Information Management Research builds on archival storage and retrieval - Agreements, products in AIIM spotlight

Turning data into gold is how Information Management Research (IMR, www.imrgold.com) introduces itself on its Web site, and at AIIM the company is announcing a pair of golden knowledge management slippers--agreements with Documentum (www.documentum.com) and PC Docs (www.pcdocs.com)--as well as two shiny new products--Alchemy Web Server and a DVD archival solution co-developed with Pioneer (www.pioneerusa.com).

IMR is also comfortable in its roles as just one part of the knowledge management puzzle. "We don't know everything about knowledge management," said Dan Lucarini, VP of marketing and business development. "We just know our piece."

That piece is strongly focused on archival storage and retrieval and is built around the Alchemy product. Alchemy combines document, content and storage management in one archival storage and retrieval software package that now links to the Web. It supports CD-R, MO, CD-RW, Jaz, Zip and DVD.

IMR is developing tighter integration links in partnership with Documentum and PC Docs. Benefits for the user, according to Lucarini, are faster deployment of solutions, lower cost of integration and less training time.

Citing the example of a service rep who needs information quickly to respond to an angry customer, Lucarini said, "Our technology gives Documentum and PC Docs users the capability to store millions of records and documents on inexpensive direct access media, and deliver that one customer's folder to the rep within seconds."

"It's our mission to provide solutions to customers. We see products like this as a way to provide a total solution," said Mark Farlin, senior product marketing manager for Documentum.

Another customer advantage, according to Farlin, is the ability to save not only content but metadata. As an output solution, Alchemy replicates the metadata/document/ folder relationships and copies runtime databases with viewers to a disc, requiring only Windows and a disc reader for access.

"We have a lot of customers who are very interested in publishing information out of their document management system," said Farlin. "This gives them an option to take document content and provide it on a much more portable aspect, CD."

A feature promoted by IMR is low cost for archival storage and retrieval--an average cost of about $100,000 for software, CD jukeboxes, installation and maintenance.

The company is delivering an inexpensive alternative and is focusing on a market where its value is clear, said Bill Zoellick, director of CAP Ventures (www.capv.com) Document Software Strategy Service. In the past, IMR has focused on hardware and then on software, but is now concentrating on archival storage, Zoellick said.

A new feature for IMR's Alchemy product will be demonstrated at AIIM, the Alchemy Web Server, which will be sold as an Alchemy add-on available this summer.