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March 2010

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In this issue:
CEO's Report
RF6 is K1 version 2.0
RF6 & K1 Compatibility Issues
RecFind 6 Futures
Introducing Archive Security
Imaging Services  
RF5 Decommissioned
Free Email Support
New White Papers
Customer Focus - USC
March Special Offer - GEM
Extended Support
New Service - Post Training
Training Update
Contact Update
   
   
Print Knowledgeone Corp Newsletter  

 

 

 

 

 

CEO's Report

Frank McKenna, K1 Corp CEO

A few years ago we moved our HQ from San Diego to Sydney and in hindsight this has proven to be a very smart move. Fortunately for us, the Australian economy (where we also have our R&D centre) is still remarkably strong and substantially healthier than North American or European economies and looks set to continue that way with strong growth predicted for this year and next. It also helps that some of our largest customers are also some of Australia's largest resource companies locked in for the long term to Chinese infrastructure development.

Even so, many of our customers, especially in Europe and the US and Canada, are still telling us money is tight despite the improving outlook and many projects have been delayed or scaled down. There are a few exceptions where customers are embarking on major rollouts of RecFind 6, some of the largest being international rollouts, but on the whole a lot of our customers are still cautious about spending money and are waiting on more proof that the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) is really over.

From our perspective then (and my peers in the industry tell me the same story) the GFC has not yet ended despite what our politicians and the people in Wall Street are telling us. When you consider that there are more than eight and a half million Americans who lost their jobs last year it is apparent to any normal person that the GFC won't be over until there is a strong growth in employment, especially in the USA. Any real recovery has to be evidenced with strong jobs growth.

We are fortunate in that we have a very large and both geographically and industry diverse customer base and with the support of our customers we have managed to continue to invest heavily in R&D throughout 2009 and we are still trying to hire staff rather than having to lay off staff. Whereas 2009 wasn't a good year for sales (for us or our competitors) 2010 is looking much better and 2011 (if I dare to forecast that far ahead) is looking to be a much better year. We also have plans to expand our marketing and sales operations because our experience is that you just have to try harder when times are tough; this is a time when you do more, not less.

However, you will all be pleased to know that unlike some, we have not cut back on the two key areas of support and development. This will be apparent when you next contact us for support and when you start to test the new products we will deliver this year. Our biggest advantage last year and this year was RecFind 6, our brand new product. It is only because we continued to invest in R&D that our sales are so buoyant in tough times. It is only because of the high calibre of our support team and their great attitude that our customers continue to invest with us. Cutting back in either of these areas would have been counter-productive and our investment is certainly paying off with solid if not spectacular sales figures despite the GFC, thank you for your continued support.

For our part we have also kept our prices unchanged for the last 18 months despite significant rises in our costs. Every organization we deal with has raised their prices and charges as has every level of government we pay taxes and fees to and to date we have been absorbing these increases but we will need to adjust our prices in the coming months. We promise to give you plenty of notice and to keep the increases to a minimum.

What has also become very clear is that one of the most important benefits of RecFind 6 in these tough times is its ability to solve multiple application software problems. The unique technology of RecFind 6 allows our customers to use it for multiple applications including records management, document management, asset manage, complaints management, customer request management and many more. This functionality can easily lead to millions of dollars in savings for our customers. That fact that this is also all 'standard product' means you don't pay any extra when you use RecFind 6 to meet multiple business application software needs. We do not know of any other product with these same capabilities.

GEM - the fully-automatic way to manage all emails

We invented the fully-automatic, rules-driven, server-centric model for email and electronic document management some ten years ago. The two add-on products that implemented this new model were GEM for emails, and RecCapture for all other electronic documents stored on PCs and shared drives. We have always used both products within our business and my staff for example, never have to worry about capturing emails from Outlook; they know for a fact that everything that should be captured will be and in our case, correctly attached to the customer file. They also know that they can find any email instantly using either the text, Metadata or BOOLEAN search features. We meet all of our business and our compliance requirements without any of my staff having to do anything. We can't imagine managing emails any other way.

These two remarkable products however have been a 'tough sell' because our customers on the whole have resisted going the fully-automatic route. I recently wrote a paper on this same issue (click here...) as part of my ongoing effort to convince the records and document management world that there is a better, lower cost, easier to rollout and infinitely more reliable and consistent way to manage all electronic records, especially emails.

