In our last blog we discussed the value and inherent benefits of integrating Alfresco, the open source enterprise content management platform, and Ephesoft, the open source intelligent document capture solution, in an enterprise solution. In this blog, let’s look at the business models of both of these companies and get a better understanding of why these two technologies work so well with one another.
Benefit 1: COST
Without a doubt, the value that both of these companies place on open source technology development is a huge factor in their success. Still, let’s take a quick look at the cost perspective of these two systems compared to other industry propriety solutions.
Cost of implementation is a major differentiator among an Alfresco – Ephesoft integrated solution and other, proprietary, solutions in the industry. Ephesoft itself reduces document capture and mailroom automation by up 80% over comparative proprietary capture solutions (SOURCE | TWEET THIS STAT). Combine that number with the savings attributed with the Alfresco platform, and the numbers, as you see above, just pile on.
This cost difference is attributed to the fact that neither Alfresco nor Ephesoft require their users to pay an up-front license fee. Instead, the companies charge and annual software support fee to their enterprise clients. This lower cost model allows for clients to achieve faster return on their technology investments while ensuring that the organization is not foregoing any of the strengths that are expected of an enterprise solution.
Benefit 2: CLOUD READY
Both Alfresco and Ephesoft are poised for cloud-based solutions. Ephesoft is the industry’s only java-based, 100% browser-based Advanced Capture System. The fact that Ephesoft is browser-based further enables employees to be able to ingest documents from anywhere, creating a capture solution that is mobile ready out-of-the-box. Further, since all users need to access Ephesoft is a standard web browser, this solution is accomplished without needing to download any additional software.
Benefit 3: ADHERENCE TO INDUSTRY OPEN SOURCE STANDARDS
The open source nature of both of these platforms allows them to embrace industry standards such as Content Management Interoperability Services (CMIS) that provide guidelines for ECM solution integration methodologies. By doing this, both Alfresco and Ephesoft are poised to effectively operate with existing technology portfolios. This provides several benefits, including
- rapid deployment of solutions,
- minimization of stresses and headaches attributed to system migration, and
- faster achievement of return of technology investments.
The nature of open source also allows for the solution to be both extremely scalable and customizable.
Benefit 4: FLEXIBILITY
Another inherent benefit of implementing an Alfresco-Ephesoft integrated solution to control the full lifecycle of your documents is the endless possibilities that come as a result of the open source nature of both of these products. Regardless of the type of business processes that are in play, both Alfresco and Ephesoft can be configured to provide custom workflows and specific content management requirements, from Document Management or Records Management to Collaboration, or even more specific workflow requirements like Case Management.
As you can see, there are several benefits of this solution that have roots in the foundations of both of these open source technologies. One thing is for sure, the possibilities of what can be accomplished with these systems are endless!! For more information, view our Alfresco and Ephesoft Blog Series!
Alfresco Community Edition is design to geared towards users who require a high degree of modularity and scalable performance. Alfresco includes a content repository, an out-of-the-box web portal framework for managing and using standard portal content, a CIFS interface that provides file system compatibility on Microsoft Windows and Unix-like operating systems, a web content management system capable of virtualizing webapps and static sites via Apache Tomcat, Lucene indexing, and jBPM workflow. The Alfresco system is developed using Java technology.