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- 1. ImageNow & Microsoft SharePoint: Five Ways They Work Well Together
- 2. 2 With SharePoint 2010, the latest release of Microsoft’s Business Collaboration Platform software, the technology giant has moved closer to the turf of established enterprise content management (ECM) providers, such as Perceptive Software. Is this a figurative fork in the road for companies that use both ImageNow from Perceptive Software and SharePoint, meaning they should choose one or the other for document management? Not necessarily, and here’s why: ~~ Both offer out-of-the-box functionality — but for different types of functions. ~~ Although elements have been added to SharePoint, it still lacks features needed for an end-to-end process and content management solution, especially of professional-grade, transactional content that drives core business operations. ~~ ImageNow and SharePoint can work together, and companies that use them both would be better served using the solutions’ respective strengths to improve business processes. Here are a few ways ImageNow and SharePoint can happily coexist — and even complement each other — in today’s content-laden organizations. ImageNow Microsoft SharePoint: Five Ways They Work Well Together Perceptive Software uses decades of experience in creating innovative process and content management solutions to simplify routines that are critical to an organization’s well-being.
- 3. ImageNowMicrosoftSharePoint 3 1Use ImageNow to manage business processes that have recurring workflow rules and large volumes of documents. ImageNow was designed to manage high volumes of transactional content. ImageNow workflow makes it easy to create, manage and modify document- and project-centric workflow queues and routing rules for high-volume processes, such as invoice processing. Beyond workflow, additional business process management (BPM) functionality can help you stay in control of business operations, model and automate processes, and generate valuable ideas for improvement. Scalability is not an issue because ImageNow is designed specifically to handle volumes of content. There are no integration issues, either, because ImageNow integrates with nearly any application without programming and offers prebuilt connectors for deep integration with ERP platforms. You also can connect ImageNow with components running on a mix of OS platforms, including Windows, Linux, AIX and Solaris — without enlisting a consultant or third-party solution provider. These and many other features explain why customers worldwide trust Perceptive Software to optimize processes that are critical to their organizations’ well-being. And why ImageNow is widely used in industries such as higher education and healthcare where access to documents and information is of paramount importance. Use SharePoint to manage collaborative processes that have a lower volume of documents with dynamic content. In its earlier iterations, SharePoint was designed to be a tool for web-based team collaboration. Even now, this is still one of the easiest ways to use SharePoint without bringing in third-party solution providers. For projects in which team members will be working simultaneously on documents, you can create a new SharePoint site and, with its strong integration with Microsoft Office applications, manage all the resulting versions of documents and keep team members apprised of changes. 2 SharePoint offers outstanding features for managing collaborative processes and keeping work teams informed and on target.
- 4. 4 3 4Use ImageNow to manage documents and processes; use SharePoint to allow authorized users access to forms and documents they need. Get the best of both solutions by using ImageNow to manage documents and processes, and give access to others across the enterprise through a SharePoint site that is used as a portal or intranet. Here’s an example: A company uses Oracle’s PeopleSoft application to manage its human resources functions, including benefits and payroll analytical reporting. ImageNow integrates seamlessly with PeopleSoft, streamlining paper-intensive processes and allowing HR staff members to work with forms and software they’re already familiar with. ImageNow also integrates seamlessly with the SharePoint site that allows employees single- click access to authorized digital images and electronic documents in their own personnel files. Without help from the HR staff, employees can see how many deductions were taken on their tax forms, review their contributions to the company’s investment plan, or print a copy of their annual review document. Employees also can input information from the SharePoint site using an embedded ImageNow eForm. This action can kick off a business process that is managed in ImageNow. Similar setups — with ImageNow managing the process and SharePoint allowing access — can be used for external processes such as vendor management programs. Other internal processes that require input from remote locations, such as invoice and contract approvals or submission of expense reports, also can be streamlined using ImageNow and a SharePoint site. SharePoint users can search and view ImageNow documents. As noted in Point No. 2, SharePoint offers outstanding features for managing collaborative processes and keeping work teams informed and on target. And if those processes require access to ImageNow documents, that’s not a problem. SharePoint users who also are ImageNow users have the same search rights they would have through ImageNow or WebNow. SharePoint users who are not ImageNow users can be logged in as guests and their access limited by the ImageNow Interact for SharePoint web part configuration. Documents in ImageNow can be opened in the Interact for SharePoint built-in viewer or downloaded to open in the native application for that file type. Direct support from the manufacturer. SharePoint does not have an on-ramp to capture paper documents or the ability to extract data from collected documents using technologies like OCR. For scanning and correctly storing documents within the associated library, SharePoint users must rely on third-party providers. If ImageNow is already used for high-value business processes, such as accounting and financials, and SharePoint for collaborative processes, you can eliminate that third party. Use ImageNow’s rich imaging capabilities to capture documents from anywhere, then push or copy them into SharePoint. With industry- leading intelligent data capture technology, you also can pull information from those documents, validate the data, and seamlessly pass it to your core business applications. 5
- 5. © 2012 Perceptive Software, LLC. All rights reserved. ImageNow is a registered trademark of Perceptive Software. 22701 West 68th Terrace Shawnee, KS 66226 USA tf +1 800 941 7460 tel +1 913 422 7525 fax +1 913 422 3820 Lexmark International Technology S.A. Bâtiment ICC - Bloc A 20, route de Pré-Bois Case postale 508 CH - 1215 Genève Switzerland tel +41 (0) 22 710 70 50 fax +41 (0) 22 710 70 51