Paradoxically, for 99% of my customers, emails are still the major issue and a small number are not managing them other than in a cursory way (e.g., printing out emails and attaching them to the paper file folder). Most of my customers and most of the prospective customers I speak to are doing a less-than-perfect job of managing emails and very few (if any) are meeting their legislative and compliance requirements. The majority of my customers use the RecFind Button to manage emails and this works fine except for the fact that as a client-centric solution you are relying on each and every staff member to do the right thing every minute of every day. You are also relying on a consistent classification standard right across your organization and common sense tells us this just does not happen. The client centric solution, no matter how good the software (and our Button is an excellent tool), is not a consistent or reliable solution.

There is now a brand new release of both GEM and RecCapture available for RecFind 6 version 2.2 (the current release). Because I never give up (I know that GEM is the better solution) we have a special offer on GEM for the three months March, April and May.

Repeat of some articles from the November E-Newsletter

Because we keep getting inquiries about the same matters we have repeated a number of articles from the November issue as they are obviously still topical.

And finally, thank you for your continued support in these tough times. We will continue to do everything in our power to reciprocate and to reward your trust in us.

Best Regards,
Frank McKenna, CEO

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RecFind 6 is K1 version 2.0

Despite lots of attempts to explain via newsletters, emails and phone calls we seem to have confused our K1 customers about the merging of our two product lines RecFind and Knowledgeone (K1). I am still getting phone calls and emails from customers asking for clarification, my apologies.

For the record, RecFind 6 is a new product, it is not a development of RecFind 5.0. It is actually the next development of K1 and in our R&D plan it was originally called K1 version 2.0. We decided late in the piece to rebrand it as RecFind 6 because RecFind is still our most powerful brand worldwide. No matter how hard we market the Knowledgeone brand we are still best known as the "RecFind company". We decided to stop fighting it and just go with the flow; if our customers and prospective customers want to call us the RecFind company that is fine by us.

The product chronology is RecFind 5.0 (2003) followed by K1 (2005) followed by RecFind 6 (2008).

RecFind 6 version 2.2 is the next upgrade for both RecFind 5.0 and K1 1.6. It merges the functionality of both product lines and it contains a superset of the functionality of each. However, it is a brand new product developed with the latest Microsoft .NET technology; MS Visual Development Studio .NET 2008 for the first release and MS Visual Development Studio .NET 2010 for the next release.

All the improvements requested and planned for K1 have been incorporated into RecFind 6 version 2.2. For example, the ability to perform maintenance with the DRM while users are still logged on. Every single feature of K1 including the DRM, Xchange, the Mini API, the HSSM, the Button, workflow, reporting, searching, etc has been improved in RecFind 6.

RecFind 5.0 was at the end of its technology life and it was not possible to upgrade it again. That's why we began again with a clean sheet and a brand new product.

RecFind 6 is not a clone of RecFind 5.0

We should also restate the fact that RecFind 6 is not a clone of RecFind 5.0. There were many things in RecFind 5.0 that needed improving and changing and we most certainly took the opportunity with RecFind 6 as a 'clean-sheet' development to rethink and redesign everything. Just because RecFind 5.0 did something in a particular way is no guarantee that RecFind 6 will do it in the same way. In fact, the opposite is more likely to be true. We tried to apply a new model (i.e., no fixed, embedded rules) to RecFind 6 and get away from the old-fashioned, inflexible rules model of RecFind 5.0. This was possible because whereas the customer wasn't able to change the rules in RecFind 5.0, the customer can easily and quickly change any rule or business process in RecFind 6 using the DRM.

The customer is truly empowered in RecFind 6 in a way you never were with RecFind 5.0. The DRM is the secret; it allows each customer to configure RecFind 6 to its exact and unique requirements. You are no longer forced to accept the way the product works in 'standard' mode. You can change and add rules with RecFind 6 and then lock them down to enforce your particular and unique compliance regime. Basically, if you don't like it then change it! With the RecFind 6 DRM there is never reason to compromise.

If you are a K1 customer looking for assistance with your upgrade to RecFind 6 please click here...

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RecFind 6 & K1 Compatibility Issues

With many of our customers now moving to upgrade their IT environment it is worthwhile again reminding you of possible operating system and database compatibility issues with both K1 version 1.6 and RecFind 5.0.

