“Release 6.5 is designed to help customers realize lower costs by providing a single, consistent end-to-end process for handling all paper and electronic invoices,” said Jim Nicol, Executive Vice President of Products at Kofax. “This new release reflects our commitment to best leverage assets from the 170 Systems acquisition to deliver a financial process automation platform that is simple to deploy and use while reducing a customer’s total cost of ownership.”

“As a champion of the E-Payables AXIS Report, Kofax solutions should be strongly considered by all A/P departments contemplating an A/P transformation/automation project,” said Andrew Bartolini, Vice President of Global Supply Management Research at Aberdeen.

Full Kofax Capture Integration

MarkView 6.5 features full integration of Kofax capture software. This includes the business rules, knowledgebases and learn-by-example technologies for invoice recognition, classification and extraction that results in improved data quality, reduced processing costs and fewer exceptions. For example, invoices without a corresponding purchase order can be automatically routed for approval without the need for manual, time consuming processes.

Integration of Kofax e-Transactions

With the integration of Kofax e-Transactions, users can also take advantage of a single platform for the processing of both paper and electronic invoices.

Simultaneous Support for Oracle and SAP and Expanded SAP Integration

Release 6.5 supports both Oracle and SAP simultaneously. The release has also passed certification for SAP ArchiveLink integrated with SAP NetWeaver 7.00.

Support for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8

The new release also adds support for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8. This allows users to run MarkView using the latest Microsoft operating system and browser platforms.

New Language Support

MarkView 6.5 expands its global market access by adding support for new languages. Along with French and German, the release now supports Italian, Spanish and Portuguese for both Oracle and SAP environments.

MarkView 6.5 is now available.

Now is the time to gain:

Knowledge. Develop your skills and increase your knowledge in today’s most important trends and technologies.

Education. Get firsthand, actionable insight from end-user case studies…and learn from their successes and failures.

Information. Find out how to maximize your investment in currently deployed systems, or implement the new technologies you’ve been talking about for months.

Solutions. Research and assess new products, technologies and solutions, and get great ideas on leveraging your current systems.

Community. Seize the opportunity to network and form invaluable connections with industry experts and peers.

KnowledgeLake Inc. (www.knowledgelake.com), a leader in developing document imaging and capture products for Microsoft SharePoint based Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions, has teamed up with ReadSoft North America (www.readsoft.com), a leading provider of global document process automation solutions. Following a global search for partners, KnowledgeLake recognized ReadSoft’s advanced capture expertise as a pivotal instrument for delivering automated invoice processing and advanced document classification for SharePoint ECM to new markets. Through a strategic alliance with ReadSoft, KnowledgeLake can deliver end-to-end solutions to compete in the higher end of the marketplace.

“We immediately recognized the value of ReadSoft’s experience in the advanced capture market relative to our own growth strategy,” said Ron Cameron, Chief Executive Officer of KnowledgeLake. “Their participation in our 2010 Sales Summit only reaffirmed our initial findings as our solutions work closely together to deliver best-of-class technologies.”

“I am very excited about the real business compatibility of this partnership that results in considerable expanded value to the customers of the combined solutions,” comments Bob Fresneda, President of ReadSoft North America.

The TWAIN Working Group (www.twain.org), a not-for-profit organization which provides the leading royalty-free image-capture API, today announced its release of the TWAIN Specification Version 2.1 and Data Source Manager Version 2.1.

TWAIN 2.1 includes new features such as automatic sizing, automatic color detection, setting the default data source, automatic selection of the document feeder versus the flatbed and enhancements to improve performance. The 2.1 release also provides some enhancements to the specification to improve its clarity and to remove ambiguity. The 2.1 Specification can be downloaded from the TWAIN web site at www.twain.org.

Additionally, TWAIN is pleased to announce the addition of Atalasoft to the TWAIN Board of Directors. Atalasoft, headquartered in Easthampton, MA, builds software that improves how people work with documents over the web through image viewing, annotating, and processing technology. Atalasoft provides an automated, free self-certification tool called InspectorTWAIN, which enables manufacturers to extensively test their TWAIN data sources and drivers against the latest version of the TWAIN specification.

