Bits 'n' PCs

Factiva to sponsor the newly launched Content Management Europe event
Imark Communications has announced that Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters Company, will be the headline sponsor at the newly launched Content Management Europe (CME) event which takes place 2 - 4 December 2003 at London's Olympia Grand Hall. Other content management companies exhibiting at CME include Stellent, Things Prime, Mondosoft, Stilo, Ixiasoft, Web-labs and Konnectsoft. CME will run within Online Information, the world's largest information exhibition with over 250 companies showcasing the best content resources and information management solutions.
Factiva will promote its workflow solutions at CME to an audience of IT managers, line of business managers responsible for selecting content management solutions, senior business decision makers, publishers, and information professionals. Factiva recognises that effective content management is no longer a trend but a permanent solution which streamlines the process of delivering information.

Content Management Europe. www.cme-expo.co.uk
Online Information. www.online-information.co.uk
Imark Communications. Tel: 44 (0)1932 730 700

Adobe finds UK plc leaking profits
A number of inefficiencies were revealed in a series of customer one-to-ones with organisations from the financial, pharmaceutical and public sectors. The research findings revealed that:
• Companies could be adding up to 25 per cent to their cost base through poor workflow and inefficient processes
• Delays in capturing and processing information mean companies are using up to 200% more hours on administration than is necessary
• Errors in the supply chain (e.g. inputting incorrect information, data duplication) are believed to be the most costly
• Delays in turning around customer orders and applications and the processes involved in ensuring compliance with industry regulations are considered major drains on productivity

A number of organisations used enterprise management software tools to increase efficiency and productivity. For example:
• A retail bank reported a 40 per cent increase in its share of the personal loan market. By improving data capture, integration and presentation, it reduced application times from weeks to hours
• A large pharmaceutical company cut the time taken to raise business-critical purchase orders by half. The number of systems used to raise a purchase order was reduced from seven to one, and a business-rules engine eliminated all data entry errors
• One central government department reduced the time it takes to get requested information out to citizens by four weeks, by automating data capture and dissemination

"With a tough economic climate, companies are focused on the bottom line and yet many are losing money without even realising it," said Gary Fry, Enterprise sales director at Adobe. "Inefficient processes and poor data management can account for millions of pounds of lost revenue. Not only is the cost of administration unnecessarily high but it can also impact customer satisfaction and ultimately customer retention."

Adobe Systems. www.adobe.com

IXOS unveils collaboration edition of Enterprise Content Management suite for SAP
IXOS Software has unveiled the collaboration edition of its Enterprise Content Management (ECM) suite for SAP solutions. The upgraded solution enables the integration of data from different content sources, allowing employees access to related information like contracts, orders, invoices and e-mail directly through the SAP software solution, regardless of which application generated the document. As a result, enterprises are able to eliminate silos of information, extend their investment in SAP solutions, improve customer service, enhance business processes, boost productivity, and lower costs.

New features include:
• A single point of access for related information: Users can access multiple business documents from any process running on SAP solutions with a single SAP log-in.
• Dynamic document management: IXOS not only supports static documents like invoices but also dynamic documents such as contracts and product descriptions. Instead of sharing the document manually or passing it from team to team, departments can collaborate on a common template and complete the contract more efficiently.
• Efficient content capturing for mySAP PLM: IXOS enables maintenance and construction departments to capture the initial document load into mySAP Product Lifecycle Management (mySAP PLM), ensuring that these documents are automatically stored at the right place in the system.

Ixos Software Ltd. www.ixos.com; e-mail: uk-office@ixos.de

iManage captures half US law firms and increases European legal sector market share
iManage is continuing to win a significant number of new customers in the competitive European and US legal markets. In the last year, iManage converted more than 28,000 seats to its WorkSite solution as widespread adoption continued across the globe. These companies included major industry players: Norton Rose, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, Holland & Knight, Stibbe, NautaDutilh, TLT Solicitors, Bristows and Boyes Turner.

iManage WorkSite delivers document management, collaboration, workflow and knowledge management, accessible through a portal in a single integrated Internet solution. Its continued solid performance in the legal market has helped drive company record revenues, profitability and worldwide expansion of its customer base.

Law firms are increasingly looking for a solution that goes beyond basic document management. iManage is the only solution provider to offer full support for matter centric collaboration and further demonstrated their commitment and vision to the legal market with the announcement of version 8 of iManage WorkSite, a major upgrade to the company’s flagship product. Earlier in 2003, iManage announced the availability of its Email Management solution and its Caching Server which has reduced the cost of ownership for law firms by up to 66%. The matter centric approach offered by iManage provides an integrated, historical view of documents, events, tasks and contacts for any given matter, with access to client materials and collaborative projects from any location at any time.
WorkSite is fast becoming the industry standard in the US. Since 1999, more than 90% of top 100 US law firms who selected a new document management and collaboration technology chose iManage. In September 2003 iManage were voted the Vendor of the Year in the eLOTIES.

IManage Ltd. Tel: 01483 549040; fax: 01483 549140; www.imanage.com

First there was xrefer—now here's xreferplus
We have mentioned xrefer in IMAT before. Now there is xreferplus—a huge online library of about 150 dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri and other reference works from well-known publishers such as Macmillan, Penguin and Blackwell, and it contains millions of entries and thousands of searchable images and audio files. The user can search across all the titles it contains as the unique 'xreferencing' technology provides intelligent links between entries. Even if using it to check a quick fact or two, it’s hard not to get side-tracked through curiosity, and the serendipity is all part of the experience!

Hundreds of corporations, public libraries and educational institutions worldwide have purchased a subscription to xreferplus, and it is gaining ground as the single most comprehensive reference service in this field. Users can access the service from their own homes if they have a library card from a subscribing institution.

Xrefer. www.xrefer.com and www.xreferplus.com

IM@T Online November 2003