NokusaEI and Cideon have joined forces to form a partnership to enhance document management possibilities for SAP clients.
Enterprise content management has come to the forefront of many companies' strategic objectives. The services and products supplied by this collaboration make it possible to bring ECM concepts to workable and pragmatic solutions that can effectively be used by the entire workforce.
One of the biggest challenges faced by companies is how to make engineering documents available to all in an organisation. The most appealing outcome of this product solution to most companies is the fact that it can automatically convert all documents and make a standardised format (PDF) available to the entire organisation for general viewing.
This eliminates the need to roll out expensive viewers or invest in potentially complex software to make information available to end-users, while the ECM system takes complete control of both the view rendition as well as the originating file.
Clients really get excited about this as people are no longer able to modify documentation without updating the master source. The end-user gets a non-editable format that can be called “electronic paper”. This means that view-only copies can be distributed without impacting on the environment and printing and paper bills.
Gerhard du Plessis, consulting manager, NokusaEI
This can be done for the simplest of documentation types, such as minutes of the meeting, policies, procedures, to the most complex 3D models in a CAD environment.
A long-term information storage strategy is also much simpler as the probability of viewing a PDF (A) format in 20 years' time is much better than any native software format. The SAP ECM solution suite consists of various options for document and records management, as well as workflow and image archiving.
Complex computer file formats can be converted in the same manner - “It is amazing to see a drawing come to life when doing a walkthrough for a newly planned plant or building in 3D format in your normal Adobe reader - available on each and every employee's PC at their desk. The drawing office becomes integrated into the rest of the business and information is available for all users, where the 3D models were previously available to the drawing office only,” says Du Plessis.
It is often required that these documents also be stamped prior to their delivery to customers or partners. Information can be added to any document, such as a validity period, the status of the document or reference information.
Since 2001, CIDEON Software has had a strong partnership with SAP, the worldwide leading solution provider for business solutions. This partnership combines a Tier1 partnership for four CAD integrations and several certifications for CIDEON Software solutions. To be as successful as possible within the market CIDEON Software works very closely with different international and worldwide partners. For the South African market, CIDEON Software's exclusive partner, NokusaEI, drives this market and offers the CIDEON solution family to its clients in South Africa, as well as other African countries.
NokusaEI is an international consulting company specialising in enterprise content management (ECM) strategies, solutions and implementations. It is a South African-based black empowered company consulting to many blue-chip companies throughout the world, with recent projects ranging from Canada, through Europe, Africa and the Middle East to Australasia.
For more information on this article and solutions offered by CIDEON, visit http://www.nokusaei.com or contact Leon Bouwer on +27 (0)11 791 1028.
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