The Green Sheet 014

THE

ISSN 1476-3842

SHEET

Full coverage of the Document Man agement industry, in all its forms.

INCORPORATING THE MICROGRAPHICS MARKET PLACE AND THE MICROGRAPHICS NEWSLETTER Issue NO. 14

FEBRUARY 2 0 0 3

fl GREEIl SHEET IHITIRTIUE UIITH THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE BSI

iNGING ROLE

jw w v

of R ecords M anagement John Mancini

PART 6 : MAKING IT HAPPEN! ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM DESIGN PROCESS.

LMtWt

r

THE_ rl . ^ SH E E 1 r ■«

U

Jl

vj

><

f u l l c o ve rag e ol the Document Management in d u s t ry , in a l l i t s lo r m s .

LJ

j

INCORPORATING THE MICROGRAPHICS MARRET PLACE AND THE MICROGRAPHICS HEWSLETTER

FOR SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT:MICROGRAPHICS MARKETING LTD. 65 Winchester Drive, Burbage, Leicestershire LE10 2BA, United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 24 7638 2328 Fax: +44 (0) 24 7638 2319 Mobile: 07970 248146 U.K. E-mail - gsinfo@green-sheet.net U.S. E-mail - MNgreensheet@aol.com Visit our Web Site at www.green-sheet.net

HDUERTISERS’ MDEX

in alphabetical order

A D V A N C E G R O U P ........................... ............................ 2 2 A L O S ............................................. ............................ 11 G G B A K E R ...................................... ............................ 10 G LO B A L M A R K E T P LA C E ..................... ............................ 2 3 G R A P H IC D A T A ................................ ...........................................................9 K O D A K .......................................... ............................ 2 4 M B S ..., ........................................... ............................ 15

“ 1 0 0 ,0 0 0

Sq.Ft. O f Data Preservation And High Volume Conversion Document Imaging, Data Conversion, Data Preservation, Web Image Archive

M IC R O V U E PRO D U C TS ...................... ............................ 16 N E X T S C A N ..................................... ............................ 19 S O LA R M IC RO FILM E Q U IP M E N T .......... ........................ 1 0 ,2 0 S O U R C E C O R P .................................. .............................. 7 S-T IM A G IN G ................................... .............................. 5 THE M IC R O FILM S H O P ...................... ........................ 17,21 TR A N S M E D IA T E C H N O L O G Y ............ .............................. 3 VIRTUAL IM A G E T E C H N O L O G Y ........... .............................. 2

HDUERTISERS RATES 2003 Advertising Data (UK & Europe)

vim ogetech.com 803-547-8888 Sales Office

We will design and produce the artwork for your 1st advert i The Green Sheet

Contact Tim Nixon at

THE GREEN SHEET on; (0)24

76 362326

Type Area (mm) Double page spread Outside back cover Full page Half page Quarter page Front page solus Eighth page

275x400 2 7 5 x 190 2 7 5 x 190 138 x 190 or 2 7 5 x 9 3 138 x 93 or 69 x 190 120x93 69x93

Cost £1200.00 £ 800.00 £ 650.00 £ 400.00 £ 250.00 £ 325.00 £ 150.00

Advertising Data (US & Canada) Type Area (inches) Double page spread Outside back cover Full page Half page Quarter page Front page solus Eighth page

10 v‘ x 13 v< 10 •'< x 7 10 x 7 5 v‘ x 7 ,/* or J 0 ’A x 3 v * 5 v‘ x 3 v- or 2 ’ <X 7 ■'» 4 '- x 3 2 ‘ ‘ x 3 v'

Cost US $2016.00 US$1120.00 U S S 910.00 U S S 560.00 U S S 350.00 U S S 455.00 U S S 210.00

Colour rates: All above rates are for full colour advertising.

Artwork should be supplied as 300 dpi images on CD or Zip Disk as TIFF, EPS, JPEG, PDF, Quark Xpress, Photoshop or Illustrator files.

Discounts

Series discount - (4 or more insertions on one order) Pre-payment discount - (payment must be made on or before copy deadline but does not include classified) Agency discount

10% discount 15% discount 10% discount

Above discounts cannot be combined All above rates are subject to V.A.T. in the UK at the current rate.

or email:

sales @green sheet.net

THIS MAGAZINE AND THE CONTENTS ARE COPYRIGHT OF THE PUBLISHERS

It's not the Time to be a Little Guy U.S. Commentary by mitch Badler, U.S. Editor

If you're a manufacturer the answ er may be to diversify into other lines while you wait for economic revival.

Many smaller U.S. micrographics and hybrid imaging equipment manufacturers are waiting for an upsurge in the national economy or some other major event to rejuvenate their business. They keep waiting and waiting. So far relief is still on the horizon but the horizon keeps moving further from them.

There are a variety of reasons for the malaise. The American business recession, which technically may now be over, has kept purchases, except for essential replacement, on hold.

What purchasing has been going on - especially by service bureaux - is often from the plentiful used equipment market. Old micrographics equipment was typically well engineered and constructed; it seemingly never wears out.

Refurbished, it's often virtually as good as new and, with the closing of imany in-house operations over the last half­ decade, there's lots of it available.

D on't ju s t w a it - d iv e rsify !

While they wait, some small manufacturers are diversifying into interesting related - and sometimes totally unrelated areas. One manufacturer of film jackets and speciality products (Motion Technology) is now also in the candy importing business. A one time leading supply house (Molex Microfilm Products) is also in the music business.

Veteran Eye Communications (Eye Com) supplements its retrieval product lines by building desktop PCs that it bundles and markets with software it writes. ALOS Micrographics, noted for planetary cameras and retrieval systems, now does a large local service business supporting

computers for business clients in its upsate New York HQ area. PMA, which two years ago, acquired rights to the Allen Products processor line, is building an extensive local service business and dealerships in its Long Island (NY) home area.

Of course, the diversification drive isn't true for all smaller manufactuers. S-T Imaging and Digital Check Corp., for example, both claim they are doing relatively well. So does Indus, which offers film processors, readers and reader-printers. And many of the bigger players on the U.S. scene - Canon, Eastman Kodak and Houston Fearless - are still moving product, even if the volume isn't as high as they might like it to be. Of course, all the "bigs" aren't doing the business they'd like. Testimony to this is the announced merger of Minolta and Konica (see January issue).

C o n so lid a tio n - C o n so lid a tio n The aforementioned event continues the consolidation parade that has been one of the dominant trends of the micrographics industry over the last half-dozen years.

Recently this has seen Kodak acquiring Bell & Howell's microgaphics business, Anacomp consolidating its product lines and then getting out of new COM hardware entirely, and the duplicating film business dwindling down to virtually a single supplier, Intelicoat Technologies, that purchased both SKC and Rexam.

It adds up to the biggies getting bigger and the little guys holding on and waiting...and waiting.

(Is this specific to the U.S. or is it just as relevant throughout the rest o f the world? - any comments will be welcome - Ed).

[if

TRANSM E DTA

lecttsKcLctyj, LTD

CONVERSION SPECIALISTS

lso\|

u '

'The Business Partners to work with'

»•

020 8686 4222

enquiries@tmt.co.uk

017 9258 1441

www.tmt.co.uk

“D > o

Inxight SmartDiscovery sets new standard for enterprise information retrieval First complete unstructured data management solution offers new capabilities including taxonomy management, enterprise-class categorisation and guided information retrieval

One of the major problems enterprises face today is finding and using all of the information that they have available to them. This information, that resides in unstructured text sources including MSOffice files, intranet pages, email, customer contact logs, is scattered all over the organisation so that no one knows where it resides or even what exists.

Inxight Software, Inc., has announced Inxight SmartDiscovery 3.0, a software solution that solves this problem. Inxight SmartDiscovery is claimed to be the most complete, powerful and simple-to-use solution for automating the discovery and retrieval of enterprise-wide text data in multiple languages.

SmartDiscovery seamlessly integrates with other enterprise systems - document management, Web content management, portals - offering a platform for analysing information in precise detail and delivering accurate results that enable organisations to realise greater returns on previous technology investments.

Inxight SmartDiscovery expands upon Inxight's existing metatext extraction and analysis applications, adding features that include taxonomy management, enterprise-class categorisation and a guided information retrieval environment. Tightly packaged into one complete solution, Inxight SmartDiscovery sets a new standard for enterprise information retrieval, enabling users to exploit the wealth of unstructured data available to the enterprise today.

★

Assisted taxonomy creation and management creates, imports and manages taxonomies to provide an organisational structure for data that reflects the content and context of this data. Domain taxonomies are provided through Inxight's extensive partner network.

★

Advanced enterprise-level categorisation automatically classifies all unstructured data according to the users' taxonomy, providing faster information access through text and visual-based browsing and context-based search.

★

Guided information retrieval environment - a familiar, easy-to-use interface allows users to intuitively search and discover information stored across the enterprise. Users can refine a one or two keyword search to quickly retrieve the most accurate results.

"The problem of scattered, inaccessible information is costly to today's organisations," said Susan Feldman, research vice president for content management and retrieval software. "IDC has estimated that the inability to find information costs an enterprise with a thousand knowledge workers $6 million a year. The opportunity costs are even higher. By moving to a next-generation information system that uses categorisation, better search and guided navigation, ease of finding is improved and the costs are reduced."

