Executive Overview of TOWER IDM

August 2002

2002 Doculabs, 1201 West Harrison Street, 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60607, 312-433-7793, [email protected]. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Doculabs is a registered trademark. All other vendor and product names are assumed to be trade and service marks of their respective companies.

Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................... 3 Functional Assessment of TOWER IDM ................................................... 4 Vendor and Product Overview .......................................................................4 EDMS Capabilities ..........................................................................................5 Architecture.....................................................................................................7 Key Strengths and Challenges ....................................................................11

Product Snapshot..................................................................................... 12 Conclusion................................................................................................ 13 Appendix: About Doculabs ..................................................................... 14

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The typical business transaction consists of many different pieces of information—from paper documents and faxes to e-mail and Web forms—that must each be integrated into an organization’s standard business processes. Financial services, government, and healthcare markets in particular engage in complex business processes that involve an array of documents and span multiple users. Mortgage processing, for example, requires extensive paperwork; involves the participation of internal and external users such as brokers, underwriters, and loan processors; and crosses business units and geographic boundaries. To conduct these transactions faster and more efficiently, organizations need integrated, high-volume content and process management solutions specifically designed for production environments. These systems must combine imaging and capture, document and records management, workflow, and COLD/ERM capabilities, as well as Web content management, e-mail archiving, and online transaction processing. They must also integrate with other critical business applications that are already in place, and be compatible with multiple technologies. TOWER Technology is one of the few vendors to address the high volume document management requirements of large organizations. With TOWER IDM, the vendor’s integrated electronic document management software (EDMS), TOWER offers an enterprise-scalable processing system and content repository for managing unstructured business information, including images, forms, computer-generated reports, statements and invoices, office documents, e-mail and Web content. The vendor combines these capabilities into a unified platform that enables enterprise users to manage documents throughout the transaction lifecycle, within a single content repository and from a common interface. TOWER commissioned Doculabs, an independent research and consulting firm, to conduct an independent evaluation of TOWER IDM. This overview discusses the product from a functional and technical perspective, identifies its major strengths and areas for enhancement, and includes a detailed product snapshot. Doculabs found TOWER IDM to be a solid solution for large organizations that require an industrial-strength, high-volume document and content processing infrastructure.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW OF TOWER IDM

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FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT OF TOWER IDM This section provides Doculabs’ review of TOWER Technology’s approach for delivering an integrated EDMS offering. Note that Doculabs did not conduct a hands-on product evaluation for purposes of this review. Our strategic review focused on the following categories: • • • •

Vendor and Product Overview EDMS Capabilities Architecture Key strengths and challenges

Vendor and Product Overview Founded in 1987, TOWER Technology is a privately held company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with global operations in Europe and Australia. At the time of this review, the vendor employed approximately 350 people worldwide. TOWER Technology markets TOWER IDM, an enterprise-scaleable, Webenabled, document processing system and content repository for managing all forms of unstructured business information—images, forms, computer-generated reports, statements and invoices, office documents, e-mail, and Web content. Targeted toward key high-volume vertical markets such as insurance, financial services and government, TOWER IDM is commonly used for transactionoriented applications that include new business underwriting, insurance claims, mortgage processing, annuity and pension management, land records management, and customer service. In addition to developing software, TOWER has system integration capabilities and a qualified professional services staff. The company also partners with several integration firms, including EDS in Australia and Siemens, EDS, and ICL in Europe.

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EDMS Capabilities TOWER IDM includes imaging, COLD/ERM, document and records management, workflow, e-mail management, e-mail archiving and Web capture components. TOWER’s unique approach utilizes unified case folders that can be located and routed using a single database query, retrieved from a single content repository, and displayed in a single universal viewer. The product includes the following functional components: •

Production Imaging and Forms Processing TOWER offers strong high-volume image and object storage capabilities, enabling businesses to capture information from paper and electronic forms and convert it into digital information. IDM e-Forms technology allows direct data capture from Dynamic HTML or PDF forms posted to the Web. This automatic capture of data is fast, more accurate, and reduces the costs associated with traditional paper-based data capture methods.

•

Report Management and Distribution, Report Mining, and e-Statement Presentment The IDM Report Manager provides capabilities for capturing, storing, and presenting electronic report data, including internal computer reports, bills and statements from computer print streams. Report data is indexed and stored electronically in the IDM repository for easy storage and retrieval. Using the IDM Report Link tool, users can mine, link or export data to create dynamic, customized reports comprised of disparate types of report data.

