FileBound Africa has introduced FileBound Express, a document management network appliance, targeted at the local small and medium enterprise (SME) market.
According to the company, the product is designed to meet specific user requirements and offer a holistic document management service, including integrity, security, access, archiving, recovery and compliance features.
Bryan Rufener, dealer manager at FileBound Africa, identifies licensing issues as the key business differentiator of the appliance.
“Traditional EDM [enterprise document management] offerings usually involve dedicated hardware and costly software that require individual licences for any person utilising the system and expensive yearly licensing fees to make use of its functionality.
“The FileBound Express appliance requires no annual licensing and is available to any user on a company's network infrastructure,” explains Rufener.
According to FileBound Africa management, the solution is distinctive in the local market because it immediately addresses issues of cost reduction, on-going productivity, and return on investment, as well as eliminating complexity in document management.
“These factors influence the ability of companies to leverage off their information, improve competitive advantage and adequately comply with information management legislation such as the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act of 2002,” suggests Rufener.
“The ability of any sized business to adhere to the law and show adequate compliance with respect to the archiving, access and control of information continues to impact on ICT investment, support and services,” he adds.
Rufener argues that companies want easily integrated, complete, cost-effective solutions that will make a difference to their ability to comply with regulation and manage information - the most valuable asset in any industry.
In terms of daily operation, this means documents that are properly stored in the solution can never be misfiled, eliminating cost to company and productivity losses in trying to find 'lost' files, says FileBound.
Rethinking security
The company says effective information management also means security policies can be applied to protect sensitive data.
“Archiving and disaster recover are considered vital elements of any credible document management strategy,” says Rufener. “The FileBound Express solution enables quick, hassle-free backup of critical business documents and provides the functionality to address legal requirements pertaining to archived information,” he adds.
An off-site backup functionality is included with the on-site storage and retrieval aspect of the unit, which FileBound says will enable South African business owners to revaluate how they secure their information.
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