"The mass of information available to today's enterprise is so complex that standard corporate search engines and portals cannot begin to untangle it," said John C. Laing, Inxight's president and CEO. "Unlike other solutions that leave users sifting through page after page of irrelevant search results, Inxight SmartDiscovery taps into this invaluable resource of business information at a context-rich level, delivering precise data to the users who need it to do their jobs more effectively."

Based on patented technology, Inxight SmartDiscovery enables users to easily pinpoint and retrieve the exact information they need - including information that they did not know existed.

Essential elem ents of unstructured Data Management Inxight SmartDiscovery addresses all of the unstructured Data Management needs of global corporations.

Advances offered in Inxight SmartDiscovery 3.0 include:

In addition, Inxight SmartDiscovery provides essential text analysis and retrieval capabilities that include onthe-fly entity extraction that identifies names of people, places, things and relationships from documents and groups them by category; automatic document summarisation that creates intelligent summaries in a fraction of a second; a similar document finder that provides all other similar documents for a given document; concept search that organises query results into a hierarchy of shared topics and themes; full text search that features basic keyword search and a Boolean information retrieval model for specifying the exact information needed; and multi-language support for accurately analysing and retrieving information in 23 global business languages.

Inxight SmartDiscovery supports a broad range of operating system platforms including Microsoft Windows NT and 2000 and Sun Solaris. Sample schemes and a standard metadata repository adaptor interface make connections to existing storage systems simple.

For more information call +44 (0)1252 761314, sales@inxight.com or visit www.inxight.com

ip -Top ™Library Film S ca n n e r -•-'Flip R evolutionary D esign Upgrade For Library R eaders Installs easily on any of these Microfilm Readers:

MicroVueGideon 900/1000

Indus Super Carrel

SOLAR A2 UltraVision A2 VisionMaster

“Attention R esellers” Now you can offer your custom ers scanning capability right from their existing readers, directly to a PC! Interested-in becom ing a reseller for this innovative product?

Please contact S-T Im aging, Inc.

S-T IMAGING, INC. a division o f'- b iy iu t C h c l Carp.

466 Central Ave., Suite 31 • Northfield, IL 60093 USA Tel: 001-847-501-3344 • Fax:001-847-501-3377 w w w .stim aging.com • email: info@ stim aging.com

New UK appointments within Kodak Bill Atkinson appointed UK Manager for Service & Support

K odak D o cum ent Im aging 'Captures' Se rvice & Su p p o rt M arket Eastman Kodak Company's Document Imaging Group has announced the appointment of Bill Atkinson as its UK Manager for Service & Support. Atkinson will focus on providing added value to Kodak's channel partners by supporting and servicing a wider range of products for end users. By moving Atkinson to this position, Kodak is demonstrating the significant contribution that Service & Support is expected make to the Company's Document Imaging business in 2003.

ml

"The UK is by far the biggest market within Europe, the Middle East and Africa for Service & Support," said Bill Atkinson, "We have developed a very compelling message for our UK channel partners by focusing on how we can assist end users to minimise the 'Total Cost of Ownership' of their document imaging solutions."

Atkinson will assume responsibility for devising and implementing a UK specific strategy to drive Service & Support revenues and margins for 2003 as well as focusing on improving operational efficiency. This will be achieved by strengthening Kodak's grip on the document capture and archiving markets, and extending its influence within the storage market to support a variety of storage technologies. Atkinson was the ideal choice for the role based on 13 years of experience in the document imaging market, coupled with a portfolio of strong channel relationships developed over the last 10 years, firstly running Kodak's service bureaux and more recently as UK Manager of Kodak's scanner business.

This appointment follows the successful integration of the Bell & Howell business that Kodak acquired in 2001.

This acquisition strategy has succeeded in enabling the Company to deliver real value to its customers. The Service & Support division now offers a fully integrated team of over 150 people dedicated to providing products and services for effective document management. Atkinson's leadership will enable Kodak to deliver exceptional service to both channel and end user customers.

Acting as a one-stop-shop for the support and maintenance of document management solutions, the strength, reliability and security of the Kodak brand can now be extended to maintain and support any organisation's complete document management requirements. The Kodak team supports a full range of the Company's own document imaging products as well as those from major third party vendors. During 2003, this will be extended to cover a variety of storage technologies.

Robert Young appointed as UK Manager, Capture and Imagelink

K o d ak D o cu m en t Im ag in g m ak e s n e w ap p o in tm e n t to d riv e iN n o vatio n Scan n e r sa le s Kodak has also announced that Robert Young will become UK Manager for Capture and Imagelink with immediate effect. Bill Atkinson will remain UK General Manager of Document Imaging, incorporating his new role as UK Manager of Service & Support.

"I am looking forward to carrying on Bill's great work on the Capture side, building on the successful launch in June 2002 of the revolutionary i200 Series Scanners," said Young. "The i200 will be huge in 2003 - its price point, performance, flexibility and outstanding paper handling speed make it an extremely attractive model. Our ultimate goal is to ensure the i200 is the dominant scanner in the low-volume market, whilst maintaining our market­ leading position in the mid and high-volume markets."

Young is also tasked with driving forward Imagelink, Kodak Document Imaging's traditional micrographics business, as well as introducing the UK market to Reference Archive Media and the benefits of Integrated Imaging solutions. Kodak Document Imaging has already seen a significant increase in demand for these solutions that provide easily retrievable, long-term, low cost storage of valuable business information.

"Robert's appointment shows our commitment to the UK Capture and Imagelink market and highlights the importance we attribute to the UK," said Bill Atkinson, "Robert brings a vast array of management, marketing and sales skills to this role and we are very confident that 2003 will be the year when the i200 makes its mark!"

This commitment is highlighted by the fact that the UK Capture and Imagelink team now consists of 15 market experts, incorporating a vast range of specialist experience and expertise. The size of the team is designed to deliver the highest possible level of product quality, customer service and value for money in the delivery of document management solutions. This enables Kodak to deliver exceptional service to both channel and end user customers, great opportunities for Kodak staff, as well as real shareholder value.

Young has spent the last three years driving Document Imaging's Integrated Imaging business across Europe, the last 18 months of which he was also driving sales and business development for Capture Europe-wide. Since joining the group in 1989, he has held a variety of key sales and marketing management positions. In total. Young has spent 19 years at Kodak, bringing to his new role a broad understanding of the market, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the competition and the distribution channel.

Visit www.kodak.com/go/docimaging for more info..

Companies pay significant price for mismanaging invoice payment processes Large and mid-sized companies continue to pay a hefty price for mismanaging their invoice payment processes, so concludes a comprehensive research report made available today by Captiva Software Corporation, a leading provider of enterprise input management solutions.

The independent study conducted by Byline Research estimates the annual cost of invoice processing inefficiencies to UK businesses to be in the hundreds of millions of pounds. Although the study is focused on UK-based companies, its findings have significant implications for businesses in America and other parts of the world. â&#x2013; The survey of 50 UK-based utilities, retailers and manufacturing companies found that these firms are admittedly struggling to keep up with the deluge of paper invoices they receive. Of the average 19,000 invoices received per month at each company, one in four are paid late and one in five contain anomalies that delay payment, increase administration costs and/or compromise the accuracy of reported corporate financial information. Some companies complain that such anomalies are present in over half of the invoices they receive.

"The three foremost objectives pertaining to invoice payment processes identified by the financial executives surveyed are cost control, good relations with suppliers and the value of accurate and timely business information," said Mark Lewis, Captiva,s Vice President of Europe, Middle East and Africa Operations. "These professionals say these priorities are not, and cannot be satisfied by today's labour-intensive manual paper processes. Consequently, by their own admission, they run highly inefficient accounts payable operations, pay their bills late and cannot pull together the resources they need to manage their supply chains effectively."

The survey found that, despite the promise of electronic data interchange (EDI), 96% of invoices still arrive on paper and are manually keyed into corporate finance systems by accounts payable (AP) staff. Because of the problems inherent with paper-based AP processes, some companies admit to settling as much as 95% of their transactions late.

Conversely, the most efficient businesses surveyed were nearly six times as productive than the average firm in terms of the number of invoices processed per AP employee, suggesting a substantial potential for cost savings or for the redeployment of finance staff to more useful roles when best practice technology solutions are utilised. The report illuminates, however, that staffing inefficiencies account for only a fraction of the sums wasted by inefficient invoice processing. Much more dramatic cost penalties are incurred by late payment of invoices from major suppliers, failure to

qualify for discounts and the inability to negotiate improved terms.

"The report exposes a big gap between the best run finance functions and the worst. But it also shows conclusively that throwing additional AP employees at the problem of inefficiency is an expensive, often futile proposition," Lewis added.

"Best practice technology-based solutions that eliminate cumbersome paper processes, such as Captiva & InvoicePack, offer practical and cost-effective solutions to what is clearly a widespread problem throughout the world."

The report urges large companies to view the problem not simply in terms of what they stand to lose through inefficiency, but in terms of what they could gain from improved processes. For example, if a large firm could negotiate a 2% discount for paying its bills on time or early with just 10% of its suppliers, the savings would be quite substantial.

To obtain a copy o f "Payback Time: Invoice Processing & Autom ation," go to www.captivasoftware.com

AGFA ^ For all AGFA Microfilm Products in the United States contact John Glover Microfilm Distribution Services, a division of S0URCEC0RP 800-969-2556, ext 367

Anacomp continues financial improvement The reorganised Anacomp reported a considerable improvement in its financial results for the quarter ended Dec. 31. For the quarter Anacomp had a net loss of $3.2 million and a loss from continuing operations before income taxes of $0.2 million. These are improvements over the corresponding amounts of $11.4 million and $9.3 million in the prior year's fourth quarter. Revenues for the 2002 quarter were $56.7 million, compared with $71.0 million in the same period a year earlier.

