Data capture specialist Kendata Peripherals has expanded its portfolio of Scantron products with the addition of the iNSIGHT 4 scanner, which offers a powerful combination of OMR (optical mark reading) technology and image capture capability.

Kendata is Scantron’s longest-established UK distributor, and the iNSIGHT 4 is the first of a raft of new products resulting from the recent acquisition of NCS Pearson by Scantron’s parent company, M&F Worldwide Corp.

The iNSIGHT 4 is one of the most versatile and efficient scanners available for automated data collection. As well as being able to read traditional OMR marks and check-mark boxes, the scanner includes intelligent character recognition (ICR) technology to enable it to convert hand-printed characters into digital data. This is a particularly useful facility for registration details such as names, addresses and identification numbers as it eliminates the time and cost of manually keying in the information.

However, what really sets the iNSIGHT 4 apart is its ability to capture images of the scanned documents. With a single pass through the scanner, the iNSIGHT 4 can capture all the data on a form, together with an image of the whole page or just a user-defined field such as a comment box. This enables the user to create electronic archives which can then be easily shared online with colleagues.

Designed for ease of use, the scanner incorporates a fixed automatic-feed input hopper with a 100-sheet capacity, which eliminates the need for continual form reloading and constant operator attention. An open feed path allows sheet visibility at all times, as well as easy access for sheet removal and transport cleaning. There is a 40-character alphanumeric display for operator messages, and scanner self-diagnostics quickly pinpoint any operational problems.

Equipped with both USB 2.0 and RS232 interfaces, the iNSIGHT 4 is fast, accurate and efficient. It can accommodate form sizes from 63.5 x 127.0mm to 228.6 x 355.6mm and has a throughput rate of up to 2200 sheets per hour.

The scanner is ideal for a wide variety of applications, including multiple-choice exams, course-evaluation surveys, registration forms and all types of questionnaires.  ■

www.kendata.com

InfoPrint Solutions, a joint venture between Ricoh and IBM, today announced that McKesson UK, a leading healthcare IT solutions and services specialist, has chosen InfoPrint Solutions to deliver the essential hardware necessary for its secure, state-of-the-art print facility to support the payroll outputs for its Electronic Staff Record (ESR) project for the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales.

Empowered by McKesson, the NHS ESR system now manages the HR and payroll for all 1.2 million NHS employees, a total of 7 percent of the working population in England and Wales. The InfoPrint solution will print approximately 3 million pages of payroll slips each month.

InfoPrint Solutions was able to demonstrate that its AFP architecture and IPDS datastream provides the highest level of security and integrity in the industry. By deploying InfoPrint Workflow and InfoPrint Manager, McKesson has a secure closed loop system that can manage and track the entire process from the moment data comes into the system to when the completed payslips go out the door.

InfoPrint Solutions is providing the hardware technology and consulting to print all of the NHS payslips, including two duplex InfoPrint 4100 continuous forms production printers driven by InfoPrint Workflow and InfoPrint Manager. McKesson also has a number of InfoPrint 6500 V20 impact printers and an InfoPrint 1532 for automated reprints.

"An important factor in our decision is that InfoPrint technology offers the full integrity, security, auditability and disaster recovery service that the NHS demanded for this high profile solution," said Charmaine McDonald, managing director of McKesson UK.

"It was our proven ability to deliver a complex end-to-end solution in such a short time frame that differentiated us in the marketplace and enabled us to meet McKesson's demanding requirements on time", said Phil Self, managing director of InfoPrint Solutions.  ■

www.infoprint.com

Document management and imaging software author, Version One, is a finalist in the Paperless Office Software category of the Business Software Satisfaction Awards 2008. Version One is aiming to repeat last year’s success by winning this prestigious award. Version One’s DbArchive is one of four products that has made the Paperless Office Software category shortlist with the winner being announced at an awards ceremony on 30 October 2008 at The Brewery, London.

The Business Software Satisfaction Awards recognise high standards from software application providers serving UK businesses and are based on the views of genuine end-users. Nearly 6,000 software users voted in the Business Software Satisfaction Awards 2008, an increase of 4,000 users compared with 2007, underlining the Awards’ growing recognition within the software industry.

Lynne Munns, Version One’s General Manager, says, “Making the final of these prestigious awards for the second year running demonstrates that end-users continue to recognise the high quality and usability of our document management solutions. Achieving the shortlist at a time when there is such stiff competition within the document management marketplace makes becoming a finalist especially rewarding, and we hope that once again, we come away from the Software Satisfaction awards ceremony as the paperless office champion.”

Munns adds, “We have an excellent team at Version One who strives to exceed customer expectations. Making the shortlist is as a direct result of all their hard work and dedication.”

Version One’s portfolio of document management and imaging solutions, enable the electronic creation, storage, retrieval, management, delivery and authorisation of business documents. By moving to Version One’s systems, businesses significantly reduce their paper consumption, cutting costs and improving process efficiencies whilst freeing-up storage space.  ■

www.versionone.co.uk

Basware, the leading provider of financial process automation software, has announced that one of the largest global medical products companies has chosen the Basware Enterprise Purchase to Pay (EPP) solution, in a deal worth in excess of EUR 1 Million.

The contract win further strengthens Basware’s credentials in the pharmaceuticals and medical products sectors, and confirms the company’s continued success in the EMEA region, following half-year earnings reports which showed growth of 17%.

The solution being deployed for the medical products company will be implemented in the EMEA Region, covering some 20 countries, 15 different languages and over 3,000 employees, and will utilise a Shared Services Centre approach in Prague.

