Search Technologies

Search Technologies

by: Max Maglias

Each of us has been faced with the problem of searching for information more than once. Irregardless of the data source we are using (Internet, file system on our hard drive, data base or a global information system of a big company) the problems can be multiple and include the physical volume of the data base searched, the information being unstructured, different file types and also the complexity of accurately wording the search query. We have already reached the stage when the amount of data on one single PC is comparable to the amount of text data stored in a proper library. And as to the unstructured data flows, in future they are only going to increase, and at a very rapid tempo. If for an average user this might be just a minor misfortune, for a big company absence of control over information can mean significant problems. So the necessity to create search systems and technologies simplifying and accelerating access to the necessary information, originated long ago. Such systems are numerous and moreover not every one of them is based on a unique technology. And the task of choosing the right one depends directly on the specific tasks to be solved in the future. While the demand for the perfect data searching and processing tools is steadily growing let’s consider the state of affairs with the supply side.

Not going deeply into the various peculiarities of the technology, all the searching programs and systems can be divided into three groups. These are: global Internet systems, turnkey business solutions (corporate data searching and processing technologies) and simple phrasal or file search on a local computer. Different directions presumably mean different solutions.

Local search

Everything is clear about search on a local PC. It’s not remarkable for any particular functionality features accept for the choice of file type (media, text etc.) and the search destination. Just enter the name of the searched file (or part of text, for example in the Word format) and that’s it. The speed and result depend fully on the text entered into the query line. There is zero intellectuality in this: simply looking through the available files to define their relevance. This is in its sense explicable: what’s the use of creating a sophisticated system for such uncomplicated needs.

Global search technologies

Matters stand totally different with the search systems operating in the global network. One can’t rely simply on looking through the available data. Huge volume (Yandex for instance can boast the indexing capacity of more than 11 terabyte of data) of the global chaos of unstructured information will make the simple search not only ineffective but also long and laborconsuming. That’s why lately the focus has shifted towards optimizing and improving quality characteristics of search. But the scheme is still very simple (except for the secret innovations of every separate system) the phrasal search through the indexed data base with proper consideration for morphology and synonyms. Undoubtedly, such an approach works but doesn’t solve the problem completely. Reading dozens of various articles dedicated to improving search with the help of Google or Yandex, one can drive at the conclusion that without knowing the hidden opportunities of these systems finding a relevant document by the query is a matter of more than a minute, and sometimes more than an hour. The problem is that such a realization of search is very dependent on the query word or phrase, entered by the user. The more indistinct the query the worse is the search. This has become an axiom, or dogma, whichever you prefer.

Of course, intelligently using the key functions of the search systems and properly defining the phrase by which the documents and sites are searched, it is possible to get acceptable results. But this would be the result of painstaking mental work and time wasted on looking through irrelevant information with a hope to at least find some clues on how to upgrade the search query. In general, the scheme is the following: enter the phrase, look through several results, making sure that the query was not the right one, enter a new phrase and the stages are repeated till the relevancy of results achieves the highest possible level. But even in that case the chances to find the right document are still few. No average user will voluntary go for the sophistication of ขadvanced searchข (although it is equipped with a number of very useful functions such as the choice of language, file format etc.). The best would be to simply insert the word or phrase and get a ready answer, without particular concern for the means of getting it. Let the horse think – it has a big head. Maybe this is not exactly up to the point, but one of the Google search functions is called ขI am feeling lucky!ข characterizes very well the existent searching technologies. Nevertheless, the technology works, not ideally and not always justifying the hopes, but if you allow for the complexity of searching through the chaos of Internet data volume, it could be acceptable.

Corporate systems

The third on the list are the turnkey solutions based on the searching technologies. They are meant for serious companies and corporations, possessing really large data bases and staffed with all sorts of information systems and documents. In principle, the technologies themselves can also be used for home needs. For example, a programmer working remotely from the office will make good use of the search to access randomly located on his hard drive program source codes. But these are particulars. The main application of the technology is still solving the problem of quickly and accurately searching through large data volumes and working with various information sources. Such systems usually operate by a very simple scheme (although there are undoubtedly numerous unique methods of indexing and processing queries underneath the surface): phrasal search, with proper consideration for all the stem forms, synonyms etc. which once again leads us to the problem of human resource. When using such technology the user should first word the query phrases which are going to be the search criteria and presumably met in the necessary documents to be retrieved. But there is no guarantee that the user will be able to independently choose or remember the correct phrase and furthermore, that the search by this phrase will be satisfactory.

One more key moment is the speed of processing a query. Of course, when using the whole document instead of a couple of words, the accuracy of search increases manifold. But up to date, such an opportunity has not been used because of the high capacity drain of such a process. The point is that search by words or phrases will not provide us with a highly relevant similarity of results. And the search by phrase equal in its length the whole document consumes much time and computer resources. Here is an example: while processing the query by one word there is no considerable difference in speed: whether it’s 0,1 or 0,001 second is not of crucial importance to the user. But when you take an average size document which contains about 2000 unique words, then the search with consideration for morphology (stem forms) and thesaurus (synonyms), as well as generating a relevant list of results in case of search by key words will take several dozens of minutes (which is unacceptable for a user).

The interim summary

As we can see, currently existing systems and search technologies, although properly functioning, don’t solve the problem of search completely. Where speed is acceptable the relevancy leaves more to be desired. If the search is accurate and adequate, it consumes lots of time and resources. It is of course possible to solve the problem by a very obvious manner – by increasing the computer capacity. But equipping the office with dozens of ultrafast computers which will continuously process phrasal queries consisting of thousands of unique words, struggling through gigabytes of incoming correspondence, technical literature, final reports and other information is more than irrational and disadvantageous. There is a better way.

The unique similar content search

At present many companies are intensively working on developing full text search. The calculation speeds allow creating technologies that enable queries in different exponents and wide array of supplementary conditions. The experience in creating phrasal search provides these companies with an expertise to further develop and perfect the search technology. In particular, one of the most popular searches is the Google, and namely one of its functions called the ขsimilar pagesข. Using this function enables the user to view the pages of maximum similarity in their content to the sample one. Functioning in principle, this function does not yet allow getting relevant results – they are mostly vague and of low relevancy and furthermore, sometimes utilizing this function shows complete absence of similar pages as a result. Most probably, this is the result of the chaotic and unstructured nature of information in the Internet. But once the precedent has been created, the advent of the perfect search without a hitch is just a matter of time.

What concerns the corporate data processing and knowledge retrieval systems, here the matters stand much worse. The functioning (not existing on paper) technologies are very few. And no giant or the so called search technology guru has so far succeeded in creating a real similar content search. Maybe, the reason is that it’s not desperately needed, maybe – too hard to implement. But there is a functioning one though.

SoftInform Search Technology, developed by SoftInform, is the technology of searching for documents similar in their content to the sample. It enables fast and accurate search for documents of similar content in any volume of data. The technology is based on the mathematical model of analyzing the document structure and selecting the words, word combinations and text arrays, which results in forming a list of documents of maximum similarity the sample text abstract with the relevancy percent defined. In contrast to the standard phrasal search by the similar content search there is no need to determine the key words beforehand – the search is conducted through the whole document. The technology works with several sources of information that can be stored both in text files of txt, doc, rtf, pdf, htm, html formats, and the information systems of the most popular data bases (Access, MS SQL, Oracle, as well as any SQLsupporting data bases). It also additionally supports the synonyms and important words functions that enable to carry out a more specific search.

The similar search technology enables to significantly cut time wasted on searching and reviewing the same or very similar documents, diminish the processing time at the stage of entering data into the archive by avoiding the duplicate documents and forming sets of data by a certain subject. Another advantage of the SoftInform technology is that it’s not so sensitive to the computer capacity and allows processing data at a very high speed even on ordinary office computers.