Under "Fresh Start Reporting" for the full year 2002, the first for Anacomp after emerging from reorganisation, net income was $275 million. This is not comparable to prior year figures since it included $278 million in extraordinary items related to extinguishment of debt and benefit from reorganization items. Revenues were $248.0 million compared to $306.3 million reported for the same period a year earlier.

For the year, multi-vendor services revenues (including maintenance agreements) grew 21% and Web Presentment services revenues were up 41%. COMrelated revenues declined 27%.

The company said it was able to make additional cash payments of $16.1 million toward reducing its revolving credit facility balance. These were greater than scheduled payments and enabled Anacomp to reduce its outstanding obligations by 46%, or $25.1 million, during the fiscal year.

Jeff Cramer, president and CEO, said the improved results for the full year reflect growth in the company's Multi-Vendor Services and Web Presentment businesses, offsetting a continuing decline in Anacomp's COM business.

recognise the achievements of our partners and thank them for their efforts throughout the year."

Winners o f the awards include: No.1 VAD: Tech Data No.1 VAD Growth Award - Scanner Products: New Wave Technologies No.1 Gold Scanner Reseller: Image Access Corporation No.1 Silver Scanner Reseller: Advanced Solutions, Inc. (ImageRIGHT) No.1 Canadian Gold Reseller: IKON Office Solutions, Inc. No.1 Federal Reseller: EDAC Systems, Inc. Top Gun - Largest Integrated Imaging Order: Jane Group Top Gun - Largest Scanner Order: ACS, Inc. No.1 Broker: DSI Solutions, Inc. No.1 Microfilm Distributor: ACS, Inc. No.1 Microfilm Reseller: Anacomp, Inc. No.1 Integrated Imaging Elite: ACS, Inc. No.1 Data/Document Conversion Center: Bowman Enterprises New FREE literature from the FblA The FblA (Film-based Imaging Association) has recently released two new pieces of literature, the FblA "Buyer's Guide" and "Looking at Information Preservation from a Differnt Angle...".

The Buyer's Guide is a useful little booklet that lists Micrographic Companies, almost exclusively U.S. firms, in alphabetical order, Micrographic Products and then Products by Company.______________________________

Anacomp moved its headquarters to 15378 Avenue of Science, San Diego CA 92128, tel: 858-716-3400. The company's 2003 annual meeting will be held at the new HQ February 25.

Kodak honours Commercial Imaging Channel Partners with Awards at Annual Breakaway Conference Awards recognise outstanding sales performance and overall sales growth Recognizing sales growth among its partners, Kodak's Commercial Imaging business recently honoured members of the Kodak Authorised Imaging Reseller Programme and value-added distributors (VADs) at the 5th Annual Breakaway Conference, held in Scottsdale, Arizona, in late January. The awards recognised the partners for outstanding growth in sales, revenue generation, and overall sales performance.

"These awards presented to our partners are an important reflection of the value that they bring both to Kodak and our customers," said Erwin Schwarzl, vice president of Kodak's Commercial Imaging business.

"The Breakaway Conference is the perfect time to

The other booklet introduces the CDA (Corporate Data Archive) programme to the United States - a system of long term preservation first launched in the UK by The Microfilm Shop's subsidiary Archive Imaging.

For your free copy call 607 272 1036 or visit www.fbia.org

Graphic Data People on the move Michael Lanois, formerly with Eye Com, is now sales manager at Indus, replacing Don Seawall who retired.

Chuck Lucasek, previously with InfographiX, is now microfilm products sales manager at Eye Com. Bill Harroun, ex of Eye Com, is now a sales executive with MTM, the major Milwaukee Wl service firm.

Document and Data Management

U.S. Census Bureau microfilm conversion project: Employing the Handicapped, doing a quality job, and demonstrating good citizenship ServiceSource, an organisation founded 30 years ago by a group of parents concerned about the lack of job opportunities for th^ir children with disabilities, has grown to be one of Fairfax County, Virginia's largest employers. It has operating sites not only in Virginia but also in Washington DC, Maryland and North Carolina.

B u sin e ss P ro ce ss Support - P ro fessio n al S e rv ice s

One of ServiceSource's key divisions is its service bureau operation, Precision Images (PI).

- O nline Content M anagem ent

In October 2002, PI began conversion of 280 million U.S. Census Bureau digital images to microfilm format as part of a 4-year contract with the Bureau that has become a multi-state operation. PI, which employs 12 people with disabilities on the project, had to construct a new site to comply with the strict security requirements of the Census Bureau.

~ Fa cilitie s O utsourcing

- O nsite Managed S e rv ice s

R e co rd s M anag em ent

It begins with eight people using 16 Kodak Digital Archive Writers to convert batch tapes of indexed data to 35mm roll film. This is sent to Baltimore MD where four employees process the film, which goes back to PI HQ in Alexandria VA for quality control. It is then shipped to Kansas where it undergoes spot inspections and then is finally sent to secure bunkered storage in Mississippi. After two years the film will again be QC'd to ensure that the microfilm has suffered no degradation and then it will be forwarded to the National Archives.

The total project, which involves a number of different contractors, will ultimately convert some 560 million images. Precision Images will handle 50% of them.

- Live File M anagement - Online Tracking & Retrieval - Scan on Demand - Secure Physical Archive

Graphic Data i

- Scanning & Microfilming

PI, which recently won Kinetic Information's Vision Award for 2002 for technical solutions related to document imaging and conversion, has scanned, indexed and converted hundreds of thousands of images primarily for U.S. government agencies.

Pi's good citizenship is catching. When one of its key software vendors went out of business, leaving the bureau with a number of contracts it could not fulfill, another vendor, Fairfax Imaging, donated to PI its Quick (Modules software. In addition, Fairfax provided free training to Precision's employees so that they could quickly and easily customise the system for any new jobs they received. It was Pi's ability to handle contracts with the Fairfax software that was instrumental in winning the Census contract, the most significant one it has gotten to date.

D ocum ent P ro cessin g

- Data Capture - Mailroom Handling - Hardware Sales & Service

For m ore inform ation M G X AM MOX COttPAMV

r

call u s or v isit o u r w e b site ^

01908 269600 w w w .graphicdataonline.com

EVERY PAGE COUNTS, BUT WHO IS COUNTING THE COST? One in two European directors are ignorant of their document spend

European businesses are failing to track expenditure related to the creation and maintenance of documents that could run into hundreds of billions of Euros each year, according to the findings of "Documents, People and Technology: A European Perspective", the second annual independent survey of the workplace commissioned by Xerox. The inability or unwillingness of almost half of European organisations to monitor their document related costs is likely to have a direct impact on the bottom line of these businesses at a time when cost control is a key corporate priority.

This conclusion is based upon a new survey carried out by the international research organisation, MORI Telephone Surveys on behalf of Xerox and conducted amongst 1,004 directors and their deputies in six European countries.

Although the majority of the survey sample covered senior management and directors in IT, HR, procurement and finance functions, some 49 per cent stated that they were unable to estimate how much their organisations spend on document related items.

According to Xerox, organisations spend between five and 15 per cent of their annual revenues on document lifecycle costs, which covers every aspect of document production and maintenance.

Jonathan Leaper, European Marketing Manager, Xerox Business Services says, "We estimate that document costs across the six European countries researched equate to over o300 billion annually. Our experience is that monitoring and active management of documents saves businesses between 10% and 30% of document lifecycle output costs. The research indicates that European businesses are spending hundreds of millions unnecessarily."

Interestingly, the inability to measure document spend is worst amongst pharmaceutical companies, where almost three fifths (59%) of respondents could not provide an estimate of expenditure.

"Respondents clearly understand the importance of documents to their companies both in terms of winning new business and keeping existing clients," says Leaper. "This appreciation, however, is not being translated into proper financial controls. It is clear that these businesses need expert help, if only to ensure that they are not wasting cash which, in the current economic climate, could mean the difference between profit and loss."

About the survey The survey was conducted on behalf of Xerox by MORI Telephone Surveys between 22 August 2002 and 7 October 2002. MORI interviewed 1,004 directors or their deputy in European based companies, all with a turnover of 0120 million or more. The survey, conducted over the telephone was carried out with companies in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland. Nearly all the companies had over 500 employees.

A full copy of the survey is available upon request or by downloading from www.xerox.com Contact: David Millican, Xerox UK, +44 (0) 1895 843196 E-mail: david.millican@abr.xerox.com

FREE INFORMATION G G Baker & Associates - suppliers of unbiased reference works for over 30 years - invite you to use their very extensive website at

www.ggbaker.com The UK's most comprehensive directory o f document management products and services.

Tutorials relating to electronic document management, micrographics and hybrid systems.

Th e co n ten t is re g u la rly updated and can be accessed w ith o u t charg e.

North American capture software breaks $500m barrier.

