Online Doc Repository Aimed at Sales, Marketing

Hewlett-Packard Co. eServices company, Mimeo, unveiled a centralized digital document repository that enables users to post collateral and materials that can be accessed, managed and shared. Regardless of the slowdown in the economy, all enterprises continue to deal with the explosive growth of all forms of content, according to researchers. Gartner's 2002 CIO spending survey showed that content management was the number 2 priority - second only to security - on CIO's agenda this year. The main reasons include the cost of creating, maintaining and searching documents; documents and content can be a revenue generator; and content enables the real-time enterprise by bringing the correct information into the correct worker's hands at the right time, according to Gartner's research. The latest product to attempt this is DocCenter. The repository, aimed at sales and marketing organizations, lets those groups manage, print and distribute printed documents. The Internet-based document management system lets users in remote locations access the system. This eliminates the need for costly warehousing of documents, time consuming trips to the local print center and the inconsistent quality of decentralized printing locations, the company says. All documents order from DocCenter can are printed and bound at a single Memphis, Tenn.-based facility digital printing facility. If the documents are orders prior to 10pm EST, they will be delivered to the user the next day. For about $1,000 per month for an unlimited number of seats, DocCenter aims to shorten cycle times, improve reaction capability and streamline workflow, as well as ensure higher quality and consistency of documents. DocCenter allows users to set permissions for access to documents. Users can also store and share distribution lists and address books. "With such a large sales and marketing team, both in the field and at headquarters, we need to provide scores of documents to assist them in doing their job," says John Sawyer, director of corporate and marketing communications for J.D. Edwards & Co. "Maintaining control over our message and our brand integrity is critical. DocCenter will improve our control and save us valuable time by ensuring that every professional has the right documents at the click of a button for printing, binding and next day delivery."