“We are pleased to have Atalasoft as our newest member” said Pamela Doyle, Chair of the TWAIN Working Group and Director at Fujitsu Computer Products of America. “As hardware manufacturers use self-certification tools to test their drivers we believe we will see a significant increase in the quality of TWAIN drivers resulting in a more positive end user experience.”

“Over the years TWAIN has remained true to our goals of operating system independence, backward compatibility and to constantly evolve the standard to meet the changing needs of the industry” said Doyle. “The 2.1 release further validates that commitment. We encourage other vendors to join our ranks who are willing to help evolve the standard to benefit the industry as a whole.”

NOTE: Publishing this article is just a means of sparking discussion over OVP providers, features, use cases, etc. The research/information provided here comes from a variety of sources and will be updated as I perform more research. I will give links to where this information is sourced, as it is not my own unless stated as such, thanks! Please comment and let me know your experiences, frustrations, and successes!

Table and OVP descriptions cross-posted from: MasterNewMedia.org

Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms Comparison Table

Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms

1. Brightcove

   
   Brightcove is an on-demand video platform to distribute and monetize your online video inventory. The web-based Brightcove Studio lets you create branded videos with your logo and monetize your clips trough advertising campaigns. Brightcove players are fully customizable to match the layout of your web pages and also maintain optimal quality whatever device or internet connection video you choose. Videos can be re-distributed and embedded across any website, even using widgets. Videos streamed are encoded with H.264 and VP6 codecs and range from low-quality till HD. You can also program video broadcasting using playlist creation facilities. You keep total control over the ads you show with your videos by choosing ad units, insertion points, frequency, relevance. You can also integrate your ad servers and ad networks to serve ads with your videos. Custom reports are generated by Brightcove to help you track the performance of your clips. To get a price quote (on an annual contract basis) you have to contact Brightcove sales.

   http://www.brightcove.com/

2. Livestream

   Livestream is an online video platform that broadcasts live and on-demand videos. The premium account is priced at $350 and allows you to have a white-label channel to deliver videos with your own brand logo or watermark. Using a web-based interface, you can fully customize the size and look of your video player and also configure the redistribution of your videos; allow only specific audiences to view your clips or even disable sharing if you prefer. A list of ready-made templates for your channel is available and the integrated user chat allows broadcasters and their audience to communicate in real-time. Videos are encoded with Sorensen Spark (Flash 7) specifications and HD is supported. You can create a video playlist with the Autopilot feature to broadcast your videos 24/7 automatically. For optimal video encoding Livestream recommends around 700Kbps of upstream bandwidth. Livestream also provides an analytics tool that tracks and reports the performance of your videos. Advertising is supported and your ads are integrated inside channels using overlays that can be either served by you or by integrating ad servers and ad networks into your video production workflow.

   http://livestream.com/

3. Watershed

   Watershed is the white-label version of Ustream interactive broadcasting platform. Watershed allows you to publish and distribute ad-free, branded videos to your audience both on web pages or mobile phones. Live streaming broadcasting is also supported. The video player is fully customizable and your videos can be password-protected or limited in number of views from your web-based Administrator control panel. HD videos are supported. You can also interact live with your audience via text chat, real-time polls or co-hosted broadcast feeds. Watershed does not support self-served or third-party-served ads on your videos. Reports are generated to take care of the performance of your clips. No video programming. Two pricing options are available: monthly-based plans starting from $49 and a pay-as-you-go pricing model that charges for monthly or hourly views by a single user. No encoding info provided.

   http://watershed.ustream.tv/

4. Glomera

   Glomera is a web TV platform that helps you broadcast live and on-demand videos with your own logo. You can pull video from YouTube to broadcast inside your channel or create niche-targeted compilations to redistribute on third-party websites. With Glomera “Total embed” option, you can also embed the whole Glomera platform on any website and start offering a professional video platform at no cost. Video channels are fully customizable to match the look of any web page. The scheduling feature lets you organize your web TV programs in a daily, weekly, or season-long programming. HD videos are supported and videos are encoded using FLV specifications. Web TV channels you build with Glomera Premium account are ads-free and you cannot serve third-party ads. The reporting feature allows you track the performance of your clips. Glomera Premium account is priced at €199/month. You can also purchase additional interactivity options for your channels like: rating, comments, on-demand video list, guide-programming, and more.