Harvey Spencer Associates Inc., a New York based consulting com pany and Strategy Partners, a European based analyst consulting company, have combined to produce the first analysis of sales of image based capture so ftw are in the North American m arket. This is the only report to size this m arket fo r the years 2003-2005, and covers softw are products used in four major business areas, measured at end user prices: 1) Image Capture (scanning) for W orkflow, Storage and Retrieval 2) Optical Document Recognition (forms processing) 3) Optical Character Recognition (OCR/ICR) 4) Intelligent Document Recognition.

M arket seg m en ts s h o w ste a d y 5%-7% g ro w th th roug h 2005.

"The w orldw ide m arket for paper based image capture softw are solutions w ill be $1.347bn in 2005, w ith North Am erica - m ainly the US accounting for $677.9m of th a t", said Harvey Spencer, President of Harvey Spencer Associates Inc. who is one of the authors. "Our detailed analysis and segmentation shows it continues to grow at a steady 5%-7% regardless of the main IT market, and seems to be recession resistant. W hile other segments of the IT m arket have contracted significantly recently, Document Capture continues to show steady grow th, which we attribute to the softw are showing a clear cost reduction and ROI to its users. The mainstream vendors need to look closely at this market as the output feeds the business processes - the true value in the future w ill come from integrating w ith those business processes."

believe that those vendors not employing IDR and autom atic classification technologies in their product offerings w ill be uncompetitive w ithin three years. Currently the markets are remarkably fragm ented, so vendors need to match resources to markets very carefully."

'Docum ent Capture: The North Am erican M arket 2003-2005' is available by calling Harvey Spencer Associates at 631-368-8393 or from the Strategy Partners w eb site: w w w .strateg y-p artn ers.co m .

The report uses several methodologies, including extensive prim ary research and valid atio n through channel feedback and cross checking against public sources, to build up the fullest possible picture of the m arket and vendors for Docum ent Capture technolog ies. Using a rigorous, bottom-up segmentation of the market, the report also carries profiles of the leading document capture vendors.

For fu rth e r inform ation contact: Lesley Hill - Harvey Spencer Associates Inc at 631-368-8393 or Venita Pretorius Strategy Partners at +44 (0)) 1753 592787

Quality you can depend on

C o st savin g te ch n o lo g ie s la rg ely im m une to IT m arket gloom John Richardson, Projects Director of Strategy Partners and co-author said "The ODR (traditional forms processing) market has a CAGR of 6.1% , but its growth rate w ill be impacted by the fledgling IDR (Intelligent Document Recognition) market.

We expect there to be a significant expansion of the m arket as IDR allows new markets to be opened up around the processing of semi- or unstructured document, such as invoices, customer correspondence and the like. These have been difficult and expensive to process electronically except by m anually processing and indexing.

However, as the markets move from document tem plate in te rp retatio n (ODR) to in te llig e n t mapping of documents according to topology, content and context it w ill impact on the rate of growth of both capture for storage and ODR. We

ALOS offers an extensive line of rollfilm and universal carriers ALOS carriers are designed for use with Minolta and Canon micrographic reader-printers and scanners. Competitive pricing makes these carriers a natural choice for your micrographic retrieval needs.

ALOS 118 Bracken Road • Montgomery, N.Y. 12549 • Phone: 845-457-4400 Fax: 845-457-9083 • Web: www.alosusa.com • E-mail: micrographics@alosusa.com

~o > Q

The Changing Role of FEATURE

â&#x20AC;˘

FEATURE

â&#x2122;Ś

FEATUREâ&#x20AC;˘ FEAT

Part 6 - taking it Happen! - Aspects of the

To date we have discussed many aspects of ^ records management planning examining the records management requirements of our organisation, reviewing current status, determining any short comings and determining strategies for meeting those requirements. Although we have obviously had to iaise with many different groups during the fact finding process, we probably didn't rely heavily on them to do work for us. But in order to actually deliver any project - records management or otherwise - we will have to rely on other people.

The design and implementation of a system to meet requirements will require a number of different skill sets - records management knowledge to interpret the requirements, project management knowledge, specific technical knowledge pertaining to the technologies to be introduced and general management understanding to ensure that all parties are on board and working together. It is highly unlikely that any one person will have all this expertise and the time to perform all these functions.

Furthermore, and probably most importantly you will need to have the understanding and support of the users! Their knowledge of any existing process can also be invaluable. This can only really be done if they understand the overall objectives, are actively consulted during the design process and adequately trained prior to introducing change.

5k

Different parties will have their own perspectives.

Management will expect any changes to have a positive impact on the overall corporate business.

Project managers are likely to define their remit as the necessity to deliver a required end-product, to a specified quality within an agreed budget on schedule. From a records keeping perspective we wish to insure that records keeping roles and responsibilities which support the corporate objectives are put in place and supported by appropriate training and procedures. Risk, Legal and IT specialists will also have their perspectives and, depending on the project complexity, will need to be consulted or involved.

User's concerns will need to be addressed very early in the process. This is best done by ensuring that user representatives are involved from the outset. Any change, whether real or imagined, can have serious impacts on moral if staff do not feel they are being heard. Changes which management may consider minor such as small changes in working hours or redesigning the workflow within an office need to be addressed and discussed through user management as early as possible.

The design of a record keeping system - as with any other design - is a process in itself which needs to be managed. There are many reasons why projects fail to meet their stated aims. Lack of communication between parties, confusion over requirements, failure to involve users, personnel changes, inadequate quality checks and misunderstandings caused by the use of jargon to name but a few!

Obviously we need to plan our project but planning to the "nth" degree can end up in project paralysis. It's also worth considering that more projects fail through lack of control than bad planning. So, it's only really worth planning to the extent that you can control!

Find out if your organisation has a standard project management methodology in place and, if so, understand it basics. Any proven method will bring consistency in the approach to projects and progress reporting and should help avoid the pitfalls I mentioned above.

Before and during the initial design stage it is important that we work within our organisations record keeping policy framework. It may be necessary to re-work or even replace some of these policies in the light of our developments. We may also have to introduce some new policies - say for e-mails or electronically generated forms.

We know what records keeping requirements will be met by the project but as we develop our solution we also need to consider how those record keeping tasks are to be performed, which individual or group will be responsible for the task and how we can ensure that the tasks are performed correctly. We may be able to make the tasks part of an electronic function or they may be manual. It may be necessary to put in place specific quality control checks. Obviously, it is not possible to define these responsibilities in isolation; they will develop in conjunction with any business process design or workflow procedure we develop. However, it is necessary to document these roles and responsibilities in addition to the development documentation as they will need to be incorporated into operational procedures and job specifications etc. later on.

In order to introduce effective records management, we may need to introduce new methods or simply redesign existing workflows and processes. This may well include manual as well as automatic procedures. It could involve re-examining our whole business process. In particular, we should be looking for ways to remove any duplication or double handling of information and we should ensure that all information - including records can be retrieved in a timely and efficient manner. It is important to bear in mind that changes to a business process can result in many other changes - changes to business rules and new ways of working. We must have management backing and it is advisable to consult your human resources staff if new roles and responsibilities

TURE

•

FEATURE • FEATURE

»

FEATURE

•

FEATURE

♦

FEATURE

Records i'lanagement System Design Process.

By David Aspinall, Datum Solutions Ltd

are to be developed. Even at this early stage in the design stage it is advisable to consider the guidelines and operating procedures we will need to develop and the associated training requirement.

The design documentation produced should be considered as part of an iterative process that will ,require review and change. Any project management methodology will include certain standard requirements to help ensure effective communication and agreement at specified "milestones" or "stages". There are, however, specific documents relating to records management developments which you will need: - Simple project descriptions should be available for senior management, users and other stake holders, - Design details and diaries showing design decisions, assumptions (such as volumes of various transactions and records) and rationale and details of any design changes made over time, - Descriptions of any new or changed business processes, - Metadata specifications of all record formats, - Any software and hardware design specifications which will be required for a records management system invitation to tender, - Testing, training and implementation plans.

You may or may not feel qualified to discuss details of any given electronic or hybrid records management system. However you should know enough about the overall records keeping requirements to provide a professional opinion on the suitability of a given design.

If you aren't comfortable then try reading "Model Requirements for the Management of Electronic Records" available free over the web at http://www.cornwell.co.uk/moreq . This gives an excellent introduction to the functionality we can expect from a modern records management system. Unless your organisation is considering a major investment such as a very large integrated workflow and document management system or a customer relations management system with the requirement for a records management element, it is very doubtful if the internal development of a records management system could be cost justified. So, in the majority of cases we will be considering if an existing system could be utilised or if we will need to purchase new.

A logical system design will be required. This will be an IT produced document but, again, it will need records management and user input. Here we need to define the system inputs, outputs, interfaces and data structures.

We will define the forms and templates for the collection and presentation of information. We need to consider the sort of menus and dialogue boxes which will enable users to interact with a system and we need to consider the form and structure of any data - both electronic and paper or microfilm.

The physical system design will, in the main, be dictated by existing standards within your organisation and we need only check that whatever system selected will allow interface to any existing data sources we may need to reference and allow integration with any specific tools we may need such as thesauruses, metadata tools or disposal authorities.

A more important aspect is system testing which may often be combined with product selection when buying a commercial solution. Working with other specialists we need to develop a list of the functionality we need, determine how well the various components work, how easy the menus are and their flexibility and what error checking is included to avoid erroneous data. Finally, take up references with other users of the system and determine how quickly the system works in practice, any size limitations and how robust. Also consider how quickly and easily the system can be recovered in the event of crashes etc...