•

Collaborative Document and Records Management In addition to standard library functions, TOWER IDM provides dynamic document rendering capabilities and conversion tools, including integration with the Microsoft Desktop and other MS Office programs. Users can search for files using meta data, query by example (QBE), or the text search tool. TOWER also offers basic records management functions like retention and disposition, and is DoD5015.2 certified.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW OF TOWER IDM

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•

Workflow Case Processing IDM Flow Manager is a production-level workflow engine that runs on the highly scalable IDM repository and provides rules-based routing and processing of documents, batches, and case folders. Its administration and security capabilities allow organizations to define role sharing, work queues with priorities, deadlines and escalation, and integrated work forms. In addition to IDM Flow Manager, TOWER’s own workflow, the product integrates with workflow engines from Plexus, Staffware, and Fujitsu.

•

IDM e-Mail Capture and Archiving TOWER IDM provides the ability to capture, store, index and archive e-mails. As e-mail becomes the primary form of communication between business users, the ability to store and retrieve e-mails and their attachments is necessary for operational efficiency.

•

WebCapture Online Transaction Recording, e-Forms Processing, Enforceable Transaction Infrastructure IDM’s WebCapture provides recording, indexing, storage and retrieval of ebusiness transactions for “instant replay” of online transactions in the same context in which they were originally viewed. Via a Web browser, business managers, customer service representatives, auditors, and customers can replay any online transaction step-by-step, for audits, legal compliance, dispute resolution, customer service, and customer self-service.

•

WCM: Web Content Publishing IDM’s Web Content Publisher helps eliminate the “Webmaster bottleneck” by placing publishing power into the hands of business users. This component provides tools that facilitate publishing content to the Web, including style sheets and templates, file conversion tools, index creation tools, link management, and an auto-update scheduler. These tools enable users to manage the publishing, updating, and expiration of all Web content, including images and links.

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Architecture TOWER IDM is designed for enterprise applications requiring high-performance, production EDMS. This section highlights some of the key factors that contribute to its suitability for such applications. •

Broad platform support TOWER IDM supports a broad array of computing platforms. The product runs on Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, HP/UX, Compaq Tru64, Microsoft NT and Windows 2000 operating systems. Database support includes Oracle, IBM DB2/UDB, Microsoft SQL Server, and TOWER Classic. In addition, TOWER IDM supports Apache, iPlanet, Microsoft IIS and BEA Web servers. The client platform includes an IDM Desktop Client, IDM Browser Client, IDM Case Management Client, custom business application clients, an integrated Windows client, and a Citrix Client. TOWER IDM also supports a variety of client APIs, including ActiveX, Java, DDE, VB, COM, ASP, EJB, SOAP and JSP.

•

Common logical repository to integrate core EDMS functions The core of IDM’s architecture is its IDM Repository, a unified database and logical repository for unstructured information that integrates the core functions of imaging, e-mail and document management, report management, and Web content recording into a single package. Such unification is difficult for vendors that blend disparate EDMS products because the back-end services are so different. For example, ERM requires a parsing and conversion engine, document management requires library services, and imaging requires indexing and viewing capabilities. The trick is to eliminate duplication and simplify by standardizing on common services and profiling schemes. This approach is increasingly common, but is difficult to execute in very large, high performance deployments. Thus, many vendors adopt either a unified repository strategy—which cannot be adequately implemented in performance production applications—or employ multiple repositories, one for document management and another for high performance imaging applications. TOWER, on the other hand, offers a unified repository approach that can handle the stringent requirements of high performance production imaging applications. The IDM repository enables the capture, storage, management and retrieval of documents, in native format, from a single logical back-end server running under Windows or UNIX.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW OF TOWER IDM

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•

Common user interface for all EDMS functions Whether an interface is a client application or browser-based, it should be the single point of entry into a system. This is critical for usability and user productivity, as users should not have to know or care where a document resides, or what format it takes. TOWER IDM offers a common user interface that serves as a single point of access to all documents and EDMS-related functions associated with the IDM Repository. With IDM Desktop Clients, IDM Browser Clients or Citrix terminals, users can collect and assemble all related business content into logical folders, associate these folders with related business transactions, and find folders and retrieve content and documents using relevant business identifiers.

•

Development, customization, and integration flexibility Production EDMS applications require significant flexibility and integration with other systems. Therefore, such a system should provide integration with third-party applications, using APIs or higher-level interfaces such as EJBs or ActiveX controls. The goal is to provide integration flexibility while simplifying the development process. TOWER eProcess Objects are reusable objects that implement specific repository, workflow and case management functions. They enable enterprises to rapidly deploy new integrated document and content processing applications that can exchange data with existing legacy applications and provide support for large numbers of concurrent users in high-volume production environments. TOWER eProcess Objects are XML based EJBs which run in J2EE application servers. Supported workflow engines can include TOWER’s IDM Flow Manager or Plexus FloWare, Fujitsu iFlow and Staffware. TOWER combines these middleware components and business objects with pre-built back-end processes, customer-specific business rules, legacy systems integration, and the TOWER Document Portal to produce complete case management applications for insurance and financial institutions and government agencies.