   http://www.glomera.com/

5. Ooyala

   Ooyala has developed Backlot, a scalable video platform with content syndication controls and monetization features. Video quality is preserved to match your syndication relationships (web pages, video-sharing sites, mobile devices, or other). Backlot video player supports overlays with our logo / watermarks and is fully customizable. You can arrange your clips in playlists and program the broadcast with no operation needed from your side. Videos are encoded in H.264 format and HD video is supported. A video metrics report is generated to help you monitor the performances of your videos. Backlot manages also ad insertion points, frequency and the different ad units like pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll and interactive which are served with your clips. Third party ad servers and ad networks are also supported. Prices depend on the campaign; more info contacting Ooyala sales department.

   http://www.ooyala.com/

6. Vmix

   Vmix provides web-based video and image publishing solutions to distribute and monetize your content. You can brand your clips, serve ads with your videos and also track the performance of your channels. Videos are encoded in H.264 / FLV and distributed at optimal resolution to websites, mobile phones and portable devices using customizable players, widgets and applications. Vmix has support for HD videos too. A list of ready-made templates is available. Your audience can also interact with your videos using ratings, sharing, or video / text commenting tools. Scheduled playlists are automatically created to operate your video channel without human input. You can customize ad-serving procedures on your videos using different ad units (pre-roll, post-roll, overlays and also animated ad units), insertion points and frequency. You can bring your own ad server / ad network to serve ads inside your video clips. Pricing is subjected to distribution campaign you choose; more info on Vmix corporate website.

   http://vmix.com

7. PermissionTV

   PermissionTV offers a web-based solution to manage and monetize your online video inventory. You can choose between different player solutions that are freely customizable and redistributable on any web page. Viewers can interact with your video content by clicking on graphics, surveys or advertisement overlays and pop-ups. You can also create video playlists and deploy niche-targeted channels to your audience. Ad networks integrate with your videos to serve contextual ads using pre-roll, post-roll and mid-roll ad units. No info is provided about the encoding codec used for your videos, but HD is supported. No programming feature available. Pricing details available upon request to PermissionTV sales department.

   http://www.permissiontv.com/

8. Twistage

   Hosted video platform Twistage allows you to create customizable video players with your own logo to embed on any website. Twistage integrates with your existing content management system (e.g. a blogging platform) or content delivery network. Videos are delivered to match the internet connection requirements of viewers; the video platform promises “uninterrupted delivery regardless of your site’s traffic demands“. Videos are encoded using H.264 specifications and HD is supported. Video player is fully customizable to match the look of any web page. You can create a video playlist to broadcast your videos in sequence. Ads on your videos are served using different ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll, overlay and in-page banner advertising. You can also bring your ad server or ad network to provide your ads. Analytics reporting allows you to track the earnings and spread of your videos on the web, but also which portions of your videos are the most viewed. No programming features. A free trial is available. Contact Twistage sales department for pricing options.

   http://www.twistage.com/

9. Castfire

   Castfire allows white-label video publishing so you can distribute and monetize your own videos using your logo / watermark. You can take control of the video production workflow and customize your player, ad serving procedures, viral redistribution, and much more through a web-based interface. A single video upload automatically generates multiple video formats to match your distribution needs and maintain good quality either on mobile phones, iPods, media box sets, HD-compatible TVs and more. Videos are encoded complying with H.264 specifications. Castfire has partnered with the automated video distribution service TubeMogul and allows you to distribute your clips on multiple video-sharing sites and also track precisely the performance of your video. You can also schedule and broadcast your videos without any user input. Ads can be served by third-party ad networks or ad servers using pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll units. Prices depend on the distribution campaign you choose; contact a Castfire representative for more details.

