Integration creates common ground
Developing an enterprise-wide information management system entails a large number of integration tasks which can be solved with integrated Enterprise Content Management.
Behind the DOXiS iECM Suite lies a new technology concept which goes beyond the bounds of previous systems that have been developed separately. What drives ECM is convergence. The separate technology areas for capturing, archiving, information lifecycle management, document management systems, workflow, business process management and knowledge management, which have developed in parallel, are now coming together. This applies equally to individual applications and to their heterogeneous platforms and usage models.
When deciding on an archive, DMS or workflow product, companies place value on the type of information or processes handled by the software. However, the integration of different manufacturers' systems and of the individual products of one manufacturer often appears to be undervalued under the heading ‘interface programming’ or is ignored in the software manufacturer's sales process. However, it is these very interfaces which, if inadequately implemented, cause breaks in the cross-application business process chains, prevent transparency across the company, cause redundant work processes and lead to uncalculated additional costs in implementation and in operation.
True integrated Enterprise Content Management solutions, on the other hand, are homogenous and consistent. They communicate internally not through connectors or interfaces programmed in a superficial way, but with intelligent frameware such as the DOXiS iECM Suite. Such iECM architectures depend on simplification and build on standards. The integrated Enterprise Content Management Suite from SER Solutions is based on a fully integrated product approach. A component model provides, in several layers, the necessary infrastructure for all types of applications and services. In this way the same functions can be used in different applications. This applies both to the different DOXiS iECM Suite clients and to existing external third party systems such as SAP, MS Navision, Oracle, J.D.Edwards, Varial etc. (enabling) which access the functions, information and processes of the iECM services. The advantage is that only one service is provided for each function, thereby avoiding redundancies that are time-consuming and costly to maintain. This approach also provides the option of constructing a central content repository. This allows uniform indexing and description of the content, which prevents syntactic and semantic data integration problems. Other areas that can be centralised include administration (e.g. user management and authorisation concepts), recovery and logging mechanisms.
The advantage of this kind of integrated architecture is that parts of DOXiS iECM can be used as independent solutions without companies needing a system for the whole company. This means that iECM always grows in line with company requirements.
The decisive advantage of iECM is the central availability of information throughout the company. Consequently, the integration of various information sources plays a major role, avoiding inconsistencies in the stored data and guaranteeing cross-system availability of information. This also includes referential integrity between different systems. It ensures that links do not lead to nowhere e.g. when a case record of a workflow system contains a link to a document which has since been deleted in the DMS system. However, data integration is not an end in itself. To achieve an increase in productivity it is important that the right information is available at the right time, in the right context and at the right cost, and that it can be integrated into business processes as required.