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TOWER’s focus on Java and J2EE is particularly significant. EDMS applications cannot technically achieve J2EE compatibility. Rather, they are implemented using J2EE APIs, services, and specifications such as EJB components and JSP frameworks. They must also run on top of a J2EEcompatible application server. Products that are implemented in such a way are platform-, application server-, and database-independent. They also inherit the strengths of the J2EE-compatible application server, including performance, database connection pools, caching, session management, load balancing, fault tolerance, interoperability, and security. For scalability, J2EE allows more application servers, databases, and Web servers to be added to the production environment on an as-needed basis. •

Distributed architecture for scalability and reliability TOWER provides the scalability and reliability necessary for enterprise systems. The IDM Repository supports geographically distributed production environments, in which a single archive and database server is interconnected with multiple remote cache servers over wide area networks. Intelligent, distributed caching technology is used to mitigate the inherent delays of retrieving information over a WAN. A cache simply stores copies of content on the magnetic disk of a local server that is closer to the user than the main archive server. Retrieving content from a local cache incurs far less network traffic and retrieval time than going over the WAN. This enterprise-scalable architecture ensures sub-second page retrieval times regardless of the number of users or retrievals, or the locations of the users. The IDM Repository’s object model is a key design factor that provides such scalability. It uses an object-oriented model to store and retrieve document and content objects. Each object is retrieved directly using a 64-bit Object File Number (OFN) and IP sockets or mapped URLs instead of remote procedure calls or network file system utilities. The result is that documents can be geographically located on servers throughout an enterprise or anywhere on the Web without the need for corporate firewall reconfiguration. In a distributed environment, multiple repositories and remote cache servers are viewed and accessed as a single logical repository. Any document or content object can be retrieved to any location, regardless of where it is stored, completely transparent to the user.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW OF TOWER IDM

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•

Centralized, graphical administration With unified administration from one location, administrators can configure all EDMS system services and manage users, groups, roles, permissions, and workflows. Managing one system instead of multiple systems lowers the cost of ownership. Ideally, the system should also leverage operating system services and directories. The IDM Graphical Administration System is accessed from the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), which makes it easier for administrators to manage multiple systems in a familiar environment. IDM administration components, called snap-ins, run in the MMC framework and include Startup and Shutdown, Configuration Management, User Management, Storage Management, Applications, System Monitoring, Output System and Backup and Recovery. The IDM User Management component is used to add, modify, delete or copy configuration files for users and to set up or change user passwords. It is accessible only to users who have been assigned to administer the whole system or selected groups in the system. This allows an organization’s system administrator to delegate specific administration tasks to other users.

•

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Robust system security TOWER provides a customizable and flexible security model to accommodate differentiated levels of security and document access. IDM Repository offers many advanced security features that offer protection within the organization as well as the extended enterprise. For user names and passwords, TOWER IDM has a built-in user attributes database maintained through the IDM User Management module of the Graphical Administration System. Alternatively, user names and passwords may be validated against any external LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) Directory Service, such as Microsoft Active Directory, Novell LDAP Services or SLAPD. User attributes are also retrieved from this directory, ensuring that this information does not need to be maintained in multiple applications. Through integration with a corporate directory service using LDAP, TOWER IDM simplifies the end-user login process, reduces the administrative effort required to maintain user accounts, and can easily conform to corporate IT standards and infrastructure.

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Key Strengths and Challenges The following table summarizes the key strengths and challenges of TOWER IDM: Strengths

Challenges

•

Stable, profitable company with a strong customer base

•

•

High-volume imaging, COLD/ERM, and document management processing for high-ROI, missioncritical applications

Targets very large implementations, so smaller deployments probably not as well served – including conservatively phased or departmental implementations in large enterprises

•

Architected for high scalability, performance, security, and business continuity

•

•

eProcess Objects middleware includes an EJB abstraction layer for several workflow engines, EJB business logic for access to IDM Repository and EJBs for pre-built IDM Case Management applications

Should provide advanced collaborative workflow capabilities (such as real-time, project-centric collaboration among internal and external users)

•

Supports workflow engines Plexus FloWare, Fujitsu iFlow, Staffware, and IDM Flow Manager for workflow

•

Provides comprehensive case management applications for insurance and financial institutions

Table 1 – Key Strengths and Challenges of TOWER IDM

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW OF TOWER IDM

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PRODUCT SNAPSHOT Vendor Background Contact information

Product Background Product/version evaluated

TOWER IDM

Year founded

TOWER Technology Inc. 617-236-5500 www.towertech.com 1987

Product positioning

Production imaging, forms processing, check processing, COLD/ERM, EDM, case management

Number of employees

350

Product pricing

Named users or concurrent connections pricing model. Server and client licensing.