   http://www.castfire.com/

10. Delve Networks

    Delve Networks provides a online video solution to manage, publish, measure, and monetize your video content. With a web-based management tool you can create an embeddable player that matches the look of your website and is freely redistributable over any web page. The player also auto-adjusts the video quality for best results with every internet connection. The codec used to encode videos is H.264 and HD is supported. You can offer your users the ability to search inside your videos for topics of interests; a heatmap shows the portion of video that corresponds to a specific topic. Delve Networks also provides analytics features to track the performance of your clips, but you can also use Google Analytics to monitor your video content. No video programming though you can broadcast video playlists. Advertising capabilities include the integration with ad servers and ad networks. Ad units options you can choose to serve your videos are pre-roll, post-roll and “random“. You can also set the frequency your ads are served and specify the ad insertion points. A 30-days trial is available yo test the service. For pricing options, you have to contact the sales department at Delve Networks.

    http://www.delvenetworks.com/

11. VideoBloom

    The Premium plan of VideoBloom ($299) allows you to deliver and monetize online videos with your brand logo using a dedicated player. The player is fully customizable and you can also redistribute and embed your videos on any website or social media page. Videos are encoded using MPEG4 specifications, also in HD format. VideoBloom claims that your videos are deployed to match the different internet connection speeds of your viewers while maintaining optimal video quality. Video playlists are available to broadcast niche-targeted compilations. No video programming. You can use different ad units to monetize your videos: pre-roll-post-roll, overlays, skin ads (for your video player) and companion ads. The analytics tool measures the popularity of your video on the web as well as your earnings through a web-based dashboard.

    http://www.videobloom.com/

12. MonetizeMedia

    A live streaming and on-demand video publishing platform, Monetize Media allows you to distribute and monetize your video assets. Through a web-based interface you can arrange your video, organize playlists and insert advertising inside your clips. You cannot schedule playlist broadcasting for the time being, but you can pull videos from most popular video sharing sites to add to your custom channels. HD videos are supported. You have a list of ready-made video players at your disposal that you can also customize and scale to match perfectly any web page or mobile device. All video players offer chat, ratings, comments, social network sharing, social media tags, and RSS functionalities. Video players also detect the connection of your viewers to auto-adjust video resolution. You can set your videos for public or private access. Monetize Media supports online ad units such as banner, in-stream, overlay and pre-roll ads. Ad network integration is allowed to serve third-party ads. You can deploy your video on a pay-per-view basis and receive payments using your PayPal account. Performance reports are available to track the popularity and monetization goals of your videos. No encoding info is provided. Gold plan is priced at $1199/month plus a one-time setup charge of $500. A free trial is available to test the service.

    http://www.monetizemedia.com/

13. BitGravity

    BitGravity is a content delivery network that provides delivery of on-demand video and live streaming broadcasts. The service takes care of distributing your videos but is not aimed to monetize your video assets with advertising campaigns. Codec used for videos is H.264 and HD is supported. There is no custom video player provided, but customers are free to modify the API of the Flash player to match their production needs. No video programming or analytics features. For further info you have to contact a BitGravity representative.

    http://www.bitgravity.com/

14. GizmoUTube.TV

    GizmoUTube.TV is a white-label video platform that allows you to broadcast either on-demand and live streaming shows. GizmoUTube.TV provides a customizable video player which supports HD, interactive video search and redistribution on third-party websites. Videos are encoded in Flash H.264 and VP6 formats. Ad integration is not supported for the time being. For $1999/year you get a .TV domain name and 1GB of storage space per month. Expenses for bandwidth traffic are managed by Bits On The Run and payed separately. No programming available. More info on corporate website.

    http://www.gizmovideo.com/gizmoutube.tv/

15. The FeedRoom

    The FeedRoom is an online video platform that helps you create and distribute niche-targeted video channels out of your online video inventory. Different customizable video players are available to help you find the correct matching with the look of your website. Players are also scalable, redistributable and allow user interaction with rating and commenting features. HD videos are supported. Reporting functions tell you who is tuning in, what and how much they are watching, and an understanding of which sources are driving traffic to your site. With The FeedRoom you can also monetize your video assets by offering online subscription, pay-per-view programming or by integrating advertising features. The platform has support for all popular ad formats, including in-stream pre-rolls, post-rolls and banners, as well as contextual targeting ads. You can also rely on ad networks partnered with The FeedRoom to serve third-party ads on your videos. No programming feature and no encoding info is available. You need to contact the company for available pricing solutions.

