"The Banter" A Quarterly Newsletter: Vol. 2, 4th Quarter :: October 2006

IT Professionals Say Document Management Is An Untapped Opportunity For Savings, Security, Productivity A Case Study: Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne How to Use Document Management Our Clients in the Spotlight: Four Points Architectural Services, Inc. Tech Tips: What Are All These Viruses & How Do I Protect Myself From Them? Intersoft Jobs: Sales Positions Wanted IT Professionals Say Document Management Is An Untapped Opportunity For Savings, Security, Productivity WILSONVILLE, Ore., Sept. 06, 2006 -- Four out of five information technology professionals say document management is part of an effective IT strategy, but many haven't found the right mix of technology and services to capitalize on potential savings or boost worker productivity, according to a recent survey by Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) and International Communications Research. In fact, nearly 75 percent of respondents indicate their organizations are still shuffling stacks of paper, and they don't take advantage of digital storage to help manage the information locked inside paper documents. Top challenges include cutting costs and maintaining information security. With most IT departments spending as much as 40 percent of their time and budget administering document technology, 83 percent see it as an area ripe for improvement. One-third of those surveyed feel their organizations don't have a handle on the hard and soft costs associated with document technology and services and lack the tools to maximize spending while meeting the needs of end-users. "Content and document management is now in the headlights of information technology professionals as IT departments are asked to find new ways to tap valuable information, cut costs and contribute to the overall growth of their organizations," said Rick Peebles, vice president and chief technology officer, Xerox Office Group. "The right mix of document technology, software and services improves efficiency and helps businesses reap the benefits of their IT investments and staff." While more than 60 percent of respondents believe their confidential documents are safe from both internal and external threats, information security was stated as a top challenge by more than 75 percent of IT staff. In addition, 23 percent claim they have not connected personal devices, such as inkjet and personal printers, to company networks due to security concerns. Implementing content management software - which is used for organizing information and helping office workers collaborate online - was called out as a top priority. Fifty percent of those surveyed predict that more hardcopy documents will be scanned over the next three to five years, helping to save money and increase security through digital document archiving and storage. Document management, electronic records management, imaging capabilities and digital document archiving and storage in secure repositories were all cited as ways organizations could save time and money. And more than half of the respondents from large businesses believe outsourcing the management of document technology could help make their IT staff become more efficient and reduce costs. ICR conducted 250 telephone interviews with senior-level IT staff nationwide in businesses of 100 or more employees between July 11 and Aug. 15, 2006. ICR, based in Media, Pa., is one of the nation's leading market and opinion research firms. At a 95 percent level of confidence, the margin of error for these results is +/- 6.2 percentage points. Listening to IT In a continuing effort to understand the areas of importance and to deliver solutions for IT, Xerox recently launched www.bigilittletblog.com to promote discussions on issues, trends and opportunities in the IT and document management industry. In addition, Xerox hosts "IT Xchange," a series of free educational webcasts that provide practical solutions to specific IT and business issues. The webcasts, accessible on-demand at www.xerox.com/webinar, also serve as a forum for IT professionals and industry experts to share best practices and examine ways to reduce costs, enhance employee productivity and ensure return on IT investment. To help educate IT managers and other information workers about security issues, Xerox is hosting a series of security summits across North America in Chicago, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Seattle, Stamford, Conn., and Toronto. Customer Contact(s) Xerox Office Products 1-877-362-6567 www.xerox.com/office USA Media Contact(s) Lisa Weaver +1-503-685-3828 Lisa Weaver Xerox USA Erin Isselmann +1-503-685-4493 Erin Isselmann Xerox Corporation USA Click here to see the release Back to Top A Case Study: Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne The Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne is located in Tuolumne County in the Central Sierra portion of California approximately 130 miles northeast of San Francisco. The county covers approximately 2,229 square miles and a population of over 54,500. The mission of the Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne is to resolve disputes and apply the law fairly and efficiently providing equal access to all in a manner that will cultivate respect and understanding in the community for courts and the judicial process. Challenge: The Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne was in need of a document management system that would allow them to install the software on their Local Area Network, organize documents for their internal uses, all at a reasonable cost. Solution: Intersoft was able to provide The Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne with Savvy™ LAN. Savvy™ LAN allows The Superior Court of California, County of Tuolumne?s employees to easily access all necessary internal documents in a quick and efficient way. Back to Top Guest Columnist How to Use Document Management By: James Hunt Document management is essential in the running of any business today. This is true for both online companies, and brick and mortar companies. If your