Tactical Requirements for Document Management Implementations
The requirements of a Document Management system (DMS) are related to functions and processes used by different business application of an organization. When documenting tactical requirements it is important to ascertain various factors of document management implementations. Some of them are
Training Requirements
It is important to train the document management end users so that the deployed product can be used. Well planned, adequate training is a must for DMS users so that the DMS product, such as the DocuLex Archive Studio, does not add an additional headache to the users, but it rather helps for effective performance of the organization functions and business process workflow. Defining the training requirements depends upon business requirements and the nature of the solution. Training should cover the following type of user
• General user — Adequate training is needed to ensure that the user is able to complete his work using the document management tool;
• Key Admin user — These users are the people who can further be used for more training to new users and have rights to give permissions to any general user.
• System administrator — Training the technical team so that they can manage the operation of the DMS solution with less support from the DMS reseller or manufacturer.
Some of the additional details that might incur cost while training are accommodation, travel expenses, computers for training, training room, professional trainer, etc. It is important to plan these details before planning any training strategy. Most, if not all of the training can occur online, saving travel expenses, facility business interruption and multi-location training sessions.
System Changeover / Migration
System changeover may include the business requirements for migrating from an existing document management system to the new document management system. It is important that an enterprise, where the requirement exists, defines its system changeover and data migration requirements. This may be relevant where an existing document is to be decommissioned as part of the implementation of the DMS solution. There are a number of scenarios that might apply:
• There is no system changeover or data migration, which is the simplest scenario.
• An existing document system is to be decommissioned concurrent with or subsequent to the implementation of a DMS solution.
• Old Document system needs to be maintained as part of a system that provides a wider range of functionality, or integrates with a new system. Hence, it is not to be decommissioned.
Prior to data migration, confirm that there is a database association between the meta data and the document file, including the path. You might be surprise how many proprietary systems are out there.
If an existing document system is to be decommissioned, then it is important to consider its system changeover strategies and requirements. There are a number of strategy options:
• Direct cutover;
• Parallel operations; and
• Phased changeover.
Planning for Managing Change
The implementation of document management system will bring about changes in the way the organization handles internal documents. It is best to realize some of these Changes, so that the organizations can plan. Some of these changes are:
• For DMS solution to work effectively each documents need to be uniquely identified. So while creating new documents or updating new documents, the users might have to add additional information in the DMS system such as version number etc. This information will act as a metadata that can be used to store, retrieve and fetch data.
• The users might be using an existing filing system, network storage or some local database to locate documents. All such users should be educated and their documents migrated to new DMS software.
• With the implementation of the DMS system, the way organizations use and store document will be different. Such changes should be communicated clearly to all the new users and help provided till they become comfortable with new system.
• The organization will be storing files in the DMS repository. It is important to get access to all users and restrict the access based on user’s profile or community. Ultimately the DMS should not impact the day to day operations.
• Depending upon roles/needs remote access of DMS should be enabled for users from any location in a secured way. SSL certificates along with community permissions are the most appropriate security measure utilized with Archive Studio.
These are but a few aspects of issues that need to be analyzed and requirements defined. The requirements may be varied, and much depends on the nature of the enterprise, its philosophy toward information management, and the extent to which it gives (or plans to give) effect to managing information as an asset. If there is no demonstrated commitment from management at the strategic and tactical levels of the organization, then those issues also need to be addressed.
WebSearch’s Document Management, Workflow and Email Archive solution is meeting the high demands of enterprise level activity
DocuLex Releases Archive Studio’s WebSearch V 4.4.0 – Enhanced Document Management Solution.
For Complete Details – http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9519962.htm
The new release meets the processing demands of organizations leveraging their Archive Studio investment to manage more enterprise-wide document managmement needs other than the intended departmental use. WebSearch 4.4 has been upgraded to meet the high demands of enterprise level activity. WebSearch also includes an integrated browser based capture solution. Any user, with permission, can utilize the capture component of WebSearch without any additional cost. If granted permissions by the administrator, users of WebSearch can scan and index documents directly into WebSearch without additional capture license purchases or click charges.
