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Press Releases & Articles

NEW SOFTWARE FOR DOCUMENT DISTRIBUTION 
Business Times 29th Jan 2002

Virtual Studio Sdn Bhd, a software development firm, is offering an efficient way to organize and monitor document distribution within both public and private sector organisations. Called DocControl Distribution, it tracks and logs the entire distribution cycle, from the time the document is sent until its final response is received. "In fact, routine distribution such as specific incoming faxes or work instructions can be set for automatic distribution upon indexing, thus saving time for both the document controller and the distributor," the company said in a statement. It said these problems arise in government or statutory organisations, as well as corporations, where document distribution is sequential and slow, inefficient and do not provide for simultaneous viewing. According to the statement, the DocControl 2002 Document Management System now comes with an upgraded distribution module that provides more features to manage both manual and automatic document distribution over a computer network. "The new module enables users to disseminate paperless documents instantly to fellow workers. This includes high-quality document images and electronic files, faxes, emails and other commonly used application files," it said.

DocControl also tracks all distributions automatically; enables to approve, reject or confirm read user instructions; maintain versions and security rights for sensitive documents and smartly categorises all incoming documents for each user. DocControl System is Virtual's flagship product. The firm's client list includes corporate and government organisations involved in the construction, power, architectural, legal and trading industries.

STORING DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY
Computimes Nov 5, 2001

Many large organisations generate huge volumes of paper-based transactions which are stored in large warehouses. Not only does such manual storage take up a lot of space and incur substantial storage cost, extracting the data can be a tedious and time-consuming affair. With advances in technology, especially in imaging, documents can now be managed in a cost-effective and productive manner. Many Malaysian companies, says Virtual Studio Sdn Bhd's Centre for Document Management Research manager Genieve Cheong, still store their documents the old way. "These organisations still have rooms full of filing cabinets to hold their documents from years ago which have to be kept for various reasons. And the smaller Malaysian companies, although are already familiar working with electronic files, still prefer to print and store documents in physical files or folders," she says, adding that electronic documentation can take away many of the hassles that come with managing the documents.

Organisations around the world, Cheong adds, have come to realise the benefits of electronic documentation and are now storing their documents electronically. "Electronic documents or files are easy to move, store, archive, retrieve and manage compared to physical paper documents. It makes even more sense when an organisation already uses electronic files daily, and office workers worldwide have become increasingly proficient with computer applications to generate letters, spreadsheets, emails, reports and most of their working documents." Electronic documents are simply documents in electronic or computer readable formats. They can be generally segregated into image or non-image formats. Popular image formats include JPG, BMP, TIF and GIF while commonly used non-image formats include Microsoft Office files, e-mails, HTML and CAD files.

Cheong says among the issues that companies face with their documentation management are having extensive quantities of old documents that are boxed and stored in warehouses which can be costly, having lost documents that either cannot be traced or are lost permanently, poor indexing or profiling controls, poor dissemination of information, poor access controls, having no physical back-up, and having poorly managed document management procedures. Although each document management solution has its own advantages, generally the solution allows the user to easily archive and retrieve the documents, increase productivity as less time is wasted in searching and maintaining the documents, standardising the procedures to reduce reliance on any one employee, have cost saviings from better space management and reduce photocopy, stationary and labour expenses, especially as the volume grows.

As for legal issues concerning electronically stored documents, scanned electronic images carry the same weight as other electronically produced and non-original documentssuch as faxes and soft copy print-outs, according to Cheong. "Most documents that are electronic or scanned images of faxes and general correspondences can usually be discarded once indexed into a document management solution. However, organisations will still have to store contractual documents that must be produced during an arbitration process, or original receipts that may be required for any number of reasons," she says.

Therefore, she contends, an electronic system can reduce a vast quantity of physical storage needs but can never eliminate paper documents altogether. "Several solutions are already available to address this issue. This includes digital signatures and encryption systems, but their presence worldwide is still very new," she adds. Virtual Studio is the distributor of DocControl, an electronic document management solution developed locally. Cheong says the solution is affordable and comes with full product support, including new feature updates and upgrades, document management advisory services and consultation, and customisation services.

SOLUTION FOR EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION
Business Times 17th Oct 2001

Virtual Studio, a leading provider of document management solutions, and Jardine One Solution (JOS) have launched a smart and affordable document solution for the effective management of business documents. The solution uses features from both the DocControl electronic document management system and Konica document copiers. Virtual Studio is the developer of the DocControl software while JOS is the distributor of Konica copiers. This combination of both hardware and software provides customers with a total solution that comprehensively manages the entire life cycle of all business documents, from the time they are generated up until archiving.

Apart from having features such as advanced copying and fax functions, the Konica copiers also have scanning options that convert paper documents into electronic format. These electronic documents are then profiled, stored, retrieved archived, managed and distributed over a computer network by the DocControl system. The document management system is competitively priced compared to similar systems on the market. This competitive pricing carries through to consultancy, service and maintenance charges.

NEW DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Computimes 28th May 2001 

Software developer Virtual Studio Sdn Bhd has come up with a made-in-Malaysia Windows-based electronic document management software called DocControl version 3.0. The software electronically captures and stores images and data from the paper-based documents in electronic form, to give users the convenience to manipulate the data contained in the documents. It can also store documents in electronic form, including from electronic mail (e-mail) and Web forms. Virtual Studio's product marketing manager Genieve Cheong said a unique feature about DocControl is that it can be customised according to each business enviroment."For example, we can create document templates and additional multiple levels of workflow based on the users' needs."

Another useful feature is the search capability. With this function, users can choose any one of the two search methods. It is either the conventional search, which searches documents by index or keywords or sort function that allows users to sort their documents by categories.Other features of DocControl include setting access rights for users, sending messages simultaneously to all users and remote synchronisation. Also available is the optional feature called the document review and approval workflow system which is a comprehensive routing structure that enables companies to automate the entire document review and approval process. By standardising the procedures, it eliminates unnecessary processes, thus improving the overall document management quality. "Sometime in the third quarter of this year, users will be able to store their documents over the Web," said Cheong. Virtual Studio, she added, has invested about RM5 million in developing DocControl and hopes to break even by the end of this year. Currently, the company has seven business partners in the northern region and the Klang Valley.