The end-to-end Basware Enterprise Purchase to Pay solution includes procurement, automated order matching, invoice workflow, contract matching and contract lifecycle management as the key components.  ■
www.basware.co.uk

Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of digital imaging technology, and Kofax plc, a provider of Intelligent Capture and Scanning solutions, announce the release of a controller board option for Canon’s imageFORMULA DR-X10C High-Speed Color Production Scanner that can leverage Kofax’s Virtual ReScan (VRS) functionality.

The imageFORMULA DR-X10C is designed for high-volume, paper intensive environments with an impressive suggested daily volume of 60,000 scans and scanning speeds up to 128 pages-per-minute (ppm) and 256 images-per-minute (ipm)i. Kofax VRS improves the accuracy of data captured from scanned documents that are processed by intelligent character recognition (ICR) and optical character recognition (OCR) technology, significantly reducing the need for manual corrections.

VRS performs a real-time, multi-point inspection of the images created as documents pass through a scanner, identifying and correcting any impairments that could impact ICR’s and OCR’s ability to read them correctly. The Kofax CGA Board option implements the VRS capabilities via hardware allowing users to complete scanning tasks at high speeds for the VRS features selected.

“The Canon imageFORMULA DR-X10C scanner is the flagship model in Canon’s DR-Series Scanners,” said Jim Rosetta, vice president and general manager, Imaging Systems Group, Canon U.S.A. “The combination of Canon’s digital scanners and Kofax’s advanced image processing technology will help maximize VRS scanning performance in high-volume environments.”

According to Andrew Pery, Kofax’s chief marketing officer, “Image quality significantly impacts the success of data extraction, recognition and retrieval. By incorporating the Kofax solution into the Canon imageFORMULA scanner, Canon and Kofax can help users reduce the time involved in manual document preparation and dramatically enhance the quality of their scanned images.”

The Kofax VRS Kit for Canon imageFORMULA DR-X10C scanners, which includes the Kofax CGA controller board and CD containing VRS software designed specifically for the imageFORMULA DR-X10C, is available through authorized Canon dealers, select distributors and Canon resellers for a suggested retail price of $2,550.  ■

www.usa.canon.com

www.kofax.com

CMS Watch report finds fewer options at top tier, expansion among open source alternatives

The rise of Microsoft SharePoint as the predominant departmental portal solution has led to two divergent reactions among traditional enterprise portal suppliers, with IBM, Oracle, and SAP now dividing up the top tier of the marketplace while a plethora of open source alternatives are expanding rapidly to compete directly with SharePoint, according to research undertaken by CMS Watch, a vendor-independent analyst firm that evaluates content technologies.

At the top tier, Oracle acquired two more portal products via BEA, but has now positioned its Oracle WebCenter Suite offering as the strategic choice for the future, while IBM continues to expand WebSphere Portal Server. Oracle and IBM have taken to emphasizing complex, enterprise integration scenarios that SharePoint typically cannot meet. "Both vendors are also betting heavily that new Web 2.0 features will keep their portal offerings relevant," notes CMS Watch founder Tony Byrne, "But many customers remain quite properly wary of extra portal overhead within their social computing projects."

Meanwhile open source portal projects continue to expand vigorously. "Open source communities increasingly tout themselves as an alternative to SharePoint for simpler scenarios," points out CMS Watch contributing analyst Janus Boye. Apache, eXo, Liferay, and uPortal have all recently undergone major upgrades.

This analysis stems from research CMS Watch conducted for its recently released "Enterprise Portals Report 2009," which evaluates twelve portal solutions head-to-head.

CMS Watch also found:
- SAP has also begun promoting the "Web 2.0" features of its portal, but remains substantially behind its competitors in this regard.
- The ranks of commercial portal vendors have shrunk, with Broadvision, ATG, PeopleSoft, and CA having exited the portal marketplace. Longtime vendor Vignette is increasingly bundling its portal offering with its other content management tools in a broader package.

The Enterprise Portals Report 2009 evaluates twelve major solutions:

- Apache
- eXo
- IBM
- Liferay
- Microsoft
- Oracle
- Plone
- Red Hat/JBoss
- SAP
- Sun
- uPortal
- Vignette

The report is available for purchase at cmsreport@greensheetmedia.com  ■

Document management specialist, Cave Tab Ltd, has launched a new catalogue showcasing its comprehensive range of filing systems and supplies to help organisations save time, space and money and minimise their exposure to risk.

With major customers including local authorities, housing associations and central Government departments, as well as blue-chip companies in the pharmaceutical, insurance, finance, banking, manufacturing and retail sectors, Cave Tab provides a complete range of physical and digital records management solutions to allow businesses of all sizes to solve critical business issues.

From file folders, colour coded filing systems, mobile shelving and high density filing cabinets to file tracking software and specialist scanning services, Cave Tab offers the best range of records management products along with specialist expertise to help customers find more efficient ways to organise and file their records, establish better storage methods to improve space utilisation and increase employee productivity and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.  ■
www.cavetab.co.uk

Global data capture specialist DRS has been invited to present at the United Nations regional workshop on census data processing, contemporary technologies for census data capture and data editing in the context of the 2010 World Programme for Population and Housing Censuses. The workshop will take place from 15-19 September 2008 in Bangkok, Thailand.

The purpose of the workshop is to present international standards for processing population and housing censuses and to highlight the significant additional capabilities of contemporary technologies and their use for census data capture and data editing. DRS has already presented alongside the UN at similar workshops in Qatar in May and Tanzania in June.