    http://www.feedroom.com/

16. BestTV

    BestTV provides fully customizable Internet TV channels to distribute and monetize your video content. You can either broadcast white-label live streaming shows and on-demand videos on PCs, set-top boxes or mobile phones. You have also the option to create targeted playlists but not schedule a playlist to be broadcast without user input. HD videos are supported. You can monetize your video assets using both subscriptions and advertising options. Regarding advertising, you can employ pre-roll, post-roll and banner ads while setting ads frequency and capping to achieve optimal results. Ad networks can be integrated to serve third-party ads with your video content. Detailed reports are available to track your advertising campaigns and video performances. No encoding info is provided. To get a quote for BestTV solutions contact a company representative.

    http://www.best-tv.com/

17. Kaltura

    Kaltura is an open source online video platform that allows you to manage, distribute and monetize your online video inventory using open standards. You can also import third-party video content from other websites or video-sharing sites, add your videos and create custom playlists to engage your audience. You can schedule your playlist for broadcasting without input and also take advantage of advanced features like: remix and annotate your videos, add text slides, translations, and much more. When you have your content ready, your video is encoded using FLV and H.264 codec (HD supported) and then published using a customizable widget player that matches the look of your website. Powered by Gyga, your widget player is freely redistributable on any website or social media sites. Kaltura also has pre-integrated solutions for WordPress, Drupal and MediaWiki sites (free up to 10 GB of streaming & hosting). You can allow viewers to download your video player for offline viewing or broadcast private shows. Kaltura has partnered with ad networks to help you show ads with your video content that comply with IAB standards. Detailed statistics and analytics of your online video offering are also generated for your video campaigns. Contact Kaltura sales department for price quotes or to get a free trial. The company offers also a self-hosted version of the platform that publishers can download for free and host behind their own firewall.

    http://corp.kaltura.com/

18. KIT digital

    KIT digital provides solutions manage, publish and monetize your online video assets. Videos can be offered on-demand on websites or mobile devices and you can put your own logo to represent your company. Video players offered by KIT digital can be fully customized, redistributed and shared on any web page. No info on HD support or video encoding. To capitalize on your video inventory you can serve ads with your content, even integrating your ad networks. Ad units accepted are: pre-roll, post roll, companion banners and flash overlay ads. Alternative revenue channels supported are: subscriptions, DTO (download to own), VOD (video on demand), and PPV (pay per view), pay per click and pay-as-you-view (per second / per frame). Detailed reports are generated to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Contact KIT digital for pricing info.

    http://www.kitd.com/

19. SOFTing K.iTV

    K.iTV from SOFTing is designed to assist content providers with all key functions associated with managing online video: content uploading, cataloging, tracking and maintenance, advertising, analysis, billing and paying. You can either offer on-demand or live content. Once uploading your content you can take advantage of fully customizable video players that also allow you to create scheduled playlists to broadcast without any input from the user. A list of ready-made templates is available if you do not have specific customization needs. Advertising is supported with most common ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, in-stream, image & flash banners. Third-party ad network integration is not supported. Other monetization strategies include billing and subscriptions. Contact SOFTing support for pricing details.

    http://eng.eu-softing.com/

20. Sorenson Video Delivery Network

    Sorenson Video Delivery Network is a white-label video publishing platform that helps you manage and monetize your video assets. Video you upload are encoded using either Spark, VP& or H.264 codec and HD is supported. You can then syndicate your video to any website pasting a piece of HTML code or directly to iPhone models. A custom WordPress plugin is also available. You have multiple players to choose from that you can scale to match your publishing needs. Video players available have all a permalink but do not support playlist creation nor scheduling. Analytics features give you a real-time snapshot of audience engagement. Advertising is not supported for the time being. Pricing starts from $99/month for 1,000 streams and up to 20 minute videos. Free trial available.