This technology is not just a theoretic development. It has been tested and successfully implemented in a project of giving legal advice via phone, where the speed of information retrieval is of crucial importance. And it will undoubtedly be more than useful in any knowledge base, analytical service and support department of any large firm. Universality and effectiveness of the SoftInform Search Technology allows solving a wide spectrum of problems, arising while processing information. These include the fuzziness of information (at the document entering stage it is possible to immediately define whether such a document already belongs to the data base or not) and the similarity analysis of the documents which are already entered into the data base, and the search for semantically similar documents which saves time spent on selecting the appropriate key words and viewing the irrelevant documents.

Perspectives

Besides its primary assignment (fast and high quality search for information in huge volume such as texts, archives, data bases) an Internet direction could also be defined. For example, it is possible to work out an expert system to process incoming correspondence and news which will become an important tool for analysts from different companies. Mainly, this will be possible due to the unique similar content search technology, absent from any of the existent systems so far except for the SearchInform. The problem of spamming search engines with the so called doorways (hidden pages with key words redirecting to the site’s main pages and used to increase the page rating with the search engines) and the email spam problem (a more intellectual analysis would ensure higher level of security) would also be solved with the help of this technology. But the most interesting perspective of the SoftInform Search technology is creating a new Internet search engine, the main competitive advantage of which would be ability to search not just by key words, but also for similar web pages, which will add to the flexibility of search making it more comfortable and efficient.

To draw a conclusion, it could be stated with confidence that the future belongs to the full text search technologies, both in the Internet and the corporate search systems. Unlimited development potential, adequacy of the results and processing speed of any size of query make this technology much more comfortable and in high demand. SoftInform Search technology might not be the pioneer, but it’s a functioning, stable and unique one with no existent analogues (which can be proved by the active Eurasian patent). To my mind, even with the help of the ขsimilar searchข it will be difficult to find a similar technology.

About The Author

Max Maglias

[Phone] 2197964

[Email] [email protected]

[Website] http://www.searchinform.com

This article was posted on August 17, 2005

by Max Maglias

Is Desktop Search Deserving?

Is Desktop Search Deserving?

by: Jakob Jelling

Google, in their march to stay ahead of the pack of competition, has released Google Desktop Search. With Microsoftกs MSN in the lead position and nipping at Googleกs heels, and Googleกs new shareholders to please, Google has more incentive than ever to deploy technology both better than the other guyกs, and sooner. After all, the first to get loaded to the desktop is more likely to build and retain user loyalty.

Google Desktop Search allows you to search within various types of files on your computer. Itกs still in beta, but is available for download by anyone. It requires Windows XP or Windows 2000 with at least Service Pack 3. It runs as a memoryresident application, with a system tray icon, so that it can index new documents as they are created.

For example, if you know a certain word or phrase was in a Word document, but you don’t remember which one, you can easily locate all documents on your computer that contain that word. Desktop Search can search through email, text, and HTML files, your cached web pages, and MS Office Documents (Word, Excel, and Powerpoint only).

By way of comparison, there is a competing application, also free, from Copernic, not surprisingly called Copernic Desktop Search. At the moment, it is perhaps more advanced than Googleกs. For example, Copernicกs software scans the same type of files as does Googleกs, but also scans music and video files and PDF documents, while Google does not. Both products can only scan Outlook or Outlook Express email at present.

But don’t count Google out. Webmasters know itกs never wise to do that! After all, they’re still in beta with Desktop Search, and they are as surely aware of Copernicกs product as they are of MSN. Google has both the resources and motivation to not only keep but expand their market leadership.

By Jakob Jelling

http://www.sitetube.com

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.sitetube.com. Visit his website for the latest on planning, building, promoting and maintaining websites.

This article was posted on October 28, 2004

by Jakob Jelling

Seven Easy Steps to Boost Your Professional Image

Seven Easy Steps to Boost Your Professional Image With Adobe

by: Roger C. Parker

Oftenoverlooked commands can boost sales and project a more professional image. Adobe Acrobat Distiller is one of today’s most effective tools. Using Acrobat, you can distribute attractive and easytoread formatted documents for free.
Unfortunately, however, few take full advantage of Acrobat’s capabilities. As a result, their documents are not as effective as they could be.
Here are seven easy ways to improve the image and effectiveness of your Acrobat files.
1. Activate links:
Email and web site URLs on many Acrobat files look like active links, but don’t function. Although blue and underlined, the links do not take readers to different pages in the publication, launch their email program and address an email, or open an Internet browser and go to a web site.
After creating an Acrobat file, you must activate the links. Start by selecting the Advanced Editing Option, and use the Link tool, to outline the link, assign an action, and format the link.
Then, you must remember to resave your Acrobat publication.
Most important, every time you return to the original program and make any changes and create an updated Acrobat file, you must remember to reactivate the links! Otherwise, the links will no longer function—even though they will still appear blue and underlined.
2. Insert and delete pages:
The full version of Acrobat Distiller permits you to insert, delete, and extract—or copy—pages from one Acrobat document to another.
This permits you to create ขcompositeข publications containing pages created with several software programs.
You can include pages created with a variety of software applications with a framework created using Microsoft word. This newsletter, for example, contains a copy of the Mind Map I used to organize my thoughts. The page shows how you can use Mind Mapping to do better work in less time.
3. Save as…
Acrobat’s Save As… command permits you to create a composite document, separate from the original .PDF files. This makes it easy to reuse your original ขframeworkข files.
4. Headers and footers:
After creating a composite Acrobat file, you can add headers and footers. These can include title, author, client information, copyright information, date, and page numbers.
5. Comments:
Although intended for team review and editing of publications, you can use Acrobat’s Comments feature to draw your reader’s attention to specific passages or discuss their relevance.
You can use Comments to add a personal touch to formal documents intended for specific individuals, (for example, ขFred: I inserted this after you requested it when we met in July in Las Vegas. Rogerข)
6. Web browser:
Adobe Acrobat Distiller can capture and save web site pages. This works better than saving or printing from your web browser. It avoids cutting illustrations or lines of text in half as often occurs when printing from a browser.
By saving at frequent intervals, you can keep track of how your competitor’s web site changes over time.
7. File size:
The smaller the file, the faster it can be downloaded or sent as an email attachment.
Always choose the appropriate resolution when creating a .PDF file. Documents intended for onscreen reading and desktop printing do not require as much information as publications intended for fourcolor printing on glossy paper by commercial printers.
After deleting pages or extensive editing, use File>Save As… to save your publication under the original filename. (A prompt will appear warning you that the original file will be overwritten. This purges unnecessary information.
Adobe Acrobat is a powerful tool that few people take full advantage of. Using these seven techniques, your documents will be more effective.

About The Author

Roger C. Parker is the $32,000,000 author with over 1.6 million copies in print. Learn how to turn your newsletters into cash at www.onepagenewsletters.com

This article was posted on July 30, 2004

by Roger C. Parker

Microsoft CRM Integration & Customization: SharePo

Microsoft CRM Integration & Customization: SharePoint Document Gateway

by: Boris Makushkin

MS CRM is very close to document workflow automation, including Microsoft Office documents: Words, Excel, etc. The document workflow was perfectly automated about 10 years ago in Lotus Notes Domino. In this small article we describe the solution based on MS CRM integration with MS SharePoint.