The first thing to realize is that both RecFind 5.0 and K1 1.6 are now frozen; there will be no more updates or service packs or new releases for either product. Both have been replaced with RecFind 6. All of our R&D development is now concentrated on RecFind 6. The only difference is that RecFind 5.0 is decommissioned, K1 is not.

We have not set a deadline for customers to upgrade from K1 to RecFind 6 and we are currently working with K1 customers around the world to make the upgrade as easy as possible. However, K1 customers, just like those customers still running on RecFind 5.0, need to be aware of possible compatibility issues if IT departments upgrade their environment with software that is not compatible with these two products. The following table lists those products that are likely to break either K1 or RecFind 5.0.

Product Possible compatibility issue with K1 1.6? Possible compatibility issue with RecFind 5.0?
64 Bit Operating Systems Yes Yes
Windows Server 2008 Yes Yes
SQL Server 2008 No Yes
Office 2010 Yes Yes
Exchange 2010 Yes Yes
Vista Yes Yes
Windows 7 Yes Yes
Notes Yes, post 2008 releases and up Yes post 2007 releases and up
GroupWise Yes, post 2008 releases and up Yes post 2007 releases and up

Please contact support on support@k1corp.com if you think you are having problems with any of the above products. There may also be many more products that were released after we stopped testing and certifying RecFind 5.0 and K1 1.6 that will cause problems of one kind or another. Please report any that you suspect are causing problems and we will do our best to investigate the cause and any possible workaround.

Please note however that we are not making any more code changes to either K1 1.6 or RecFind 5.0. If you have a compatibility issue that cannot be easily resolved with an existing fix or service pack or workaround the only advice we will give is to upgrade to RecFind 6.0.

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RecFind 6 Futures - What is coming Next?

As I have said previously, all of our R&D work is now focused on RecFind 6 and the ongoing development of RecFind 6. It is also RecFind 6 that will be tested and certified against all new products coming from vendors like Microsoft, not K1 or RecFind 5.0. RecFind 6 is the future for all customers.

At this time we are working on two major releases of RecFind 6, version 2.3 and version 2.4.

Version 2.3 will include the usual fixes and performance improvements (we are always striving to make RecFind 6 work faster over both the LAN and the Internet) together with some significant new features such as a brand new graphical user interface for Workflow, a new and easy way to schedule reports and thumbnails for images. Version 2.3 should move into final testing in about two weeks and we are looking for a May or June release to all customers.

Version 2.4 actually involves the addition of a new product to RecFind 6, a brand new and optional 'thin-client' user interface. This is based on the latest technology and is unique in that it does not require the .NET Framework (as the RecFind 6 smart-client does) and it is also browser and operating system independent. This means for example that it will run in Firefox as well as Explorer and it will run on your Linux and Apple PCs as well as your Windows PCs. This particular product has required a lot of innovation and 'inventing' on our part.

We have made the new thin-client user interface look and feel as close as possible to the current RecFind 6 smart-client. This means users will be able to move from one to the other without retraining. Customers can run both clients (smart and thin) at the same time and both are managed by the same concurrent user algorithm. So, if you for example have a 50 concurrent user license for RecFind 6, you can run any mix of smart and thin clients up to a maximum of 50. Pricing is also identical as is functionality. We are planning on a June or July release of this new product.

Click here for a preview of thumbnails

Click here for a preview of the new graphical user interface for workflow

Click here for a preview of the new thin-client

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Introducing a new partner - Archive Security

Archive Security specializes in Document Storage, Offsite Document Storage and Archive Storage.

We try to introduce a new company in every newsletter, especially ones that provides services of interest to our customers. We also try to find companies that do things in a new or different way in an attempt to improve traditional records and document management services. Archive Security looks like that kind of company so we take pleasure in introducing their products and services.

Archive Security are in that part of the records management business that we are not in, namely offsite storage and security. They have some unique offerings and it would be really easy to integrate their services to RecFind 6 (all standard product).

Please contact Archive Security directly and if you wish to integrate their services with RecFind 6 please contact us and we will show you how.

For the Archive Security website click here...

Why choose Archive Security? Click here...

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New Imaging and Document Processing Services for RecFind 6

*Repeat of article in November E-News.

We are now offering an alternative to you having to scan/capture and manage large volumes of documents and then manage and process them to support critical business processes such as accounts payable processing or student registration.

 To request more information on this new service please contact Sales

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Product Decommission Notice for RecFind v5 - Reminder

*Repeat of article in November E-News.