    http://www.sorensonmedia.com/video-delivery-network/

21. VideoPublishing

    VideoPublishing is a white-label platform that lets you manage and deliver your video content. You can customize a broad range of video players to the colors and style of your firm and website. Videos are encoded using H.264 specifications and are scaled to match their destination (up to HD quality). All videos you manage and deliver can be converted in different formats and monitored to evaluate their performances. Tough VideoPublishing does not offer any ad integration or control, you can freely integrate your third-party ad networks if you want to run ads against your videos. Pricing starts from $49/month and 200 hours of streaming per month. Free trial available.

    http://videopublishing.com/

22. Quick.tv

    Quick.tv is a white-label video platform that allows you to manage and monetize your video inventory. The player you get is scalable, fully customizable and allows you to display your company logo, interactive images or promotional banners your viewers can click. Each player is also redistributable using the embed code or via e-mail if you set this option. You can also create niche-targeted playlists to display in a single player window, but not schedule the release of each video. HD is supported. Quick.tv runs ads on your videos using DoubleClick, but you can also bring your own ad network to serve advertisement in the most common formats like pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll. Pricing plans start from $120/month for 750 playout minutes in standard video quality and each video must be up to 5 mins. No info provided on encoding procedures.

    http://www.quick.tv/

23. Vzaar

    Vzaar is a video publishing platform that allows you to embed unbranded video players on your site. You can choose among different sizes for your player and either stream your clips in standard quality (FLV, H.263) or HD (MP4, H.264). Other player options include: set borders, set color, display in-stream text and hyperlinks. Vzaar also integrates with eBay so you can post your videos to the popular auction site directly right away. Worth mentioning is the “replace” function whereby you can substitute an embedded video with a new one from your inventory without pasting again the embed code. Different pricing plans are available, but to have an unbranded player you need to start from the Bronze plan. The Bronze plan costs $10/month for 5GB of online storage, advanced player settings and improved ranking inside Google search results. No programming or custom ads control.

    http://www.vzaar.com

24. Magnify.net

    Magnify.net is a white-label video publishing platform that allows you to integrate user-generated video, video that you produce, or video that you discover into your own web site. Video players offered by Magnify.net are fully customizable and scalable to your needs. Video players are also redistributable and can be shared on any web page or social media site. Videos are encoded using FLV / VP6 codec. To capitalize on your video inventory, you can serve ads with your content, even by integrating your ad networks (this option is currently reserved to enterprise customers only). The analytics feature allows you to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Pro packages of Magnify.net start from $249/month and allow you to have a customizable branding channel, custom watermarks, a custom graphic package, up to 250 videos you can upload and a 50 / 50 revenue split on ad banners.

    http://www.magnify.net/

Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on July 6th, 2009 as “Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms: Guide To The Best Services“.

By Andrew McAfee

I ended my talk at last month’s Enterprise 2.0 conference in San Francisco (viewable here; free registration required) by trying to be cute: I gave advice about how to fail with E2.0. My goal, of course, was to talk about good practices by highlighting bad ones. I gave six bad ideas:

* Declare war on the enterprise
* Allow walled gardens to flourish
* Accentuate the negative
* Try to replace email
* Fall in love with features
* Overuse the word ’social’

On the last point, I said this about ’social’ as a descriptor for the technologies of Enterprise 2.0:

“It’s technically accurate… [but] I have rarely come across a word that has more negative connotations to busy, pragmatic line managers inside organizations. The best thing it is is neutral… the worst thing it is is a sign that we’re going to use these tools to waste time, to goof off, to plan happy hour, to do all these social activities. The impression I get from people who make decisions… is ‘I’m not running a social club. I’m trying to run a business here.’ ” (I accompanied this monologue with a picture intended to convey what flashes through an executive’s mind when he hears the word ’social.’)