You are now in a position to develop procedures and guidelines. This particular step involves a high degree of user involvement and feedback. The design review procedure is particularly useful in this context where developers present the product or some element in open forum with the parties involved. This process needs to be iterative but their will come a point when it is necessary to stipulate that only crucial changes which will effect the overall viability of the system will be accepted in the first release. The alternative to this is "scope creep" with a never ending cycle of change and spiralling costs!

We have two further steps before system implementation. The development of an initial training plan and a system implementation plan.

Neither of these tasks should be underestimated.

Training should involve a top down approach starting with the importance and relevance of good records keeping procedures, ensuring that staff are aware of their new roles and responsibilities and providing detailed hands on training and support. Users should then develop confidence in their new found skills and adopt a positive approach to system implementation.

The system implementation plan involves a whole gambit of actions from product selection, site preparation, documentation, training, development, hardware and software configuration, migration plans for existing data, system testing and pilot testing through to full implementation.

If we've worked through this process we are now ready to start operational running. Or are we? More next month!

'co

Invoking Janus; U.S. Execs simultaneously look back at 2 0 0 2 and forward to 2 0 0 3 Everyone admits the ongoing decline of "pure" microfilming but also sees a continuing role, and increased imaging business.

At the start of each year, The Green Sheet, as did its predecessor, Micrographics Newsletter, asks leading U.S. microfilming/imaging industry executives what they saw as the most significant developments of the year just past. We also ask them what they see happening and likely to affect them and their clients in the new year just begun.

Recently, The Green Sheet spoke to a select group of senior vendor and service company executives: Michael Barrett, president. Reference Archive Services Business within Eastman Kodak's Commercial Imaging Group; Jeff Cramer, president & CEO, Anacomp; Walter Irving, director, Image Filing Systems, Canon U.S.A.; Ken Kopald, president. Ascendant Solutions International; Bud Murphy, EVP/GM, Business Products Group, Minolta Corp.; Michael Riley, president.

Imaging Products & Services Division, Lason; and Jay Rose, EVP, Sales and Marketing, ImageMax. We asked them, once again, to emulate the Roman god Janus and look both backward and forward simultaneously.

Looking Back at 2002

With almost no exception, our key executives group said that in 2002 "pure" microfilm business, per se, continued its slow but steady decline. This was in contrast to an increase in microfilm generated from digital sources. The executives also saw an ongoing rise in the use of imaging technology and digital information systems. Those from organisations that do business outside, as well as inside, the United States remarked on differences between the European and U.S. markets.

The following key trends were noted. ★ In the U.S., the economic downturn severely affected user capital expenditures for new equipment. There appeared to be a similar, though lesser, effect in Europe, at least through the first half of the year. ★ Among user applications, COM declined the most, continuing a trend noted a year earlier. A major reason was the decline of bank check microfilming. However, it was partly offset by an accelerating tendency to put digital data on film for long-term preservation. COM's rate of decline was slower in Europe than in the United States. ★ A hoped-for post 9/11 major boost for long-term storage on microfilm of vital information didn't materialise. What did occur was a slowdown of the equipment sales cycle with purchasing decisions postponed but, hopefully, not dropped. ★ People in the outsourcing services area said that their business grew, based in good measure on increased user recognition of the economics of imaging technology, coupled with reticence to invest internally on the new technology.

Looking Ahead to 2003

★

Imaging will continue to grow at the expense of microfilming, though there will still be many users

★

★

★ ★

(in-house and outsourcing) and many applications,most particularly in the long-term preservation of information.

There will be continued consolidations of vendors, both in the number of manufacturers offering hardware and in outsourcing suppliers.

Look for increased use of the internet for retrieval of information, no matter on what media it is stored.

Outsourcing will grow, but not eliminate, in-house operations.

No one anticipates any great technical developments in the micrographics area.

2002 Specifics: COM's Decline

On the subject of COM's decline, Jeff Kramer, Anacomp, said, "Many companies believe they can reduce expenses with the continuing drop in tape and electronic storage costs. However, they are ignoring the fact that the real cost of archiving data and images electronically is much higher when you fully burden the complete cost of the system the storage is attached to - i.e. the facilities, back-up and labour, not to mention having to convert vast amounts of electronically stored data and images as technology changes or becomes obsolete." He did note an increase in 16mm "scan-to-film" applications as more companies realise that digital storage might not be the most costeffective solution for deep archives, given new corporate accountability rules.

Kramer noted that in Europe COM production volume declined at a slower rate than in the U.S. He also said in Europe microfiche remained the preferred vehicle for archiving, with major banks committing to use fiche into the foreseeable future.

He also observed that while it was more and more difficult to sell hardware, the need for maintaining existing hardware benefited organisations in the services business.

Ken Kopald, ASI, concurred on COM. "Last year we saw more decline in COM, and where COM continued there was a decline in the number of duplicates generated for distribution. A major area of decline was check capture on microfilm.....Many major banks implemented full imaging programmes and eliminated filming. The mere fact that many banks have claimed success with imaging only drives more banks to seek an alternate (imaging) solution."

Jay Rose, ImageMax agreed. "The new cost paradigm has seen an increased interest among our microfilm clients to explore the advantages of digital imaging and many of them are choosing to convert." That was echoed by others selling film and digital services.

2002: Despite, or because of, 9/11, a slower sales cycle

With the exception of Canon USA's Walter Irving, who said 2002 was a great year, exceeding expectations and who expects another in 2003, everyone else reported the sales

Bud Murphy, Minolta, said, "9/11 did accentuate cutbacks in purchasing decisions, particularly in the first quarter of 2002. By the end of the year, however, we did see a gradual return to "normalcy" in purchasing. Businesses realised that in order to compete they had to deploy technology that would enhance productivity .....They couldn't just crawl into a hole and hide. So spending resumed, though much more cautiously than in the boom years of the late 1990s."

Michael Barrett, Kodak, commented, "Delays in purchasing decisions continue to be the highest hurdle • (we have to overcome). It's not that customers don't want what we're selling; it's just that they want it at the last possible moment. I don't think our industry was any better or worse than the general economy on this issue. When times are tough, many companies make do with what they've got. This is a double-edged sword for micrographics. It means companies that are ready to move into a more digitally-biased solution may delay, making it tougher to sell more digital preservation solutions.....the continued fallout of financial difficulties by some major industry participants (also had a depressing effect) over a significant part of the year. When visible players struggle, it causes the customer base to question future investment....."

Ken Kopald, ASI, raised an interesting point regarding equipment sales. "Micrographics products (sales) slowed in the U.S., but remained stronger overseas. The biggest obstacle we faced and will continue to face is the growing availability of used equipment. While this does not affect U.S. government sales (they can't buy used), it has a major effect on product sales to users and service bureaux."

2002: Increased outsourcing

Michael Riley, Lason, said business process outsourcing really caught on in 2002. "While a reduction in cost was one driver...it's not the only determining factor.....enterprises are also interested in improving the delivery of services, improving customer interaction, accessing new technology and improving return on investment..... but few enterprises have invested in effective document management solutions to date.

Reasons range from lack of capital to start the process, to having difficulty getting the skills needed. However, while enterprises recognise these shortcomings they also recognise a need to achieve new solutions quickly...... with a variety of applications pushing the outsourcing market forward, business process outsourcing grew last year and is set to grow at a rate of 14% a year for the next few years."

ImageMax' Jay Rose agreed. "Lower systems costs have led to a dramatic increase in our sales of document management systems, both for clients' in-house implementation and for our ASP implementation. All in all, the new economics are making it easier for clients to justify investments in digital imaging solutions and services."

2003: More consolidations, partnerships

Ken Kopald, ASI, commented, "We can certainly say consolidation is the universal trend, regardless of industry (computer manufacturing, automobiles, associations, etc.) and it will continue. In our industry we're facing some interesting times when we look at all of the companies reporting lower or no earnings.....

"If the economy continues to be in a slump, I believe 2003 will be a real challenge for those selling capital Continued on next page

::: FILELINE

Alchem

TM

UNBEATABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR ALCHEMY BUREAUX Do you want to take your scanning services into the Internet age? ... well now you can, with ALCHEMY FILELINE MBS and Storwave have joined forces to create an Alchemy online hosting service, so that you can offer Web access to Alchemy for new and existing customers.

For Resellers this means: • • •

No capital outlay No need for technical skills or resources Substantial margins from a new and attractive service No risk or hassle - all the hard work has been done for you!

For your Customers it means:

f mbs micro-imaqr

\olution\

• • •

All the convenience and flexibility of the Internet The familiar interface of Alchemy The security of Fileline hosting

To find out how to take the quickest route to Alchemy on the Web contact: Paul Smith, MBS House, Church St, Gamlingay, Sandy, SG19 3JH T 01767 651652 E paul@mbs-ltd.co.uk F 01767 650656

PAGE 1

cycle for new equipment was definitely slowed by general recession and the after effects of 9/11.

PAGE 16

[ Continued from page 15 equipment. Even if it improves, the longer selling cycle will continue."

Minolta's Bud Murphy added, "In 2003, the overall microfilm market will continue to contract. In light of this trend, we may see some industry consolidation on the manufacturing side."

Jeff Cramer, Anacomp, also saw more consolidations.

"In the U.S. I think we'll see more of the smaller outsource providers - both analogue and digital - either disappearing or being absorbed by the larger companies..... in Europe, the trend to develop partnerships will persist, with both small and large vendors seeking to grab a piece of the declining microfiche customer base."

