Imaging parts mix to match user needs - Technology Information

Software Magazine, Dec, 1995 by Richard Adhikari

The company processes about 425,000 claims a day using IBM's ImagePlus imaging solution, running under MVS on an IBM mainframe. This system is accessed by 1,200 users on OS/2 workstations, which are used only for claims processing and imaging. The imaging network is Banyan Vines over IBM Token-Ring. The organization handled 110 million claims last year, said W. Lowell Starling, corporate vice president of information systems.

"This is a mainline production system that costs us $35,000 an hour when it's down," he said. "For mainline mission-critical systems, we're still running big iron because of its reliability, stability and security."

Con Edison, New York City, also opted for a single-vendor imaging system to replace its 20-year-old mainframe-based system, which generated huge amounts of paper reports. The goal of the imaging system was to save money and better serve customers, said Ed Glister, senior project manager for new customer service systems. The utility, which had $6 billion in revenue last year, provides electricity, gas and steam to more than four million customers in New York's five boroughs, as well as in Westchester County.

After evaluating numerous imaging system vendors, Con Edison selected Sigma Imaging System's OmniDesk. "Sigma won out because it was scalable, and worked with Windows at the client level," said Glister. The package was also easy to use, he said. "We wanted a product that didn't require a programmer to do a change in logic- it has to be done by a user using graphical user interfaces," he said. Other points in Sigma Imaging System's favor: The vendor had the least expensive pilot project implementation costs and used standard, rather than proprietary, hardware. "We didn't want to be locked in to any one vendor," said Glister.

The imaging system runs on Compaq XL ProLiant servers running OS/2, but will soon move to a Windows NT platform. The servers are linked to 1,350 PCs throughout offices in Con Edison's jurisdiction, as well as to the firm's two mainframes through Token-Ring and T-1 links.

Sigma was acquired by Wang Labs, Billerica, Mass., earlier this year. Wang's acquisition of Sigma, and the purchase of Watermark Software Inc., Burlington, Mass., by FileNet Corp., Costa Mesa, Calif., have given both high-end vendors a foothold in the lower-end imaging market. But that does not mean the traditional high-end imaging systems vendors are abandoning their roots, said ACI's Ryrie. Rather, such moves are an attempt by these firms to broaden their markets. "The dominant players that have traditionally played more in the high end of the marketplace are saying they expect to play pretty much in all areas of the marketplace," said Ryrie.

So, how should corporations choose an imaging system today? Ryrie said an organization needs to assess the size of the applications, the number of users involved, how many images will be stored, if the system will utilize workflow and, if so, how extensively. "From a cost-performance standpoint, certain vendors aren't going to be cost-effective until you reach some number of images and seats," he said.