Microsoft CRM is new player on CRM applications market and it is gaining its market share. Having different paradigm in its design (it stakes on Microsoft OS and technologies and completely disregards alternative platform, such as UNIX, Linux, Oracle, etc. based). Microsoft CRM market is very diversified: from small (5 users) to large (several hundred MS CRM User licenses) and it serves variety of industries: Transportation, Logistics, Lawyers, Pension Funds, HighTech, and many others. Deploying technologies, like Windows Active Directory, Microsoft Exchange 2003/2000, SQL Server, Crystal Reports Enterprise, Biztalk, Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Great Plains and Navision in close future makes CRM a beloved system for Microsoft oriented IT departments.

Letกs go right to the topic.

Major issue with storing documents in MS CRM in the form of attachments to Activity is inability to work on these attached files in cooperation with other colleagues, who do not have to use CRM. When several service people serve requests from the same client this is required. Currently you can use alternative way when you store office documents in the folders of your file system and when modifying document, you save it and reattach to CRM. This is inconvenient, because first it requires all your editing users to have CRM licenses, which delays CRM implementation.

We seem increasing popularity of document storage systems, like Microsoft SharePoint, Oracle Files, etc. Such systems, being implemented gives you time savings, related to documents revisions and versioning, approval cycles and workflows, web access through webportals systems and the like.

The target of our product is Microsoft SharePoint integration with MS CRM for document storage. Letกs take a look at the high level technical realization details:

Main modification from the MS CRM side is standard system behavior change when you open attachment in Activity. Standard unmodified CRM suggests you to store documents in the file system. Modified version sores document in SharePoint Document Library (the required library is subject for setup by MS CRM system administrator) or keep it in MS CRM as is (for documents of minor importance). From the moment of saving the document in SharePoint Document Library it is not stored in MS CRM – CRM will now store only the link/reference to the document. Also you are given the ability to open and modify the document at the place of opening, which speeds up MS CRM user performance substantially.

Table, storing the links to the documents sits in separate database and doesn’t deal with MS CRM tables (you know that you are banned to do structure changes in MS CRM db)

Document saving into MS SharePoint process occurs in MS CRM and with its assistance – SharePoint bridge, which does addition and update for the existing document into destination Document Library with MS SharePoint Web Services calls

Upon the addition into Document Library, MS CRM – SharePoint bridge registers the document in the special table for the future data extraction or notification mechanism registration

Then, interested users can work with the documents just using MS Office 2003 or other programs/editing tools, assuming these tools have access to MS SharePoint

Feedback is provided by MS SharePoint Event Handler component. This is special handler, inspecting document change status, transferred from MS CRM to document storage (SharePoint), and report Activity owner on the changes with home page notifications (User home page in MS CRM). User in turn can review the history of the document editing who, when and where is the change

Opening Activity, where document is กattachedก, and in fact placed into MS SharePoint Document Library, and pressing opening button, MS CRM user gets live version of the data

This approach allows you seamless work with MS CRM document in the whole informational space of your company

Additional enhancements to this product might be document library management directly from MS CRM (web interface meaning remotely), administrative interface for MS Sharepoint documents revision, ability to create reports on the document storage status, rights/access management (Author, Reader, Contributor etc) from MS CRM, portal pages integration into MS CRM to name a few.

Happy programming, implementation, customization and modification! If you want us to do the job – call use 16309615918, 18665280577! [email protected]

About The Author

Boris Makushkin is Lead Software Developer in Alba Spectrum Technologies – USA nationwide Oracle, Navision, Microsoft CRM, Microsoft Great Plains customization company, serving Chicago, California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Florida, New York, Canada, Australia, UK, Russia, Europe and internationally ( http://www.albaspectrum.com ), he is Oracle, Unix, Microsoft CRM SDK, Navision, C#, VB.Net, SQL developer.

[email protected]

This article was posted on April 10

by Boris Makushkin

Search Technologies

Search Technologies

by: Max Maglias

Each of us has been faced with the problem of searching for information more than once. Irregardless of the data source we are using (Internet, file system on our hard drive, data base or a global information system of a big company) the problems can be multiple and include the physical volume of the data base searched, the information being unstructured, different file types and also the complexity of accurately wording the search query. We have already reached the stage when the amount of data on one single PC is comparable to the amount of text data stored in a proper library. And as to the unstructured data flows, in future they are only going to increase, and at a very rapid tempo. If for an average user this might be just a minor misfortune, for a big company absence of control over information can mean significant problems. So the necessity to create search systems and technologies simplifying and accelerating access to the necessary information, originated long ago. Such systems are numerous and moreover not every one of them is based on a unique technology. And the task of choosing the right one depends directly on the specific tasks to be solved in the future. While the demand for the perfect data searching and processing tools is steadily growing let’s consider the state of affairs with the supply side.

Not going deeply into the various peculiarities of the technology, all the searching programs and systems can be divided into three groups. These are: global Internet systems, turnkey business solutions (corporate data searching and processing technologies) and simple phrasal or file search on a local computer. Different directions presumably mean different solutions.

Local search

Everything is clear about search on a local PC. It’s not remarkable for any particular functionality features accept for the choice of file type (media, text etc.) and the search destination. Just enter the name of the searched file (or part of text, for example in the Word format) and that’s it. The speed and result depend fully on the text entered into the query line. There is zero intellectuality in this: simply looking through the available files to define their relevance. This is in its sense explicable: what’s the use of creating a sophisticated system for such uncomplicated needs.

Global search technologies

Matters stand totally different with the search systems operating in the global network. One can’t rely simply on looking through the available data. Huge volume (Yandex for instance can boast the indexing capacity of more than 11 terabyte of data) of the global chaos of unstructured information will make the simple search not only ineffective but also long and laborconsuming. That’s why lately the focus has shifted towards optimizing and improving quality characteristics of search. But the scheme is still very simple (except for the secret innovations of every separate system) the phrasal search through the indexed data base with proper consideration for morphology and synonyms. Undoubtedly, such an approach works but doesn’t solve the problem completely. Reading dozens of various articles dedicated to improving search with the help of Google or Yandex, one can drive at the conclusion that without knowing the hidden opportunities of these systems finding a relevant document by the query is a matter of more than a minute, and sometimes more than an hour. The problem is that such a realization of search is very dependent on the query word or phrase, entered by the user. The more indistinct the query the worse is the search. This has become an axiom, or dogma, whichever you prefer.

Of course, intelligently using the key functions of the search systems and properly defining the phrase by which the documents and sites are searched, it is possible to get acceptable results. But this would be the result of painstaking mental work and time wasted on looking through irrelevant information with a hope to at least find some clues on how to upgrade the search query. In general, the scheme is the following: enter the phrase, look through several results, making sure that the query was not the right one, enter a new phrase and the stages are repeated till the relevancy of results achieves the highest possible level. But even in that case the chances to find the right document are still few. No average user will voluntary go for the sophistication of ขadvanced searchข (although it is equipped with a number of very useful functions such as the choice of language, file format etc.). The best would be to simply insert the word or phrase and get a ready answer, without particular concern for the means of getting it. Let the horse think – it has a big head. Maybe this is not exactly up to the point, but one of the Google search functions is called ขI am feeling lucky!ข characterizes very well the existent searching technologies. Nevertheless, the technology works, not ideally and not always justifying the hopes, but if you allow for the complexity of searching through the chaos of Internet data volume, it could be acceptable.

Corporate systems

The third on the list are the turnkey solutions based on the searching technologies. They are meant for serious companies and corporations, possessing really large data bases and staffed with all sorts of information systems and documents. In principle, the technologies themselves can also be used for home needs. For example, a programmer working remotely from the office will make good use of the search to access randomly located on his hard drive program source codes. But these are particulars. The main application of the technology is still solving the problem of quickly and accurately searching through large data volumes and working with various information sources. Such systems usually operate by a very simple scheme (although there are undoubtedly numerous unique methods of indexing and processing queries underneath the surface): phrasal search, with proper consideration for all the stem forms, synonyms etc. which once again leads us to the problem of human resource. When using such technology the user should first word the query phrases which are going to be the search criteria and presumably met in the necessary documents to be retrieved. But there is no guarantee that the user will be able to independently choose or remember the correct phrase and furthermore, that the search by this phrase will be satisfactory.