Michael Barrett, Kodak, amplified on the others' comments, "In prior years I've been predicting that in the outsourcing industry we'll soon see the 'consolidation of the consolidators'. In order to stay consistent, I predict we'll see more of this in 2003.....it just makes sense that as the Wall Street-driven financial incentives for many of the initial consolidations fades into the need for operational excellence, the best answer may be to sell rather than operate."

2003: New technology

Several executives noted increased use of the internet and other developments in digital technology even though they saw little new coming in terms of micrographic-related technology.

Bud Murphy's comments were representative. "It would be difficult, if not impossible, to find a business or organisation that hasn't been affected by internet technology. The internet, and intranets are now, or soon will be, the primary document communications tool in the United States. The ability to move documents anywhere...at lightning speed has transformed how businesses operate. (To be effective) any supplier of an imaging system must have a web access capability. In short, the internet has provided an opportunity for suppliers of digital micrographic systems.....(Still) long term, we don't ever foresee a time when the micrographics market totally disappears; it just isn't going to grow very much. There are still compelling reasons to continue to use film...."

Michael Riley is optimistic about business process outsourcing prospects, particularly as a result of lessons learned. "Since September 11, disaster recovery has

played a critical role in how businesses manage their information. At the present time, less than 25% of enterprises have invested in a business continuation plan that would allow them to keep operating in the event of a disaster. Currently, two out of five companies that suffer a catastrophe of any sort will be out of business within five years of the disaster. However, with a properly implemented plan for disaster recovery, the loss of critical documentation is cut by more than 90%.

"The future looks bright. In the next five years, over 50% of documents will be viewed electronically.....enterprises must develop strategies that include technology and media from multiple avenues. This is not an abandonment of traditional methods, but an embrace of the future.

Over the next five years, it's projected that $500 billion will be spent in shifting from hardware and software to information technology services."

2003: New challenges

Michael Barrett expanded on others' technology comments. "In user applications, one of the big questions in outsourcing is 'Are customers ready to forego implementing their own electronic document management systems and merely buy this as a service from an ASP?' There are some early indications that some will, but not enough to declare victory for ASPs...... there will undoubtedly be a growing trend to use the internet as a common, cost effective path to communicate and transact business. It makes sense now, and will continue to make ever more sense in the future, as companies focus on what they do best and outsource what they can to trusted partners.

"The challenge for this (micrographics and hybrid imaging systems) industry is to stop creating our own limitations.

We need to take the very best of what we do (increase access to vital information for extended periods of time in a very efficient, cost effective manner) and make it relevant to the digital world. So called 'hybrid' systems really need to be viewed as computer peripheral devices that enable clients to operate seamlessly in both an analogue and digital environment. If we act like this is a fringe concept, and continue to treat the idea of digitalto-analogue conversion as anything other than a natural part of the document life cycle, our clients will too. That would all but insure that this concept will never grow legs."

But clearly Barrett and the others expect otherwise, with perhaps wings instead of legs sprouting.

Solar Book sells quickly

HRH rolls out its Red Carpet

Cradle

HRH Business Technology launches RC Web Client in V2.32 of Red Carpet. This is the latest version of their Windows based document storage solution, which manages almost any type of document within an organisation

Strata, formerly the Royal Dutch Library, has snapped up the first batch of the new range of book cradles for generic microfilm and digital camera systems from the Rochester manufacturer Solar »Microfilm Equipment.

With over 10 years experience of system implementation and support, Red Carpet can accommodate most industry standard databases and has excellent integration capabilities. Red Carpet modules provide the ability to capture, view, file, store, retrieve, share, print, fax and email documents. Integration with MS Office allows users to index documents directly from MS Word and Excel.

A unique integrated micro switch ensures the camera only operates when the lid is closed and a user adjusted height regulator sets the gas powered glass lid to the required aperture.

Foam inserts that can also be fine-tuned to set the appropriate pressure provide full and extensively variable book support.

As with all Solar products safety and reliability are designed in from the start as demonstrated by the toughened glass and a trouble-free lid locking mechanism.

Standard models include A1 and A2 cradles and bespoke sizes can be built to order.

The RC Web Client can retrieve documents using a number of search criteria, including Free-Text Searching.

Security and access rights are assignable to Individuals or Groups, according to their Windows NT Logon. RC Web Client allows users to access documents through Internet Explorer with the ability to export, print and e-mail documents direct from the Web Viewer.

Middle Eastern Show rescheduled

Document Management World, billed as the largest forum and showcase of its type in the Middle East, has changed its dates from last Dec. 15-16 to March 2-3, 2003.

It is still scheduled for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Doubtless, the unsettled conditions in the Middle East with a potential war against Iraq, contributed to the delay.

Sponsors hope that the Iraq situation will be cleared up or stabilised by the later date.

Details: www.docworld.com

Contact: John Beckingham, Solar Microfilm Equipment Ltd, Tel: +44 (0) 1634 290099, Email: info@solarimaging.com or visit www.solar-imaging.com

HANNOVER-GERMANY

Visit us at CeBit 2003, Hanover, 12th - 19th March Hall 1, Stand 4i2 Micrographics Marketing

FOR ALL OF YOUR DIAZO STRIPING AND CUTTING NEEDS - MINIMUM ORDER 1 ROLL OF 105mm OR 100 SHEETS HAMMOND C L O S E • NUNEATON • W ARW ICKSHIRE • UNITED KINGDOM • C V 11 6RY Telephone: (0) 24 7638 3998 • Facsim ile: (0) 24 7638 2319 E-mail: sales@microfilm.com • Web-Site: www.microfilm.com

PAGE l 7

ROUND (V A B 0 U T

What's the Future for AIIM International?

John Mancini talks about the association's direction, finances, goals and role in Europe.

One o f the most heated topics in the imaging world in 2002 and now in 2003 has been the future o f AIIM International. Last year the association ran its fifth consecutive loss year and was forecasting another loss - albeit a smaller one - in 2003 with break-even not coming until 2004. This called for drastic changes in the association's orientation, approach, operating model and financial plan. All o f these were addressed at a meeting ofAIIM 's board o f directors in December.

To get an idea o f where AIIM is going, The Green Sheet recently talked with John Mancini, AIIM's president. His always candid, but sometimes qualified, answers to our questions follow.

TGS: What is AIIM's mission today? With constituent members holding so many different areas o f interest, how would you define the association and its goals?

JM : AIIM promotes the understanding, adoption, and use of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) technologies through education, networking, marketing, research, standards, and advocacy programs.

TGS: That begs the obvious question - what does the term "Enterprise Content Management" mean, and what doesn't it mean?

JM : AIIM defines ECM as the technologies used to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver information to support business processes. I believe that this definition reflects the comprehensiveness of the market segment that we represent, while still distinguishing the AIIM segment from the broad range of all information technologies. Given some of the many confusing labels that have surrounded this industry, we intend to keep this basic label as stable and unchanging for as long as we can.

While the simple label "ECM" is helpful, the real guts of our segment are reflected in the five words within the definition - capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver. These five words and their connection with the process are what AIIM is all about...and has been about for over 50 years.

In these days of increased scrutiny and pressure facing all users for any expenditure on technology, the word "enterprise" also needs some comment.....When we say "enterprise" we like to think about it in terms of the old slogan of the environmental movement "Think globally, act locally." Organisations need to think strategically and at an enterprise level about how they manage content and information within their organisation, so they don't wind up with a cacophony of systems that don't connect....They need to be able to implement quickly and be tactically focused on those specific processes and applications that can deliver real, tangible ROI in a short period of time.

TGS: Some industry members, including many in the AIIM Company o f Fellows, argue that AIIM today is not what it was three years ago, let along 30 years ago. And they say that three years from now it will be quite different from what it is today. Do you agree and what do you - and the Board - see AIIM being three years from now when it expects a return to profitability?

JM : There is a certain aspect of AIIM that has remained constant for many years; we focus on the connection between unstructured information and process.

When I make presentations to user groups anywhere in the world, I talk about the need users have to handle their information in ways that are more cost effective, accountable, secure and accessible.

If you think about it, that theme could have been promotional copy for AIIM back when it was the National Microfilm Association. What has changed, and will continue to change, is how users meet these challenges and what technologies are available to them.

It would be nice, and it sure would make managing an association much simpler, if technologies remained static. But they don't and therein lies the core challenge for AIIM. For example, microfilm is still very much a part of the solution relative to this information management challenge, but it's not the only solution.

TGS: The AIIM budget projection process in recent years has fallen far short o f its goals. The most recent projection seems to say there will be losses in 2002 and 2003 and then break-even in 2004. Earlier predictions called for achieving break-evens sooner, first in 2002 and then in 2003, followed by profitable years. What makes AIIM's board and management confident that the twoyear budget and planning process you've just adopted will do better than the prior system ?

JM : Given the volatility in our industry, the number of combinations and acquisitions in the industry, the collapse of the NASDAQ, and the overall evaporation of the marketing funds that historically have underwritten technology magazines and trade shows, it has been a challenging last few years. Some of the factors obviously were beyond our control. But you make a valid point that we simply must do better when it comes to budget forecasting. We believe the new, longer period will.

TGS: Possibly the biggest news about AIIM last year was the sale o f the annual trade show. With the sale, what is the incentive for trade membership by vendor organisations? Is AIIM going to continue to try being a hybrid trade-user association. If the answer to that is "yes", what will be the attraction for users members?