break down the components that make up the communication of a company you'll see that documents are at the forefront. Whether these are paper documents, or documents in the form of email and Word documents, they all need to be sorted and managed so that the process of record keeping is as smooth and precise as possible. Without a paper trail of documents no company can run successfully. Think of all those times when you need to access a certain piece of information that you know was written within the contents of a particular document. If you have to wade through all the correspondence that has been generated from that certain subject it could take you a very long time. Or what about when a new company policy was announced a couple of weeks ago and you failed to take proper notice or you need to follow up on the information? You'll need to go back through either your email, or the paper documents on your desk, to find the policy information. This is where document management is essential to the efficiency of your job and has an affect on your time management. Software management allows you to store (1) documentation that was presented online, or (2) scan important paper documents into the system. This type of software keeps track of your documents by an integrated system of headings and other organizational procedures. You'll be able to access any document that you want by searching for it with certain criteria. Document management is a great way for both small and large companies to keep track of those documents that are necessary for the smooth functioning of the communication in the office. Without some system in place to manage this type of data many important documents are filed away, misplaced, and deleted from the system. James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at www.document-management-center.com Article Source: http://articlefree4all.com Back to Top Our Clients in the Spotlight: Four Points Architectural Services, Inc. Website: www.4points.net Four Points Architectural Services, Inc. provides a full range of Architectural and construction administrative services and is currently registered in five states. Since their beginning in 2000, Four Points Architectural has proven, through their growing client list, that they are dedicated to providing architectural services that meet their clients needs. Back to Top Tech Tips: What Are All These Viruses & How Do I Protect Myself From Them? New security vulnerabilities & threats, for computer's popup everyday, so what are the threats and how do you protect your computers? In this Tech Tip we will discuss Viruses, Spyware, Rootkits and more, and how your computers can become infected. What are the vulnerabilities? Viruses A Virus is a program or piece of programming code that is placed on your computer without your knowledge. Viruses are executable files and they attach themselves to other files so they can be passed from one computer to another. Viruses need human action to run. Viruses can cause your computer to act improperly, and/or damage your software, hardware and other data files if executed. Worms A Worm is similar to a virus however a worm does not need any human action to spread from computer to computer. Worms can replicate themselves and travel through networks. Worms are also known to copy email addresses from your email client's Address Book and send itself to those users. Worms can cause your computer or network to consume a lot of memory thus making your system unresponsive. Trojan Horses A Trojan Horse is usually disguised as legitimate software that end users would download. Once downloaded the damage from the Trojan can range from annoying occurrences, such as changing your desktop without your knowledge, to more damaging effects, such as deleting your files. Trojans are also known to create backdoors on your computer, which can allow a hacker to gain access to your computer or network thus compromising sensitive data. Malware Malware is short for Malicious Software. Viruses, Worms, Trojans are all considered to be Malware. Spyware Spyware is similar to a Trojan Horse in the concept that unsuspecting users usually download software with the Spyware program hidden inside. Once installed the Spyware will collect information about the user such as passwords, searching habits, keystrokes, read cookies, and even has the ability to change the default home page in your browser. Spyware will relay all findings back to the author of the program. Spyware can eat up your memory and system's resources, which can lead to computer crashes. Adware Adware is similar to Spyware however Adware is legitimate software. AdWare is displayed in freeware (Free Software) programs that display's advertisements to the users that haven't purchased the software. Adware usually does not track users Internet surfing nor do they steal sensitive information from your computer like Spyware. Rootkits A Rootkit is probably one of the most destructive malware's that a computer can have. Rootkits are cloaking software that can hide files, Registry keys and other objects on your computer. Rootkits are often started every time your computer boots or reboots. Rootkits allow hackers to gain control over your system. Once a rootkit is installed hackers are able to open programs, hide processes, execute code, delete files, basically, take over your entire machine. Since rootkits are hidden and can usually hide itself deep in your Operating System it is very hard to detect them until it is to late. Even Anti-Virus software cannot detect certain Rootkits. NEXT ISSUE: How do I protect myself from these vulnerabilities? If you have tech question that you would like us to write about email us at techtips@intersoftgroup.com. Back to Top Intersoft Jobs: Sales Positions Wanted Intersoft is looking for qualified Sales Applicants to join our Group! If you know of anyone looking for a Sales position that you feel would be a good fit with our company please have them check out our job description at: http://www.intersoftgroup.com/jobs/jobs.aspx All qualified sales applicants can email their resume to: jobs@intersoftgroup.com Back to Top