In brief

News

posted 21 Feb 2005

UK businesses concerned about records management

Despite ever-increasing compliance regulations, one-in-four UK companies are concerned that their electronic records may not be accurate, accessible or trustworthy, while less than 50 per cent feel confident that they would pass an audit.

A survey by industry association AIIM Europe found that 22 per cent of more than 300 respondents across various sectors, including financial services, manufacturing and government, are now deploying enterprise-wide information-management projects to control content throughout their organisations.

Search goes public

A search engine developed specifically for the public sector has been launched by internet technology specialist, System Associates.

G-seek is inspired by the java-based solution, Lucene, and complies with government calls to encourage the use of open-source software. It is also highly flexible to accommodate frequent changes in government standards.

Corporation of London invests in compliance

The Corporation of London, a local government services provider, is looking to meet electronic-government targets more accurately and cost-effectively through investment in compliance technology.

The authority has selected APR Smartlogik’s Semaphore solution, which should allow the authority to respond rapidly to online queries from businesses and individuals visiting its website by providing an effective information categorisation system and intelligent searching capabilities.

The investment is part of an ongoing response to government plans to deliver public services electronically by the end of 2005.

Microsoft adds to exchange

Microsoft is expanding the scope of its hosted exchange product for internet service providers (ISPs), with the addition of instant messaging and websites that serve as collaborative online workspaces.

Built on Hosted Exchange 2003, the renamed Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration 3.0 integrates versions of MS Office Live Communication Server 2005 and Windows SharePoint services.

It will enable ISPs to provide small and medium-sized businesses with e-mail, shared calendaring, contacts, document collaboration and IM, which users can access through any internet-connected device.

Mediasurface gets full marks

In a move to take direct control of its online content, the UK's General Teaching Council (GTC) will introduce an integrated website that could enable education staff easier access to vital information on policy and standards within teaching.

The GTC has invested in 5 Government Site Pack and Morello software from Mediasurface, who will also provide technical support, to aid the project.

Capgemini will integrate the solution with an Oracle CRM system to allow the GTC to provide the most recent information on its website, in the shortest timeframe possible.

Reseller agreement strengthens EDM offering

European forms-processing and document-capture specialist SWT has signed a reseller agreement with Documation, the British software developer.

The move will allow Documation to strengthen its existing range of electronic document-management solutions with the integration of SWT’s b-Wize INVOICE tool, which could allow businesses to benefit from advanced document classification and data extraction technology for invoices and other unstructured documents.

Google introduces mini solution

Designed to help businesses make the most of their digital assets, a new solution from search giant Google allows users to access and manage their information using a version of the popular search engine.

Google Mini is an integrated hardware and software search appliance that indexes content across a company's intranet or public website, with the focus being on simplicity and relevancy of results.

For more information, visit www.google.com/enterprise/mini.

Corporate backlash against blogging

An employee of UK bookseller Waterstones has been sacked after occasionally making references to his activities within his job role in entries to his online diary.

The company dismissed Joe Gordon for gross misconduct in a case that highlights the continued debate over the proliferation of blogging among employees.

Companies combine to deliver SRM

Knowledge-management service and support solutions provider, Pittsburgh & Cupertino, and Kanisa, the service-resolution-management (SRM) software specialist have signed a merger agreement.

The move coincides with an accelerated demand for SRM software, as enterprises seek to automate the costly, labour-intensive processes involved in resolving customer cases, incidents and questions across multiple channels.

The combined company will offer a comprehensive suite of SRM applications for agents, self-service and peer support, delivered on an integrated knowledge-management and search platform.

US Army to further KM programme

The US army is looking to improve the efficiency of its Army Knowledge Online (AKO) Enterprise Services initiative by employing a single integrator to manage the different components of its AKO portal.

The successful vendor will be responsible for the smooth running of all aspects of the portals operation, maintenance and technological upgrades, as well as developing software for AKO and its counterpart for the Secret IP Router network, AKO-S.

Currently, seven contractors manage the service from systems on the primary site at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, US and a secondary back-up location. The army has already created 1.6 million accounts for AKO, which provide single-sign-on access to numerous applications and services.