By James True
The Small-to-Medium (SMB) business segment may be one of the most misunderstood markets ever. Vendors erroneously assume SMB is a large, undifferentiated market that is easy to sell into, especially compared to large enterprises, where big brands and massive corporate sales forces are needed to get a foot in the door.
In fact, SMBs vary substantially in their technology needs. The smaller prospect is very different than the larger mid-sized firm in terms of the technologies they can use as well as how they buy, support and implement these technologies. The differences between small and mid-sized companies are well-illustrated by their document management technology needs. In particular, integrating electronic document management technology with the business applications commonly used by the small enterprise poses a special challenge.
Let there be little doubt: SMBs, in common with their enterprise corporate counterparts, can and do benefit by going paperless. All companies can take advantage of streamlined workflow and improved business processes, while saving money on physical storage space and associated costs. However, in order for SMBs to fully gain all the advantages of an integrated electronic document management solution, the following differences between small and mid-sized companies must be recognized:
- Smaller firms typically have no IT departments, so ease of use is important along with out-of-the-box functionality;
- Smaller firms have strictly limited operating budgets and will only sign on if there is clear and compelling value;
- Mid-sized firms tend to gravitate to Value Added Resellers (VARs) for advice and customization of a solution specific for their market segment or have internal technical staff assigned to such tasks.
An example of document management solutions tailored to different types of SMBs can be found in Cabinet NG’s products. Cabinet NG’s CNG-SAFE (Shared Access Filing Environment) is an automated document management and workflow software platform that gives the SMB everything necessary for successful document management in a single package. This includes advanced data protection, intuitive user interface and the ability to integrate with most third-party applications.
Integrating electronic document management with third-party applications must align with the differences between small and mid sized firms’ resources. For the small firm, Cabinet NG’s Retriever™ works with virtually any Windows- based program to allow access to CNG-SAFE documents and document management functionality from within an existing application. Behind the scenes, Cabinet NG’s Synchronizer ensures index data, between CNG-SAFE and the 3rd party application, is up to date. Synchronizer easily connects to any ODBC/OLEDB compliant database to automatically create and update data used by CNG-SAFE. As growing firms upgrade or replace existing 3rd party applications they can continue using CNG-SAFE in the new environment and extend their investment and use of document management with Retriever and Synchronizer.
Mid-sized firms needing to go beyond the productivity benefits offered by Retriever and Synchronizer can use the Cabinet NG Application Programming Interface (CNG-API). The CNG-API allows developers to integrate other software applications with Cabinet NG’s document repository and workflow processes. CNG-API’s set of program methods and classes is the preferred approach to meet the custom needs found in most mid-sized firms. Resellers, OEMs or clients developers using the CNG-API are able to increase end-user productivity with seamless integration to the businesses existing core applications.
Retriever, Synchronizer and the CNG-API all share the ability to offer SMBs these benefits:
- Tying CNG-SAFE document management functionality to existing business applications;
- Increasing productivity by performing document management functions from one application;
- Streamlining and automating business processes from a single interface, and;
- Preserving existing application investments and maximizing return on investment.
The SMB market is unique, and within it are yet more unique needs. Effectively supplying SMBs of all stripes with all the benefits of integrated electronic document management requires a range of technologies with varying degrees of plug-and-play functionality.
Southern Solutions offers Document Management and Network solutions to Calvert County, Maryland. Cities served include Dowell, Lower Marlboro, Port Republic and Sunderland. continue reading...
Furthermore, IT departments rarely have the time or resources to fix mechanical issues in office devices. But still, they are forced to take control of the issue and organize some sort of fix, whether it is an easy paper jam or having to schedule a repair from a local company.
