Solution Spotlight

AI Versus IA… Old MacDonald Had a Farm

“AI,” “IA.” It almost sounds like something that could be part of the children’s classic song “Old McDonald Had a Farm.” Yet, even though artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation (IA) can be somewhat of a tongue twister, the real confusion lies in what these technologies do and the differences between them.

Take a look at our blog to help define what each of these technologies are and how they are used in business.

AI is a group of technologies that work and respond like humans. From machine learning and natural language processing to speech recognition, AI technology enables machines to understand, operate, and learn-helping to maximize efficiencies, decrease human error, and accelerate time to market. AI is designed to replace human activity in manual operations.

AI has applications across every industry and now touches consumers at every turn in their relationships with businesses. Artificial intelligence fully supports functionality such as machine learning, natural language processing, cognitive document processing, and other “learnable” functions.

Intelligent automation (IA) connects separate automation technologies and is more of a concept than technology or solution. IA includes technology such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), process orchestration, artificial intelligence, analytics, mobility, and information management.

IA is a game-changer in almost every industry around the globe — helping businesses with efficiency, quality control, and their overall operations. In fact, Deloitte warns that companies that fail to include intelligent automation in their work processes will be left behind.

It’s important to note that AI and IA are not just buzzwords or a passing trend for large enterprises. Instead, these technologies are proving to be valuable components in addressing scale and complex processes — two of the biggest challenges for most enterprises. They have moved past their hype cycles and are here to stay to change the face of business operations across all industries and with companies of all sizes for the foreseeable future.

Product Spotlight

Expand SharePoint’s Reach with Information Automation

Microsoft’s SharePoint is popular among businesses because it is a portal as well as a document management and collaboration tool. There are things SharePoint is good at, and there are things that it needs help with to round out document management and workflow functionality. Enterprise-class products such as OnBase provide advanced information management and automation capabilities to SharePoint to make SharePoint’s value proposition complete. OnBase has web parts that can be inserted into a SharePoint portal page to provide the additional functionality and can also ingest SharePoint content for workflow processing or archiving.

Below are five areas where a product like OnBase can seamlessly integrate with SharePoint portal and document management. Please read our blog for complete details about expanding SharePoint’s functionality.

1. View and Other Document Actions

Using OnBase Web Parts, you will have more functionality and security than with native SharePoint. Toolbars and buttons that indicate advanced functionality, such as notes or annotations, audit trail and document history, send to email, and cross-referenced/related documents — all of which are based on your user or user group security.

2. Leverage Folders

In SharePoint’s digital environment, the folder structure is static, and users can organize documents in folders in various ways. With the OnBase File Cabinet portlet, the index data is used to automatically create virtual dynamic file folders. This is just another way of presenting the documents to the users. You can also make use of folder templates so users can see what documents exist and which ones are missing based on the type of transaction/folder.

3. Plan Document Libraries

This has been the toughest part of managing SharePoint. Document libraries don’t easily share information. A tool such as OnBase would be able to store and share information from multiple libraries with users and user groups no matter the location or the library.

4. Create Alerts for a Document Library

You can set up alerts in SharePoint to notify if files in a particular library have been changed or deleted. Taking this a step further, injecting a SharePoint document into OnBase workflow would provide for an ad hoc or a structured review and approval process. Along the way, users would be notified of documents requiring review and even escalations based on the amount of time a document is standing still.

5. Use Meta Tags for Optimal Document Organization

Tag documents you upload with meta tags for easy, quick retrieval. OnBase would take this a step further where the Custom Query or Dashboard portlet would use the meta tags as data that can be served in a report or used within a graphical chart that can be drilled down to the document and the complete history of that document. While meta tags are used primarily to find documents in SharePoint, you can see those meta tags can also be used in OnBase for reporting, graphical analytics dashboards and identifying related documents.

SharePoint has changed the way businesses store, file, retrieve, and manage documents. The benefits of using SharePoint with enterprise-class automation tools such as OnBase go well beyond the five mentioned here. From ad hoc scanning to seamless archive solutions to workflow automation and analytics, the SharePoint/OnBase integration can revolutionize a business’ productivity.

For more information about using OnBase to expand SharePoint’s functionality, please contact your existing Solutions Management Expert or email us at sales@allstarss.com.

What’s New

Technical Adoption Plan – OnBase Foundation Enhancement Pack 3

OnBase Foundation Enhancement Pack 3 is now available! OnBase Foundation (EP) 3 offers the latest features, fixes and security patches. As part of Hyland’s Foundation product versioning strategy across their content services platform, OnBase Foundation EP3 is a long term release (LTR). As an LTR, if your organization adopts OnBase Foundation EP3, this means to you will receive critical updates, security patches and fixes over a longer term than non-LTR EPs. Therefore, organizations that anticipate staying on the next version for a longer period should generally target LTR versions for their upgrades.