As a trusted advisor, DRS will be delivering presentations on Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) and Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) data collection technologies and techniques. The DRS flagship PhotoScribe® PS900 series scanners are widely used for high speed high volume census data capture and can electronically capture up to 10,500 completed census forms of tick-box, hand-print or any other type of census data every hour.  ■
www.drs.co.uk

Exclusive wholesale digitizing services using the new DRS Digitizer are now available to Service Bureaus and other imaging professionals.

The fully automatic microfiche digitizer will automatically feed the microfiche allowing the DRS to digitize images from fiche or jackets in 300dpi grayscale for outstanding archival image quality. The DRS has a mega pixel camera which results in the whole page being captured at once versus a line scanner, which scans across the image; this completely changes the old approach used by Service Bureaus to digitize fiche records.

The quality is outstanding since the imaging process is not via a line scanner but a fiche digitizer that will capture each page in one 300dpi grayscale shot.  ■
www.pennieimaging.com

Pegasus® Imaging, the leader in document imaging technology, today announces the release of FolderBots, which runs as a Windows Service to perform document image processing needed by many enterprises. It monitors input folders, performs user-configurable image processing and conversion on images placed in those folders, and writes the processed file to different user-specified directories. FolderBots is a Windows .NET application that integrates image enhancement and file conversion features provided by Pegasus Imaging's ImagXpress and ScanFix Software Development Toolkits, in a ready-to-use Windows Service, without requiring any software development.

FolderBots monitors pre-specified folders for the arrival of TIFF, JPEG, or BMP document images. When a single- or multi-page document arrives, it executes a series of cleanup operations optimized for the preparation of FAX or scanned TIFF images for later OCR, such as deskew, despeckle, border removal, and more. FolderBots then writes a new file into a pre-defined output folder for later use. Output file types include TIFF, JPEG, BMP, and PDF.  ■
www.pegasusimaging.com

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY), a leading provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, have announced that during its 2008 fiscal year (ending June 30), 27 banks automated by the technology platforms provided by its Jack Henry Banking™ division contracted to migrate from in-house processing to the company’s outsourcing offering.

These banks are now among the 524 diverse financial institutions that have chosen to outsource their information and transaction processing to Jack Henry Banking’s OutLink Data Centers™. Through six regional data centers and 20 item processing centers, Jack Henry Banking leverages its functionally distinct core processing platforms – SilverLake System®, CIF 20/20®, and Core Director® – to provide turnkey outsourcing solutions to banks ranging from de novo to multi-billion dollar mid-tier institutions.  ■
www.jackhenrybanking.com

ARX have announced that its CoSign® digital signature (standard electronic signature) solution is available for Laserfiche’s new enterprise content management (ECM) solution, Rio.

ARX is a member of the Laserfiche Professional Developer Partnership™ Program (PDP). CoSign for Rio provides Rio users with an integrated solution for electronic signing of documents within applications such as Microsoft® Word®, Excel®, InfoPath® and Adobe Acrobat®. Digital signature solutions allow organizations to replace handwritten signatures, sealing documents with legally-binding signatures as well as saving the costs and time associated with paper-based processes.  ■
www.arx.com

Orbograph Ltd., a leading developer of automated recognition solutions for the U.S. check processing and business process outsourcing markets, has announced that Stewart Levine has joined the company as Vice President of Client Services.

Levine brings to Orbograph over 20 years of client services experience across multiple industries. Most recently, he founded E-Tech Solutions, an outsourcing IT Support firm. Previously, he held management positions at Sanmina-SCI Corp.'s Wilmington, MA facility (formerly Altron Incorporated) where he led the engineering, systems and business process groups in their printed circuit board division.   ■
www.orbograph.com

AnyDoc Software, an award-winning developer of document and data capture solutions, has named David Talarico as Vice President of Channel Sales for North America. With nearly 20 years experience in the imaging and data capture marketplace, Talarico brings a wealth of knowledge in managing the reseller channel.

Talarico formerly served as Senior Director of Sales for Kofax handling the Americas, including Latin America, and the Federal Government segment. During his tenure of nearly nine years, he grew the reseller base and channel revenue by several-fold. Prior to Kofax, he worked at ACS selling Filenet solutions and also spent several years with major Big Six consulting firms in the evaluation and implementation of strategic information technology projects.

In this new role, Talarico will be instrumental in maintaining existing reseller relationships and growing the channel with rewarding programs and incentives. “It’s a great time to be joining AnyDoc Software. I’ve always felt AnyDoc had superior technology in the capture market and I am excited to introduce this technology to more resellers,” said Talarico.   ■
www.anydocsoftware.com

Direct conveyancing firm Goldsmith Williams has extended the use of an advanced mailroom automation solution to its Remortgaging department, ensuring fee-earners receive all case documents by the start of the business day, and boosting productivity and capacity in the department.

With the 250,000 incoming remortgage documents automatically routed to the relevant fee-earner’s task list for actioning, Goldsmith Williams estimates that it is saving over 50 hours of fee-earner time every day as a result of reduced administration and a more streamlined and effective business model.

Designed and implemented by Basware UK, the mailroom automation solution scans and classifies incoming paper-based mail, faxes and email, and assigns around 90% of documents to the correct legal case with no manual intervention, so that the majority of mail is with fee-earners by 9:30am. The system also automatically identifies and flags up tasks which need to be prioritised within the department.  ■
www.basware.co.uk

Lawson Software (Nasdaq: LWSN) now provides access to ARX's CoSign® digital signature solution, allowing customers to digitally sign documents when working within their Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System.

