Enterprise Storage Solutions For Data & Document Management
NT-based integrated information management for the enterprise
By Eli Gruber, President and CEO
InterTech Information Management
The problem
In spite of millions of dollars invested to upgrade their software tools, organizations and their personnel continue to spend precious time searching for information. Heard throughout these organizations are comments such as: "I have the correspondence on-line somewhere, but I can't remember what I named it or what application I used to create it" or "I hope I am using the most current version of this customer communication document." Comments like these are typical of organizations lacking any automated document and image management.
To complicate the issue further, documented information is divided between images (contracts, agreements, faxes, etc.)--which are usually scanned-and electronic files (word processor documents, spreadsheets, CAD files, etc.)--which are created with a variety of authoring tools. Most software vendors have focused on only half of the problem. Either they have been imaging-centric or document management-centric, but not both.
The traditional view of document information management
Traditionally, companies have implemented different departmental systems to independently manage the different document types (see figure A). This independent system implementation only transforms the document
search routine from a paper-based process to an automated process, but does not simplify the process. That is, using an independent system implementation, users are still required to search throughout separate systems based on file type, rather than conducting a search based on document purpose. Locating contracts requires accessing the imaging system, while locating client correspondence requires accessing the associated word processor.
The solution
Today, businesses require an integrated solution addressing the management of source documents (existing paper-based documents) and the process of managing electronic documents (word processor documents and spreadsheets) through a single point of access and control. The requirements for the two document types are different. While imaging requires scanning, indexing, file caching, viewing, annotation and large file handling, document management on the other hand, requires, check in/check out, version control, and editing capabilities. Therefore, delivering a full and compatible functionality, requires the integration of document and image management through a single code set, ensuring the completeness of the solution.
Integrated document information management
Recognizing this need, companies such as InterTech have developed integrated information management solutions. InterTech's DocuPACT 3.0 was developed from the ground up for Windows NT and written as a 32-bit multi-threaded solution. It takes advantage of NT open standards, providing a solution for organizations that have made the strategic decision to rely on Microsoft NT as their platform of choice.
DocuPACT 3.0 starts where Microsoft Office ends. It provides a single point of access to all of the enterprise's documents based on the document's purpose, rather than its file type. Using the same example previously described, locating contracts and associated client correspondence is now performed within a single solution using a single search query. This single system solution not only automates the document search process but, more importantly, simplifies it (see figure B).
Why NT?
Among the many decisions you'll face in implementing an integrated information management solution, none is as important as your choice of an operating system (OS) platform. Your choice of an OS will affect your implementation success for years to come. Obviously, Windows 3.1, in spite of its popularity, is in the process of being phased out by Microsoft in favor of Microsoft's 32-bit multi-threaded kin-Windows 95 and Windows NT.
You may wonder about other operating system choices such as Unix, Novell or OS/2. For all practical purposes, OS/2 is dead. Novell is a popular network operating system, but has been marginally successful as an application server platform, and has seen its market share decline over the past two years, giving way to Windows NT. Unix, although a proven and stable server platform, is really not a single environment. That is, there are approximately a dozen flavors of Unix, none of which is binary-compatible with its siblings. For example, an application developed for Sun Microsystems will not run with other Unix offerings from the companies such as IBM, HP, SCO, DEC, and vice versa. Given the costs of integrating, training and maintaining a Unix-based solution, it could be infinitely more expensive than a Windows-based solution.
For numerous reasons, including those noted above, organizations such as Arthur Andersen, Sprint, Nation's Bank, Wal-Mart, ABC Television, the Army and the Air Force Exchange, as well as many others, have decided to adopt Microsoft NT. Why NT? It's safe, it's scalable and it's quickly becoming the de facto standard for enterprise client-server applications. Given NT's popularity and increasing market share, technical resources and expertise are becoming more economically available every day. Likewise, similar NT-based applications and databases are available at a fraction of the cost of their Unix counterparts. In addition, inter-application communication is easily facilitated by NT's open standards-based platform. Finally, the look and feel of Windows are familiar to millions of users, minimizing training and associated support expenses for the organization.
Extending Microsoft Windows NT
Beyond merely running on top of NT as a ported application, users must demand from the application a closer interaction with the operating system. The solution should inherit all of the benefits associated with NT by embedding its functionality within the NT operating platform itself. This means that solutions should be based on and developed from the ground up for the Microsoft Windows NT platform, such as DocuPACT 3.0 is. DocuPACT is designed to leverage an organization's strategic investment and expertise in the Windows NT suite of infrastructure applications, such as the Microsoft Back Office suite.
Running as "NT Services", DocuPACT takes full advantage of NT by integrating with its shell such as Explorer integration (see figure C), C2 security management, Event Manager, Performance Monitor, etc.
Focusing on the enterprise
Meeting the needs of the enterprise is truly a complex issue. As the size of the enterprise increases, so too does the challenge of meeting its requirements. To address the needs of the enterprise successfully, interdepartmental information needs to be shared by all knowledge workers; therefore, it cannot be confined within a department's virtual bounds. Likewise, issues related to security, version control and audit trails must be managed on an enterprisewide basis as well.
To address the needs of the enterprise, the solution must stand the test of time, no matter how elegant the solution is now. Therefore, to extend its usefulness and life expectancy of a document management and implementation, any solution must be open to integration with third party "best-of-breed" application, as well as providing the ability to integrate legacy data. Simply put, the system must be flexible and open to change.
