Strong Workflow, User-Friendly Licensing Key To ECM Product Choice

Doug Smith, president of Computer Troubleshooters NRD, says there is more to being a managed services provider (MSP) than just knowing how to monitor and manage your customers’ networks. Part of the secret to his success comes through the support of his franchise partner, Computer Troubleshooter Inc., which is the largest international network of franchise owners providing onsite computer services to small businesses. But the backbone of his business is the array of products he has identified as valuable to his customers, as well as dependable and manageable for him as an IT support provider. Among those products is the document management tool he uses, powered by Cabinet NG (CNG). “I looked at a lot of enterprise content management (ECM) vendors, but I really felt CNG software had an added element — the workflow support it provides,” says Smith. Because he works heavily with SMBs in the medical and legal arenas, Smith needed a document management solution that did more than just eliminate paperwork. “The requirements for document management in those verticals are enormous, not just from a legal standpoint [medical and legal offices are strictly regulated under compliance laws such as Sarbanes-Oxley and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)], but from a workflow standpoint as well,” explains Smith. “And the way CNG manages workflow is light years ahead of others.”

For example, when Computer Troubleshooters tackled an ambulance service that was generating multiple copies of paperwork for each patient it handled, each copy of that paperwork was routed along a different workflow path. It clearly wasn’t enough for the recommended document management solution to just handle imaging. “We suggested the CNG solution to that customer, and then we talked to them about how it does not just handle the paper, but improves and automates the workflow, therefore saving them time and consumables,” says Smith. “That is offering value.”

Beyond CNG’s strength in terms of workflow, its licensing model helped sway Smith as he made his ECM product choice. He explains that often ECM licenses are tightly connected with support and maintenance contracts, so if a customer opts out of those agreements, the software may no longer work. “CNG allows us to buy it, straight out, and opt to walk away from support and maintenance contracts if the customer doesn’t want to do that,” explains Smith.

Lastly, because CNG has an open API (application programming interface), the product interacts well with many complementary products. Overall, Smith says he feels as if he has an expert in ECM on his team due to his partnership with Cabinet NG, not only because of the product, but also because of the vendor’s efforts to communicate to its partners changes in the ECM market, such as new compliance regulations.

To view this article online please visit- http://www.businesssolutionsmag.com/index.php?option=com_jambozine&layout=article&view=page&aid=3964&Itemid=56

Trackback URL