eCopy Unveils Multifaceted Program Designed to Make Scanning Documents to Enterprise Applications Ubiquitous

eCopy, Inc., a leading provider of solutions that integrate paper documents into electronic enterprise applications, today announced a multifaceted program designed to make it easy for any office worker to integrate paper-based information into enterprise applications, such as enterprise content management (ECM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and e-mail. The new program, called The Paper Connection, complements organizations' growing emphasis on information lifecycle management (ILM) and addresses the challenge of distributing, managing, accessing, and protecting paper-based information.

Built on eCopy's Open Platform architecture, The Paper Connection addresses the needs of independent software vendors (ISVs), digital copier and scanner manufacturers, office equipment dealers, value added resellers (VARs), system integrators (SIs), and CIOs and their end users. The Open Platform architecture enables applications to access paper documents using eCopy software either embedded on a digital copier or running on an external system connected to a digital copier or scanner. As a result, the new architecture enables ISVs to easily access eCopy's robust document scanning services on any digital copier or scanner by developing one software connector for all platforms.

In addition to the Open Platform architecture, The Paper Connection is comprised of:

--  The eCopy Connections Alliance Program (eCAP)
--  The eCopy Ready Manufacturers Program
--  The eCopy Solution Provider Network (eSPN)

Together, the four elements of The Paper Connection are complementary and provide synergistic benefits to each stakeholder:

--  For ISVs, the eCopy Connections Alliance Program provides an
    environment that eliminates the need to build individual software
    connectors for each digital copier platform, making it much easier to
    integrate eCopy software with enterprise applications.
--  For digital copier manufacturers, it expands market opportunities by
    enabling their product to serve as "paper on-ramps" to any business
    application -- strengthening their position as an essential infrastructure
    component for managing the complete document lifecycle.
--  For office equipment dealers, VARs, and SIs, the architecture helps
    expand revenues by providing document scanning and application integration
    capabilities for the rapidly growing products and professional services
    market for scan-enabled digital copiers.
--  For end-users, it empowers all workers to incorporate paper-based
    information into electronic workflows using a common interface across
    scanner and digital copier platforms.

"While the best practice technique is to capture paper-based information as it enters the organization, few organizations are doing this," said Meta Group Senior Vice President Andrew Warzecha. "Most are using a centralized capture or outsourced approach because of the training and scanner technology required. However, as digital copiers have proliferated, we have reached a tipping point where dedicated scanners and specially trained staff are no longer required. With digital copiers, any office worker can bring the document into the appropriate workflow by simply 'copying' it to the enterprise application verses being forced into a centralized approach as most organizations currently are. Over the next 24 months, this will trigger a fundamental shift in the viable options for capturing paper-based information and deploying best practice techniques."

Open Platform

The foundation of The Paper Connection is the Open Platform architecture, which has been in development for over four years and provides a fundamental change in how document scanning capabilities are delivered to business applications. In Calendar Q2, 2005, eCopy will ship Open Platform products for both embedded and external scan-enabled devices. These new products enable organizations to establish a corporate standard for document scanning across heterogeneous IT environments of diverse applications and peripheral devices to maximize enterprise investments.

eCopy will demonstrate several Open Platform software products at the eCopy Paper Connection Forum, a global summit for ISVs, digital copier and scanner manufacturers, dealers, VARs, and SIs. The event, which will examine innovative strategies for integrating paper-based information into enterprise applications, will be held on April 5 - 8, 2005 at the Fontainebleau Hilton resort in Miami Beach, Florida. For more information or to reserve your space, go to http://www.ecopy.com/paperconnection/.

eCopy Connections Alliance Program

A key component of The Paper Connection is the eCopy Connections Alliance Program (eCAP). This new program enables ISVs to easily integrate enterprise applications with eCopy's Open Platform products. It eliminates the daunting requirement for developers to integrate directly with multiple and different digital copier and scanner manufacturers' products. Integration is facilitated through the eCopy Software Developers Kit (SDK). This provides access to eCopy APIs and a GUI-interface generator that enables developers to easily create screens that match the look and feel of those used by major digital copier brands. For more information on eCAP, see today's press release at http://www.ecopy.com.