One more key moment is the speed of processing a query. Of course, when using the whole document instead of a couple of words, the accuracy of search increases manifold. But up to date, such an opportunity has not been used because of the high capacity drain of such a process. The point is that search by words or phrases will not provide us with a highly relevant similarity of results. And the search by phrase equal in its length the whole document consumes much time and computer resources. Here is an example: while processing the query by one word there is no considerable difference in speed: whether it’s 0,1 or 0,001 second is not of crucial importance to the user. But when you take an average size document which contains about 2000 unique words, then the search with consideration for morphology (stem forms) and thesaurus (synonyms), as well as generating a relevant list of results in case of search by key words will take several dozens of minutes (which is unacceptable for a user).

The interim summary

As we can see, currently existing systems and search technologies, although properly functioning, don’t solve the problem of search completely. Where speed is acceptable the relevancy leaves more to be desired. If the search is accurate and adequate, it consumes lots of time and resources. It is of course possible to solve the problem by a very obvious manner – by increasing the computer capacity. But equipping the office with dozens of ultrafast computers which will continuously process phrasal queries consisting of thousands of unique words, struggling through gigabytes of incoming correspondence, technical literature, final reports and other information is more than irrational and disadvantageous. There is a better way.

The unique similar content search

At present many companies are intensively working on developing full text search. The calculation speeds allow creating technologies that enable queries in different exponents and wide array of supplementary conditions. The experience in creating phrasal search provides these companies with an expertise to further develop and perfect the search technology. In particular, one of the most popular searches is the Google, and namely one of its functions called the ขsimilar pagesข. Using this function enables the user to view the pages of maximum similarity in their content to the sample one. Functioning in principle, this function does not yet allow getting relevant results – they are mostly vague and of low relevancy and furthermore, sometimes utilizing this function shows complete absence of similar pages as a result. Most probably, this is the result of the chaotic and unstructured nature of information in the Internet. But once the precedent has been created, the advent of the perfect search without a hitch is just a matter of time.

What concerns the corporate data processing and knowledge retrieval systems, here the matters stand much worse. The functioning (not existing on paper) technologies are very few. And no giant or the so called search technology guru has so far succeeded in creating a real similar content search. Maybe, the reason is that it’s not desperately needed, maybe – too hard to implement. But there is a functioning one though.

SoftInform Search Technology, developed by SoftInform, is the technology of searching for documents similar in their content to the sample. It enables fast and accurate search for documents of similar content in any volume of data. The technology is based on the mathematical model of analyzing the document structure and selecting the words, word combinations and text arrays, which results in forming a list of documents of maximum similarity the sample text abstract with the relevancy percent defined. In contrast to the standard phrasal search by the similar content search there is no need to determine the key words beforehand – the search is conducted through the whole document. The technology works with several sources of information that can be stored both in text files of txt, doc, rtf, pdf, htm, html formats, and the information systems of the most popular data bases (Access, MS SQL, Oracle, as well as any SQLsupporting data bases). It also additionally supports the synonyms and important words functions that enable to carry out a more specific search.

The similar search technology enables to significantly cut time wasted on searching and reviewing the same or very similar documents, diminish the processing time at the stage of entering data into the archive by avoiding the duplicate documents and forming sets of data by a certain subject. Another advantage of the SoftInform technology is that it’s not so sensitive to the computer capacity and allows processing data at a very high speed even on ordinary office computers.

This technology is not just a theoretic development. It has been tested and successfully implemented in a project of giving legal advice via phone, where the speed of information retrieval is of crucial importance. And it will undoubtedly be more than useful in any knowledge base, analytical service and support department of any large firm. Universality and effectiveness of the SoftInform Search Technology allows solving a wide spectrum of problems, arising while processing information. These include the fuzziness of information (at the document entering stage it is possible to immediately define whether such a document already belongs to the data base or not) and the similarity analysis of the documents which are already entered into the data base, and the search for semantically similar documents which saves time spent on selecting the appropriate key words and viewing the irrelevant documents.

Perspectives

Besides its primary assignment (fast and high quality search for information in huge volume such as texts, archives, data bases) an Internet direction could also be defined. For example, it is possible to work out an expert system to process incoming correspondence and news which will become an important tool for analysts from different companies. Mainly, this will be possible due to the unique similar content search technology, absent from any of the existent systems so far except for the SearchInform. The problem of spamming search engines with the so called doorways (hidden pages with key words redirecting to the site’s main pages and used to increase the page rating with the search engines) and the email spam problem (a more intellectual analysis would ensure higher level of security) would also be solved with the help of this technology. But the most interesting perspective of the SoftInform Search technology is creating a new Internet search engine, the main competitive advantage of which would be ability to search not just by key words, but also for similar web pages, which will add to the flexibility of search making it more comfortable and efficient.

To draw a conclusion, it could be stated with confidence that the future belongs to the full text search technologies, both in the Internet and the corporate search systems. Unlimited development potential, adequacy of the results and processing speed of any size of query make this technology much more comfortable and in high demand. SoftInform Search technology might not be the pioneer, but it’s a functioning, stable and unique one with no existent analogues (which can be proved by the active Eurasian patent). To my mind, even with the help of the ขsimilar searchข it will be difficult to find a similar technology.

About The Author

Max Maglias

Contact information:

[Phone] 2197964

[Fax]

[Email] [email protected]

[Website] http://www.searchinform.com

This article was posted on September 08, 2005

by Max Maglias

The Seamless Web

The Seamless Web

by: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

http://www.enfish.com/

The hype over ubiquitous (or pervasive) computing (computers everywhere) has masked a potentially more momentous development. It is the convergence of computing devices interfaces with web (or other) content. Years ago after Bill Gates overcame his misplaced scepticism Microsoft introduced their กinternetreadyก applications. Its word processing software (กWordก), other Office applications, and the Windows operating system handle both กlocalก documents (resident on the userกs computer) and web pages smoothly and seamlessly. The transition between the desktop or laptop interfaces and the web is today effortlessly transparent.

The introduction of ebook readers and MP3 players has blurred the anachronistic distinction between hardware and software. Common speech reflects this fact. When we say กebookก, we mean both the device and the content we access on it. As technologies such as digital ink and printable integrated circuits mature hardware and software will have completed their inevitable merger.

This erasure of boundaries has led to the emergence of knowledge management solutions and personal and shared workspaces. The LOCATION of a document (oneกs own computer, a colleagueกs PDA, or a web page) has become irrelevant. The NATURE of the document (email message, text file, video snippet, soundbite) is equally unimportant. The SOURCE of the document (its extension, which tells us on which software it was created and can be read) is increasingly meaningless. Universal languages (such as Java) allow devices and applications to talk to each other. What matters are accessibility and logical and userfriendly workflows.

Enter Enfish. In its own words, it provides:

ก…Personalized portal solution linking personal and corporate knowledge with relevant information from the Internet, …livein desktop environment providing cobranding and customization opportunities on and offline, a unique, private communication channel to users that can be used also for eBusiness solutions, …Knowledge Management solution that requires no user setup or configuration.ก

The principle is simple enough but the experience is liberating (try their online flash demo). Suddenly, instead of juggling dozens of windows, a single interface provides the tortured user (thatกs I) with access to all his applications: email, contacts, documents, the companyกs intranet or network, the web and OPCกs (other peopleกs computers, other networks, other intranets). There is only a single screen and it is dynamically and automatically updated to respond to the changing information needs of the user.

