Westbrook Technologies' Fortis CDExpress

Emedia Professional, March, 1999 by Marla Misek

any magician worth his or her salt knows the secret to a good trick is mastering the art of illusion--keep your audience fixated on one hand so they don't see what you're doing with the other. Compounding the mystique of magic, of course, is the fact that Joe Average can't always follow the trick, let alone perform it.

Some recent document management-branded software solutions have proven equally mystifying, with a number of products promising the moon. What's worse, those capable of true integration are often so complicated that even the prospect of digging through countless filing cabinets seems palatable. For the average business user who may not have the time or inclination to fumble through the conversion and management of electronic business data, simple document management may appear to be the ultimate illusion.

Since 1984, Westbrook Technologies has worked to unmask the mysteries of document management. Its flagship series of products, introduced in 1990 as File Magic!, today includes a range of OEM software used by more than 12,000 customers in 27 countries for all types of traditional document management applications. In April 1997, Westbrook expanded File Magic!--conceived originally for the desktop--into Fortis, a 32-bit, ODBC-compliant client/server system for Windows 95 and NT. One year later, Westbrook simplified the process of indexing and archiving business data even further by incorporating CD recording functionality into Fortis.

The result: Fortis CDExpress, a fully integrated document management solution that allows users to archive and record from their desktops large databases of mission-critical files--along with a search-and-retrieval mechanism for viewing and sharing that information--to CD-ROM. The final discs, which users may distribute to their customers in place of paper files, include the user's choice of Fortis-generated databases of mission-critical information, search indices and query sets for advanced retrievability, and a viewer module for accessing the archived data.

it's all in the setup

Using GEAR Software's GEAR.wrks toolkit for CD premastering and recording, Fortis CDExpress eliminates many of the procedures inherent to CD recording by making them inherent to the software doing the data archiving. As a result, the Fortis CDExpress user can input, index and file, retrieve, annotate and edit, record to CD-ROM, and distribute data--all within the Fortis CDExpress application. The need to learn, support, or use alternative CD recording software packages in conjunction with your index, search, and retrieval software is thereby eliminated.

Once the data is indexed and recorded, it may be viewed on the CD-ROM in its original format using the Fortis View Station. A self-contained viewing application that is recorded automatically to disc by Fortis CDExpress, the View Station retrieves indexed data and documents--including images, graphics, text, spreadsheets, word processing documents, audio and video clips, and documents within documents--without concurrently running additional software. Other user stations inherent to Fortis include: System Administration, which allows the system administrator to define and control system users and In Baskets; Database Administration, which allows database administrators to create and maintain the databases with which enterprise users work; Scan, which lets users perform most of the processing tasks associated with everyday document management, including importing and annotating; and Edit, which lets users perform all of the tasks of the Scan Station, except actually scanning documents.

Because the Fortis line is enterprise software designed for very large installations, it is now sold not as an out-of-the-box solution, but through a structured reseller channel. Therefore, every new user must participate in two days of software training by coming directly to Westbrook's corporate facilities, or by going through training given by a reseller who has been through Westbrook's courses. This service-oriented approach to product sales is designed not only to eliminate the mysteries of navigating new document management software, but to guarantee that each individual customer site is established accurately. Despite the apparent inconvenience of on-site training, the policy is--believe it or not--a very good one.

My two days of training at Westbrook's corporate headquarters in Branford, Connecticut were spent almost entirely in learning the intricacies of Fortis v. 1.5.1, the document management engine that powers CDExpress. Mastering CDExpress only took about 20 minutes; Fortis itself is a bit complicated at first, but intuitive enough that users across a range of competencies should be able to master it with the support provided. Moreover, the company's education specialists do their best to provide one-on-one training whenever possible. During my visit, I was afforded the benefit of my own private session; other training sessions in the building were capped at six users each--still a good number for receiving personalized attention. Training, I found, also can be as general or specific as you want or need it to be. My trainer was particularly good at engaging me with the product without rehashing familiar concepts.