All customers who are currently on maintenance have the ability to upgrade to the latest version and are highly encouraged to do so. Hyland wants to ensure all customers are deploying and upgrading to their latest versions to take advantage of the most stable, secure and feature-rich software possible.

To do so, Hyland developed the following recommended product adoption plan for OnBase Foundation EP3, with key dates to note:

Thursday, April 23, 2020
OnBase Foundation EP3 became available and should be used for new installs. OnBase Foundation EP2 will no longer receive any development updates.

Friday, June 26, 2020
This is the last day OnBase Foundation EP1 or OnBase Foundation EP2 can be deployed into production for customers who are upgrading.

For more information regarding OnBase Foundation EP3, please contact your All Star account manager or reach out to us at sales@allstarss.com.

Hyland Licensing Changes

For many of you, navigating through the OnBase license options has been tough given the 400+ line items that can be chosen from. To simplify the process, Hyland has changed from 400+ items to primarily three items. The goal of pricing simplification is to group licenses based on the functional capabilities each individual user needs.

The three primary licenses are named user licenses called Essential, Standard, and Premier. Each of these tiers includes certain functionality. Trying to keep it simple, Essential provides access to the full span of essential OnBase content management capabilities; perfect for anyone interacting with content as part of their daily work. Standard activates workflow process automation and integration tools, allowing entire processes to be driven by OnBase and work seamlessly with core applications. Premier includes advanced capabilities for the creation of content-enabled, low-code business applications that support data-driven and case management solutions.

There are a few modules that are not included within these three tiers. These relate to functionality not included in the groupings defined above or because there is a tool being integrated with OnBase that Hyland did not develop or own. Some examples of these are: Advanced Capture, Document Production & Packaging, OnBase Image Forms, Document Generation & Distribution, Web Services Publishing, External Access Client and Server, OnBase Video and various integration modules, i.e. ESRI and DocuSign.

You have the option to purchase any combination of Essential, Standard, and Premier licenses. These licenses will be annual subscriptions and the subscription pricing will include annual support. A minimum of twenty five (25) named users in any combination of the above licenses are required per system.

Cloud pricing is also based at the named user license level. If you are thinking of moving to the Hyland Cloud, migrations from your current licensing to the new subscription pricing plus cloud fees is available.

This has been a quick overview of a significant change and we can continue the conversation with you at your convenience. Please contact your account manager or reach out to Paul Johndrow at pjohndrow@allstarss.com.

Software Updates

OnBase Foundation EP3 (LTR)
Version 20.3.2.1000
Current version as of 4/23/2020

Kofax Transformation Modules 6.3.1.5
6.3, Service Pack 1, Fix Pack 5
Released 4/7/2020

Kofax Transformation Modules 6.2.1.18
6.2, Service Pack 1, Fix Pack 18
Released 4/24/2020

Kofax Import Connector 2.7.0.4
2.7, Fix Pack 4
Released 4/29/2020

Kofax RPA 10.7.0.3
10.6, Fix Pack 3
Released 4/8/2020

Kofax Kapow 10.6.0.5
10.6, Fix Pack 5
Released 4/14/2020

Kofax Kapow 10.5.0.4
10.5, Fix Pack 4
Released 4/6/2020

Kofax Kapow 10.3.1.3
10.3, Service Pack 1, Fix Pack 3
Released 4/16/2020

Kofax TotalAgility 7.7.0.5
7.7, Fix Pack 5
Released 4/8/2020

Kofax TotalAgility 7.6.0.8
7.6, Fix Pack 8
Released 4/15/2020

Kofax TotalAgility 7.5.0.22
7.5, Fix Pack 22
Released 4/22/2020

Want to learn more?

Not quite sure how all this information relates to your organization and the benefits you might realize? All Star offers demos for many of the solutions and products we offer. Schedule one today!

Hyland offers immediate assistance with critical business challenges

Hyland has always been committed to providing ongoing stability and innovative solutions to all their partners and customers. As we all find ways to adapt to the challenges presented by COVID-19, they continue to excel in how they respond to crisis management.

In partnership with Hyland, All Star Software Systems is working to make sure you aware of the many resources Hyland is providing.

COVID-19 Resources

For an overview of all COVID-19 Resources available, click here.

Included for a limited time, are a series of webinars, remote skill building training (like effective on-line meetings and working from home), plus you can now attend TechQuest remotely and also try out Premium — which is Hyland’s subscription based training/videos that are accessible on-demand. Virtual “Spring Training” Resources, including Webinars, TechQuest, free Premium Courses, and Remote Skill Building Courses can all be found here

We encourage you to follow this group to stay up-to-date on new content related to this topic: COVID-19 Community Forum.

We hope you’ll take advantage of these resources to discover all that is new and reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have regarding critical business challenges you are experiencing and to discuss the best approach for your organization.

For more information, please contact our Solutions Management experts at sales@allstarss.com.