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New IBM Forms Software Speeds Business Departments Past Delays by
Removing Bottlenecks Caused by Paper
ARMONK, NY, Nov 18, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) --
IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced new IBM Forms software that speeds
up business processes by removing bottlenecks caused by paper and by
allowing employees without technical skills in any department to
create electronic forms or surveys in minutes, which could save
clients as much as $500,000(1) per year.
Until now, compiling forms and surveys required several technical
workers weeks, not minutes, at a significant cost in information
technology (IT) department time and salaries. Today, however,
electronic forms are increasingly employed to overcome the
bottlenecks caused by inefficient, paper-based forms and as a way to
reduce a company's carbon footprint.
The new version of IBM Lotus Forms, 3.5, makes it simple for
nontechnical employees to quickly create, store and route e-forms
inside and outside of an organization via e-mail and the Web. New
features allow employees to automate and compose their own forms,
without needing software to be installed on individual PCs or
requiring help from inundated IT departments.
"Companies are realizing that paper is a roadblock for e-business,
and cutting down on its use also helps reduce their carbon footprint,"
said Larry Bowden, vice president, IBM Portal, Mashups and Forms
Software. "From HR to sales to finance, empowering individuals to
rapidly and easily manage forms removes bottlenecks and frees up
resources, making an entire organization more efficient."
IBM Lotus Forms 3.5 software, capable of handling the most
challenging projects such as insurance and tax forms, comes with new
"Turbo" software. Turbo, also available as a stand-alone product,
handles simple tasks such as employee on-boarding, leave and vacation
requests, customer satisfaction surveys, job applications, product
orders, and opinion surveys. Based on an open software platform and
Web 2.0 technology, Turbo works with IBM WebSphere Portal software to
provide one familiar interface for a company's customers and
employees.
IBM WebSphere Portal Web 2.0 software is designed to securely combine
information from both the enterprise and the Web. A portal is a
technology for providing external and internal Web sites which can
deliver information, applications, and processes to provide a
personalized experience to individuals. Like other Web 2.0
technologies, they are increasingly being used by businesses to
empower employees with content, social connections and other tools to
solve problems.
Deutsche Sporthochschule or "Germany Sports University" of Cologne,
Germany has automated the entry and processing of athletic data using
IBM Lotus Forms, IBM WebSphere Portal and the school's IT system.
Prior to employing this solution, the staff had an isolated view of
an athlete's records and needed to transcribe this data from
spreadsheets and XML files. This limited the quality of data for use
in evaluations for research.
"We are excited about new IBM Lotus Forms software because it makes
it easier for us to design forms for new projects. Now with IBM Lotus
Forms, athlete records are directly entered into forms. This helps
validate the data right up front. Then it is posted directly onto the
IBM DB2 database software system. After this, complex, role-based
searches can be conducted through our portal search engines," said
Mr. Nils Noell, Chief Technology Officer, Deutsche Sporthochschule.
Using electronic forms is one way to reduce the amount of paper used
by an organization. A recent IBM No Paper Weight Study indicates that
when companies stop printing their "born digital" documents, paper
consumption can be reduced by between 80-90 percent. The newest
version of IBM Lotus Forms helps organizations easily move all of
their workers towards a paperless environment, freeing them from the
burden of slower business processes and tasks encumbered by storing,
printing and filing paper.
With Business Partner EIM Corporation, IBM is helping the US Army
automate processes. The US Army represents one of the world's largest
e-forms installations. IBM Lotus Forms are currently used by more than
1.4 million Army personnel worldwide, yielding an estimated $1.3
billion(2) in cost savings to the US federal government. For more
details about this savings and a related news announcement, visit
www.ibm.com/press.
IBM Forms support open standards based e-forms built on XForms, for
compatibility with existing customer systems, providing an advantage
over competitive offerings. New IBM Lotus Forms has improved digital
signature capabilities and supports Safari browser 3.1 on the
Macintosh platform.
For a free test drive of the new IBM Lotus Forms, visit
https://greenhouse.lotus.com.
(1) IBM estimate of the cost for several technical experts to design
and implement a multipurpose e-forms solution for an enterprise.
(2) Source: US Army audit.
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Contact:
Michelle McIntyre
IBM Global Media Relations
mc@us.ibm.com
408-483-6681
SOURCE: IBM
mailto:mc@us.ibm.com
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