I was responding to a newish thread in the Webwide conversation about enterprise use of emergent social software platforms (ESSPs). I came across it in a post by Stowe Boyd:

In particular, Web 2.0 as a phenomenon is strongly tied to social tools — social networking, social media, and so on — in which the individual is primary, and asymmetric networks of relationships with other individuals form the principal mechanism for connection and information flow…

We need to switch our attention to the shifting nature of work itself, and how business needs to be reconsidered in a rapidly changing world (which includes a revolutionary social Web, notably)…

So, I have come to believe that this is the place where companies need to focus their attention: socializing the business, not adoption of Web 2.0.

And in the mission statement of the newly-formed Dachis Group:

Social Business Design is the intentional creation of dynamic and socially calibrated systems, process, and culture. The goal: improving value exchange among constituents.

Blogger and do-er Euan Semple posted that he’s in favor of ’social business’ as both a movement and a term, and describes my “Enterprise 2.0? as “too narrow, too corporate and too managerial”

Which would sting if it weren’t accurate. My definition is narrow, corporate, and managerial, and I’m glad to have it labeled as such. I think it’s both prudent and responsible to be circumspect about one’s claims, and I think it’s neither to assert that the old rules of society, culture, or business no longer apply because of the appearance of a network, some software that sits of top of it, and a large number of (primarily younger) people who like using it. As I wrote a little while back, Enterprise 2.0 is not THAT big a deal.

But whether or not it’s a big deal, it’s not going to be ANY deal until ESSPs and their attendant practices make their way inside organizations. And the point I was trying to make in my talk, and the one I still believe, is that keying the message / sales pitch / marketing / education effort around the word ’social’ is a bad idea.

I didn’t know it at the time, but Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff evidently agrees with this. According to an article in The Industry Standard:

Salesforce was careful to position [its new offering] Chatter as a collaboration tool, not a “social this or social that” because there’s such a glut of social networking tools, [Benioff] said, and customers are more willing to pay for collaboration software.

“We really want to talk about collaboration, because that really is a budget item for our customers,” Benioff said…

Another Salesforce co-founder, Executive Vice President of Technology Parker Harris, also stayed on message with the collaboration concept in a talk with ZDNet editors (see video below). “I think about our platform as a collaboration platform,” Harris said. “You’re building applications to collaborate around data in the enterprise on a trusted system.”

The article points out that Chatter at present looks very much like Facebook-ish social software, but Benioff and his colleagues were taking pains to describe it and its value using narrow, corporate, managerial words. Does anyone want to make the case that these guys don’t know how to convince organizations to adopt new tools?

What do you think? Is social a helpful or harmful word when talking to enterprises and their managers about the new digital tools and the business practices that make use of them? Leave a comment, please, and let us know.

Atlanta, GA and Tarrytown, NY, November 3, 2009 Datacap and FileVision LLC announced today that they have formed a strategic partnership to market their respective flagship complementary software solutions. The combination of FileVision’s Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and integrated Business Process Automation/Management (BPA/M) solutions and Datacap’s advanced document capture solutions creates a powerful framework for automating document-driven business processes for any size organization.

Datacap’s Taskmaster capture platform not only provides for the scanning and indexing of document images directly into the FileVision content management software, but it will also automatically capture data from documents to eliminate manual data entry. FileVision’s unique knowledge management tools store the data and build relationships to the documents and data. All information captured with Datacap Taskmaster can then be subject to FileVision’s Business Process Automation engine, providing the organization with comprehensive, business rules-based automation from start to finish.

November 2, 2009, Ashburn, VA — Brainware, Inc., a provider of intelligent data capture and enterprise search solutions, today announced the release of its latest version of Brainware Distiller™ for automated data extraction and document processing. Brainware Distiller V5 was developed specifically to meet the needs of Global 2000 organizations. New capabilities include:

* Browser-Based Verification – Brainware Distiller users can now review and verify documents anytime and anywhere using a standard web browser. This application further reduces the already low IT investments required to deploy and support the solution.

* CJKT Recognition and Extraction – Brainware Distiller now supports double-byte character recognition and extraction, enabling users to process documents in languages that include Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai.

* 48-Hour Implementation – Brainware’s proprietary intelligent technologies eliminate the extensive setup times required to train and configure traditional keyword and template-based solutions. This enables Brainware to deliver fully operational solutions in as little as 48-hours, versus the months and years required to achieve the same results from other solutions.