‘the power underlying Enfish Onespace is its patented DEX กengine.ก This technology creates a master, crossreferenced index of the contents of a userกs email, documents and Internet information. The Enfish engine then uses this master index as a basis to understand what is relevant to a user, and to provide them with appropriate information. In this manner Enfish Onespace กpersonalizesก the Internet for each user, automatically connecting relevant information and services from the Internet with the userกs desktop information.

As an example, by clicking on a person or company, Enfish Onespace automatically assembles a page that brings together related emails, documents, contact information, appointments, news and relevant news headlines from the Internet. This is accomplished without the user working to find and organize this information. By having everything in one place and in context, our users are more informed and better prepared to perform tasks such as handling a phone call or preparing for a business meeting. This results in … benefits in productivity and efficiency.ก

It is, indeed, addictive. The inevitable advent of transparent computing (smart houses, smart cards, smart clothes, smart appliances, wireless Internet) coupled with the single GUI (Graphic User Interface) approach can spell revolution in our habits. Information will be available to us anywhere, through an identical screen, communicated instantly and accurately from device to device, from one appliance to another and from one location to the next as we move. The underlying software and hardware will become as arcane and mysterious as are the ASCII and ASSEMBLY languages to the average computer user today. It will be a real partnership of biological and artificial intelligence on the move.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of กMalignant Self Love Narcissism Revisitedก and กAfter the Rain How the West Lost the Eastก. He is a columnist in กCentral Europe Reviewก, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

This article was posted on February 2, 2002

by Sam Vaknin, Ph.D.

Technical Writing for the Terrified

Technical Writing for the Terrified

by: Mike Kemp

Introduction

Sometimes it may be beyond a companies or individuals budget to hire a professional writer to address their technical documentation. Although in an ideal world all technical documentation should be produced by a highly trained expert, unfortunately we do not live in an ideal. In the same way that many people will attempt to repair their own home appliances, many people will attempt to write quality technical documents. Just as fiddling with a toaster can result in electrocution, attempting to write technical documents from scratch without prior advice will ultimately result in failure. As a rough rule of thumb you should always seek to employ a specialist, but if for whatever reason you can’t and you are the poor unfortunate that has had documentation duties foisted on them, don’t despair. This brief guide outlines some of the core skills you will need to bring to your writing, technical conventions to be aware of, software packages you can consider, and definite things to avoid. Hopefully even if you have never written a sentence in your life about anything vaguely technical you will have at the very least, a broader picture of what technical writing entails.

What is Technical Writing?

Technical writing unsurprisingly enough, refers to writing that is technical. Although this may seem like a fallacious definition, itกs an important one to remember. Too many technical authors make the mistake of creating documentation that is either too technical, or too กliteraryก. A good technical author should be able to adjust the balance between the two to suit the end user of the documentation. Technical writing is a lot like fresh air, pervasive and yet pretty much invisible. In the weird wired world in which we find ourselves, technical writing is everywhere. Software manuals, user guides for home appliances, instructional leaflets, emails, letters, reports, technical news reports, statistics and biographies on television sports shows all are examples of technical writing to which people are exposed to on a daily basis. If you have ever tried to program the time settings on a home video recorder and flung the manual across the room in disgust, you threw a piece of technical writing (although obviously not a very good one!). Too many times technical literature is produced by writers with not a large enough grasp of technology, or technologists that lack an ability to write. As a prospective technical author you must tread the very delicate line of being technically knowledgeable in your specialist field(s) as well as being a กgoodก writer (as opposed to กbadก writers who can usually be found mugging sweet old ladies or something). Technical documentation is usually produced for two distinct user groups, namely expert level users, and naive users. As a technical author one of your first tasks is to sort out what audience you are writing for, which brings me deftly to:

Know thy foe

As the old cliché goes, everyoneกs a critic. This is particularly true of most sane peopleกs reaction when faced with technical writing. As was highlighted in the example of the video recorder above, technical writing can be impenetrable to the end user. If this is the case, it is because whoever wrote the documentation, didn’t bother to identify their audience and write to their level. It seems an obvious point to make, but one that is often overlooked, that the user of the documents your are creating, may not actually be an expert. Obviously if you are creating a document on a particular specialist product for a particular advanced user group (a good example could be auditing software for computer system administrators) then you will need to compose this is an entirely different way than if you are creating for example, a technical manual for mass market computer software aimed at the inexperienced home user. One of the first tasks you must accomplish before you even put pen to paper, of finger to keyboard, is to identify who the user of your documents will be and construct documents aimed at that particular target group(s). If you get this stage correct, it should avoid your documents being thrown across rooms in annoyance!

Planning for perfection

Once you have identified the target market for the documents you will be creating, you will need to start to plan how the documents will be organised. This process is largely dependent on what documentation is being produced, but you can follow a few rough rules of thumb. Firstly, if the documents are to support a particularly detailed product (such as a computer application) get your grubby hands on it as quickly as you can. By examining the product in detail you can formulate a plan of attack and begin to compose an organisational structure. Whilst you are exploring the product in detail, take copious notes, as doing this during the initial exploratory stages can save you time which can be absolutely vital if you are working to deadline. Even at the planning stage you must ensure there is a consistency to layout, and organisational structure for the document. Select numbering conventions, paragraph styles, and generate rough ideas for layout purposes now, and save vital time later.

Let a Draft in

Before diving headfirst into creating the documentation, draft out each section first. This will allow to reorder if the documents being created do not have a logical กflowก without seriously having impact on the project. Many technical documents (especially for more detailed products) are made up of numerous (and in some cases practically countless) iterations. This is because the product shifts and changes over time, and one of the principal duties of a technical author is to keep abreast of these changes, and to ensure that they are all well documented. Good technical authors will always push their documents through as many drafts as humanly possible, refining on each draft, until they reach a position whereby they (and their employer) is satisfied that the documentation is timely, accurate and a true reflection of the product or process it documents.

The devil is in the detail

As already identified, technical writing is called that because it is technical in nature. Part of being technical is to be precise, and part of precision is to be as detailed as humanly possible. Even if the documents you are creating are for an advanced and technologically sophisticated user group, your documentation must focus on the details of a process, or in using a product. This can be a difficult feat to accomplish, but not if you write to your audience. Never assume that the reader knows anything about the product or process be documented, but in the case of advanced / expert users at least have the common sense to recognise the fact that they probably do not need to be told how to use the equipment they operate on a daily basis. When describing how to carry out a particular activity or task, identify each stage involved (number them if this fits the conventions of the document type you are creating) and to ensure the accuracy of what you have written test it yourself, or even better, rope in a volunteer of the same skills level as the end user.

Choose the right tool for the job

Although it is possible to create technical documents using parchment and blood, itกs not advisable. Many specialist software applications exist to help you create powerful documentation, and part of your duties as a technical author, include selecting the right tool for the job. Largely this depends on the nature of the documents being produced, and the nature of their eventual distribution. If the documents can be delivered using the Internet, this is certainly an avenue to consider. To that end make use of packages such as Flash MX and Dreamweaver to achieve this goal. For integrated online help, you may wish to create raw HTML documents, or alternatively select a specialist package such as RoboHelp or similar. In the case of print based documents, you will need to select a software package powerful enough to handle what you will throw at it. Many inexperienced technical authors instantly turn towards Microsoft Word (as it is ubiquitous in may commercial and private environments). Unless your documentation is going to be beneath 150 pages, and you know how to create templates and make macros, avoid MS Word. As any technical author will tell you it has nasty habits all itกs own, and can often be an unstable package to work with. If you are creating graphics heavy documentation, you may wish to consider Quark Xpress, or choose potentially the industry leader in the field, Adobe Framemaker. Whatever software you select, you must ensure you become incredibly proficient with it, either by investing in training, or by using it day after day after day!

