Cape Town and Johannesburg were recently included in the International Content Process Fusion Seminar, which also toured Holland, Germany, France, UK and Italy. The seminar included industry giants Gartner Research Director, Toby Bell, Microsoft`s Jens Gorne, and Captaris` Brent Stankowski.
Bell said that Content Process Fusion is the evolving combination of content and process technologies based on XML. Three key areas where this is beginning to be realised is collaboration and transformation - engaging people and forms as part of a process, including compliance. Vertical process automation was another with content process fusion targeted at reusable industry applications and the third, content integration built on XML and Web services.
Gartner predicts emerging trends by utilising its `Hype Cycles` that involve what the research company calls `Technology Triggers` to signal the emergence of new IT technology in the document management space - Content Process Fusion is fast gaining credence as a system that optimises revenue, helps businesses realise business goals and affect better all-round communications via the Internet and intranet.
Although interactivity and relationships between corporates and software vendors begin to close the gap towards definitive applications, Gartner has identified several key components that are specifically engineered to make the dissemination of information easier, more efficient and far more cost-effective, with a reported saving of 80% in office time as compared to the conventional methods of document saving and processing.
Captaris demonstrated the inter-connectivity between the components that are already making Content Process Fusion a huge success in the US. Microsoft`s Integrated Platform Solutions expert, Jens Gorne explained in great detail the workings of the Windows Server 2003 platform and its SharePoint and Microsoft Office functionality in creating what is termed `Solutions Accelerators` that are specifically targeted to business on a `go to market` basis.
Bell`s key recommendations are that enterprises should incorporate process-efficiency considerations as a major element of any content management strategy. Content Process Fusion for compliance begins with an understanding of the existing environment and capabilities. Enterprises should not rush to adopt new technology before reviewing incumbent vendor plans. Reusable best-practice process templates from content management or business process management vendors can make implementation faster and easier and lastly enterprises should also carefully examine vendors` emerging XML and Web service architectures because they will enable content to be more easily integrated into broader enterprise business processes.
AmVia`s MD, Kevin Hurwitz, the local value-added distributor of Captaris, concludes: "The trend, which Gartner calls Content Process Fusion, is to combine content management and Business Process management for better vertical process automation, customer communications management and compliance. Our offering handles unified messaging and information receipt and delivery more efficiently by enabling them to be more closely coupled with business applications. We are extending the range and reach of documents with the added workflow automation our new offering provides."
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