eCopy Inc. today unveiled two Open Platform Architecture products that enable any office worker to easily integrate paper-based information into enterprise software applications using a range of digital copiers and scanners. Supported platforms for these new products include Canon, HP, Océ, Ricoh, Sharp, and Toshiba digital copiers and Fujitsu scanners. This enables organizations to set a software standard across the enterprise when using any of these brands for scanning and incorporating documents into enterprise systems, such as enterprise content management (ECM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise e-mail.

The products introduced today were eCopy ShareScan OP v3.0 and eCopy ScanStation OP v3.0. eCopy ShareScan OP is document imaging and distribution software that transforms digital copiers and scanners into information hubs by integrating hardcopy documents directly into the workflow of critical business processes, such as reporting, administration, document management, financials, human resources, and customer management. eCopy ScanStation OP is an ergonomic, integrated system that consists of a touch screen, keyboard, and PC, which is optimized to operate ShareScan OP software on non-embedded architecture digital copiers and scanners. Click here to view the ScanStation OP photo.

ShareScan OP software operates on either a Canon Multifunctional Embedded Application Platform (MEAP)-enabled digital copier or an eCopy ScanStation OP attached to a digital copier or scanner. eCopy plans to support additional embedded platforms as digital copier manufacturers make these platforms available.

eCopy Open Platform Connectors provide native integration capabilities that enable users to scan documents directly to enterprise applications from the copier or scanner. Currently, ShareScan OP is integrated with more than 20 enterprise applications, including EMC Documentum Enterprise Content Management Platform, Captaris RightFax, and Microsoft Outlook.

“The native integration between ScanStation OP and Microsoft Outlook lets us take full advantage of the scanning capabilities of our Ricoh digital copier,” said Aileen Gronewold, project leader in the law department of Leggett & Platt, Incorporated. “With eCopy’s Microsoft Outlook integration, a user can send an e-mail from the copier and that e-mail will be saved to their sent mail file, providing a record of what was sent. The integration also means that users authenticate at the copier using their normal Outlook passwords and user names. This provides the IT department with a record of who is sending e-mails and the users with access to their personal address books, just as if they were at their desktops.”

According to Brian Bissett, an industry expert in digital copiers and publisher of The MFP Report, “With these new products, eCopy has made a bold move towards creating a software standard for connecting virtually any digital copier and scanner with the leading enterprise software applications. This provides end users, IT organizations, and independent software vendors with significant advantages for increased productivity and efficiency and is a significant advance for our industry.”

ShareScan OP and ScanStation OP are built on eCopy’s Open Platform Architecture, which provides a fundamental change in how document scanning capabilities are delivered to business applications. eCopy’s Open Platform Architecture makes it possible for independent software vendors (ISVs) to easily access eCopy’s robust document scanning services on virtually any digital copier or scanner by developing one software connector for all platforms. It eliminates the need for ISVs to build individual software connectors for each platform.

eCopy ShareScan OP provides a robust set of document imaging and distribution services, which include optical character recognition (OCR), image processing, searchable PDF creation, Bates Stamping, and 128-bit file encryption.

eCopy Open Platform Connectors provide native integration between an eCopy-enabled digital copier or scanner and an ISV’s enterprise software application, making it possible to capture, track, and manage paper-based information much more efficiently. eCopy Connectors are designed to enable users to efficiently incorporate paper documents into applications in an average of 60 seconds or less. Changes to user profiles, permissions, or folders – made from any client in the network—are realized in real-time at the copier or scanner, making information management from the copier as efficient as from the desktop.

For digital copier and scanner manufacturers, the Open Platform Architecture expands market opportunities by enabling their products to serve as “paper on-ramps” to any business application – strengthening their product’s position as essential infrastructure components for managing the complete document lifecycle.

The eCopy Open Platform Architecture is part of the eCopy Paper Connection, a multifaceted program designed to make it possible for any office worker to easily scan documents to enterprise applications. The Paper Connection complements organizations growing emphasis on information lifecycle management (ILM) and addresses the challenge of distributing, managing, accessing, and protecting paper-based information. For more information on eCopy’s Paper Connection program, please see the February 7, 2005 press release.

Availability
eCopy ShareScan OP v3.0 and eCopy ScanStation OP v3.0 will be available in the second quarter of calendar 2005. For more information or to purchase these products, please call the eCopy Solution Provider line at +1.603.881.4450 Ext. 486.