“This is a monumental release,” states David Bailey, DocuLex President. “WebSearch is making use of current modern technology of Microsoft’s .net architecture, multi transactional parallel processing, plus advanced security and enhanced logging features. This is a recipe for more efficient processing, increased server stability and quicker access to an organization’s decision making information.”
About Archive Studio’s WebSearch
WebSearch is the document management component of Archive Studio. WebSearch may be utilized as a service in the cloud or acquired as an on-premise server-based solution.
WebSearch is a secure, browser-based document management software solution that enhances internal and external collaboration, business process workflow, email archiving, corporate compliance and records retention management scheduling. The program was developed for use throughout a business’s operations to regulate and streamline the flow of documentation and secure content access from any location, anytime. The WebSearch user interface is similar, yet easier to use, than internet search engines such as Microsoft Bing, Yahoo and Google. Searches are performed by entering specific index field (meta data), full text content or date ranges, search history, search lists and saved searches.
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Ricoh eCabinet Migration to DocuLex Archive Studio Document Management Software
Have the Ricoh eCabinet and not sure what to do if it goes down?
DocuLex has the solution for you!
As many of you may already know, eCabinet development has been discontinued and product support is limited.
Have you made a decision as to what you will replace it with? Consider DocuLex Archive Studio WebSearch and its exemplary support as a replacement to eCabinet.
Archive Studio’s WebSearch document management module provides 100% browser based capabilities from a single server installation, or the optional Cloud based subscription. It is easily customizable to meet the needs of your organization.
Data conversion from the eCabinet to Archive Studio’s WebSearch is proven and painless with our help.
Organizations of all industries are looking for ways to reduce expenses and improve employee productivity. Archive Studio is a natural progression from eCabinet that will improve your information management requirements and workflow.
More about DocuLex Archive Studio
DocuLex Archive Studio provides network-enabled document capture and image processing software, along with browser-based document and content management. The easy to use, browser-based programs were developed for use throughout a business’s operations to capture and enable secure content access from any location with convenience of use that is similar, yet easier, than an Internet search engine. Searches may be performed using document specific metadata descriptions, full text content, as well as date ranges, search history, search lists and saved searches. File indexing accommodates the business process of adding documents via document scanner or electronically generated files. These documents are in need of structured index values for organized filing, searching and records management.
Documents of any file type may be uploaded directly to Archive Studio, indexed (with additional document identifying metadata added remotely if necessary) for native format storage and ease of access. A Replace/Append Meta field function allows a document file’s existing metadata to be replaced or to append new metadata for a specific field, tracking and chronicling all content amendments.
Archive Studio enables colleague collaboration, email archiving and compliance, knowledge management, data mining, workflow and records retention. Archive Studio is easy to use, productive electronic document and content management software for any business environment seeking secure Instant Document Access.
A SOAP based API is a pratical method of integration between document management and line of business applications
A SOAP based API is the standard method of communicating with Archive Studio WebSearch document management software and other line of business applications.
SOAP initially addressed as Simple Object Access Protocol, was developed as a standard to exchange data over the Internet. In other words, SOAP takes the data and shares it via the internet. The data is encoded in an XML format, which has specific rules for encoding and processing. The actual transmission of the XML data is managed by the transport protocol, which is HTTP served by a web server. The combination of the open XML encoding style and the different protocol makes SOAP a better interoperable wired protocol. The original version of SOAP specification was very closely aligned with HTTP. With the release of the 1.1 and subsequent specification, other Internet protocols could be used as transport layers. The transportation protocol locates the remote system and initiates communications. The arrangement of information within the SOAP packet, textual data, should comply with XML specifications. The textual data allows for maximum system compatibility. Having the text in XML allows you to dictate what data content the text should encapsulate. Using XML schemas and namespaces, you can apply rigid data types to remote methods. The XML based protocol defines what is in the message and how to process it. The areas SOAP specification does not address are left to the individual SOAP implementation’s architect to design into a specific implementation. Some advantages of using SOAP are
• SOAP is built upon open technologies, rather than vendor-specific technologies, and facilitates true distributed interoperability.
• Different standards like SMTP, HTTP, JMS can be used in while sending data in SOAP giving the developers better flexibility.
• Changes to the SOAP infrastructure will likely not affect applications using the protocol, unless significant serialization changes are made to the SOAP specification.
