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Hitachi Offers Software Packages to Improve Office Work Productivity; Introducing Groupware and Workflow Systems (This is the translation of a Japanese press release.) |
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9 December, 1994
On December 21, Hitachi Limited will begin shipping Groupmax, an open software package that integrates groupware (which aims at improving job productivity in organizations such as departments and sections) and workflow systems (which aim at automating and effectively managing workflows in client/server environments).
Improving white-collar productivity has become a crucial problem. More and more groupware and workflow systems are on the market. Groupware aims at supporting everyday office work such as creating and mailing documents. Workflow systems aim at improving relatively fixed main work by organizing and managing workflows.
By combining groupware and workflow systems, Groupmax can provide a flexible response to various kinds of work or activities. In addition to approval of documents, workflow systems must be able to handle relatively fixed main work which was formerly processed by mainframes.
Hitachi Limited provides e-mail to support communication, and document management software products to support information sharing and document management. With Groupmax, Hitachi provides a workflow system product to improve relatively fixed main work and provides a software package that integrates groupware and workflow systems to strongly promote reengineering of business processes.
Groupmax is an open integrated software package composed of eight software products from e-mail to a workflow system. It is used on Windows 3.1 as a client and on HI-UX/WE2 as a server. You can choose among the eight software products depending on your work or needs, and you can operate the software immediately after installation without developing any other applications. Groupmax is for both small systems that use a single-server and large systems that use multiple servers. Groupmax can be extended from departments through the entire company.
The Hitachi Creative Server 3500 Series and Hitachi Creative Station 3050RX are used as servers. Any personal computer on which Windows 3.1 operates can be used as a client. Windows NT will be supported in the future.
Hitachi will offer problem-solution services related to Groupmax, such as business analysis, system design services and installation services.
GroupMail and GroupAddress have been developed based on systems developed for Nissho Iwai Corporation.
Groupmax is a software package that integrates a groupware system (which provides e-mail and document manager for information exchange in your office environment) and a workflow system (which manages and evaluates work processes). You can choose which basic products you want depending on your needs. You can use Groupmax immediately after installation and do not need to develop any other applications.
Groupmax provides workflow systems for standard office work that requires a formal document approval process, through to various kinds of basic businesses. You can use the GUI-based Flowmate/Definition to visually define work processes, and can use Flowmate/Monitor to monitor the progress of work and get information. Also you can use Flowmate/Development Kit to easily develop applications with Visual BASIC or C.
You can continue to use your current word processor and spreadsheet software such as OFIS/POL for Windows, MS-WORD, or Excel on your personal computer. You can also connect to well-known e-mail services such as cc:Mail. Using GroupOASQUARE, you can link to UNIFY or ODBC databases so that you can use data stored in these databases in your forms and vice versa. In short, Groupmax can easily be added to your existing environment.
Groupmax has been developed to suit the organizations used in Japanese companies, though groupware has been developed mainly in the United States. Employees can be identified by their positions. Seals can be used to indicate approval or authentication in every-day documents.
Groupmax provides system scalability to meet the needs of large-scale users with multiple servers over a wide area. Personal computers in remote areas are also available as remote clients.
Because you can use Groupmax in Windows, you can link workflow operations to your familiar word processor or spread-sheet software. You can also seamlessly link the workflow for the relatively fixed main work to everyday work especially including mail.
Flowmate/Manager and Flowmate/RunTime aim at business process reengineering by handling all kinds of work ranging from office work such as a formal document approval through to relatively fixed main work which was formerly processed by mainframes.
Flowmate/Definition provides various workflow models to facilitate system design, and facilities to visually define work processes. You can use this product to easily detect redundant tasks.
Flowmate/Monitor and Flowmate/Manager manage job operation environments, and analyze, monitor and log work to help improve your job.
Flowmate/Development Kit enables you use Visual BASIC or C to easily develop applications that use workflows.
You can attach graphical data to your workflow and attach voice memos instead of written memos to ensure smooth communication. These various facilities enable you to build wide-ranging workflow systems ranging from the computerization of office work through to large-scale mission-critical businesses.
By linking mail systems or workflow systems, you can sort document information created with word processor or spreadsheet software on your personal computer, then catalog and manage the information on servers connected via a network. End users can perform attribute searches using document attributes or user attributes, can search all text by linking with the Hitachi High-speed Search System Bibliotheca/TS, and can perform complex searches that combine attribute searches and searches of all text. Shared documents can be security-protected by setting user or group access rights. Version control of shared documents is also possible.
GroupMail is a scalable mail system that can handle small systems through to standard X.400 or standard SMTP (MIME)-compatible large-scale systems with multiple servers. It provides mail-circular and bulletin board facilities to computerize office work. You can send mail to organizations such as departments as well as to individuals. You can connect to well-known e-mail services such as cc:Mail.
GroupAddress is an address book used to manage individual and organization information in a hierarchical structure that is suitable for actual organizations used in Japanese companies. Groupmax can effectively handle the large amount of data produced by companies, and large numbers of users.
You can send and receive faxes in using the normal GroupMail procedures. Mail information (code information) can be automatically converted to faxes (image information).
You can coordinate the schedules of participants who belong to several departments and reserve meeting rooms. Rights to read schedule information can be set according to job position.
You can visually process forms on a personal computer in the same way as you fill in paper forms. You can easily create worksheets to be used for forms or databases, and you can attach secure electronic seals to indicate approval.
GroupShop is an integrated work environment which is modeled on an actual desk environment. It provides an environment where you can use every Groupmax product from the same window and effectively carry out your job tasks (such as mailing and workflow activities) by using consistent operating procedures.
| E-mail:WWW-mk@soft.hitachi.co.jp |