JM : Trade members continue to get a 5% discount on exhibit space for the AIIM Show. For exhibitors who purchase more than 500 square feet, that makes trade membership basically a "nobrainer".

But that's only part of the story. Trade members receive a 10% discount,on everything AIIM does - our Content

Management Seminar Series road show, magazine advertising, attendance at the Service Company Executive Forum, and a host of other areas....Trade members receive free listings in the Techinfocenter.com marketplace. They can post press releases on the AIIM web site, in Doc7....The value of trade membership is far more than just the Show space discount.

On the end user side, we've explored a number of ways to make it easier and cost-effective for users to connect with AIIM. At last year's FileNET and Hyland user conferences, these companies sponsored membership for all attending users. Those two events alone brought in 600 new user members. We continue to sponsor research of concern to users and to make it available free or at low costs.....At the Show in April 2003 we will introduce a new Professional Development Centre and certification programme that will be a great source of value for users.

TGS: John, you've talked about the "downsizing" o f trade shows in general - with Comdex and Xplor as specific examples. The downsizing makes a good case for having sold the AIIM Show, though it raises questions about why Advanstar bought it. With this trend in mind, what do you expect from the Show (practically in terms o f royalties and conceptually in terms o f content and organisation) in the years ahead?

line that provides almost all your profits. You are concerned about the long-term ability of that product line to sustain those profits into the future.

So what can you do? You can either continue to ride the cash cow indefinitely, and ignore the concerns that you have in the vague hope that "something" will happen to allow it continue to do business as it once did. Or you can sell the asset and realign the company against the business opportunities that the market presents. We chose the latter. The choice, of course, is not without its challenges.

TGS: Let's look at some o f the complaints by critics o f AIIM's financial situation. A big complaint has been thatAIIM 's key immediate problem, one that must be solved quickly, is lack o f sufficient revenues and that it's a problem that won't be solved by cost cutting and savings alone. These critics say you can't save your way to prosperity and ask what major new revenue streams are on the horizon to replace the AIIM Show.

JM : I agree that AIIM can't save its way to profitability. Over the last three years, we have cut operating expenses dramatically. But, to be candid, revenues must grow in order to get to break even and it's absolutely imperative that we get to operating profitably as quickly as possible.

JM : We have a five-year agreement with Advanstar outlining our continued involvement in the following areas: 1) AIIM sponsorship of the Show; 2) AIIM presence, support, and involvement in the Show; 3) Discount for all AIIM trade members on exhibit space costs; 4) Discount for all AIIM professional members on conference attendance; and 5) AIIM support for the conference team that develops the content for the conference.

At the same time, we need to put some of the concerns in perspective. The budget approved by the Board on December 10 calls for a loss of less than $1 million in 2003, as a transition to profitability in 2004.

If we were to do nothing but what is in this baseline budget for the indefinite future (obviously not something we would even consider) and assume average annual investment returns of 3%, it wouldn't be until about 2011 that our reserves would dip below $2 million.

Both Advanstar and AIIM hope that this relationship will continue on an "evergreen" basis after the initial fiveyear agreement. Thus far I don't see any reason why we can't continue to be actively involved in the show for years to come.

To place AIIM in perspective in terms of levels of financial reserves, let's compare it to ARMA International. In 2001 ARMA had total revenues of $4.6 million and net reserves of $1.1 million. In

TGS: Recently you outlined a new, diversified revenue model for AIIM. It calls for a larger number o f smaller scale activities than in the past. With the small staff AIIM now has (after the cutbacks o f 2002), how can an increased number o f activities - albeit on a smaller scale - be sustained?

JM : The challenge AIIM faced beginning two years ago was no different to that faced in the commercial sector by many companies. You have a single product

Quality, Speed, Reliability.

Get the superior performance you've always wanted in a rollfilm scanner instead of the technology you have been forced to accept!

• Give new life to your old SunRise®rollfilm scanners with our Phoenix™upgrade.

• See the ultimate in production level rollfilm scanner performance with Eclipse,™our next generation scanner.

Come visit us at AIIM 2003 in Nezv York, Booth 1952. nextScan, Phoenix and Eclipse are trademarks of nextScan.

All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

next$can

The Next Generation in Film Scanning Technology 925-83 1-3141

**

•

WWW.nextsCQn.com

today's rough environment AIIM is in a cash-rich position that creates opportunities.

communication with the chapters, which still represent the lifeblood of the organisation.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to say that operating profitably is not important. In fact, it's the top priority of the Board. But as we drive toward this goal we need to keep our efforts in perspective.

We've learned much over the years, frankly through the school of hard knocks, about the importance of frequent and comprehensive communications. That will be a major priority in the months ahead. As an example, a few weeks ago we sent all members a summary of our goals and accomplishments for the past year. Now in January we are sending all members a summary of our business plan and goals for 2003.

TGS: AIIM was burnt in Europe, it seems especially by the acquisition o f IMC. What will happen in Europe now? What do you see as AIIM's role there? How will iTx Marketing Services mesh with AIIM in Europe.

Since iTx has a 10-year record o f profitability and AIIM most recently had a 5-year record o f losses, what was the advantage to iTx o f being acquired by AIIM? JM : Our acquisition of iTx made sense from a number of perspectives. iTx is a profitable company.

Its business, regional road shows and education events designed to introduce users to ECM technologies, is very complimentary to our existing product mix in North America. They are not a "big event" show organiser and neither are we. Their 50,000 name user data base gives us a strong platform on which to build a vibrant membership organisation in the UK. In 2003 we will focus our event organization and membership efforts in the UK. We also will begin discussions about a more significant presence in Germany. We will continue discussions with the European Union about funding for an EU Network of Excellence focused on archival technologies and records management. The core of our event organising and membership work in 2003 will be in the UK and Ireland and we will then use this as a platform to expand.

TGS: In the new operating model, what kind of relationship will the existing special interest groups within AIIM - FblA, Service Bureau Executive Conference, EmTag, Company o f Fellows - have with the changing parent organisation?

JM : The main operating priority we will have this year is improving the communications with all of the communities and constituencies that comprise AIIM. You left chapters off the list of key constituencies; we will continue to work on improving the level of

TGS: What kind o f year will 2003 be for AIIM and the information management?

JM : I think it will be an exciting one for this industry in a number of ways. There is a new appreciation among users for the role that ECM technologies play in: 1) assuring business continuity; 2) generating cost reduction through process improvement; 3) allowing collaboration among globally dispersed workforces and customers; and 4) assuring compliance with government rules and legal requirements. We call these the "4 Cs" Continuity, Cost, Collaboration, and Compliance - and believe they are increasingly important to senior level users.

Within AIIM this will also be a very important year. We must focus our operational efforts (by this I mean event organisation, membership development, and advocacy) in the US and the UK and make absolutely sure that this year's budget becomes a reality. We must introduce the AIIM Professional Development Centre, which will add enormous value to the industry and to our user members. And this year we must test the waters for an expanded role in Canada and Germany and leverage our involvement with the European Union. We must be a more effective advocate for standards development.

Most importantly, we must work harder than ever to convince our extended community of the benefits of participating in an association that represents this industry.

There are many who have said that AIIM always has been a trade show masquerading as an association, and without the trade show, the association wouldn't exist. I never believed this to be true, but now we'll find out once and for all.

TGS: Thanks to John for his time and frankness

“If you want to go on the acquisition trail, you must have your own secret 'shopping list' of potential targets. It is essential though to do your homework first to find the right companies to target,” says David Pattison, Senior Analyst at Plimsoll Publishing.

Budding entrepreneurs I could make a fortune on any one of the 23 companies Plimsoll Publishing has named as the Best Acquisition Prospects in the UK Microfilm Services & Equipment industry.

Named as part of Plimsoll's new Acquisition Guide are 23 fundamentally solid businesses that are under performing. Plimsoll's valuations on these companies suggest they could be bought relatively cheaply yet yield excellent returns.

Pattison continues, "As the industry consolidates, this is an exciting time for acquirers. It is easy to overlook the fundamental requirements in successfully taking over another company. In my experience I have found six main reasons why acquisitions fail to deliver their expected return." Here are the six common mistakes Pattison found that companies make in acquiring a company.

Reason 1 - Looking for companies through a keyhole It is nearly impossible to find the right acquisition target based solely on one criterion or to study only those companies for sale at the time. The choices are usually weak and aren't necessarily a good bargain.

The strength of Plimsoll's research is the ability to take the entire industry of 175 companies and analyse each one based on their acquisition attractiveness. Named in the full Acquisition Guide are the 23 companies as the Best Acquisition Prospects, the 25 Highest Priced Options, and the 107 companies named as options to 'pursue with caution'. It is our belief that every company is a potential target.

Reason 2 - Paying too much for the company Much secrecy surrounds the final deals of an acquisition and it is impossible to ever truly know the true price of a company changing hands. However, it is important to know where to start and what to expect to pay. Plimsoll's Acquisition Guide provides a company valuation on 68 companies in the industry with a full analysis of why some companies are worth more than others. A historical, current and future valuation is provided based on the company's last 4 financial years.

Valuations on Prime Targets: Companies with price premium - 3 Companies with fair price - 1 Companies with low price - 19 Total number of targets - 23 Reason 3 - The timing wasn't right Waiting for a company to go up for sale is often not the

best time to buy a company. The key to a prudent acquisition is spotting under performance early.