Communicate – thatกs what you are paid to do!

Many people will tell you that creating technical documentation is tedious and repetitive. These people, are wrong, and possibly morons too. Although you may find the process of creating technical documentation กboringก (if you do you are in the wrong job!) it isn’t. Creating quality technical documents is a vital stage in allowing people to adequately and correctly use technology. Although no user will approach the documentation you create in the same way as they approach a novel, you can ultimately help them achieve what they want to achieve using technology. No matter how กdullก the process may appear to be, allowing users to achieve their goals by reading your documents should give you a rush of pride and indeed, happiness. As long as you remember the positive effects that technology can have on peopleกs lives, when you create your documents you can communicate more effectively, as you will be happier in the communicative process. Throughout the documentation life cycle, you should seek to liaise with colleagues as often as possible (if applicable). Let them read your documents, listen to their criticisms, and adjust your documents (if you can’t argue your corner!). A technical author is paid to communicate, make sure that you do, and never forget why your are communicating, and to whom, in the documents themselves.

Common Mistakes to avoid making

When creating technical documents there are a number of fatal flaws you can make. Although by no means exhaustive, this section details some of the more common mistakes new authors make, in the hopes that you will avoid making them too:

Being Patronising – Although technical documentation should be clear, it should never be patronising. You are not creating documents to be read by morons but consumers and clients. You should always write to the skills level of your audience, but no matter what technical level people are on, they are not morons. Even children get offended when patronised, don’t make that mistake with someone who is paying your salary, child or otherwise.

Overuse of humour – People do not read technical documents to be entertained, they read them in the hopes of successfully completing a process, or extracting information. Unless it is relevant to the end user, avoid humour wherever possible. If you are writing a book, fine and good. If you are writing a manual, avoid humour like the plague, as more often than not users will miss the joke and just end up loathing the patronising idiot that wrote the documentation.

Inconsistency – Even at the drafting stage, you should ensure that all the elements used in your document are consistent. This applies as much to the ‘toneก of the document as to the layout of it. Ensure you use consistent senses (first person, etc.) as well as page layout, pagination elements, headers and footers, and all other textual elements.

Proof read – By the end of creating a piece of technical documentation, you will probably be sick of the sight of it. That doesn’t matter. What matters is what leaves your office or home, is accurate. To that end proof read the document throughout all itกs drafts, and before it is distributed proof read it again, and again, and again. Never rely on spell checkers (they never work) and if you can avoid it, never rely solely on your own judgement. Get your document read by as many pairs of eyes as possible prior to distribution, after all, they could spot the one thing you have been missing throughout the creation process.

Conclusion / Shameless self promotion

Technical writing is not regardless of what you may think, an easy job. It requires expertise, patience and a very odd mixture of skills. Just like any other job, you can learn how to do it, but even that tuition will not necessarily make you any good at it. To be a good technical author, you have to be anal yet creative, focussed yet communicative, and a flexible expert. This, as you can probably imagine, is no simple task. Although you may think creating technical documents is easy, creating accurate, consistent and timely documentation to a high commercial standard is a highly challenging role. Regardless of your budget, in the long run it will provide significant ROI if you hire a specialist. After all, they will be able to do in days, what you tear your hair our attempting to accomplish in weeks if not months.

About The Author

Over the years Mike Kemp has been employed as a freelance IT journalist (working for publications such as The Register, Namesfacesplaces, Security Focus and Packetstorm), a copywriter, videogames designer, security auditor, web designer, graphic designer and IT trainer. He has worked in a variety of freelance and permanent positions for both small (e.g. two men and a dog) companies to multinational organisations throughout both the UK and Europe. When not working on various articles, books, manuals, and assorted other copy for clients, Mike can usually be found toiling on a variety of unpublished novels. He has had several of his short screenplays produced by independent production companies, and is currently working on several feature length scripts.

Mike lives mostly happily in a dreadfully un-bohemian London suburb with his long-term (and long-suffering) partner, and two addled cats. To learn more about Mike, the range of projects he has been involved in, and other assorted stuff and nonsense, please visit his personal homepage at www.clappymonkey.com.

This article was posted on November 26, 2003

by Mike Kemp

Need of Document Management System (DMS)

Need of Document Management System (DMS)

by: Dr. Vikas V. Gupta

Document Management or Enterprise Information Management is perhaps one of the most important of the enterprise solutions that will provide a solution to the various requirements of SOX. Several sections of SOX have a direct bearing on the manner in which the digital documents/records of the enterprise are created, reviewed, approved, stored, retrieved, transferred, and destroyed.

Knowledge Management: Document & Records Management

Estimates have been made calculating that a significantly large proportion (some say, more than 70%) of the documents owned by an enterprise are in digital format and might never be seen in hardcopy.

According to Gartner’s Editor in Chief James Lundy: Records management will become a top 10 issue for many CIOs in the coming year.

In the following, we will discuss the various sections of SOX that a document management solution might help in complying with.

SOX Sections:

Section 302: According to Section 302, the CEO and CFO have to personally certify the financial statements and disclosures made by the company on authenticity and accuracy. This requires a system in place that will make the CEO and the CFO confident that all the disclosures that the company makes are accurate and authentic. This can be done in two ways:

One is to trickledown the responsibility of the CEO and the CFO to the lower management levels and in response bubbleup the signoffs from the lower management levels on all documents that are inputs to the company filings.

Second is to design comprehensive business processes that produce the company filings. The business processes will be designed in a very rigorous manner to comply with all the provisions and proper implementation and training of all the personnel related to the business processes will be carried out and tested on a periodic basis. Further, the business processes themselves will be open to stringent internal audits that will be carried out from time to time.

One, or a combination of both these practices will go a long way towards ensuring proper compliance.

For both these options it is clear that a strong enterprisewide document management system will provide the foundation on which the compliance will actually be carried out. In the first case, the signoffs can be configured using a workflow module of the document management system. In the second case, the business process itself will be configured in the document management system and all the relevant supporting or input documents too will be part of the DMS and appropriate subordination and linking will be done between the official company filings and all the input documents to it.

As proof of the records supporting the final company financials—as filed or reported—it is important to archive all the emails, excel sheets, instant messages or other communications and documents that were exchanged which led to a final certified filing by the CEO and CFO. This will safeguard the CxO’s claim that all the financial reports are true to their knowledge and due diligence was carried out before certifying the reports.

Section 404: The CEO and CFO need to provide a report assessing and certifying that the ขinternal controlsข have been assessed and are working fine or that there are weaknesses and appropriate action is being taken. Complying with this requirement is one of the most difficult parts of SOX and requires a whole slew of people, processes and technologies. However, DMS has an important role to play in this.

All the emails and attached documents in the chronological sequence will need to be archived for the purpose of proving that the internal controls are appropriate. Ideally, a workflow module will provide added assurance that the internal controls are implemented.

Section 103: requires storing the documents for a period of 7 years for audit companies. The company being audited would naturally want to replicate the documentation to guard against any discrepancy or miscommunication or mismanagement. Also another part of the act requires

Section 409: requires nearrealtime reporting of all material events—whether internal or external to the investors and the regulatory bodies. This can be accomplished by using a single enterprisewide document management system with appropriate ขalertsข and notifications and workflow configured according to the design of the compliancebased business processes. This system would make sure that all relevant information is immediately relayed to the top management (CEO and CFO) and the compliance committee and advisors with minimum delays and latency. DMS provides appropriate capabilities to the compliance advisors to provide a recommendation (within the stipulated time frame) linked to each alert and escalate the reports to the CxOs with the appropriate recommendations. The CxOs can then decide whether it merits disclosure under the compliance act based on recommendations of their Compliance Committee or Advisors.

