| Volume 2015 Issue 10 |
|
|
Halloween is just around the corner and to some this is the best event of the year. You get to dress up and be something else.
We, here at NTS, love when we see ECM installations that are different from the standard storing and retrieval application. Since we are in the business of Automation and Integration, we are a little like the costume store; we dress up the main ECM product to become this dream solution that you, the dealer, want to sell to your end-users. Over the years, Automation and Integration have been more about enhancing each person's performance and less about enhancing teamwork. When scanning of documents and computerized documents became the norm, the "lost files" argument from the old paper solution became history. With the electronic overload of information, we have important facts that get drowned in the noise of the all the other stuff. The "lost files" argument is now replaced with the "I did not see that" argument. If we email or text message a coworker to look at a specific document and get back to us with some information, then that action is not automatically linked to the document's history. Yes, there is an email or text message audit, but that link between those messages and the document itself does not exist and many months from now it's all forgotten when an audit is performed. When teams work on projects that span departments, then route the documents for collecting additional information, this requires workflow that would emulate the older "Routing" system. There are times when workflow is not installed and routing is done with emails and text messages and then we are right back to the document history issue. Years ago, when we did workflow for accounts payable, we tracked any and all activities in an external database. That was a database that was not part of the ECM system. When the PO, BOL, invoice and check (or bank transfer notice) were collected and the transaction completed, we added the document history as pages to the document; therefore, anyone reading the document could also see the document history in an audit situation. This has now become the norm in the industry and is very helpful. As eluted to in the main story of this newsletter, NTS plans to announce later this year a new product that will address some of the teamwork issues that are sometimes missing when Automation and Integration is deployed to an ECM system. Stay tuned and do not let the ghost take your document this Halloween. return to top |
|
|
|
Earlier this week the big news broke in the ECM world:
When you read the stories why this is happening and why it would be good for both Dell & EMC, you do not see the brand names Documentum and Application Xtender listed. Instead, you read about the big producing brands like WMware. So does this mean that Michael Dell has special plans for those software products? Well, the fact is that the Documentum and Application Xtender is a very small business of EMC Company and will become an even smaller part of the new privately held Dell. What does that mean for us in the Content Management World? What will happen to the Documentum and Application Xtender product lines? Your guess is as good as ours, but no reason for panic. NTS has worked and expanded on the Application Xtender line and its functionalities since the product was created and introduced way back then by OTG. When OTG was sold to Legato, we all were asking the same question, "What now?" The answer was clear, "Let's grow this product" and Legato did so. Then Legato was sold to EMC and we had to again ask the question, "What now?" At that time it was different since EMC was neither a software company nor known for its software. EMC was also obtaining the Documentum brand, and thereby creating a dynamic ECM brand under EMC. Again, it worked out okay. Products like Workflow and Full Text Search were added to the brand names and the future looked great. With the announcement this week, should we ask again, "What now?" Sure, we should, but we should not panic. First of all, both Documentum and Application Xtender brands have a large installation base that needs to be supported. The question is, will the new Dell company spin this off to its own subsidiary under Dell for those brands? Since both product lines have had a long solid life, one would think that this solution would actually bring more attention to the products and we will all benefit from that. What happens if Dell were to sell off Documentum and Application Xtender product lines? One theory is that companies like IBM/FileNet or OpenText would love to take over the Documentum side. Application Xtender would be picked up by companies such as Onbase or FileBound; they would transition into products like what happened when Minolta gave up on the MIMS 3000 project and OTG helped out in converting them over to Application Xtender. Another theory is that MetaSource would make an arrangement with Dell by letting them take over the support and new development of the Application Xtender line. Clearly, all of this is pure speculation and a lot of things are going to happen before the merger is completed; however, this is the time where side-deals are brokered and the future is shaped. One thing we know for sure is that AX version 8 will be released and a very new and exciting product from NTS will be announce later this year that will expand the AX capabilities. So, let's take this "opportunity for us to seize the moment" as Meg Whitman told the HP employees. For more information, technical guide and case stories call NTS 707-258-8086 or visit us on the web @ www.go2nts.com to down load promotional material and user guides for NTS products. return to top |
|
Contact: Phone: US 707-258-8086 Mail: PO Box 254807 Sacramento CA 95865-4807 Email: sales@go2nts.com TxtMsg: 4152351566@sprintpcs.com return to top |
|
|
Opt-out of newsletter, click here. return to top |
|