1997: The Year As We See It -Part 3 of 4 (July, Aug., Sept.)

Web tools steal spotlight

Priorities are changing, according to an AIIM (Silver Spring, MD) study. Web tools and workflow take center stage, with document management in third as to having the most impact.

Netscape endorses two intranets

Seeing the future as the Internet, Netscape bundles Open Text's (Waterloo, Ontario) Livelink document management application and Documentum's (Pleasanton, CA) RightSite Web server with its products.

Discovery rediscovered

With the launch of Discovery Suite, FileNet moves forward.

There really is an industry

Figures for 1996 show a $518 million market for enterprise document management software, full-text retrieval software and viewer/publisher software, according to a report by International Data Corp.

OSTA ratifies "MultiRead" spec

Ensuring that all classes of CDs will be able to be read on future CD and DVD devices, the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA, Santa Barbara, CA) approves the MultiRead hardware specifications.

Congress, snail darters and other creatures

Paul Dorey, global sub of operational risk management at Barclays Bank PLC, tells the House Banking Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy that Congress should look into sanctioning a self-regulatory structure to oversee electronic commerce.

Without NT, intranet would be irate

At the Intranet Solutions Show in San Francisco, document management vendors confirm their allegiance to the NT platform. "The NT marketplace has been our fastest growing area at more than 40% every quarter," said Bill Wilson, VP of marketing for Data General (Westboro, MA).

3-D CAD gets Intense

The Siggraph '97 conference serves as the coming-out party for the next generation of 3-D graphics cards from Intergraph (Huntsville, AL).

Kodak in transition

Kodak may have concerns about the conflict between analog and digital approaches to imaging, but it strives to keep a balance in its Business Imaging Systems.

Web tool extends reach

FileNet, recognizing the growing importance of the Internet, releases its WebSeries software to make corporate documents accessible to authorized users via Web-based communications.

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FormWare formed

The forms processing field gets smaller when TextWare (Park City, UT) and Symbus (Waltham, MA) merge to form FormWare.

SunRise acquired by Printrak

In more M&A activity, Printak International (Anaheim, CA) acquires microfilm conversion hardware maker SunRise Imaging (Fremont, CA).

From a whisper to a shout

IW profiles British workflow giant Staffware (Bedford, MA) and its more than 200,000 seats worldwide.

Study defines KM market

In its report on knowledge management, Delphi Consulting Group (Boston) addresses several key points of KM, including a definition: "Knowledge management ... refers to the practices and technologies that facilitate the efficient creation and exchange of knowledge on an organizationwide level to enhance the quality of decision making.