Every software vendor needs to decommission old products in order to release support and development resources for newer products. In our case this means releasing people (programmers and support specialist) and servers.

With the release of RecFind v6 (December 2008), all RecFind 5 development has ceased and no further code changes will be made.

If a problem is identified in RecFind 5 that cannot be fixed by installing any of the current service packs we will advise the customer to upgrade to RecFind 6, or if the problem still exists in RecFind 6, a fix will be applied to RecFind 6 and released as a service pack.

Knowledgeone Corporation will cease all support of any kind for RecFind v5 (i.e. v5.0.0A to v5.0.0J) from 31st December 2009. This is approximately 12 months after the release of RecFind v6, therefore providing ample time for customers to perform their upgrades.

If you are unable to  install RecFind 6 by December 31 2009 or if you require support for any decommissioned product please see our new extended support offer, click here.

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Email Support now Free

*Repeat of article in November E-News.

A number of years ago we introduced our free e-mail support service, allowing customers with a current ASU agreement to obtain unlimited support via the form on our web site.

To avoid confusion we have now decided that any support request received via e-mail will no longer require support incidents. Any customer with a current ASU agreement will now be able to obtain free support by sending an email to Support at support@knowledgeonecorp.com.

We still encourage users to submit requests via the free e-mail support form on our web site as it will prompt you for important information that will assist us in diagnosing your issue more quickly, however it is no longer a requirement to avoid the incident charges.

To summarize, support requests made via the web form or by email are both free.

Please note that email support is still for low priority issues only. If you require urgent support, please contact the Knowledgeone Corporation support department by phone (*this requires a pre-purchased support incident - order now).

Click here for free email support

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New White Papers

Frank McKenna has been tapping away again on his computer writing more white papers on how to get the best out of RecFind as well as on current subjects topical to our industry. Please download the PDFs from the following links:

GEM is a complete email management solution

A better, faster and lower cost way to rollout an EDRMS

RecFind 6 is the complete physical records management system

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Customer Focus

University of the Sunshine Coast

The Sunshine Coast University College was founded in 1994, with the first students starting at the Sippy Downs campus in 1996. Full university status was granted to the new institution in 1998 and it became the University of the Sunshine Coast. On opening, USC became the first greenfield university in Australia since 1971.

 

Click here for the university's web site

The University of the Sunshine Coast has been a RecFind customer since 1997, two years after it was founded.

Kelly Passier, the records officer at the university in charge of RecFind, managed the upgrade to RecFind 6 and worked with the K1Corp consultants to ensure that RecFind 6 was configured to the exact needs of the university. Kelly is particularly impressed with the reporting and searching functionality of RecFind 6.

"As far as what business problems RecFind 6 may have resolved I would say the ability to conduct more defined reporting where it has assisted a lot of areas and namely our ability to perform record culls. Also, just in general day to day use, the Metadata and BOOLEAN searching has allowed us to carry out more targeted searching in order to locate records more efficiently."

Kelly is also very complimentary about the services provided by K1Corp, "We wish to convey our appreciation for the assistance provided by Greg from K1Corp during our live conversion to RecFind 6. Greg's exceptional knowledge of the RecFind product combined with his IT skills and records management knowledge made him an essential addition to our team in executing the RecFind 6 upgrade."

USC is situated in one of the most beautiful parts of Australia and now accommodates around 8,000 students with about fifteen-percent from multiple countries around the world.

The Sunshine Coast region itself is not only a beautiful one, but is also an overwhelmingly safe environment, at a distance from the pressures of major cities. It is a rapidly growing ‘lifestyle’ region.

If you are interested in learning more about this fine university please Click here for the USC website and more information.

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March Special Offer - GEM for RecFind 6 Starter Package - manage all emails automatically

This special offer is to promote our fully-automatic, rules-driven and server-centric email management and archiving solution GEM for RecFind 6.

Click here for a PDF on managing emails with GEM.

The offer is valid during the months of March, April and May 2010.

The offer is for five days of free onsite support (travel and expenses not included) with every purchase of GEM SME version (150 mailboxes).

To new customers

The package includes RecFind 6 (5 concurrent user licenses), GEM SME version, one year's ASU (maintenance and support) plus five days of onsite support. Normal list price $39,753, special offer price $31,253.

To existing RecFind 6 customers

The package includes GEM SME version, one year's ASU (maintenance and support) plus five days of onsite support. Normal list price $26,200, special offer price $17,700.