“In today’s financial climate, companies tell us they’re more risk averse and that new business and IT initiatives must show a rapid return and low cost of ownership to justify consideration,” explained Charles Kaplan, Vice President of Marketing and Product Management at Brainware. “To meet these demands, we have continued to develop our core technologies and the Distiller platform to achieve setup and deployment times that no other vendor in the industry can match.”

IRVINE, Calif., (Oct. 27, 2009) – Toshiba America Business Solutions (TABS) today announced the launch of three new software solutions – deskSystem, deskRecord and deskForm – designed to improve document management, capture, work flow, and output for multifunction printer (MFP) users. These solutions represent tier one offerings in a new, multi-tiered Toshiba software strategy announced to dealers over the summer during Regional Summits in Las Vegas and New Jersey. The “desk” software developed by Prism Software Corporation, targets small- to mid-sized businesses requiring affordable entry-level solutions. These solutions are also easy for dealers to install, connect, and complement the award-winning Toshiba MFP line-up. Software add-on options within tier one will range between $495 and $3,995.

“Part of the reason we designed a tiered strategy was to help our SMB customers who had a need for software add-ons, but often felt that the options available in the marketplace were too advanced and thus too costly for their particular needs. This made it difficult for them to fully maximize productivity and efficiency within their offices. By offering simplified, affordable solutions, we can meet their needs, increase their productivity and improve their bottom line,” said Joseph Contreras, director, Product and Solutions Marketing, TABS. “At the same time, we’re providing an opportunity for Toshiba dealers to complement MFP sales and build professional services practices by offering solutions that are easy to deploy.”

CLEVELAND, Oct. 20 -PRNewswire-

The nationwide launch of the Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) program is looming. Healthcare providers of all sizes and types are busy preparing for it as not being ready will yield some pretty severe consequences. Think overpayment findings resulting in money owed to Medicare. Think adding staff to commodate audit requests. And think burying already overloaded employees with mountains of new work. Designed based on the experiences of providers who were part of the RAC pilot program, the OnBase RAC Administration Solution can help (http://onbase.com/English/IndustrySolutions/Healthcare/RACAudit). But it can do more than just support the RAC process. It can also give the American Hospital Association (AHA) valuable data to help providers effectively take on RACs. For this reason, the AHA has named the OnBase RAC Administration Solution “RACTrac Compatible.”

Lacking information about how RACs will impact hospitals, the AHA responded by creating RACTrac. Using RACTrac Compatible solutions, the program will collect RAC data quarterly. This will allow the AHA to evaluate why claims are being denied across regions and nationally. With this information, providers will be educated on what areas they should look at more closely and where specifically they need to improve. Also, the data will serve as evidence to propose RAC program changes to Congress. Because the solutions have been proven to provide the appropriate claim level tracking abilities, as well as promote advocacy aimed at improving how hospitals manage RACs, the AHA recommends choosing RACTrac Compatible solutions.

“The clinical side, with patient care and the electronic medical record (EMR), is being paid an awful lot of attention,” said Susan deCathelineau, healthcare solutions manager for Hyland Software. “But the reality is that healthcare providers are also dealing with more revenue cycle and administrative matters than ever. The RAC program is one of the major reasons for this brighter spotlight. It’s also making it very clear why always knowing where the money is, where it’s coming from and where it’s going is so valuable.”

The OnBase RAC Administration Solution was developed with the same OnBase technology that is used successfully by more than 800 healthcare organizations. In fact, the AHA endorses OnBase as the recommended content management software suite for all functions of a healthcare organization. This includes areas such as EMR integration, administrative, revenue cycle management and human resources.

“Effectively and efficiently managing processes, documents and content is what it takes to successfully handle RAC requests,” said deCathelineau. “These are exactly the types of things content management solutions like OnBase are designed, and proven, to do. Choosing technology that doesn’t have any sort of track record is a risk, especially when the consequences of non compliance are so dire.”

To learn more about Hyland’s healthcare solutions, visit www.onbase.com/Healthcare.