Lawson will offer CoSign, an innovative digital signature (standard electronic signature) solution that allows organizations to sign and protect electronic transactions, expedite business processes, reduce costs, increase security and help comply with various regulations. Lawson customers that opt for CoSign will access this functionality through Lawson Smart Office, Lawson’s intuitive, personalized user interface that allows users to directly access Lawson and Microsoft applications and update data pervasively and instantly across the applications.  ■
www.arx.com

Canon UK, a leader in imaging solutions, has announced the launch of the Canon imageFORMULA DR-3010C, its first 30 page per minute desktop workgroup scanner and Canon’s fastest scanner in this category. The DR-3010C is suitable for both intensive, mission-specific tasks such as the processing of invoices or forms, as well as everyday, ad hoc scanning requirements.

Aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, the DR-3010C enables users to easily capture, file and share office documents in a variety of formats. Users can pre-programme nine separate tasks through the advanced job panel’s one-touch buttons. Daily tasks, such as scan to email, printer or searchable PDF, can be performed at the touch of a button, saving valuable time and boosting worker productivity.  ■
www.canon.co.uk

Uplogix®, a leading provider of next-generation secure remote management (SRM) solutions, has announced that Olivercom LLC has become its first Distributor for the Middle East as part of a regional expansion following strong demand.

With over a decade of experience in bringing new products to market, Dubai-based Olivercom LLC offers professional IT services to a wide range of organisations, including government and commercial companies, local authorities and other public bodies.

“We are focused on bringing innovative and high value products to market across the Middle East and have built strong and trusted relationships to help educate and support both channel partners and clients,” comments Denis Pechnov, managing director for Olivercom LLC.  ■
www.uplogix.com

The original schools expedition company, World Challenge, has deployed DocXP, an intelligent document and data capture solution provided by global data capture specialists DRS, to improve efficiency.

With DocXP, World Challenge’s application forms, post-expedition feedback questionnaires and other feedback forms are scanned and processed quickly and accurately. The data is then transferred into their own bespoke system which is easily accessible to all staff.

Before World Challenge implemented DocXP, the maximum number of applications being processed by one person in one day was 80; now up to 240 can be processed. The increase in data analysed from feedback forms allows World Challenge to adapt to its customers’ demands, something of critical importance to the company.  ■
www.drs.co.uk

A world renowned diversified technology and manufacturing leader has eliminated 98% of paper from its document processes and eliminated hours of manual order entry.
 

Esker, a leader in document process automation solutions, has announced that ED&S has implemented Esker DeliveryWare to automate the processing of their inbound sales orders.
 

Honeywell is a $37 billion diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. ED&S is part of Honeywell’s Environmental Controls and Combustion (ECC) business unit, itself a division of Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions (ACS).

ED&S has automated the receipt of faxed and emailed sales order documents into their SAP system, to improve the
accuracy and speed of their order entry process improving customer service whilst not impacting customers in any way.
As a direct result, cycle times of order entry and retrieval of purchase orders have been improved by 400%.  ■
www.esker.co.uk

Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY), a provider of integrated technology solutions and data processing services for financial institutions, has announced the availability of Synergy Express, its modular software-as-a-service (SaaS) enterprise content management (ECM) solution. Synergy Express enables financial services organizations of all sizes and diverse corporate entities to capture, store, retrieve, and distribute images of virtually any document or report as well as check images. This high availability, fully managed service incorporates all back-office functions and streamlines the entire content management process.

Synergy Express incorporates key functionality of Jack Henry & Associates’ modular Synergy ECM platform, which has been available exclusively for traditional in-house implementation until now. Operating in a SaaS environment, Synergy Express eliminates the initial and ongoing capital expenditures required for in-house installations, as well as ongoing capacity planning by seamlessly supporting planned and unexpected storage volume increases. Synergy Express also leverages the company’s extensive data center infrastructure that is supporting the mission-critical information and transaction processing requirements of more than 500 financial institutions.  ■
www.jackhenry.com

Isilon® Systems (NASDAQ: ISLN), has announced a number of successes:

GLOBALedit®, the software and services unit of Industrial Color, has standardized its global image management platform on Isilon IQ clustered storage.

GLOBALedit is a professional online image management system that provides global access to massive photo collections and a suite of workflow tools that connect creative and business communities. Using Isilon IQ, GLOBALedit has unified its multi-format image management and distribution onto a single, high-performance, highly scalable, shared pool of storage, providing immediate, reliable access to its massive data stores while significantly reducing IT cost and complexity.  ■

Intelligent Creatures, a leading visual effects company that has worked on a number of major Hollywood films including Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Babel, The Game Plan and currently in production on The Watchmen is using Isilon IQ clustered storage to power its entire post-production workflow, including 2D compositing and 3D animation. Using Isilon clustered storage, Intelligent Creatures is able to streamline its rendering and asset management operations, significantly increasing data access and network performance to speed project turnaround. In addition, Isilon IQ's single point of management and ease of use have enabled Intelligent Creatures to take on larger and more complex projects without adding additional staff or increasing the size of its render farm.  ■

James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment, the production company behind such films as Abyss, Terminator and Titanic, is using Isilon IQ clustered storage to power the production of its next major motion picture Avatar. To create Avatar, Lightstorm Entertainment is employing an all-digital virtual filming environment with leading-edge, performance capture technology and Pace/Cameron's Fusion Camera System to create a 3D movie experience unlike any yet produced. Using Isilon IQ, Lightstorm is able to unify, manage and access vast stores of unique, extremely high resolution 3D content from a single, high-performance, highly scalable, shared pool of storage - accelerating and simplifying its entire digital workflow from the virtual environment's creation, to live-action motion capture and 3D convergence.  ■

The Orphanage, an award-winning visual effects studio that has worked on a number of major Hollywood films including Iron Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Sin City, and Superman Returns, has selected Isilon's IQ clustered storage system as the primary storage platform for its latest and largest project to date. The Orphanage is using Isilon IQ to unify, manage and access the entirety of its latest major motion picture project from a single, high-performance, highly scalable, shared pool of storage - streamlining the post-production process and accelerating the project's time-to-completion.  ■
www.isilon.com

CoSign® digital signatures from ARX, a provider of digital signature solutions, and trusted digital certificates from GlobalSign, Inc., a well-established certification authority, are now being offered together.

