Dialog announced that DialogLink 5 is now available for free downloading. The new DialogLink 5 software package, designed to help enhance the role of information professionals in their organizations, has a new interface and tools to streamline the process of finding, retrieving and distributing information found through the Dialog online service. DialogLink 5 features report-building tools and linking capabilities that provide a faster and more efficient means of integrating retrieved information into management reports, company publications and internal information-sharing systems, such as company intranets and portals. The software also includes Electronic Redistribution and Archiving (ERA), a service that guarantees copyright clearance for copying, storing and distributing documents retrieved from Dialog. The new integrated report builder makes it easier to produce reports by providing a selection of pre-formatted Microsoft Excel and Word templates. Another feature of DialogLink 5 is its new built-in, automated research assistance. Users can instantly link to related information in other files, choose a display format based on search results, access relevant support materials with one click and ask questions of the Dialog support team directly. DialogLink provides further assistance by automatically analyzing a researcher’s initial search query and then recommending alternate sources and search strategies to be pursued for more in-depth research results. www.dialog.com, www.thomson.com
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ACG and 55 Minutes have joined forces to deliver business solutions for the enterprise including Digital Asset Management, Workflow Automation, and Distribution Portals. Specializing in the organization, retrieval, and distribution of rich media content, the goal of the partnership is to work jointly on Rich Media Management projects providing clients all the services and support that are needed to build cost effective rich media management systems. The combined teams have experience with various DAM and rich media products and are providing an unbiased and broad array of services like business analysis, vendor selection, project and change management as well as application integration and web development for unique non out-of-the-box requirements. , http://55minutes.com
The Content Management Professionals organization (CM Pros) is looking for an Executive Director.
The role of the Executive Director is key to the success of Content Management Professionals. This position has been held by Bob Doyle, who has put a tremendous amount of work into the organization. He will be stepping down from this role to participate in CM Pros in other ways so we are looking for a new Executive Director.
The position Executive Director is appointed by the Board of Directors and is largely a volunteer position, but an honorarium will be provided. It is expected to require 10-20 hours of work per week. The ideal candidate will be a proven leader and seasoned professional manager who will take overall responsibility for building and expanding the organization.
For more information see the job description.
Please provide your response to board@cmprofessionals.org by March 18. (disclosure: I’m on the board)
The Content Management Professionals organization (CM Pros) is looking for an Executive Director. The role of the Executive Director is key to the success of Content Management Professionals. This position has been held by Bob Doyle, who has put a tremendous amount of work into the organization. He will be stepping down from this role to participate in CM Pros in other ways so we are looking for a new Executive Director. The position Executive Director is appointed by the Board of Directors and is largely a volunteer position, but an honorarium will be provided. It is expected to require 10-20 hours of work per week. The ideal candidate will be a proven leader and seasoned professional manager who will take overall responsibility for building and expanding the organization. For more information see the job description. Please provide your response to board@cmprofessionals.org by March 18. http://www.cmprofessionals.org/, www.cmprofessionals.org/organization/roles/ExecutiveDirectorCMPros.pdf
Infotrieve, Inc. announced plans to launch its new web-based search and discovery research environment, the Life Science Research Center (LSRC), in March 2005. The LSRC simplifies scientists’ daily workflow by providing a user interface to search diverse types of scientific, technical, and medical (STM) information and to identify relationships across traditionally disparate sources of content. The LSRC will utilize full-text searching of pre-processed STM content such as literature, patents, drug pipeline data, genes, technical protocols, laboratory products, and industry news. In addition to full-text searching and the identification of relationships through entity extraction and concept clustering, the Life Science Research Center features secure meta searching of external and internal corporate data sources, personalization for individuals and collaborative workgroups, and other search capabilities. Infotrieve is currently integrating the Infotrieve Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) with the LSRC, as well as literature retrieval, and laboratory product purchasing. www.infotrieve.com
Stellent, Inc. announced the release of Stellent Outside In Technology version 8.0. Version 8.0 is a new release of the entire suite of Outside In products: Outside In Viewer Technology, Outside In Content Access, Outside In Search Export, Outside In HTML Export, Outside In XML Export, Outside In Image Export and Outside In Transformation Server. The new release features performance improvements, and new file format and operating system support. Additionally, it includes an architectural enhancement that consolidates graphics handling code into one module, which will reduce time-to-market for future Outside In releases. Outside In 8.0 includes a new SDK — Outside In Search Export — designed specifically for application developers in the search, indexing, computer forensics and electronic evidence discovery markets. This product provides these customers with search-specific transformation options, including a choice of output formats for converting files to XML, HTML or text. Outside In 8.0 allows for the searching and indexing of MSG, PST, OST, MIME and other email formats. The new version also provides support for Visio 2003; Project 2003; Corel Word Perfect Office Suite 12; Office 2004 for Macintosh; the Korean and Japanese word processing programs Hangul 2002, and Ichitaro 13 and 2004; and updates for Star Office Writer 6.0. The Viewer Technology SDK also includes enhanced bi-directional text display for Arabic and Hebrew. The Outside In 8.0 release adds support for four new platforms: HP/UX Itanium 64 bit and 32 bit, Linux Itanium 64 bit, and Windows AMD 64. www.stellent.com
In the middle of this month a new SEC rule will go into effect, allowing companies to voluntarily submit EDGAR filings in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language). As the rule explains, the SEC is interested in “allowing registrants, the Commission and others to test and evaluate tagging technology.”
