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Developers of document capture and management software are increasingly turning to XML as a means to transport data to far-flung organizations.
Captiva Software Corp., RTSe USA Inc., Kofax Image Products Inc. and Tower Software were among the vendors at the Association of Information & Imaging Management show in New York last week showing new Extensible Markup Language capabilities that they say give line-of-business employees the ability to move and repurpose documents for the Web, intranets and wireless applications.
By depending on XML and the Internet to move documents, enterprises can increase efficiencies, improve products, and enhance a companys image through better presentation of data and better customer service.
An upgrade to Captivas FormWare document capture software, unveiled at the AIIM show, enables global organizations to not only copy documents but route and track them to systems around the world via XML data streams traveling across the Internet or other telecommunications links. This ensures that a single set of business rules are followed, which improves the validity and value of the information captured, said officials at San Diego-based Captiva.
What makes this possible is a SQL database-driven workflow and distributed processing technology in FormWare 4.0, due later this month. The technology can be applied when capturing information in paper, faxes, scanned images, unstructured documents, Internet forms and e-commerce applications, officials said.
Distributed scanning lets companies scan documents and insert them into a FormWare workflow from scanners anywhere on the Net. Authorized users then can enter more data or correct data in the scanned documents from anywhere. An XML Import/Export feature is used to capture data from or insert data to Internet applications.
An optional database module in Version 4.0 enables users to set up a Microsoft SQL Server database as the data store. This provides a hierarchical structure for grouping and processing work, enhances data integrity and security, and provides more robust rollback and recovery operations.
Related announcements at the show included the following:
• RTSe, of Redmond, Wash., added support for XML in Version 2.0 of its Synchronicity Content Management System, which is designed to manage the text, graphics, images and other elements that go into a Web site. The addition of XML support enables users to repurpose content for Internet, intranet and extranet pages as well as for wireless delivery, officials said.
• Kofax Image Products Ascent Capture 5 boasted new XML capture capabilities. Specifically, a new Import Controller lets IT managers create scripts that enable the capture of data in enterprise applications using XML, said officials of the Irvine, Calif., company.
• Tower launched Trim Context, software that lets companies electronically manage documents from a variety of formats by maintaining their contextual relationships. The software enhances the validity of searches across documents by providing a single interface to workflow, imaging, document management, Web publishing, e-mail management and records management software, according to officials at Tower, of Reston, Va.