Gartner Magic Quadrant

Great overview of the latest Gartner review of ECM

Gartner Magic Quadrant

eCopy, SharePoint and Scanning in the Enterprise

More and more organizations are taking the leap into a centralized document repository, through the use of Microsoft SharePoint. SharePoint is an oustanding tool for collaboration, and accels when utilizing Microsoft Office documents. But what happens when you create a SharePoint site that will require the uploading of numerous scanned documents? How can you standardize file naming, metadata population and the overall document imaging process?

One of the best solutions I have found is eCopy ShareScan. eCopy is a document capture solution that can be connected to just about any Multi-Function Copier or Dedicated Scanner. The challenge with traditional scanning solutions is that they usually require dedicated scanner hardware that is connected to a PC. This provides a one to one solution, allowing only the PC user to scan documents. With eCopy, you can provide a one-to-many relationship, and share the scanning capabilities of your copier or scanner with an entire office or department. It has a simple, easy to use touch screen interface that even the most technically challenged user can learn to use. It can provide a rapidly deployable solution, with quick adoption, and low training requirements.

eCopy provides a SharePoint Connector that allows quick integration into any site, with all security in tact, and the ability to require metadata fields. For larger organizations, you can configure one ScanStation, and then publish the configuration to all the others on your network. For more info on eCopy and additional tools, go to What is eCopy? or for other SharePoint Scanning Utilities, click on the following link SharePoint Scanning Utilities.

Scanning and Document Management with Microsoft Sharepoint

SharePoint is being touted as the "swiss army knife" of Enterprise Content Management. I have to admit, we use this tool for just about everything under the sun: sales pipeline management, deal tracking, project management, help desk , sales material library, etc, etc. It is a very solid application for a variety of functions, and it is so easy to create a site. You can easily download an application template, and within minutes have a site up and running. The customization is even easier, and adding columns and metadata fields is a breeze. The other day I was playing around in our demo room, and decided to try out the eCopy SharePoint connector to test scanning into my library. It was a breeze, and eCopy is fantastic, with seemless integration into the product.

I will write some follow on articles on the subject, as I am finding more and more prospects asking about SharePoint inegration and scanning into the application. I have done some basic research on scanning utilities for tha app, links at:

Microsoft SharePoint Scanning Links

And for some great reading on SharePoint and Planning:

Microsoft SharePoint Information Links

More to follow.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Document Management and Compliance

What is Gramm-Leach-Bliley and how does it apply to Document Management?

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, or GLBA, was put into place to allow consolidation in the banking industry. It provided rules for the combining of Commercial and Investment Banking. The main crux of the Act are provisions to protect the private financial information of consumers. The two main regulations governing the protection are the Financial Privacy Rule and the Safeguards Rule. The regualtions apply to many different types of financial institutions, including: securities firms, insurance companies, brokerages and banks.

Compliance with GLBA is manadatory, and below is a summary of the two mainregulations:

Financial Privacy Rule

The Privacy Rule governs the disclosure and collection of private financial information. It requires Privacy Notifications be submitted to the consumer that discloses how information will be used and/or shared. The consumer has the right to opt out and not provide the required information.

Safeguards Rule

The Safeguards Rule requires a written plan to protect and secure the private information held by an institution. The plan requires overall management of the safeguards through organizational structure, risk management plans for each department that handles the private information, plans for monitoring and suditing complaince and the ability to manage the overall collection, usage, storage, and distribution.

So how do Electronic Document Management Systems or Electronic Content Management Systems help with this daunting task?

EDMS or ECM systems can provide the oversight for managing private information through:

• Enhanced Security and Access Controls
• Centralized auditing
• Centralized, rather than distributed storage
• The ability to control usage and distribution

For some further reading on GLBA go to www.scanguru.com and read the compliance section, or click on the link below to go to the GLBA Compliance Links Page:

GLBA Compliance Page