achieve a faster return on investment. Remember to consider post-implementation running costs.”
  3. Get Your People Involved. “Even the best ERP system will fail without user adoption. Transitioning to a new ERP system entails a transformation for your entire organization, necessitating a clear change-management strategy and plan.”
  4. Test And Validate Your System. “Testing your new ERP system is essential to identify any potential issues or errors before going live. It will help minimize risks such as system failures, data corruption and other potential problems that could disrupt operations. Testing also provides an opportunity to make sure it is correctly integrated with other relevant systems.”
  5. Train Your People. “You can’t roll out a new ERP system without first teaching your people how to use it. Although your vendor can provide training material, it will be based on the standard software. They will configure the system to fit your industry and organization’s needs, which means that your final setup will differ slightly. For this reason, it’s essential to speak to your vendor about creating training material specific to your circumstances.”

Implementing an ERP system is a complicated project, but yields great results for your organization – if don’t correctly. Investing time and resources, as Jepsen emphasizes from his 5 tips, then you can ensure a smoother implementation process and more effected ERP system to help with your company’s success.

 

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How to add or edit Smart Notification related Info to an existing Smart Note in LBI

First lets login into LBI and open smart notifications:

Once open, go to Notifications Tab:

Select edit on the notification you want to modify:

Go to the Related Info >> Links >> Enter a Name and Web Address >> Add >> Save Updates:

To edit an existing related info link, simply select edit under “My Custom Urls”:

Make sure you Save Updates!

These related Info Links show up at the bottom of the report the user receives as shown below:

This type of work is typically done by a Lawson technical resource. Organizations often hire a Lawson consultant team who offer managed services at a fixed monthly rate. These Lawson teams have a wider range of expertise and knowledge and are ideal for larger organizations but also are great for smaller ones that don’t need a dedicated Lawson employee on-site. Nogalis does offer this as a service so feel free to reach out to us via our contact page.

Five Common Mistakes To Avoid After CRM Go-Live

Tal Frankfurt, Founder and CEO of Salesforce partner Cloud for Good, shares an article on Forbes of the many mistakes we can make after we go-live with a new customer relationship management (CRM) system. Many managers think once the system is implemented, nothing else needs to be done. That is a huge mistake, and one of many that happen after a successful implementation. Here are five common mistakes that you should avoid, according to Frankfurt, after your CRM go-live.

  1. Not Allowing For A Stabilization Period. “Implementing new technology is a process that takes time and creates a lot of buildup and excitement for going live. Understanding that success and realized benefits are not always immediate, your organization should plan for a post-go-live period that should at least include additional training for users, knowledge transfer across the organization using the CRM and proper measurement of what the value that the CRM is creating and adjustment needed post-go-live.”
  2. Failing To Continually Support Staff. “As you go live and start to field questions from staff, understand that your users are the greatest source capable of unlocking more and more of your new technology. Listen closely to the feedback they have as it relates to improvements, roadblocks and what’s working well for them.”
  3. Rejecting Evolution. “To this point, your CRM should always be evolving. Your CRM is, at its core, a tool to help support your organization’s unique goals and missions. Naturally, as the goals and missions develop, so too should the technology implemented to support development. How do you continue to create value?”
  4. Stalking Customers And Not Improving Their Experience. “Many organizations believe that more data is the answer for everything the organization needs and that if that data is not in the CRM, it actually never existed. The more data you have is not going to necessarily make your organization a more customer-centric organization. Organizations should focus on understanding their data and then using it to build stronger and healthier relationships with their constituents.”
  5. Not Learning From Failures. “According to Gartner, 55% of CRM implementations fail. For many organizations, it takes time to understand that CRM is not an “IT project” or something one person or a department can and should implement. CRM implementations are valuable when they are cross-departmental, when the leadership team is involved and when the users see an impact on their day-to-day work as a result of increased efficiency or effectiveness.”

Frankfurt concludes that we should not undermine all of the time and effort that went into getting your CRM up and running. We should take the time to ensure that our staff has the right support and that we are readily open to embrace the changes a CRM system can bring to the company. With time, perspective and help from the right staff, Frankfurt notes, a CRM platform implemented mindfully and respectfully will help you reach the next level of your business.