CoSign® digital signature (standard electronic signature) users will have the option to deploy CoSign under GlobalSign’s WebTrust compliant root, via this new agreement. This combination provides businesses with a secure and cost-effective method to electronically sign documents over the Internet with secured digital signatures. The CoSign PSF ™ (Portable Signature Format) is an enabler of this partnership - CoSign produces a CoSign PSF for every signature it captures. The portability of the CoSign PSF is a key feature, allowing partners, customers, and prospects to retain and verify the proof of identity, intent, and transaction integrity over the life of a record without any proprietary software.  ■
www.arx.com

Pagemark Technology, Inc., an industry leading expert in XML Paper Specification rendering technology, has announced that SKYCOM (http://www.skycom.co.jp), a Japanese developer and supplier of Internet, security and document management-related software, has selected Pagemark’s XPS Rendering SDK and XPS Viewer to be integrated into SKYCOM's document management and print security products enabling support for the increasingly popular XPS format.

Pagemark’s multi-platform XPS rendering conversion SDK and viewer provides enterprise software developers with the ability to build XPS rendering solutions within a wide range of applications and operating systems.  ■
www.pagemarktechnology.com

RMD Kwikform has selected Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions provider, The Content Group, to provide ECM solution for document scanning and automation. RMD Kwikform has invested £16,000 in Invu document management software which integrates with their financial system Axapta.

RMD Kwikform provides formwork and shoring solutions to the global construction industry and with operations in 15 countries, has the ability to provide a local service, backed up by significant international experience.

Mark Pickard, Senior Accountant, RMD Kwikform, comments, “With over 50 years experience, RMD Kwikform uses its extensive expertise in formwork and falsework to deliver tailored solutions for the benefit of our customers. Our service is distinguished by the calibre of our people, ensuring our promises are delivered and best operating practices are observed.”  ■
www.thecontentgroup.co.uk

AN4 Group, one of the UK’s most respected technology product and solution providers, has announced the successful installation of a hosted email solution at stockbroker Simple Investments.

Simple Investments is a privately owned, independent firm of stockbrokers, based in the heart of Surrey. It provides services for institutions and private clients, managing share portfolios and advising on stock markets.

The company prides itself on delivering a high quality and discreet offering which focuses on each of its customers as an individual. However, constantly increasing levels of spam flooding Simple Investment’s inboxes meant that the company was at risk of losing important businesses from their valued clients.

Barry Fudge, Operations Manager at Simple Investments explains: “We were getting inundated with spam emails, and it was getting worse and worse: everyone’s mailbox was getting filled with junk. But we still had to go through it all in case we missed an important email from one of our clients, which would be disastrous.”

The company was wasting a huge amount of time and effort sorting through emails, so trusted IT partner AN4 suggested Proofpoint’s On Demand Email Security Solution, which delivers industry-leading messaging security features as a cost-effective, on-demand anti-spam service.

“Proofpoint on Demand offers unified email security and data loss prevention features as a cost-effective, easy-to-adopt and easy-to-manage hosted service - ideal for a small company such as Simple Investments,” says Kristian Connor, Sales Director for AN4 Group. “Proofpoint on Demand offers effective protection against both inbound and outbound email-borne threats, without requiring the installation of on-premise hardware or software.

“In addition, AN4 was able to offer the company flexible customisation of its email security preferences, policies, enabled modules, end-user features, alerts and reporting,” he adds.

Since the implantation in May, Simple Investment has seen a marked rise in productivity, with spam banished from their mailboxes. AN4 manages the system day-to-day, looking after any technical issues, service updates, and settings changes required – leaving Simple Investments free to make their clients’ businesses a success too.  ■
www.an4group.com

Uplogix®, a leading provider of next-generation secure remote management (SRM) solutions, has announced a new partnership with Calyx, a leading independent end-to-end provider of ICT in Ireland and the UK. The agreement will allow Calyx to utilise technology from Uplogix to deliver an enhanced service for distributed IT asset management, remote control and IT operations and security policy enforcement, to help deliver “lights out” data centre policy.

“Managed Service Providers (MSPs) are a well-suited customer segment for Uplogix, and our new agreement with Calyx highlights the substantial benefits SRM can deliver to both clients and the operational activities of MSPs” comments Mark Piening, VP of Marketing for Uplogix, “Calyx has been at the forefront of innovation in this area, and working closely with them will ensure that Uplogix is at the heart of more trusted managed service offerings helping clients across the globe.”  ■
www.uplogix.com

Aladdin Knowledge Systems (NASDAQ: ALDN), an information security leader specializing in authentication, software DRM and content security, has announced the release of Aladdin HASP SRM™ v 3.50, adding automatic file wrapping for Java applications, enhanced security and ease-of-use to Aladdin’s award-winning, fully-integrated hardware- and software- based copy protection and licensing solution.

The HASP SRM Java Envelope provides advanced protection for Java Archive (JAR) files through strong encryption, protecting against reverse engineering at the class-level through the encryption of user-selected class files. Within just minutes, the HASP SRM v 3.50 Java Envelope automatically “wraps” Java applications in HASP SRM’s award-winning copy protection without requiring any changes to the source code itself.