Section 802: provides for criminal penlties for knowingly altering, destroying, concealing and other activities, such as introducing false records, related to impeding or influencing an ongoing or potentially upcoming investigation by a federal agency. This would call for holding all documents in a secure system where absolutely no one in the company can alter them once they are finalized. Also this calls for a formal document retention and destruction policy which is strictly adhered to (in fact, can be proven to be adhered to) and which involves making sure that no document which any investigating agency would require is being destroyed or deleted. Furhter, the act requires that as soon as the company comes to know about a potential investigation all documents pertaining or somehow germane to that investigation are immediately ordered indestructible to or unalterable by anyone—including the CxOs of the company. This makes it important to have a feature related to creat!

ing and accepting ขalertsข from the legal department of the company about any ongoing or upcoming potential investigations and as a consequence immediate information ขvaultingข of all related documents. This feature will ensure compliance with this particular section and save a potential prison term and a large monetary fine and of course loss of credibility.

This section has a strong bearing on a records or document management policy of a company. The company should develop a proper document management policy and adhere to it in a timely and rigorous manner. If this is not done, the company is exposed to severe costs and damage in terms of providing documents to hostile parties in ขpretrial discoveryข—the legal process of providing all relevant documents to the opposing party in a legal suit. It also exposes the company to accusations of hiding or destroying relevant documents—if done at a later stage—even before any legal proceedings are begun against the company—a la Arthur Andersen’s Enronrelated documents.

Document Management systems provide several benefits to the company. Since an IT system is a business process frozen in a particular software and hardware implementation, it proves that the particular business process is being consciously and diligently adhered to. In the worst case, this proves that the compliance is being followed in spirit. Now whether the compliance is being followed in form can be found out from the results of the particular system and also from the audits of it at various stages of the business process. The capability to follow an audit trail on all documents created or processed through it is extremely useful in executing compliance activities and also in proving compliance at a later stage. The capability to create workflows automatically creates auditable process paths. The DMS also makes possible to access any documents at any point of time with relative ease. It also acts as a centralized repository of documents (both structured and unstruc!

tured). All publicly disclosed documents can be locked in the final form as images and can not be tampered with later on. These can be stored and deleted according to the schedules of various regulatory and compliance Acts of the Government. Document and information which is supposed to be for limited consumption at the top management level can also be strictly screened and internal controls on these can be enforced rigorously. At the appropriate time the documents can be ขpublishedข.

Whistleblower: For this section of the act, it is important that a document management system is provided to log all whistleblower communication—absolutely securely where no unauthorized personnel may be able to access it—and store all communications.

An indirect requirement for Document Management Systems in the enterprise is for the purpose of storing the documents related to enterprise compliance policies, their updates, amendments, the internal control policies of the company and other documents of a similar nature that help in proving the compliance process at the enterprise.

The company needs to make policies about the following aspects of documents:

 Creation

Approvals

Publishing

Retention

Access

Distribution

Lifecycle

This policy will help in implementing the contradictory requirements of document retention for compliance purposes and document deletion for reducing the cost of document retention and improving operational efficiency.

Initial step is to define the document retention policy. The second step is to survey the existing document management systems in place in the enterprise and the third step is to create a proper document management system.

Have a centralized repository of documents.

Have a structured and hierarchical architecture

Have security & access control

 A Report Distribution System or Document Management & Workflow System will disburse this to the CEO and the CFO within the prescribed timeframe and allow them enough time to make their own final judgments about the situation.

Finally, a Public Information Distribution System should exist to quickly disburse this information—if judged important by the CEO & the CFO—to the investors & other stakeholders or relevant authorities prescribed by SOX.

Author: Dr. Vikas V. Gupta.

Email: [email protected]

http://www.inkorus.com

http://www.istrat.co.in

http://www.gemolap.com

http://www.internetsrus.com

http://www.realestatewebsoftware.com

About The Author

Dr. Gupta is the Founder & President of Istrat. He is a B.Tech. from IIT, Bombay & did his M.S.(Engineering) & Doctorate in Engineering Science (Ph.D.) from Columbia Univ., New York. Following his doctorate he has worked at University of California, Irvine as a Research Scientist and as an Asst. Prof. at IIT Kharagpur.

He is responsible for setting the strategy and direction of the company and looks after the strategy and execution of the strategy. He provides a global perspective to the company and provides a bridge between Indian IT resources, including talent and products, and global clients with IT requirements. He provides the Indian IT talent with an understanding of the parameters important to the global client (namely, quality, reliability and delivery, besides cost). Similarly he provides the global clients with an understanding of the breadth & depth of expertise of the Indian IT workforce (namely, Architecture & Design expertise, product development & project management expertise and functional expertise of business processes of various industry sectors, besides low cost programming talent).

[email protected]

This article was posted on October 26, 2004

by Dr. Vikas V. Gupta

The Concept of the Paperless Office

The Concept of the Paperless Office

by: Maricon Williams

The concept of a paperless office may seem a futuristic phenomenon. It’s about a workplace originating bulk of information electronically. Everything is packaged in a pc! But is the concept now a reality?

In the article A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Paperless Office Industry Trend or Event OfficeSolutions by Carrie Rivera posted on October 2000, the author said that combining small desktop scanners with high speed network scanners, your office has the potential to become paperless, allowing you to pull documents up at the snap of your fingers as well as electronically archive records.

An article in http://www.offshoremanual.com entitled Paperless Office caught my attention. It writes, ขNow, however, we firmly believe we have reached a point where the กvirtuallyก paperless office can become reality, even for those who don’t believe they have computer skills. Having put these techniques into action myself we have experienced a newfound freedom.ข

When we think of Paperless office, we envision an efficient way of conducting business something that is not compromising on the quality and saves time and effort on our part. Another thing is that all office documents are just at your fingertips. You can carry with you loads of work and documents. Once you have a true paperless office, you can put everything in your briefcase and take it anywhere in the globe. It can also save you a fortune. You can cut back on stationery, ink and mind you taxes! With it you can have a completely taxfree environment without prejudice of course if the law making body enacts taxation laws with regards to the matter.

Another crucial point that people brainstorm about is security. Business documents are the lifeline of every business. It has to be secured and guarded. Analyzing the security threats, two risks must be prevented. First the risk that somebody might stole it, and second the risk of you losing the data.

The first risk can be solved by the use of a special software. You should take an expert for this because this really matters. The second risk can also be prevented by backing up. Tedious as it may seem but it’s a must to do it.

In the article The paperless office Myth or Reality? Posted on Nov. 19, 2001, it says: ขExperts have been predicting over the last thirty years the concept of the paperless office. Yet research from a newly published book, The Myth of the Paperless Office, by Richard Harper, University of Surrey and Abigail Sellen indicates that the use of paper has increased and that this increase is due to the introduction of new digital technology.ข

As for me, we cannot 100% get rid of paper. We are still a paperbased society. The transition will happen gradually and we are in the point of sustaining the transition… While we are in this stage, we must get the best use of both paper and digital media.

About The Author

Maricon Williams

For questions and comments about the Artcile you may contact The Postcard Printing Moderator at 888 888 4211 or visit http://www.mypostcardprinting.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 24

by Maricon Williams

Tips for Variable Data Digital Printing

Tips for Variable Data Digital Printing

by: Kristine Llabres

To have a high quality, versatile and cost effective printings do it through digital printing. And if you want a smart looking customized printed documents, have it with variable data digital printing.

