Millennia Group Newsletter – Winter 2010

2010 is here, and we are excited about the many challenges coming our way. 2009 was a great year for us, because we were able to help so many of you solve your document management needs. As a result, we also experienced double-digit growth. Thank you for your continued business and please keep us in mind whenever you need assistance improving your document centric processes.

Topics

1. News Updates and Tidbits
2. Welcome John Schaffer
3. Document Management in the Cloud

News Updates and Tidbits:

Please join us in welcoming John Schaffer to Millennia Group’s New York office. John is a Senior Project Manager and Consultant who has over 12 years of experience implementing document imaging and management applications, in addition to designing effective workflows. Give John a call, if you have a new imaging project, a need for hosted document management (FileStar) or an existing process/application that needs some tweaking. You can read more about John’s experience below.

FileStar Version 4.0 is now available (as promised) and it contains some exciting new features that make the application both easier-to-use and more powerful. You will notice an updated, more intuitive user interface in addition to more time-saving features: a plug-in for digital signatures, multi-file uploads, auto OCR for imported PDF documents, improved user tracking reports, versioning history and more.

Millennia Group has expanded our client list. We have recently been awarded new imaging assignments in the healthcare, consumer products and commercial real estate industries.

Three new customers are enjoying the powerful, efficient benefits of FileStar, our document management system in the cloud. Two of these customers are using FileStar to improve the management of their commercial real estate documents, while the third is using FileStar to better manage employee files. We believe more clients will be using FileStar in 2010, because it is such a versatile tool and much more cost-effective than most Electronic Content Management (ECM) packages.

In a continued effort to stay in touch with our customers and associates, Millennia Group has joined the Twitter and Facebook worlds! Please follow us at http://www.twitter.com/millenniagroup  and http://www.facebook.com/pages/Millennia-Group/264249002308 . Also, remember to check Michael Cipriano’s blog to learn the latest about document imaging and hosted document management: http://scansquad.blogspot.com .


Welcome John Schaffer

In order to continue meeting our clients' growing needs, Millennia Group has just added to our staff of industry experts. John Schaffer, our new Senior Project Manager and Consultant, brings with him more than 12 years of experience helping customers move into Enterprise Content Management.

John’s specialty is helping clients enhance their document storage practices, so they can find essential documents more rapidly. He is an expert at implementing document management systems for clients worldwide and has helped more than 150 clients replace cumbersome paper documents with digital file systems. As John explains, "Sometimes a client does not realize the long-term strategic importance of setting up a successful DMS system. You need to get the system and metadata right the first time, so planning the strategy is the most exciting part of my job." John works closely with his clients, establishing strong taxonomies and metadata for the documents.

John gets the work done fast, implementing DMS systems from needs analysis to production. He has learned to wear many hats and successfully manages every stage of the process—from discovery, to establishing stakeholders, to training users at all levels within the corporate flow chart, to installing hardware and software, to providing security experience and working with IT teams. Working proactively, he is able to anticipate issues that will affect the scope of his projects. As John says, "Going digital with your paper does not have to be painful. Your company can work toward the goal of being paperless in a cost-effective, time-efficient manner. You just need the right mindset and careful management."

John has implemented enterprise-class DMS software from EMC, Opentext, Captiva, Digitech and Kofax. His work experience includes the DMS planning management of a $50 million project for the New York City Department of Education, the nation’s largest school district. He has implemented workflow systems and captured patient records at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, the country’s oldest teaching hospital. John has also serviced many financial sector clients, including the American Stock Exchange, Amalgamated Bank, Millennium Partners and the GFI Group.

John recently received a MBA from Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, Spain, which ranks as one of the top ten business schools in the world. He also holds a BS in Business from California State University, Los Angeles and has the following certifications: Comptia CDIA+ (Certified Document Imaging Architect), AIIM IOAp (Information Organization and Access Practitioner) and MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist): Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007. John is excited to share his knowledge, so give him a call to discuss your toughest document management needs.

Document Management in the Cloud:

While having your "head in the clouds" once had a negative connotation, it is now a good thing to be "in the cloud." This new terminology means "offering or using an application that is accessed via the Internet and hosted by a third party." Examples of cloud applications include financial applications like Quickbooks and contact management applications like ACT or Salesforce. All of these applications are now available in a web-hosted version; just sign up, pay the monthly fee, and away you go. Of course, we have all been watching the Google versus Microsoft competition for word processing, spreadsheet and presentation applications offered in the cloud. The Google applications are currently offered for free, and when Microsoft’s Office 2010 arrives mid-year, there will be a free casual use version and a fee based version.

Millennia Group is proud to say that we have been operating in the cloud since 2003. That was when we first offered a hosted document management system to help DJM Realty dispose of 300 excess Kmart properties. We didn’t know we were operating in the cloud at that time; we just knew it was an efficient way to manage projects. We were able to provide easy and fast access to hundreds of people who wanted to view and analyze critical documentation from anywhere, anytime—all without the cost and hassle of making copies and shipping packages around the country. The cloud has great merit when you look at the structure: the host manages the application and hardware, always working to improve efficiency, while users focus on their business.

There is no doubt cloud technology has improved transactional applications like accounting and contact management. We also believe cloud technology has greatly improved the efficiency of content storage and distribution. It will take some time to convince buyers that the security and redundancy of a document management system in the cloud is equal to or better than an internally-managed application. However, the management and operating efficiencies will become very compelling as companies strive to focus their efforts on core competencies.

Cloud Question for Readers:
We are looking at the retail model that will work best for buyers. Is it the department store model, by which many different products serving many different buyers (i.e. financial software, contact management, document management) would be purchased in one place? Is it the specialty retailer model, by which only one type of application would be sold, like document management applications? Or, is it the vertical store model, by which the retailer would offer every application that might be used by a particular industry, like a manufacturer, doctor’s office or bank? We would welcome feedback on this issue from any of our readers.

Millennia Group provides managed imaging solutions, including document management in the cloud with our innovative FileStar application. If you want to make your documents more accessible and processes more efficient, give us a call.

Elmhurst, IL – Michael Cipriano, (630) 279-0577 x122, mcipriano@mgdocs.com

New York, NY – Donato Mallano, (212) 631-0490 x23, dmallano@mgdocs.com