Some SOAP features that can impact performance:
• SOAP was initially tied to the HTTP protocol mandating request/response architecture that is not appropriate for all situations. Though different protocols can be used, lot of SOAP implementations still use HTTP.
• The XML format being verbose can slower the SOAP messages if the messages are big
If you compare with other systems such as CORBA, DCOM, or Java RMI, proper runtime environments should be installed; the users system should be configured to accommodate non SOAP systems etc. In some cases it is also needed to reconfigure firewall(s) to allow the system-specific packets to enter and leave local network. In contrast the SOAP protocol is very easy to incorporate as well as very easy to administer.
Whether or not the advantages of using SOAP outweigh the disadvantages will likely depend to a great degree upon the requirements levied upon the architecture. How SOAP is used depends entirely on the problem you are trying to solve. To summarize the three major characteristics of SOAP: Extensibility (New extensions can be easily developed), Neutrality (Usage of different transport protocol such as HTTP, SMTP or even TCP helps the cause), and Independence (having open technologies means SOAP can be used any vendors) makes SOAP a great mechanism for transporting data over the internet
Feasibility Study for DMS
Many projects do not reach a desired outcome. Rather they are cancelled midway due to nonalignment with business objectives or lack of ownership or budget constraints etc. In order to reduce the chances of failures, a feasibility study can be used as a tool to conduct preliminary investigation of requirements.
The purpose of a feasibility study is to determine whether the implementation of a Document Management System tool supports the mission and objectives of the organization. It is an initial assessment of the usability of DMS tool and the practicability of achieving a successful implementation.
Time and other resources to conduct a feasibility study that covers all types of business processes where document management opportunities exist might be scarce. But documents being a core element in most business processes, there is a need to scope the feasibility study (i.e. the requirements gathered as part of the study need to have a defined scope before starting a more detailed requirements analysis investigation).
In many organizations, the number of projects exceeds the capacity of the organization to undertake them. It is necessary to rank projects and to ensure that initiated projects meet its likely outcome. Hence, the feasibility study of a DMS project with respect to below points is needed:
• If Managements is aware of such a change and ready to support anticipated outcomes
• If the changes incorporated as part of a DMS tool are within the organization’s policies
• If it is practical to deploy resources for the project given other initiatives that are in progress
• If the DMS tool project can impact any other project in progress or in pipeline
• If this is the right timing to start a DMS project.
When all the discussions are happening it is also important that DMS project initiators have some strong point to justify the reason for DMS projects. Some of the benefits, which can be used as points for justification are:
• Faster retrieval of documents thereby enhancing the capability of a system
• Proper and faster publishing of documents, by using automated workflow to route documents to appropriate owner. Hence, communication is faster.
• Automation helps in improving accuracy thereby improving quality and fewer chances of errors.
• Better customer service, since a DMS tool can help in easier location of documents and any other relevant archived material
• Cost savings, since amount of time spent on storing and searching is saved. Employee productive time can be used for other purpose.
Ultimately, the feasibility study will assist organizations to allocate resources and money for the specification, acquisition, development, and implementation of a DMS system. The organization should consider the feasibility study as an essential component of the project life cycle. If the organization can not get the preliminary planning and definition correct during the feasibility study, then it is unlikely to get it right at all.
The Benefits of Cloud Computing
Improved technology and better affordability are making it possible for an increasing number of businesses and organizations to move to “cloud computing” and away from on-site, locally managed computer servers for application hosting and document management.
It is hoped that any enterprise that fully or even partially embraced and leapt to “the cloud” did so after some prudent investigation into the benefits and risks of such a move.
The chief reasons cited today for putting off cloud computing include issues related to data availability and control, service reliability, file security and information privacy. But on the flip side of those cloud-computing “cons” or risks are many “pros” — solid business reasons to take a seat on the cloud and ride it.
For review, cloud computing is the practice of using a network of remote servers — “virtual servers,” some call them — rather than local servers to store, manage and process data. Access to these servers and the pertinent information on them is gained by secure connection through the Internet, wherever and whenever the Internet is available.
Cloud computing is more than traditional data hosting in that its services are sold on demand like a water or electric utility service, it is elastic in that a customer can use as much or as little of the services as it needs, and it is fully managed by the service provider or vendor.