By employing an object-oriented Service Center (SC) architecture (see Figure E), DocuPACT moves beyond addressing the needs of individuals and ad-hoc department use to truly meeting the changing needs of the enterprise This is made possible through the use of the following:
- Universal Viewer. True to all enterprises is the need for document information management within and across departments. Within these departments, a variety of different application systems typically exist, creating and capturing documents of different formats. Implementing a single solution to manage and provide a single point of access to these varying document formats can be very difficult. Support for and access to these varying document formats is provided through a system's architectural support for a universal viewer. By following a Service Center architecture, document management systems can support more than 250 different document formats. For example, through a single point of access, using DocuPACT's universal viewer, a user can simultaneously view CAD drawings, spreadsheets, word processing documents, color pictures and scanned faxes.
Universal viewers such as DocuPACT's provide extensive annotation functionality, such as highlights, sticky notes, arrows, stamps, etc. (see Figure D). Implementing a single solution to manage all of these document formats and providing extensive functionality are attainable through the use of a variety of third-party technologies that are plugged into the universal viewer Service Center architecture without any major modification to the core system. If the user wishes to incorporate a new type of document format not currently supported by the universal viewer, incorporating such new technology requires minimal effort.
- scalability. Inherent to integrated document management solutions is support that can scale from small independent departments with low volumes of documents to large enterprises with high document volumes. Unlike solutions that rely on a so-called "fat client" architecture (client-data) in which the client talks directly to the database and is responsible for processing resources, the three-tiered architecture of enterprise solutions (client-server-data) is intended to be faster, more scalable and more reliable. An open architecture (see Figure E) can deliver scalability by providing portability, process distribution across multiple databases and resources, and architectural support for distributed server clustering.
- ease of use/interface familiarity. It is reasonable to assume that Microsoft has invested millions of dollars researching the impact that a user interface has on productivity. Therefore, it follows that you can protect your organization's efficiency by using a Windows system interface. Complete Windows integration and compliance, including integrated document "find" within the Microsoft Explorer, ensures that Windows 95 and NT Workstation users have a familiar working interface. It also minimizes search time by providing NT-based "find" tools during the document research process. In addition, unique business environments require unique document management functionality. This uniqueness presents a functionality challenge to organizations implementing an enterprise document management solution. Because several pockets of unique needs exist within every enterprise, a truly enterprise-capable solution must support the integration of customized functionalities for specific applications. These customizations can be built using any of the more popular application development tools, such as Visual Basic, Powerbuilder, etc., and integrated into the document management system using its OCX-, COM- and DCOM-enabled API toolkit. In each case, user training is minimized and productivity improvements are more quickly recognized by addressing interface needs.
- performance. While 32-bit operating platforms have been widely accepted as server platforms, the increasing popularity of Windows 95 and NT Workstation is introducing the same benefits to the user workstation that servers have enjoyed for years: multi-tasking, enhanced performance, etc. Therefore, selecting a solution, such as DocuPACT, that supports a 32-bit multi-threaded processing architecture at both the server and client ensures users the quickest response time possible. Also, the multi-threaded design at both the server and client allows a user to perform multiple searches or multiple tasks simultaneously.
- network integrity. The shrieks and screams (of horror) that you may hear coming from your IS organization may be your network administrator's reaction to hearing of the planned imaging and document management initiative. Yes, it's true that these systems can potentially burden your network with a great deal of data to manage due to their main purpose: providing on-line access to potentially large document files. These fears, however, should not prevent your organization from entering the twentieth century. Rather, your investigation of a document and image management system should include a great deal of research into its architecture. The solution's architecture should optimize its use of network resources. While most document management systems deliver the entire document file to the workstation as part of the search process, innovative solutions such as DocuPACT have ensured network integrity by delivering "thumbnails" (small representations of the document images) to the workstation for verification and final document selection. The use of "thumbnails" in conjunction with page-on-demand capability, minimizes network traffic and ensures accurate document selection.
- application integration. For years, imaging and document management systems have successfully reduced operating expenses and improved productivity, but have they truly been successful in their attempts to streamline business processes? It is widely accepted within the industry that to survive the next generation of document management, vendors must be able to integrate functionality into "line of business" applications. As an extension of an organization's other applications, the document management solution should be able to be embedded to provide immediate document access from the other system's interface. This integration of "line of business" processes and document management functionality will not only improve productivity, but more importantly streamline business processes. This integration is easily accomplished through full support for object linking and embedding (OLE). In turn, your document management solution should support inter-application integration via all six levels of OLE (automation, linking, embedding, in-place activation, compound document and drag-and-drop).
- Lifecycle document management. For the purpose of making documents more quickly accessible based on usage demands, document and image management systems support the automated migration of documents between different storage. As a system module, DocuPACT's Lifecycle Manager manages a document's migration from one device to another (e.g. hard drive to optical jukebox, to CD to tape-based on document purpose rather than file type.
InterTech's DocuPACT solution
Through the support for Microsoft's OCX (OLE control extensions), COM (component object module), DCOM (distributed COM) and ActiveX technologies, DocuPACT provides additional leverage against obsolescence and extends functionality across application boundaries. For example, using the ActiveX technology, DocuPACT enables the searching and viewing of documents through the Internet/intranet. Unlike other document and image management offerings, DocuPACT is not a dead-end street; rather, it serves as a bridge between an organization's line of business processes and its supporting documentation.
In short: 1) DocuPACT extends the benefits of Microsoft Windows NT by providing a single point of access to all documented information across the enterprise. 2) DocuPACT's open Service Center architecture protects an organization's financial investment through its inherent extensibility. 3) DocuPACT's true client-server, three-tier architecture (client-server-data) ensures the organization the highest degree of performance and scalability.
Eli Gruber is President and CEO of InterTech Information Management, Inc. InterTech's award-winning document/image management software, DocuPACT, is an extension of Microsoft's Windows NT™ system and provides single point access across the enterprise...800-671-7272 or http:// www. intertech.com
|