 

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5 Pitfalls to Know When Migrating to the Cloud

Migrating to the cloud makes the most sense in this technological driven workplace. Though moving there takes a lot of planning and expert-level execution for the process to run smoothly. Firms will run into hiccups but if you prepare for them, these hiccups can easily be resolved. Accounting and managed services expert Michael Sellai of BPM LLP shares an article on accountingweb.com of certain factors that every company should be aware of and have a plan for when migrating to the cloud.

  1. Downtime. “Temporary loss of access to your data and systems during a migration, while common, can be costly and anxiety-inducing. Back up everything you have. Migrate during the lowest periods of usage. Try to work “locally” as everything is moved over.”
  2. Broken Apps. “Before your migration, do a thorough audit of every piece of software or application that you and your team use on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It is critically important to implement security controls across the entire cloud platform to protect client information and mitigate staff errors. Ideally, clients will be able to upload their information to this platform via a secure portal since email opens the door for data privacy glitches and other costly mistakes.”
  3. Improper Bandwidth Expectations. “Take inventory of your daily speed-based headaches. Get the most out of this move. Instead of faltering by failing to prepare, you can improve the efficiency of your business from every angle.”
  4. Initial Costs. “Cloud computing often requires the purchase of software licenses, which are usually purchased on an annual basis. Smaller firms may find that moving their most important apps to the cloud will not achieve cost savings. For firms that successfully migrate to the cloud, you may rack up an IT tab that includes, for example, eight different platforms for your entire team for the entire year. But remember: your team will be more productive and profitable. You will save on hardware costs, repair costs, office space rentals and the daunting bill that will eventually come from accruing technical debt.”
  5. Lack of In-House Understanding. “One of the key of benefits to cloud computing is knowing that everything is working the way it should. If your firm does not have a dedicated IT guru or department on standby to manage these functions, there are professionals you can engage who are skilled managed IT service providers. They can also assist you in implementing the important security controls you need around your cloud platform to ensure client information is protected and your staff operates error-free.”

 

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Tips & Tricks in Configuration Console

Introduction

Infor’s Configuration Console is a tool that can be used to configure Landmark applications.  It can be used to create new user interface components, or customize existing user interface components.  It is a very useful tool for customizing and enhancing the user experience in Landmark applications.  The tool uses a proprietary language called “Landmark Pattern Language” (LPL).

To get to the Configuration Console in Rich Client, go to Start > Configure > Application.  Or, you can ctrl+shift+click on a Landmark form and click the “Configure” link.

 

 

The “empty sheet” button is used throughout Landmark applications to create a new item.  Configuration Console is no exception.  Press this button to create a new configuration.  The save and delete buttons are also intuitive.  When you click the delete button, remember you are deleting the configuration only, not the Infor-delivered component!

In most cases, the “pencil” button indicates editing the configuration LPL directly, and the “Configure” button is for editing the component using a graphical interface.

Menus

Configuring menus is pretty straightforward.  Menu items can be deleted, and menus can be hidden from user view.  Note that if a menu is hidden in Configuration Console, this setting takes precedence.  So, if the menu is available via security, it still can’t be viewed.

Pages

There are a few options available in configuring pages.  Mostly you can add different fields, including computed fields.  This is one example where the pencil button does not indicate LPL configuration.  On the main configuration screen for a page, the pencil button takes you into the page editor.  At the bottom of that screen, you will have to option to edit the LPL code.

Web Applications

Web Applications have a few options for configuration.  One thing that can be customized is the home landing page for the web application.  Just make sure the page exists in the correct location on your server!

User Fields

User Fields are probably one of the most widely-used configurations available.  The value in a User Field will be saved in the database, so that it can be accessed later in Landmark queries or Spreadsheet Designer.  There are several types of fields available to allow you much flexibility in form customization.

A snapshot is sort of what it sounds like.  It is a copy or a “snapshot” of another field from a related business class.

A condition field is a way to test a condition without having to rewrite code over & over.  A condition field should always return true or false.

A compute fields allows you to do mathematical and date computations on one or more fields in the business class.

Derived fields are the most flexible option, and can be used in place of all of the above field types.  They can be used to convert data types, take substrings, or write more complex bits of code to return the desired information.

Forms

Forms are another highly configurable component.  User Fields can be added to forms.  Fields can be hidden, actions can be disabled, and basic checks can be done to customize the flow of a form.  Here are some examples for setting default values on a Form.

