Microsoft Underscores Commitment To Supporting Document Management

Microsoft PressPass – Microsoft Underscores Commitment To Supporting Document Management, Imaging, Work Flow With Expanded Presence at AIIM Trade Show

CHICAGO, April 1, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the continued and growing commitment of numerous solution developers to providing imaging, document-management and work-flow applications for the Microsoft® Windows NT®
Server network operating system, the Microsoft SQL Server
™
database and the Microsoft Exchange Server messaging system.

Increasingly, corporate IS users are choosing Windows NT Server and Microsoft SQL Server as the platform to run mission-critical applications. As a result, more and more solution developers are offering technologies for Microsoft’s high-end server environment.

“We are pleased to see the support from leading vendors in this industry,”
said Rich Noffsinger, industry sales and marketing manager for document management, imaging and work flow at Microsoft.
“The solution developers we are working with are demonstrating their commitment and enthusiasm for Windows NT Server, Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server by making Microsoft the platform of choice for their applications. There is no question that the tremendous momentum toward Microsoft solutions makes the customers the big winners.”

The imaging, document-management and work-flow solution vendors supporting a Microsoft platform include Action Technologies Inc., Cardiff Software Inc., Documentum Inc., FileNet Corp., Keyfile Corp., Micro Dynamics Ltd., Optika, PC DOCS Inc., Saros Corp., ViewStar Corp., Wang Laboratories Inc. and Watermark Software Inc.

Most of these solution developers will feature their applications in the Microsoft booth (No. 1839) at the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) trade show, to be held April 1-3 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

Vendors Demonstrate Commitment to Microsoft Platforms

FileNet Corp. is committed to a Microsoft platform on several fronts. Not only has it ported its own WorkFlo and Visual WorkFlo products to Windows NT, but it recently acquired three companies – Saros, Watermark Software and Greenbar – whose customers primarily use Microsoft platforms. Thus, FileNet has a complete line of Windows NT-based imaging, work-flow, document-management and computer-output-to-laser-disk (COLD) computer report-management applications.

“Windows NT Server has become an important platform for us to satisfy our customers worldwide,”
said Jordan Libit, vice president of marketing at FileNet, based in Costa Mesa, Calif.
“It has proven itself a cost-effective platform to deliver critical applications throughout an enterprise.”

This demand for support of Microsoft platforms has come not only from FileNet’s customers, but also from the company’s resellers. Currently, FileNet has more than 400 resellers selling its products for Windows NT Server.

Keyfile Corp., based in Nashua, N.H., has witnessed a similar surge in demand for support of Microsoft’s high-end platform. In early 1995, Keyfile began to provide its work-flow products for Windows NT. Today, 90 percent of the company’s customers order its Keyfile
™
document-management and work-flow product for the Windows NT platform.

“Virtually all of our new customer shipments today are Windows NT-based,”
said Roger Sullivan, vice president of marketing at Keyfile.

In this industry, you either run on
Windows NT or you go out of business. There is no middle ground.”

Price, Performance Drive Move to Microsoft Platform

Why has Windows NT gained such rapid and widespread acceptance from performance users in the corporate environment?

According to Sullivan, Keyfile’s customers, which include large engineering firms and financial concerns with millions of dollars at stake, rely on Keyfile and Windows NT to manage their businesses. They want to ensure that the flow of work within their companies proceeds smoothly between offices and departments, thereby increasing customer satisfaction and worker accountability.

In addition, end users running mission-critical applications such as Keyfile want a high-end platform that is stable and easy to implement.

“With Windows NT, implementation is one clean process,”
said Sullivan.
“It’s up and running right away, eliminating a lot of aggravation for our business partners, VARs and customers. Besides, corporate America and the world are adopting Windows NT at a phenomenal rate.”

In fact, the combination of Windows NT with Keyfile has been so compelling that the company now is tightly integrating its work-flow product into Microsoft Exchange Server through a new product called Keyflow
™
.