While not totally inclusive, here are some leading benefits of cloud computing:
• By moving to cloud computing, a company can reduce its costs in the areas of software applications, computer hardware and IT staffing.
• Cloud computing gives small and midsize organizations access to technology and technology expertise and support that only the “big boys” used to have.
• With the elastic and scalable nature of cloud computing, a company can get started with the features and services it can afford now and later access more services as the company and its bottom line grows. Think “pay as you go.”
• Cloud-computing services and applications can be — and usually are — tailor made to each client’s specific needs.
• Access to the cloud is convenient. All one needs is a desktop, laptop or tablet computer — or even just a smartphone — and a link to the Internet.
• Business owners can operate “virtual” companies, because their employees don’t have to be tied to a central office with an on-site data server. Working from home or on the go has never been easier or more convenient.
• Because of the convenient access to information on the cloud, collaboration with colleagues, even those at great distances, is easier.
• Cloud computing provides for continued business operations and data access in the event of a disaster, whether natural (“acts of God”) or accidental (a fire, for example).
• Data security on a cloud-based server can be much better than on a locally managed server.
• File backups on cloud computers and servers are done routinely. The chances than files or data will be lost are greatly reduced.
• Testing of and moving to upgraded software is much more streamlined. If the new software doesn’t work for a company, a rollback to the previous version usually is possible.
Windows 7 “Indexing” vs. DocuLex WebSearch Document Management System
The term indexing is ambiguous and is defined differently in Windows 7™ Vs how it is used in Doculex’s ‘Document Management’ System called ‘WebSearch’.
What Windows™ refers to as ‘Indexing’ a document is what is called ‘A Text Search’. That is, it searches every word in every document as well as words contained in the names of documents. When a user types in a particular word that they believe is in the document, then ALL the documents that contain that word will be presented. That could be a few, or thousands. Users can ‘fine-tune’ the search by looking for the word(s) contained specifically in a particular document type such as a *.Doc or a *.PDF, etc. But that still means the user has to look through numerous files to find the exact document for which they are searching. Also, they are left wondering whether the exact document for which they are searching has been found. Also, Windows 7™ will only index the documents on a particular PC. In business, there are usually several Desktops and servers.
This weakness is understood in the world of managing Business Documents. Indexing here refers to assigning key ‘search fields’ to a particular type of document and then assigning ‘search words’ to those fields. This way the user can search by more than one word or words and get exactly the document for which they are looking. This ability allows for a number of additional search methods to find documents, including:
1. Indexing documents using ‘index fields’ and ‘specific index words’ allows one to index document that are contained in a database on a server, Vs only being able to search the documents on a particular PC.
2. Ability to find by key ‘index fields’ to find a specific document. (E.g. All ‘Invoices’ might have been indexed by ‘Invoice Number’, ‘Date’, ‘Vendor Name’, etc. Searching for ‘Invoices/Invoice Number’ will find that document and only that document if the invoice number is unique.)
3. Ability to fine-tune a search by multiple index fields. (E.g. Searching by ‘Vendor Name’ would find all Invoices by that Vendor, which might be exactly what the user wants. Searching by ‘Vendor name’ and ‘date’ would find just that particular invoice, etc.)
4. Ability to search by ‘date range’, as well as multiple index fields.
5. Ability to search by ‘automated information’ (e.g. upload date, system date, time, etc.)
6. Ability to search by ‘Google Style’ search parameters such as:
a. Fuzzy Logic searching will find a word even if it is misspelled. For example, a fuzzy search for apple will find aple, or appl, etc.
i. Fuzzy searching can be useful when the user is searching text that may contain typographical errors.
ii. Fuzzy Searching is also good for finding text that has been scanned using optical character recognition where, for example, a O is mistaken for a 0.
iii. Fuzzy Searching is useful for finding text that has been ‘OCR’d’ by scanners for the same reason as shown in ‘ii’ above.
b. Stemming is a search capability that extends a search to cover grammatical variations on a word. For example, a search for ‘fish’ would also find ‘fishing’. A search for applied would also find applying, applies, and apply.
c. Phonic searching looks for a word that sounds like the word you are searching for and begins with the same letter. For example, a phonic search for Smith will also find Smith and Smythe.
d. Natural Language search uses “any words”, which is any sequence of text, like a sentence or a question.
e. Synonym search can find words that are synonymous with the search words. So when someone remembers that the document might have contained a word similar to another word, running a synonym search finds all similar words. Such as, “The article I am looking for is about cars” then it would search for documents that have the word, Automobile, Motor Vehicle, etc. After all, an article about cars may never use the word ‘car’ but that is how the user may remember it.
