Document Management Server

[Tywais]

Our new facility is near completion and the center wishes to operate a "paperless" office. That is, rather then a cabinet full of documents they will all be placed on a central server. This includes scanned documents/images, faxes, Word, Excel, Database etc. As such I've been given the task of recommending a document management system. I've already written the proposal for the hardware which includes Raid 1 operation, high quality power supplies, etc.

So far my search comes up with very expensive packages, some running 2,000 to 3,000 dollars per year. I found KnowledgeTree is offered (community version) on SourceForge but it is highly limited. Would prefer web access (secure) to the document handling server with virtual disk capability to save Office documents, scanned docs, faxes, directly.

I realize this is a tough question, but just given it a shot that someone may have experience with Enterprise document handling. Operating system has not been decided on yet and will depend on the software requirements.

P.S. I'm also considering the possibility of setting up an application server so any info on this also would be appreciated.

[Goyave]

Several years ago, I worked in a company which was using the French version of Docubase software. At that time, it was pretty good, but I don't know what it's worth nowadays. You probably can get a demo version in order to evaluate this solution (there's a link to request a demo on their website).

http://www.docubase.net/index.php?pg=products

[singa-traz]

http://www.documentum.com/ from EMC ... but out of your budget ...

[Tywais]

Thanks for that link, looks interesting. I just downloaded and installed the community version (free but some features missing) of KnowledgeTree and testing it now. 200MB file! But it has all the servers, httpd, database, etc integrated and access to it is through a web browser. A drag and drop plugin allows any file to be dropped in the window and it automatically gets sent to the user account on the server. That one costs between 2000-3000 USD per year depending on number of users so not really an option for us to get the full version.

We are also getting a multi-purpose Ricoh copier, scan b&w - color, print the same and fax capability with USB and network interfaces. Talked to the rep today and they offer a 3rd party document management package and will come to our office tomorrow to demo it. I believe one of the limitations of the free version above is that you can't work directly on a file (which would include file locking) and only manage, upload and download. He mentioned that they can rent it to us the same as the Ricoh copier we are getting.

[OxfordWill]

How about SVN and pay someone $1000 to write a web GUI for it? Probably many free guis out there for it too. They may not like you suggesting going free though, which is my experience.

[jmInBgk]

You have a few open source solutions you might want to look at:

Source KM World: WCM Market Overview 2008

Open source options started to flourish in 2007 and will undoubtedly become more prominent in 2008. Alfresco continued to grow, and Nuxeo finally gained better exposure into larger deals and is emerging as a serious competitor to Alfresco (at least in Europe). Knowledge Tree from South Africa recorded hundreds of thousands of downloads of its open source option, and we finally got ECM in a box, courtesy of InfoGrid Pacific. Although selling at the moment in developing nations, this open source, rack-mount appliance appears to be receiving a welcome response and offers a new model to the market.

FYI, Alfresco and Nuxeo are Java based, InfoGrid is Django (python) based.

Regarding Alfresco, which is nice overall, there was a recent discussion on Slashdot (Can You Be Denied the Right To Support OSS? (22/11/2008)) which explained that Alfresco's consulting partners are not allowed to do projects based on Alfresco's GPL edition because their partnership contract denied them the right to do so. They only can support Alfresco's enterprise edition. You can find "non certified" partners to help you with Alfresco GPL though.

[Tywais]

I have been looking at the open source alternatives though some are quite expensive depending on feature requirements. I have several downloading now that are the entry level (free) versions including Alfresco and will see how they perform. The KnowledgeTree community version is quite nice but no true collaboration support in it.

Thanks for the responses.

[Crushdepth]

Just curious what you will use for your storage and backup system. I'm trying to get a proposal up for a file server in our office on a very limited budget.

[Tywais]

Just curious what you will use for your storage and backup system. I'm trying to get a proposal up for a file server in our office on a very limited budget.

I went for a medium scale system in order to stay within budget. The monitor/keyboard/mouse are basic due to it being a remote server. Here are the specs I put together for approval.

ASUS P5K-E WiFi-AP Mainboard 5650.00 Baht

ASUS EN7300LE TOP/HTD/256MB 1700.00

2GB DDR2 800 Memory 1200.00

Intel Core2Duo E7300 CPU 5530.00

Samsung 943NWX 19” Widescreen LCD Monitor 5270.00

Seagate ST3250310AS 250GB SATA Hard Drive 1800.00

Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB SATA Drive x2 5000.00

CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 550W Power Supply 3800.00

APC Back-UPS BK650AS 650VA 3700.00

Computer Case (CoolerMaster) 1000.00

DVD Writer 1000.00

Keyboard & Mouse 1000.00

--------------

36650.00 Baht

[Tywais]

Just curious what you will use for your storage and backup system. I'm trying to get a proposal up for a file server in our office on a very limited budget.

I went for a medium scale system in order to stay within budget. The monitor/keyboard/mouse/video card are basic due to it being a remote server. Here are the specs I put together for approval.

ASUS P5K-E WiFi-AP Mainboard 5650.00 Baht

ASUS EN7300LE TOP/HTD/256MB 1700.00

2GB DDR2 800 Memory 1200.00

Intel Core2Duo E7300 CPU 5530.00

Samsung 943NWX 19” Widescreen LCD Monitor 5270.00

Seagate ST3250310AS 250GB SATA Hard Drive 1800.00

Seagate ST3500320AS 500GB SATA Drive x2 5000.00

CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 550W Power Supply 3800.00

APC Back-UPS BK650AS 650VA 3700.00

Computer Case 1000.00

DVD Writer 1000.00

Keyboard & Mouse 1000.00

--------------

36650.00 Baht

The 250GB will be the operating system and applications. The two 500GB will be setup in a Raid1 configuration for data security/protection reasons as the data storage system. As a file server, CPU performance is generally not that critical but in my case the database side can be moderately computer intensive. I've been running a file server on my office workstation for a few years with modest hardware with no burden on the system.

Things can be trimmed if your budget is too tight such as a less expensive power supply, lower performance CPU, a single Hard disk, etc. As I mentioned, if just a file server a middle performance system is fine. Also the mainboard can be a lower end, ~3000 baht, with VGA onboard then you don't need to add a Video card.

[karunnair]

Newgen Software Technologies Ltd.

www. newgensoft . com

Newgen Software is a Document Managment and Business Process Management company focused in the Asia Pacific Market. Newgen has extensive range of products and solutions for Electronic Document Management and Business Process Management.

you can contact me / my colleague for further information.

email ID's for contact - karun @ newgen . co . in muktesh . garg @ newgen . co . in.

look forward to helping you.

regards

Karun.