A cross-platform environment based on intermediate code, Java is highly prone to reverse-engineering, making Envelope protection critical to securing intellectual property. Unlike other software DRM solutions, the HASP SRM Java Envelope does not require the conversion of Java files into another format in order to implement HASP SRM software- or hardware-based locking. HASP SRM v 3.50 is the only automatic file wrapping system that supports both hardware and software locking.   ■

Also from Aladdin ....

Aladdin has announced that it signed a license agreement with Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), a technology leader in the field of smart cards and IT-security solutions. The agreement recognizes Aladdin’s USB smartcard patents used in G&D’s authentication products and grants G&D the rights to use the protected technology for its well-established StarSign e-identity token solutions.

Aladdin will provide G&D access to its protected technology under U.S. patent US 6,748,541 , US 6,763,399 and European patent EP 1,001,329.

“With a worldwide license agreement in place, we expect that the agreement will enable growth in the U.S. and in Europe as well as in new regions of the globe,” said Dr. Kai Grassie, head of G&D’s New Business Division.  ■
www.aladdin.com

The DocuMate 162 scanner can capture, organise and repurpose paper documents for almost any application

Visioneer have announced a new, easy-to-use document scanner that helps users become more productive by scanning, e-mailing and copying their documents at the touch of a single button.

The Xerox DocuMate 162 colour document scanner scans up to 50 images per minute (ipm) in duplex mode and includes a 50-page automatic document feeder that can handle everything from business cards to A4 documents. It includes Visioneer OneTouch technology with advanced TWAIN and certified ISIS drivers that will enable communication with hundreds of enterprise content management (ECM) and document image management (DIM) software solutions.   ■
www.visioneer.com

Research by Storage Expo has found that the top data storage challenge facing organisations is how to implement the right disaster recovery strategy (83%). The second most important issues of concern to the 252 organisations covered in the research was ensuring data security for the business (82%) and third was the management of increasing volumes of data (81%). Centralising data access was a concern for 79% of organisations closely followed by how to store data cost effectively (77%). Ensuring compliance with the latest data storage legislation and knowing what regulations to comply with are of concern to 68% of organisations. Achieving interoperability across existing storage solutions was an issue for 60% of organisations.

Storage Expo 2008 at the National Hall, Olympia on the 15th and 16th October, is the UK’s definitive event for data storage, information and content management. Providing the opportunity to compare the most comprehensive range of solutions and services from all the leading suppliers, the show features over 100 of the world’s top storage vendors and an extensive, cutting-edge free education programme with over 62 experts speaking, including sessions that will address the latest issues on how to tackle data growth and disaster recovery.   ■
 

Green Sheet are media partners
at Storage Expo UK 2008

DocuLex has announced the release of Archive Studio WebSearch 4.1. New features to the content management software include SharePortal, which allows the knowledge user to securely share content and collaborate with third party individuals or organizations without user logins. SharePortal can be utilized for sharing large or zipped files with outside vendors, customers and business associates without the hassles associated with email firewalls, ftp and faxing. Automated Expirations were added to provide a self management effort of eliminating temporary access to invitations, files and folders made available by SharePortal permission and granted by WebSearch users.

Workflow enabling Auto Notification is now available for assignment to files and folders. Users or communities may be automatically notified if files or folders are added, deleted, checked-out, edited, etc. Workflow Inbox and folder routing is also enabled, allowing users to customize folder content to meet their business process requirements for routing documents and notifying users to perform their assigned activity.

Simplifying document management, the Records Retention addition to WebSearch provides an automated process of classifying a record to a particular records series. The automated Records Retention processes include management reports, shredding, off-line archiving and legal hold capabilities.  ■

www.doculex.com

Top retailer Harvey Nichols is to deploy a major automated invoice processing system to capture and electronically process in excess of 100,000 paper invoices into their Cedar Accounting System.

Harvey Nichols is an international luxury lifestyle store, renowned both in the UK and internationally for the breadth and depth of its exclusive fashion merchandise. It offers many of the world's most prestigious brands in womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, food and home.

The international retailer will use ITESOFT.FreeMind for Invoices from ITESOFT, the leading developer of automated document capture, processing and management software solutions, to process thousands of invoices and improve the business efficiencies of this function.  ■

www.itesoft.co.uk

Canon USA today announced Buyer’s Laboratory Inc. (BLI), a leading independent office equipment test lab, has awarded seven Canon products with 2008 “Pick” Awards, as well as one “Outstanding Achievement Honor” Award. The “Pick” awards recognize innovation in the digital imaging industry and excellence in product performance.

Honored products include the Canon:
- imageRUNNER 5050
- Color imageRUNNER C5185i
(both MFP devices),
- LASER CLASS 830i fax-centric MFP
- large format imagePROGRAF iPF6100 graphic arts printer
- imageFORMULA DR-X10C production scanner
- DR-2510C workgroup scanner
[Reviewed by Green Sheet in Issue 49]
- ScanFront 220P network scanner
[To be reviewed by Green Sheet in the next few months]
- imageCLASS MF4270 network-ready MFP.

The Canon Workflow Composer integrated software solution for Canon MFPs received the Outstanding Achievement Honor award.  ■

Canon USA

Aladdin Knowledge Systems (NASDAQ: ALDN), who specialize in authentication, software DRM and content security, have announced that West Coast Labs awarded the Aladdin eSafe with Checkmark Premium Level Anti-Spam Certification. West Coast Labs also released its own report highlighting eSafe’s features.