Documentum, an enterprise document-management vendor in Pleasanton, Calif., recently began implementing its Documentum Server solution for Windows NT in response to the demands of its customers.

“The feedback from our customers was that Windows NT is a platform that they want to see Documentum support on both clients and servers,”
said Dick Hoffmann, director of partner development at Documentum.
“Our product needs an environment that is highly scalable and powerful so it can operate in very large companies. The Windows NT platform worked perfectly for us.”

Who were these Documentum customers clamoring for a port for Windows NT? They were some of world’s largest pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies. They wanted a cost-effective, high-performance platform to drive the demanding, robust Documentum software that enables them to create and manage complex, compound documents.

Similarly, customers of Micro Dynamics Ltd. (MDL) are moving to Windows NT.
“By offering support for the powerful Windows NT Server, MDL continues to respond to the evolving needs of its customers for increased productivity, competitiveness and profit,”
said Bill Newell, president and CEO of MDL, based in Silver Spring, Md.

Microsoft, Wang Bring Work Flow to the Internet

Wang Laboratories Inc. – Microsoft’s preferred imaging and work-flow vendor – developed its Open/image and Open/workflow products for Windows NT and Microsoft
SQL Server after witnessing the widespread acceptance of the platform.
“We saw Windows NT take off,”
said Ellen Rome, director of the Wang/Microsoft Alliance at Wang, based in Billerica, Mass.
“Because of its power, cost-effectiveness and great security features, we knew it would become a very popular operating system. Time has proven us right.”

Wang is now incorporating features into its work-flow products to enable work flow over the Internet using the Windows NT platform, a capability to be demonstrated at a joint keynote address by Microsoft and Wang at the AIIM show on Monday, April 1, at 8:30 a.m.

In addition, Wang and Microsoft are working closely to define and take advantage of the messaging API (MAPI) Workflow Framework specification, which joins production work-flow systems with messaging-based systems, such as Microsoft Exchange. Wang also is developing the imaging capabilities scheduled to be embedded in the next release of Windows NT, which will further enhance the platform. Moreover, the company is working with Microsoft to develop storage-management capabilities for Windows NT.

“It really is very simple,”
Rome said.
“Customers are demanding comprehensive work-management solutions that run on the Windows NT platform, and we want to deliver solutions that meet our customers’ needs.”

Developers Answer Demand for Windows NT

Optika, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., has found that its customers want not only scalability and superior price/performance, but also exceptional network management.

“The combination of Windows® -based clients and Windows NT-based servers provides a consistent environment,”
said A.J. Wand, market analysis manager at Optika.
“This homogeneity makes the whole network easier to manage.”

Optika has designed and optimized its FilePower product line to support Windows NT and the Microsoft BackOffice
™
family. FilePower is a robust product suite that includes imaging, document management, COLD computer report management and work-flow processing.

John Tarabini of ViewStar Corp. agrees that Windows NT simplifies network management while providing a scalable, powerful computing environment. Two years ago, Alameda, Calif.-based ViewStar became one of the first work-flow vendors to commit to Windows NT. Since then, the company has run all its software on Windows NT.

“Those bets have paid off handsomely for us,”
Tarabini said.
“Among our customers, it’s not even a question anymore. Virtually all of our new customers are installing Windows NT.”

Another solution provider, Burlington, Mass.-based PC DOCS, also suited its DOCS Open document-management product for Windows NT after hearing from customers.

“There were a number of factors involved,”
said Beth Parker, marketing communications manager for PC DOCS.
“Ease of deployment and maintenance of Windows NT, and the combination of Windows NT and Microsoft SQL Server, especially. But more than anything, it was customer demand. We just see the industry moving toward Windows NT.”

At the AIIM show, PC DOCS will introduce additional features for DOCS Open for Windows NT and will announce compatibility with Microsoft Exchange.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft, Windows NT, Windows and BackOffice are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Keyfile and Keyflow are trademarks of Keyfile Corp.

For Online Product Information:

Document Management Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/docman/

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