In a press release on the topic early last month, SEC Chairman William H. Donaldson said that “this initiative is part of the Commission’s broader effort to improve the quality of information available to investors and the marketplace. By working to enhance the Commission’s filing and disclosure process through the use of new data formats, including tagged data, the Commission can improve how content is organized and analyzed.”
What This Might Mean
The interesting thing about sending out financial reports tagged with XBRL is that you can analyze the reports automatically. Rather than manually picking through the numbers, you can use software to compute values and ratios for things such as working capital, free cash flow, asset utilization, and so on. You could then automate comparisons between companies, or could load data into spreadsheets for more detailed analysis. Widespread use of XBRL could transform the financial marketplace, bringing new transparency. An analogy might help bring the impact of all this into focus …
It used to be that, if you were buying something sold through specialized retailers … say, a really good camera or a high-end audio system … you did your product research by visiting lots of stores and reading lots of magazines. It was even more difficult to get a transparent view into the pricing of such products. All that changed with the advent of the Internet. On the Internet, buyers had access to professional reviews, discussions and evaluations by consumers who owned the products, and could find broadly available pricing information. Shopping “Bots” even automated the pricing comparisons. The result has been the emergence of a more competitive, more transparent marketplace. XBRL has the potential to bring some of the same changes to the securities market.
Further, as Amey Stone suggested in a BusinessWeek article titled
“After Sarbanes-Oxley, XBRL?” the SEC’s interest in XBRL could make such possibilities more than theoretical. She suggested that, “like many SEC voluntary programs, it’s likely to become mandatory if it’s successful.”
What’s In This for Public Companies?
All of this leaves open the question of why senior management should want to support this, short of someday finding that it turns into a requirement. Does XBRL do any good for the companies that use it?
It seems to me that the answer to that question depends on where the XBRL is being used. Here is a diagram taken from the XBRL International website. It shows that there are a number of very different ways to use XBRL:
The two kinds of applications on the right of this diagram are what the SEC is talking about. For these applications, it does appear that the benefit of XBRL is primarily for external users of financial information. But, if XBRL were also used in the kinds of applications on the left side of this picture–aiding in the preparation of internal financial reports and in the translation from internal to external reports–there could be very substantial benefits from XBRL adoption. I could also see applications to compliance and internal control initiatives.
Are any readers engaged in XBRL applications that would fall on in the left half of this diagram? Is anyone thinking about it? Does this seem like a good idea? Send an e-mail or post some comments …
This is becoming a hot topic. Perhaps there should not even be a “?” in the title, but it is still very early in the market and adoption stages. In our newest report Blogs & Wikis: Technologies for Enterprise Applications? Lauren Wood investigates (and finds some happier outcomes than the one mentioned by Leonor!). We’ll also be covering it at our April conference in San Francisco. From our intro to Lauren’s article:
“… Most of the discussion about blogs is centered around their affect on mainstream journalism, their power as a new communication channel and voice of the people, and how this will impact society. All this is interesting, but what does it have to do with implementing content or knowledge management, or enterprise collaboration applications? IT, business managers, and even analysts can be forgiven for thinking “not much”. In fact, we have been skeptical ourselves.
But, being dismissive of blogs and wikis because of how they are most often used, and talked about, today is a mistake (PCs and web browsers weren’t considered as serious enterprise tools at first either). What is important is how they could be used. They are simply tools, and many of you will be surprised to find how much they are already being utilized in business environments. For this issue, Contributor Lauren Wood provides a straightforward explanation of what they are, describes how they compare with content management systems, and reports on some telling examples of how blogs and wikis are currently being successfully used in enterprises.”
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