In the report, West Coast Labs cited several positive conclusions drawn from Aladdin eSafe’s consistent performance during rigorous test scenarios:

— eSafe Virtual Appliance performed exceptionally well in all aspects of testing during the course of the anti-spam and URL filtering, and so the solution has been awarded the Premium Level Anti-Spam Certification.
— Overall, the solution performed extremely well, achieving a 99 percent cumulative [spam] detection rate.
— Thanks to the wide range of settings available, the administrator can fine-tune [eSafe] Virtual Appliance to a high degree.

“Aladdin eSafe consistently performs against a variety of e-mail and Web attacks in wide-ranging test scenarios,” said Chris Thomas, operations director at West Coast Labs. “Achieving Premium Anti-Spam Certification reinforces that Aladdin eSafe provides comprehensive gateway security for organizations.”

“In today’s fast-paced corporate environment, spam threatens not only productivity, but the safety of an organization’s network,” said Tsion Gonen, vice president of the Aladdin eSafe Business Unit at Aladdin Knowledge Systems. “Achieving Checkmark’s Premium Anti-Spam Certification provides independent verification of eSafe’s ability to deliver best-of-breed Web and email security solutions that protect organizations against constantly evolving malware threats."  ■

www.aladdin.com

Image Integrators Limited, specialist in document management and financial process automation and a reseller of Hyland Software’s OnBase®, has announced that The Economist Group has selected the specialist’s software for processing supplier invoices and automating workflow. The solution includes the latest version of Hyland Software’s fully integrated enterprise content management (ECM) software suite – OnBase 7.

The Economist Group owns, manages and develops intelligent media brands across the world, aimed at an audience of international business people and decision-makers. It is the leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs, delivered in newspapers and magazines – including its flagship publication, The Economist – and through conferences and meetings. The Group employs over 1,000 staff throughout the world, with offices in London, Frankfurt, Paris, Vienna, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Tokyo and India.

Because of its steady business growth, purchase invoice processing has increased to 3,000 documents being received monthly in London and document volumes reaching 1,000 and 600 for the New York and Hong Kong operations respectively.

To address these volumes without the requirement for further recruitment, The Economist Group evaluated a number of suppliers offering solutions of varying complexity. Image Integrators evaluated the company’s requirements and proposed a solution based upon in-house scanning and storage, integrated with The Economist Group’s existing Peoplesoft system.  ■

www.onbase.com

A study by a leading analyst firm has demonstrated increased productivity and reduced costs for organisations deploying ImageNow across the enterprise.

Perceptive Software Ltd, provider of ImageNow® enterprise document management, imaging and workflow software, has revealed the results of a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Perceptive Software titled "The Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Perceptive Software’s ImageNow®.”

In the study, Forrester examined the financial impact and potential return on investment (ROI) an organisation can realise by deploying ImageNow by Perceptive Software.

Through in-depth interviews, Forrester Consulting found that four existing ImageNow customers provided by Perceptive Software had achieved significant benefits using ImageNow.

The Forrester TEI study concluded that ImageNow generated a risk-adjusted ROI of 197 percent, and a thirteen-month window to regain the investment following the completion of an enterprise deployment.

“The results of the Forrester TEI study further reflect that ImageNow is a powerful, cost-efficient and scalable solution that provides tangible results across the enterprise,” said Cary DeCamp, Perceptive Software Executive Vice President of Marketing and Communications.  ■

View: Complete Report

Jack Henry Banking, a division of Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY) that provides integrated computer systems for banks ranging from de novo to mid-tier institutions, has announced that The Bank of San Antonio, the Texas-based De Novo bank which currently has more than $81 million in assets, selected Jack Henry Banking as its technology partner and the SilverLake System as its technology platform.

According to Brent Given, president and CEO of The Bank of San Antonio, “We offer big bank products and services in a relationship-focused, service-oriented community banking environment. To successfully compete with the much larger banks in our market and to serve our primary target market – business customers with $5 million to $25 million in revenue – we hired some very experienced staff from those large banks. We also implemented a technology platform that will support our near- and long-term business strategy and enable us to serve our target market with business banking and treasury management solutions that are as broad and deep as those offered by our biggest competitors.

Today, thanks to our staff and our technology, we offer everything big banks offer – online banking and bill pay, ACH and wire transfers, remote deposit capture, account reconciliation, image lockbox, zero-balance accounts, investment sweeps, loan sweeps, cash concentration, and more. We have been very successful attracting and serving middle-market business customers, particularly doctors, medical practices, and residential and commercial real estate firms, and we are confident that Jack Henry’s technology will enable us to continually offer anything and everything big banks offer.”  ■

www.jackhenrybanking.com

Industry associations and analysts, system integrators, technology vendors and end user organisations make up the Steering Group panel working with The Content Group and BSI British Standards to develop the first ever Publicly Available Specification (PAS) for Enterprise Content Management (ECM).

The Content Group will lead the industry Steering Group (SG) panel, which was announced today, through the first SG meeting as it reviews together the first draft of the standard and comments made so far. The final publication of the standard is expected at the end of this year.

Making up the SG panel are: Doug Miles, Managing Director, AIIM; Alan Shipman, BSI Committee Chairman, IDT/1; Alan Pelz-Sharpe, Principal, CMS Watch; Bharat Mistry, Associate Analyst, Bloor Research; Marc Fresco, EDM & ERM Consulting Services Director, Serco; Adrian McGrath, Principal Solution Architect and Solution Manager for ECM, LogicaCMG; Richard Erskine, EMEA Strategy and Consulting Manager, EMC Documentum; Lee Shepstone, Chief Technology Officer, Vignette; Paul Finnis, Assistant Vice President Records and Information Management EMEA Region, Credit Suisse; Stuart Murray, Head of Finance & Information, KMI Plus and Roger Wyer, Information Systems Manager, Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council.