The five days of onsite support will be used to install and configure GEM and to enter and test a set of core rules to automatically manage all of your emails.

Why five days of onsite support?

We have made this special offer because we believe that most customers need help initially in designing, entering and testing the rules required to manage their emails. Most customers struggle with the concept of rules and are concerned about flexibility and maintenance; basically, capturing everything with the smallest number of rules possible is the prime objective.

The rules engine in GEM has been specifically designed to enable you to manage all of your emails with the smallest number of rules possible and to provide the greatest amount of flexibility via 'group' processing. We for example, manage all of our emails at K1Corp using GEM with just twelve rules. We believe that the five days will be sufficient to get you up and running with GEM and in production, meeting all of your business and regulatory requirements for email management.

For customers with over 150 mailboxes

There are also versions of GEM designed for larger organizations - GEM Corporate (500 mailboxes) and GEM Enterprise (unlimited mailboxes). Please contact us for a special offer for your organization, Click here...

To learn more or to request a quotation please, Click here.

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Extended Support Option for 'old' versions of RecFind

*Repeat of article in November E-News.

This the first time we have ever offered support for old and decommissioned versions of RecFind and it is primarily to accommodate those customers that will be unable to install RecFind 6 by December 31 2009. It also however applies to any 'old' version of RecFind.

For full details of this new option please click here.

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New Service  - Post Training Support

Post Training Support is a service developed for both end-user and administrators of RecFind. It aims to reinforce skills acquired in previous classroom training sessions.

Unlike consultancy, Post Training Support is a revision of areas covered in the training courses (such as retention, electronic document management, workflow, reporting, etc) rather than an analysis of an organization's needs.

Post Training Support has been designed for all administrators and end-users who have completed the initial, standard training courses; this is a prerequisite. We obviously can't reinforce previously learnt skills if you have not completed the standard training.

Post Training Support can be provided onsite or remotely via our online GoToAssist Internet capability.

Prerequisites

  • You must have attended the standard training course within the last two years.
  • If onsite, you must purchase at least one day.
  • If online you must purchase at least two hours with a four hour maximum.

For more details or to book your time please contact Daniel Romano on (Click here for 1-800 phone numbers for your country) or d.romano@k1corp.com

 

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Training Update

Enthusiasm for RecFind 6 remains high with customers looking forward to getting it into production. The end users seem to love the new user interface and the fact that they use the same Windows product whether they work on the LAN or over the Internet.

Upcoming Training Schedule - Australia
 

 

Sydney

Melbourne

Brisbane

Adelaide

Perth

Hobart

January

User

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admin

 

 

 

 

 

 

February

User

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admin

 

 

 

 

 

 

March

User

 

 

1/2

 

 

 

Admin

 

 

3/4

 

 

 

April

User

19/20

 

 

 

 

 

Admin

21/22

 

 

 

 

 

May

User

 

17/18

 

 

 

10/11

Admin

 

19/20

 

 

 

12/13

June

User

 

 

 

 

21/22

 

Admin

 

 

 

 

23/24

 

July

User

 

 

26/27

 

 

 

Admin

 

 

28/29

 

 

 

August

User

 

 

 

23/24

 

 

Admin

 

 

 

25/26

 

 

September

User

 

6/7

 

 

 

 

Admin

 

8/9

 

 

 

 

October

User

18/19

 

 

 

 

 

Admin

20/21

 

 

 

 

 

November

User

 

 

8/9

 

 

 

Admin

 

 

10/11

 

 

 

December

User

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admin

 

 

 

 

 

 

To book your place at one of these upcoming training courses simply click on the following links:

RecFind Courses:
http://www.knowledgeonecorp.com/services/enrolonline.htm

For Europe, Africa, and North America we will be running RecFind 6 training course 'on demand' because of the vast geographical distribution of our customers. It is has proven to be just too difficult to get to get students to fly to a central location.

To inquire about and book an onsite 'on-demand' training course please click here...

If you have any questions whatsoever regarding our Training courses or one of Knowledgeone Corp's Consulting services please email the Training Department.

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Contact Update

Have you recently shifted office or changed contact person?

For any updates, simply give us your new particulars, as listed below, and email them to our Sales Department.

Please include the following details:

Company Name, Contact Person, Job Title, Address, Email Address, Telephone Number, Fax Number, and Customer Number (if known)

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