Relations

Relations are another very useful tool in the Configuration Console arsenal.  They can really open up your forms and other components to allow you to get data from other areas in the application that isn’t readily available.  Relations are a way of relating two business classes on key fields.  A one-to-one relationship requires all of the key fields to be populated.  A one-to-many relationship does not, but be aware that this could return a list of values instead of one value!

These are examples of relating the Candidate business class to the Employee an WorkAssignment business classes.

Actions

Actions can be configured with Entrance Rules (things that happen when the action loads), Exit Rules (things that happen when the action is released), and User Parameters.  The User Parameters would follow the action into the next step, such as an IPA approval flow.  Some of the fields on an action can be configured to be required, or not required.

History

All configuration changes are version and stored each time the configuration is saved.  This means that you can compare current state to any of the previous states to the beginning of the configuration, as well as the base LPL.  This is highly useful, and a great feature!  To get to the history, on the main page of any component, select “Vew History”.  On the left side is the historical configuration.  On the right side is present-day.  You can click the dropdown to select the configuration you want to compare.  If you are ready to go back to that configuration, click the “revert” button.  If you are satisfied, don’t forget to save your changes!

Helpful Links

Infor’s documentation site is a great jumping-off point for learning about Configuration Console and LPL.

 

Also, check out the webinar that our very own Sr Technical Consultant Desi hosted on this topic!

 

ERP Implementation Best Practices

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a valuable workhorse for any business striving to improve its operations and every aspect of their business. With an ERP solution, you can improve collaboration, productivity, customer service, and data security, as well as have a macro view of business operations. Don Hall has been employed as an IT Manager and ERP expert Don Hall shares a very informative article on CIO Insight of many best practices to consider when implementing an ERP.

 

Define and revise goals and objectives
In order to maximize your ERP’s capabilities, you must start with correctly implementing the solution. There are two goals that can be viewed in the macro and micro level, according to Hall. The “The macro goal is to implement an ERP solution successfully, whereas the micro goals are all the checkpoints and critical path tasks to help a business reach the macro goal. These micro goals, or objectives, must be assigned specific tasks with realistic timelines.” A guideline Hall recommends is as follows: Planning, Data Analysis and Migration, Design, Development, Testing, Deployment, Support and Updates.

 

Work with third-party ERP implementation experts
Hall points out that most businesses wanting to implement an ERP solution do not have an ERP implementer on staff since it’s a unique skill set. Though not necessary, working with an ERP expert can vastly speed up and improve the implementation process. Even if you are an IT-based company, Hall recommends that it’s wise to consult an ERP implementer to seek advice on avoiding common configuration errors.

 

Standardize vs. customize
Customization is a project within itself when setting up your ERP and/or when new versions of your software is released. Sometimes your customized features may even need to be rewritten. Halls suggests to CIOs and CTOs to minimize customization by purchasing an industry-specific ERP solution.

 

Focus on business-critical requirements
Businesses should continue to meet their primary goals and objectives for critical processes during ERP implementation. These processes, Hall notes, need to be given proper attention during the planning, design, and development phases. “Secondary processes that feed these primary processes, including any internal or external data, must be considered. Scope creep can quickly get out of hand, so careful consideration is paramount in identifying secondary processes.”

 

Validate the implementation plan before execution
Hall notes, “once an ERP implementation plan is formed, CTOs and CIOs can validate the plan to ensure nothing is overlooked. Quality assurance documents, test protocols, and a validation report are part of a comprehensive validation kit to help avoid the common pitfalls of implementing an ERP solution. Moreover, a validation toolkit can help verify that an ERP implementation plan has addressed every concern thoroughly.”

 

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11 tips for selecting and implementing an ERP system

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are the backbone of modern businesses. However, as your business grows, so should your ERP systems. Migrating from an on-premise to a cloud ERP platform may be a daunting task, but once it’s moved over, your business processes will run even smoother. This can all be done with the help of the right ERP vendor to help you every step of the process. Freelance technology writer Neal Weinberg shares an article on CIO.com with several tips that can help organizations select the right ERP vendor and implement the new system with a minimum amount of pain, and a maximum amount of success.

  1. Lay the organizational groundwork
  2. Overhaul your processes
  3. Get your data ducks in a row
  4. Focus on critical business requirements
  5. Plan for the future
  6. Conduct a demo at the beginning of the process
  7. Partner for the long haul
  8. Make user experience a priority
  9. Make sure the new ERP integrates with other apps
  10. Resolve the customization vs. standardization debate
  11. Take advantage of agile and low-code

 

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