Plimsoll's Acquisition Guide spots the classic acquisition profile and names 23 companies suffering financially yet are fundamentally good.

Reason 4 - Taking the acquired company in the wrong direction This is where most acquisitions go wrong. Typically an acquirer reduces costs too much and therefore limits the future viability of the acquired company.

The Acquisition Guide identifies 3 types of targets all requiring different post acquisition strategies. The guide then produces a post acquisition scenario for every company suggesting that 25 should consolidate, 28 should expand and 15 simply need to tweak performance.

Reason 5 - Taking instructions solely from your advisors Never accept a deal based solely on your advisor's instructions. Take some of the power back by pointing them in the right direction. Key to the research provided by Plimsoll is to give the decision maker access to the very best analysis, valuations and assessments of all the options in the industry.

Reason 6 - Getting your house in order first Perhaps the most serious mistake in acquiring another company relates to the financial state of your own company at the time. If your own company is in bad shape, then an acquisition will not solve your problems - it will only create more. Then the only winners will be the banks and financiers.

Summary Plimsoll's Acquisition Guide on the Microfilm Services & Equipment industry helps you avoid these 6 common mistakes in making an acquisition by showing you exactly which companies look to be the best targets.

The Acquisition Guide on the UK Microfilm Services & Equipment industry is available for £600 plus VAT. To obtain a no obligation free proposal or to purchase the guide, you can call Plimsoll Publishing on 01642 626400. Information is also available on their website www.whatcompany.co.uk. Readers o f this publication will receive a 5% discount when mentioning this article upon ordering.

Brand new formatted Web Site from The Microfilm Shop

www.microfilm.com including

alWJUl comprehensive

equipment section

PAGE 2

Avoiding common acquisition mistakes

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We continue the dialogue that began last year with a personal exchange between US Editor Mitch Badler and Russ Burkel.

This is not an official Green Sheet comment.

Future of Microfilm (continued from December issue) Russ, Reading Mike (Oris) and Peter's (Hovell) comments makes me note that I tend to agree with them. Most members of the microfilm community - and this applies especially to users - remind me of John Q. Public in regard to taxation. He wants lots of services, just doesn't want to pay any taxes to support them.

Microfilm users want lots of wonderful equipment changes and updates but I don't see any of them clamouring to commit to buying. In fact, in my limited experience the members of the microfilm world - and now I'm talking more about dealers and bureaux - are among the most shortsighted groups I've encountered.

It's very understandable that the microfilm industry is not eager to pour in money for a very questionable return. But without the investment there will be no development, no products to be bought to produce a return. So what came first, the chicken or the egg?

Mitch Badler, The Green Sheet, USA MNgreensheet@aoi. com Reply

The confusing situation we have today did not happen overnight. It started 15-20 years ago when digital imaging became possible and was hyped as THE microfilm replacement. It should have been challenged early on. Many microfilm companies, not all, invested microfilm profits to develop digital imaging systems.

Why?? The reasons are obvious, they saw a better return on investment with digital imaging than with microfilm imaging. Some did see digital replacing microfilm.

The hype worked. It all happened rather quickly. Many organisations dropped microfilm in favour of digital imaging. Many long time microfilm service bureaux started buying scanners and STOPPED buying microfilm cameras. Why? Look at the signals, Intel and others told us the future is digital, if it can be digitised, it will be. Their statements carried weight, after all they were the mega growth companies. Nearly all of the new document capture products were digital. Naturally, as sales fell, microfilm hardware manufacturers began dropping out. And yes, many of the microfilm replacement systems were sold by long time microfilm companies.

The real tragedy is investment in microfilm technology stopped. Everything went along fine until the obsolescence problems started. All of a sudden everyone discovered what Jeff Rothenberg articulated so well, "digital lasts forever or five years which ever comes first".

What went wrong? We failed to convince customers that digital imaging was NOT a microfilm replacement.

The need for migration-free human readable backup was not publicised. Who's We?, start with AIIM and go on from there. Now here we are in 2003, groups such as CENSA are predicting chaos if we do not solve the digital preservation problem.

Who do we blame? It is pointless to play that game. There is plenty of blame to go around. Blaming users such as Swedish Archives, National Archives for the Census debacle, or service bureaux isn't going to get us very far.

Someone must provide document management leadership. If not FblA, then who? Had microfilm investment continued and CIM developed years ago microfilm would be in much better shape now. Yogi Bear would probably say "you are where you are". Dwelling on the past is a waste of time.

One thing is certain, digital preservation is a growing problem in need of a solution. If SDSC does sell a 400 year "digital only" preservation system to the Federal Government, they may be the only entity that can afford the ongoing upgrades required.

It's obvious that many microfilm manufacturers will not invest in microfilm without commitment, that's why I asked InterPARES to fund CIM development. Also keep in mind one researcher at SDSC is looking at microfilm as a backup to a digital preservation system.

The root cause of the preservation problem is caused when character-codes (binary codes) are used for storage rather than the original human readable characters, A B C 1 2 3 etc. Ironically OCR solves the problem by allowing direct reading of COM and conversion back the processable code of the day, on demand.

Why is a firm commitment required for microfilm investment but not for digital investment?

Russ Burkel, Analogue Imaging, USA rburkel@juno.com

MANAGING BRITAIN'S MICROFILM LEGACY r

AMI The Advance Group Tel: 01902 459907 E-mail: docman@ ami.co.uk www.am i.co.uk

m ents w itho ut breaking the bank. Rates are £35 (S50) per insertion w ith a lim it of 25 w ords. Each addition­ al 25 w ords or fraction are £35 ($50). There is an additional £10 ($15) charge for the use of Box number. For display (boxed) ads add £20 ($30). To place a classified ad, send copy to M icrographics M arketing Ltd, 65 W inchester Drive, Burbage, Leics LE10 2BA UK, or fax it to +44 (0)24 7638 2319 or Em ail it to sales@greensheet.n et. A lw ays specify w hich issue(s) you w ish your ad to appear in.

METHYLENE BLUE TESTS: Essential for all systems guaranteeing archival microfilm.

Carried out by the people who set the British Standard, i Quotations on request.

DASS LABORATORIES LTD 0121 550 3518

CARDAMATION INC, can save you money on quality aperture cards from USA & Europe. Dealer and enduser quantity discounts on tape, camera, diazo, etc. aperture cards.

Also 80 column, slave, IBM type cards, form 5081 & other layouts - variety of colors . .

Cardamation aperture card readers, card punches, sorters and popular scanners sold, rented, maintained.

Service bureau reads punched data to ASCII files.

We punchprint cards from emailed data.. Scanning Images Division does scanning.

Contact:- sales@cardamation.com.

Tel: USA 610-935-9700, 800-848-1718. Fax 610-935-7340.

Write: POBox 987, PMB 15, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 19482.

TIFF IMAGE PROCESSING TOOLS Software for the imaging professional Multi-page Tiff Splitter - Multi-page Tiff Compiler Tiff Page Counter - Alchemy Database Installer Media Library - Batch Separation Barcode Automatic Indexing ...and many more.

All of our products can be revised to your specifications.

New applications built to order. www.tiff-tools.com sales @tiff-tools.com

Visit THE GREEN SHEET Web Site at:

www.green-sheet.net

FOR TOP QUALITY REFURBISHED Cameras, Duplicators, Reader-Printers and Scanners, please contact ALTER SYSTEMS, 713-995-1123 or Fax 713-995-4940 E-Mail jimh@altesys.com We are SERIOUS about serving your needs

MERCURY VISUALS

Manchester, England Buyers & Sellers of “Second-User” Micrographic & Scanning Equipment Contact us for this months Special Offers!

Phone +44 (0) 161 749-8749 E-mail: mercvis@lineone.com

LARGE FORMAT SCANNING * AT TRADE PRICES * PLANS TO AO * OUTPUT TO CD-ROM and 35MM MICROFILM * TIFF, PDF, & JPEG FORMATS Contact Paul Marsh on 020 8542 5151 The Data Imaging and Archiving Company Ltd

METHYLENE BLUE TESTS: Required for all “archival” microfilm.

Meets all ANSI standards. Special contract rates available.

Managed by Photographic Scientist.

MSTC, Inc. 703-754-3213, E-mail: MSTCl@aol.com

FICHE FACTORY at CONNECTICUT MICROGRAPHICS, Inc Cut Fiche now available - any size Diazo or Vesicular : Striped or Plain Tel: 1-203-838-1013 Fax: 1-203-853-3749 Email: peter@micrographics.com

PAGE 23

The Global M arketplace feature is designed for com panies that w ish to take out sm all classified ad vertise­

The next step

in desktop production scanning— consider it done!

It is time for a new world of innovation.

Where the dockable flatbed can be detached and put away when you’re not using it.

Where scanning in colour or greyscale is as fast as scanning in black and white.

Where many image processing functions come as standard.

And where a fast, plug-and-play FIREWIRE interface speeds your images on their way.

The new KODAK i200 Series will change the way you look at desktop production scanning.

• Colour, Greyscale, Bitonal —at the same speed • Up to 134 ipm • Dockable Flatbed • Perfect Page Scanning • SurePath Paper Handling • 3D Ultrasonic Double Feed Detection • Optional Imprinter Call us at 01442-844791, e-mail us at gb-scanners@kodak.com, and take the next step today.

For further information: www.kodak.com/go/docimaging