May 1999

first LOOKS

Simple operation and low cost are the two most compelling features of DocuShare 2.0, an upgraded Web-based ýknowledge sharing systemý from Xerox (Palo Alto, CA). Introduced in 1997, DocuShare was originally targeted at schools, government agencies, researchers and others with basic needs, slim budgets and limited IT support staff. With Version 2.0, Xerox is courting big business, adding three-tier architecture, standards-based interfaces and a highly scalable Enterprise edition with links to Oracle databases.

DocuShare 2.0 is server software that runs under the leading Windows and Unix Web servers. All you need is a browser to access the system. You can also use a downloadable Windows client that lets you work with a Web repository as though it were a mapped drive. You can drag and drop files and directory trees to and from a Web site, and you can upload new versions of documents through any ODMA 1.5-compliant application. The Windows client also lets you to search across multiple servers.

Users can publish, view and update information without HTML coding. Everything is stored in its original format, but most popular word processing, image, spread sheet and presentation files are automatically converted to HTML on the fly for viewing.

To edit and revise, you launch files in their original applications from within DocuShare and then save the update back to DocuShare as a new version. This is easy and direct if you have the Windows client, but itýs a little more cumbersome without it. DocuShare manages and tracks multiple versions of documents and keeps track of histories. You can go back to previous versions and lock out documents.

DocuShare has a simple, some would say unrefined, user interface, and the system does not offer workflow or other integrated modules. There is a link to Pagis Pro 2.0 and Visioneer PaperPort -- capture software commonly used with Xerox Document Centers. DocuShare repositories are compliant with WebDAV, the Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning standard. As this standard is adopted, it will be easier to develop custom client interfaces.

There are better-integrated and much more sophisticated Web-based DM/KM systems, but none of them are even close to the same price range. DocuShare 2.0 Basics is $1,345 for a 25-user system. Scaling up, DocuShare 2.0 Office starts with a 500-user license for $14,995 (additional seat licenses are available for both Basics and Office). The Enterprise version gives you ýunlimitedý scalability at $44,995.

The largest DocuShare installation to date is at Xerox itself, where more than 50,000 users share information using scores of servers set up internationally (the system has multi-lingual support). The largest single server hosts all of Xeroxýs technical publications, and it is accessed by some 21,000 users. Other installations include smaller systems in 47 school districts and in places like NASAýs Jet Propulsion Lab and the California Employment Development Dept.

One of the advantages of DocuShare is that it lets you take a community-maintained approach to systems administration. Authors directly control security for their documents, and they create and revise permission groups. You can restrict read, write and revise access down to the folder and document level.

This approach requires minimal IT support, but it is also prone to ýoffice refrigerator syndrome.ý Collections and system views could quickly become disorganized and packed with forgotten documents. You can set expiration dates or view with a ýWhatýs Newý button that lets you view with a user-controllable ýfreshness date.ý You can also use the built-in Verity engine to search content and metadata.

You can just as easily take centralized control. Xeroxýs technical publications DocuShare repository, for example, is accessible to more than 21,000 users, but there are only 100 authors with permission to revise and add documents.

Despite its limitations and less-than-sexy user interface, DocuShare is easy to set up and extremely easy on the IT budget. For those with basic needs, lots of seats and multiple locations, it just may add up to a bargain. --Doug Henschen

At a Glance

Product: DocuShare 2.0

Supplier: Xerox, Palo Alto, CA, 650-813-7279 www.xerox.com/products/docushare/

Description: Web-based, highly scalable ýknowledge sharing systemý that lets you publish, manage and use information without HTML coding. Files are stored in their native format and converted to HTML on the fly.

Price: DocuShare 2.0 Basics = $1,345 for 25 users. DocuShare 2.0 Office = $14,995 with 500 licenses. DocuShare 2.0 Enterprise $44,995 unlimited seats.

Strengths: Low-cost, ease of installation, minimal need for IT support, scalability, support for ODMA, WebDav.

Weaknesses: Simplistic interface, lack of integrated or modular functionality.

ProductInfo 201 at www.imagingmagazine.com

Arvee Deserves A Second Look

Our March First Look at millennium::OMS from Arvee Systems (Bohemia, NY 516-567-9409) criticized the productýs template flexibility and its use of a proprietary file wrapper. After a deeper technical review with Arvee, we feel we misjudged those features. To set the record straight, we took a second look at the latest version of Arveeýs software, version ýF,ý released in March.

millennium::OMS is a 32-bit Windows imaging application priced at $4,250 for a five-user workgroup version ($295 for a personal desktop version). The software provides image capture, indexing, viewing, storage, annotation, and search and retrieval. Available add-ins include OCR software, fax capture software, COLD-ERM and storage management software. The latest version lets you perform server- or client-based OCR and image processing. The system does not offer workflow or Web browser/server access.

millennium::OMS supports more than 50 image file formats including TIFF, JPEG and BMP. It also accepts electronic documents created in OLE-compliant applications. It can handle multimedia objects, such as voice and video clips, embedded in compound documents or on their own.

Templates let you choose from among a wide range of scanning, viewing and storage settings for specific types and classes of documents. Input folders let you combine templates in a sequence for multi-page documents. For example, one input folder could let you scan the first page as a bitmap, the second page as a JPEG and the third page as a TIFF. Reusable label sets can be created and attached at any level in the softwareýs filing-cabinet-metaphor storage scheme. Security can be set at cabinet, drawer, folder or document levels for individuals and/or groups.

Files can be dragged and dropped to an optical jukebox. millennium::OMS is integrated with Pegasus OFS jukebox management software, but Arvee has provided a new interface.

A nice feature of this product is its integration with Microsoft Outlook/Exchange using ActiveX controls. A connection agent provides bi-directional communication between millennium::OMS and Outlook/Exchange. Changes a user makes in millennium::OMS are updated to the Outlook journal.

Users can send an unsecured copy of a document, which can be viewed by anyone. You can also send the file along with a viewer and connection agent. This lets you view secure documents and multiple renditions.

This is an attractively priced imaging system for small- and mid-sized companies. Among its strong suits are its ability to handle compound documents and compatibility with Outlook/Exchange.

--Penny Lunt