In Windows 7™, searching by all the words in all the documents on a PC requires that the user go through several, if not all, documents on the PC to find the particular document for which they are looking. Plus, they can only search for the documents on their PC. They cannot search for documents on other servers or those on other users PC’s.
Software Certification for Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) Meaningful Use
DocuLex has achieved the ONC-ATCB Certification Seal for its Archive Studio WebSearch Document Management Software. The Seal represents that Archive Studio has been tested and certified for use by healthcare providers seeking to adopt and successfully demonstrate “Meaningful Use of Certified EHR Technology”, to qualify for incentive funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The Seal indicates that the DocuLex Software Suite has passed a series of tests to prove compliance with the EHR technical standard as required by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary.
Adoption of better document management systems by healthcare providers for patient records has been an increasing trend over the last few years based on goverment incentives and compliance issues. The DocuLex software is now approved for use by healthcare providers for the secure management, storage and retrieval of valuable healthcare records. Healthcare organizations can now easily integrate the DocuLex software module with their existing practice management software for a complete EHR system.
Email Archiving for Preservation and Discovery
Email Preservation
MS-Exchange 2007 and 2010 can seamlessly integrate with Archive Studio’s WebSearch, ensuring you will never lose email again. With unlimited mailbox storage capacity, it is the fastest and most efficient method of finding and managing email. All incoming, internal and outgoing email is captured by WebSearch automatically in real time, with secure end-to-end encryption. Email Archiving can not be easier.
Email preservation from Exchange to WebSearch is covered by using a technology called “enveloping” and use of the Exchange Journaling mailbox.
Archive Studio’s email archiving capability enables you to produce evidentiary-quality email records quickly, with full audit trails on email history.
Web based scanning with WebSearch Document Management software – Test case with a Ricoh MFP connected to a network.
I was pleasantly surprised, this week, when I tested the WebSearch built in web based scanning and indexing feature with a Ricoh copier running on the network. The Ricoh copier (MFP) scanned directly into WebSearch, through the network, as you would expect from a dedicated scanner connected to a desktop with a USB cable. All that was required of the user was a one-time installation of the MFP TWAIN driver into their desktop PC workstation. The driver is supplied by Ricoh and available for download from the Ricoh support driver site. WebSearch is acquired through the browser so there was nothing from DocuLex to install.
The steps to scan and index a document with WebSearch and the Ricoh MFP network connection:
From the WebSearch document management software, select the SCAN icon on the TOOLS menu ribbon. All of the scanning and image correction icons will appear along with the image preview screen and fields for adding meta data values. Select the Scan document icon. A Ricoh message will appear on the preview screen indicating that you should add paper to the Ricoh MFP and then select the green start button located on the MFP panel (same as the copy button). I walked over to the MFP and scanned a very large document. I was able to continue adding more paper to the ADF without interruption or any additional interaction with WebSearch. Once scanning was completed, a Ricoh message appeared on the preview screen asking if the user was finished scanning. Once I selected OK, the entire scanning process was complete. In addition, the scanned images were displayed for me to inspect or correct prior to archiving with WebSearch. The WebSearch web based scanning experience along with the Ricoh MFP was uncomplicated and very simple for any beginner to use. The only thing left for me to do was to add searchable meta data to the indexing form and select the save icon.
When any authorized knowledge worker wants to retrieve that document, all they would need to do is enter one or many matching meta data values or full text content contained somewhere in the body of the document and WebSearch will display the matching document in seconds.
DocuLex is proud to be a recommended supplier for all employees of Allstate and its affiliate companies as a Document Management Software Solutions provider. Allstate offices and employees use this database to find information about supplier businesses as part of their sourcing process and to facilitate timely processing of supplier payments.