You may want it, but you do not know how it goes to just right? Then, read the listings of effective and worthwhile tips below and learn to do it your way. Remember that variable data digital printing enables you to personalize things out for your documents that would fit the interests and wants of your target clients. Too extravagant printed documents are not advisable for it would forfeit the purpose of inviting clients or requesting answers from the persons that you have sent the documents with.

Just like in other digital printings it is but necessary to make the whole document simple yet attractive and understandable. Since that is the main aim of the documents, to communicate messages. Since these documents can be personalized according to one’s preference it is always recommended to take a look at the need and interest of prospect individuals so that it would be possible for them to response positively in your printed document.

Furthermore, the more relevant and significant your documents are to your target customers the higher the chance of getting a favorable response from them. Meeting their expectations and demands out from your variable data digital printing, it is always an advantage to know something from the target customers so that it would be a lead for the company.

To have a winning document of various forms such as business cards, letters, brochures, catalogs and many other printing materials see to it that you print it using digital printing and if it will be a personalized one, do it with variable data digital printing. You will not be lost in the process of doing it and it’s a satisfaction guaranteed that your printed documents are highly favorable to meet the response that you are hoping for.

About The Author

Kristine Llabres

A devout reader of classical novels and Marxist books that boost her stand with regards her philosophies in life and a young lady who wants her life to be documented in every single detail of it. A diary and photograph addict, a young writer who wants to grow and excel in her writing career.

For additional information and comments about the article you may log on to http://www.digitalroom.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 31

by Kristine Llabres

So You Want To Be A Coder

So You Want To Be A Coder

by: Katelyn Thomas

What exactly is coding?

Coding is basically data entry. You will be looking at documents that someone else has scanned into the computer and taking certain information from each document and entering it in the provided database so that people looking for a certain document can find it quickly. For example, a legal document usually has special numbers that specify the first and last page of documents, the date, the writer of the document, who it is addressed to, what it is about, and additional helpful information entered into the database. There are coders for other fields, as well. Coding is not the same as medical coding and billing, which is a very different field that deals with insurance.

Would you make a good coder?

You will need to be patient enough to scan many documents that can be quite dry for important bits of information. (Frankly, Iกd make a terrible coder. I was surprised at how difficult it was for me to sit there and attempt this when I am used to poring over census and vital record documents for hours in search of one tiny piece of a genealogy puzzle.) You will also need to be very accurate. Your work will be checked by a quality control agent, who will make sure your coding is correct. You will need to look at documents that sometimes are blurry or hard to see, so you should have good eyesight.

Can I become a coder without experience?

It is certainly a lot harder. There are companies that hire new coders, though. Try thinking creatively when you apply to these companies. Sometimes you have some experience with something else that will help you stand out from the mob of people applying to the few companies that accept inexperienced coders. Did you create or update any databases for previous jobs? For instance, I created a job log and entered information about each job from the billing files for an employer. I also once volunteered to create a database of vital records using newspapers from the early 1900กs. If I was applying for a coding position, I would highlight these jobs in my cover letter.

What equipment do I need to code?

You will need a newer computer and high speed internet access. Most coding companies provide any software you need.

About The Author

Katelyn Thomas is the owner of Working In Pjกs, the work from home support site for MidAtlantic moms. For more great work from home information, visit http://workinginpjs.com Need a writer for your site? Visit http://www.webcontentprovider.com.

[email protected]

This article was posted on August 20

by Katelyn Thomas

Document Templates Give You The Perfect Framework

Document Templates Give You The Perfect Framework For Your Documents

by: Cavyl Stewart

When it comes to running an office, the SOHO entrepreneur has enough on his or her plate as it is. So if you find yourself in the unenviable position of regularly having to set aside your core competencies to handle tedious, repetitive administrative duties such as creating your business documents from scratch, then you need to consider the potential benefits offered by document templates.

Templates enable you to create professional documents that are unified in appearance. With a template, you’ll be able to access readymade documents that you’ll be able to manipulate via a stepbystep process to fit your specific needs. If you are new to the world of business, you can use templates to quickly, easily and efficiently create the professional quality documents you require. If you are familiar with creating business documents, you can use templates to save time.

You no doubt grasp the importance of standard documents such as contracts, business correspondence and agreements. But having to write, edit and print them up each and every single time they are needed is not only costly—in terms of taking away from missioncritical job duties—but also frustrating—in terms of forcing you to complete the same tasks over and over.

Document templates, however, greatly simplify the task by providing you with the framework for the documents you need. By using document templates, you’ll be able to easily personalize a standardized document. For instance, you’ll be able to input the names of the parties involved, addresses, specific terms of the agreement and other relevant data. The great thing is that document templates actually simplify the process of generating business documents.

When you use document templates, you’ll receive several benefits. You won’t need to spend countless hours creating business documents from scratch. You’ll increase worker productivity, because you and your staff will not have to manually create documents from the ground up. Furthermore, templates lets even nondesigners create impressive looking business documents that project a professional image.

You may even be surprised to know that some of the word processing software currently sitting on your hard drive have templates you can use to streamline the process of creating documents. For instance, MS Office contains plenty of features you can leverage to produce professionallooking documents. Using the templates included, you’ll be able to generate various types of business documents. WordPerfect is another word processing application you can use when it comes to accessing templates. And if you don’t have either MS Office or WordPerfect, you can use just about any desktop publishing project to produce templates for business documents.

With document templates, you’ll be able to generate the business documents you need when you need them. By creating your own business documents, then having your lawyer look them over, can save you money. Since you don’t have to pay him to create them from scratch for you. In this day and age when companies are proactively considering costcontainment measures, you should consider the benefits of templates to create your business documents. They will not only reduce costs, but also save you time.

If you’re looking for document templates, you should first check to see if your existing software programs already have them. But while many word processing and desktop publishing programs do provide document templates, most do not provide document templates for specialized business forms that you may require from time to time. So you may need to buy a thirdparty program that gives you access to these necessary templates.

Fortunately, there are a number of options when it comes to document templates. One of the better known document template programs is BusinessinaBox (www.envisionsbs.com), a software library that comes with policies, spreadsheets, legal documents, business correspondence and just about any other type of document you will need to effectively run your business. In all, BusinessinaBox includes over 700 document templates (basic version) or over 1,200 document templates (professional version) that you’ll be able to use. These document templates can also be used on most word processors, so you won’t need a fancy program in order to use them.

BusinessinaBox is not the only program that provides document templates, but it is certainly one of the most comprehensive. Envision SBS, the maker of BusinessinaBox, even offers a downloadable demo on its website. So you can give it a test drive before you decide whether or not to buy it.

There are a few other things you’ll want to keep in mind when considering the option of buying a specialized program that generates document templates. For one thing, you will want to get a solution that is not platform dependent. You may also want to consider a template collection that works with the software you already have. You’ll also want to ensure that the solution you ultimately buy has a wide range of templates available, such as document templates for contracts, memos, sales letters, collection letters, request for proposals and more.

Being a small company means that you’ll have to be more judicious when it comes to deciding what qualifies as your firm’s core competencies. When you consider cost containment, productivity improvement and customer service enhancement, I’m sure you’ll agree that using templates to quickly and easily create professional and high impact business documents is a smart business move.

Copyright 2004 Cavyl Stewart

About The Author

Cavyl Stewart is the owner of http://www.findsmallbusinesssoftware.com, which is dedicated to providing resources and information on finding the software solution that is right for your needs and budget. Check the template directory for links to some of the best template sites on the web.

I have over 25 years in the customer service field, having worked most of her life in banking, retail and employee outsourcing. I amalso a Certified PC Technician. My first small business (preinternet) was running an office support service.

This article was posted on March 18, 2004

by Cavyl Stewart