These organisations have been selected from a vast array of interested parties who registered their interest in being actively involved with the production of the standard which when published will provide a common understanding of ECM and best practice.

The final panel members of the SG are responsible for contributing relevant technical information and also take part in regular review meetings providing comment and consensus building. The panel members have been selected to provide a broad and comprehensive representation of the ECM industry.

The Content Group has been working actively with BSI British Standards (BSI) to produce the first draft following the announcement of the PAS on 27th September 2007. The Content Group has also been in consultation with BSI during this time in establishing the final BSI SG panel for this work.  ■

www.itpr.co.uk

www.bsi-global.com

Following the publication of the Government’s Green IT strategy, ‘Greening Government ICT’, which aims to make public sector IT carbon neutral by 2012, Lynne Munns, General Manager of Version One, stresses the important role document management systems must play in meeting Government’s green IT targets.

The ‘Greening Government ICT’ plan recently published by the Minister for Transformational Government Tom Watson highlights key areas public sector departments need to address to achieve carbon neutrality by 2012. These include cutting the number of printers across the organisation and reducing the amount being printed. The plan holds Chief Information Officers and Finance Directors responsible for achieving Government’s ICT targets, with Finance Directors being tasked with ensuring that the environmental consequences of ICT procurements are fully evaluated.

Lynne Munns, General Manager of document management and imaging company Version One, says, “If public sector bodies are to cut the number of printers across their organisations and reduce printing, they need to invest in document management systems. These systems are crucial to achieving carbon neutrality by 2012 as they replace the printing-out, postage and manual filing of documents with electronic processes for document creation, delivery, management and storage.”

By moving to electronic document management systems, organisations reduce paper-use and significantly cut CO2 emissions as carbon is no longer emitted during the manufacture of toner cartridges, during the printing process, whilst photocopying paper and whilst transporting paperwork.  ■

www.versionone.co.uk

Read In Full:

'Greening Government ICT'

[Perhaps the high profile given to the print server should be reconsidered in implementing any new system! Ed.]

Core Security Technologies has announced a major milestone in its corporate and product strategy, positioning its proactive vulnerability management solutions to best serve the growing demand for security testing across the full range of organizational models and enterprise computing environments. To give users the greatest breadth and depth of testing options, Core Security has diversified its product line by introducing CORE IMPACT Essential. As part of this extension of its software solutions, Core is also announcing version 7.6 of its flagship product henceforth to be known as CORE IMPACT Pro, which will be delivered in September.

Collectively, the two products will now support a comprehensive set of enterprises and computing environments, delivering on the need for organizations to proactively expose vulnerabilities, measure operational risk and gain visibility into the efficacy of security mechanisms throughout their infrastructure.  ■

www.coresecurity.com

Also from Core today ....

Core Security Technologies, has announced record sales of its flagship product, CORE IMPACT. The company continues to expand at a rapid pace, now serving more than 700 customers across a broad spectrum of vertical markets.

Comprehensive security testing is now recognized as a vital, accepted process by leading organizations across the public and private sectors as well as in a growing list of regulations such as PCI 11.3 and the NIST 800-53A Guidance that endorses the practice. Mainstream businesses and government agencies, large and small, have moved to become more proactive in the defense of their IT and networking assets by engaging in regular security testing of their critical infrastructure and data protection capabilities. ■

www.coresecurity.com

Mike Barwise, from Infosecurity Adviser, the online forum run by the Infosecurity Europe team, has revealed he is less concerned about the privacy issues that the National DNA Database creates than other planned [UK] government files.

"The media seems preoccupied at the moment about people's DNA being stored centrally, but the reality is that the database is really a one-dimensional invasion of citizen's privacy," he said.

"Two-dimensional databases, such as the planned telecommunications database of the numbers that people call from their landlines and mobile phones, are much more worrying," he added.

According to Barwise, when you factor in the time element to the planned government telecommunications database and add in location-based data from the cellular carriers, you create a three-dimensional view of the person concerned. ■

More here

[Our very own Crusty is to comment on this in the next magazine! Ed.]

Aladdin Knowledge Systems (NASDAQ: ALDN), an information security leader specializing in authentication, software DRM and content security, and Secure Computing Corporation (NASDAQ: SCUR), a leading enterprise gateway security company, today announced a definitive agreement for Aladdin to acquire the Secure SafeWord product line for approximately $65 million in cash, including acquisition costs.

The acquisition of Secure SafeWord will position Aladdin as the premier strong authentication provider, adding highly innovative token technology as well as a strong market and channel presence to the existing Aladdin eToken family of solutions. To continue SafeWord’s worldwide growth, Aladdin plans to fully engage and support Secure Computing’s substantial, vibrant network of current SafeWord channel partners. Secure SafeWord added $32 million to Secure Computing’s revenue in 2007. ■

www.aladdin.com

Adobe
Isilon® Systems (NASDAQ: ISLN), have announced that Adobe Scene7 has deployed Isilon IQ clustered storage to power its on-demand rich media platform used by eCommerce and multi-channel marketing companies who need to upload, manage, enhance and publish dynamic rich content on the Web.

Isilon IQ is a primary storage platform that unifies workflow into a single, high-performance, highly scalable, shared pool of storage, streamlining content creation, hosting, serving and archiving operations while dramatically reducing IT costs and complexity. Isilon’s unique, “pay as you grow” clustered architecture enables users to scale capacity and performance linearly and independently, completely eliminating disparate islands of storage and significantly increasing its users access to critical content. ■

Fuji