Public or private

Private Client platform support

Windows 2000/ 95/98, Citrix

2001 revenues (if public) Products/services revenue split (%)

70/30

Server platform support

Windows 2000, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, HP UX, Compaq Tru-64

Sales channel

Direct worldwide (with large integrators outside of USA)

Database support

Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM, TOWER Classic. ODBC

Key customers

Knights of Columbus, ADP, U.S. Treasury, West Bend Insurance, Columbian Financial, American Scandia, State of Connecticut

Architecture/object model employed

ActiveX client toolkit, server toolkit, document portal toolkit (COM, Java or EJB)

Strategic partnerships

EMC, Oracle, HP, EDS, BEA, Microsoft, Captiva, RRI, Cardiff, Citrix, Stellent

Installed base (in production)

350+ installations; 180,000200,000 users

Evaluation Category

Description

Analysis

Application requirements

The key features and capabilities specific to the technology or product category (including the user experience)

High-volume document and content processing; focus on applications for insurance, financial services, and government. Desktop or browser client with unified folder and single viewer.

IT requirements

Architecture, platform and database support, appropriateness of design, standards compliance, integration capabilities, scalability, security, etc.

Distributable repository and database replication for performance, disaster recovery and business continuity. Scalable, high performance.

Development requirements

The complexity of development, and flexibility provided

ActiveX client toolkit, server toolkit, document portal toolkit (COM, EJB or Java) and workflow development APIs.

Resource requirements

The resources that would be required to implement and maintain the system

Single repository and administration system

Key Strengths

Key Challenges

• •

•

• •

Stable, profitable company with a strong customer base High-volume document content processing for high-ROI, mission-critical applications Multiple platforms WebCapture for recording online transactions

•

Targets very large implementations, so smaller deployments may not be well served Needs Web content management beyond Stellent

Quick Take Good solution for large organizations that require industrial-strength, high-volume document and content processing, particularly for government, insurance, and financial services industries.

Table 2 – Product Snapshot: TOWER IDM

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CONCLUSION TOWER Technology is one of the few vendors to address the high-volume EDMS requirements of large organizations. With TOWER IDM, the vendor’s EDMS, TOWER offers an enterprise-scalable processing system and content repository for managing unstructured business information, including images, forms, computer-generated reports, statements and invoices, office documents, email and Web content. The vendor combines these capabilities into a unified platform that enables enterprise users to manage documents throughout the transaction lifecycle, within a single content repository and from a common interface. Overall, Doculabs finds that that TOWER IDM’s capabilities and architecture make great sense for large organizations that require an industrial-strength, highvolume document and content processing infrastructure.

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW OF TOWER IDM

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APPENDIX: ABOUT DOCULABS Doculabs, Inc., is an independent industry analyst firm specializing in e-business technologies. We are guided by the principle that both end-users and vendors benefit from impartial feedback about product strengths and limitations to make both strategic and tactical business decisions. Founded in Chicago in 1993, Doculabs is the only industry analyst firms to ground its research, end-user and vendor advisory services in unbiased, reality-based product assessment results. We use our product assessment methodology, combined with trend and market analysis, to help our clients make the right technology investment decisions and to help vendors attack new market opportunities. Doculabs’ core research methodology builds a truly credible information bridge between end-user business needs and vendor product development. Doculabs has a growing staff of analysts dedicated to research, advisory services, and market analyses. We specialize in emerging technology solutions that drive ebusiness, including technologies for e-content, e-commerce, e-fulfillment and delivery, and e-business infrastructure components. Doculabs’ analysts are regular speakers at industry conferences, and continue to author numerous articles in industry journals such as Information Week, Network Computing, Windows NT, KM Magazine, Group Computing, and Transform, to name a few. Doculabs’ service offerings include advisory and consulting services, assessment services, and publications (reports and annual subscriptions). Because Doculabs does not resell products, we remain completely objective in our research and our recommendations. For more information about Doculabs, visit our Web site – http://www.doculabs.com.

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