Microsoft Office Business Applications

A large number of companies suffer from a "document problem." They receive invoices and packing lists from vendors, information and correspondence from customers, human resources forms from employees, and so on. Companies need consistent, cost-effective ways to deal with those documents in both paper and electronic form.

Offices become overloaded storing paper files. Employees spend too much time searching through them for information, and problems arise when more than one employee needs to see a document at the same time. Companies worry about the security of their information because often multiple employees have access to the paper documents. Plus, it’s time-consuming and expensive to copy and distribute documents, and to recreate lost or stolen documents, not to mention the physical space that all those filing cabinets occupy.

Processing for all the paper documents produces even more headaches. Companies spend a tremendous amount of time and money transferring the printed information into their systems or into more-useable formats. They need a better way to handle imaging and to capture paper documents for faster, easier processing.

Electronic document storage can cause problems as well. Companies often struggle with overloaded, hard-to-manage files, particularly when multiple copies of the same file are saved in local hard drives, network file shares, and e-mail inboxes. Users need an easier way to store, manage, and locate electronic documents.

"We recognized Office SharePoint Server 2007 as a strong foundation for ECM because of its integration with the Microsoft Office system and its familiarity for easy user adoption," says Mike Miller, Sales Engineer at KnowledgeLake.

By building OBA solutions for Office SharePoint Server 2007, KnowledgeLake is capitalizing on a significant market opportunity while providing customers with increased value from existing IT assets.

"Microsoft changed the ECM game with Office SharePoint Server 2007. We’re building on that momentum to reach more customers, and we’re delivering a great return on investment to them," says Jennifer Birdsell, Marketing Communications Manager for KnowledgeLake.

Expanded Business Opportunity

KnowledgeLake has experienced considerable growth because of the value that its OBA solutions offer to customers.

"We’ve seen a tidal wave of interest," says Miller. "In 2008, our number of customers increased by about 20 percent, and we’ve already seen an even bigger jump in the first quarter of 2009."

Flexibility Due to Integration

One of the reasons for the partner’s success is the integration inherent in Office SharePoint Server 2007 and, by extension, KnowledgeLake products.

"We can link Office SharePoint Server 2007 to any line-of-business application, which means that we help customers make greater use of their documents and get more value out of their infrastructures," explains Miller.

Ease of Use

KnowledgeLake products mimic the user experience of Microsoft Office products. That makes it easy for customers to introduce the products to their employees.

"Our customers see excellent adoption rates because their users are already comfortable working in Office SharePoint Server 2007 and other Microsoft Office products," says Birdsell.

Fast Return on Investment for Customers

KnowledgeLake makes it easy for customers to see the value in adopting its products.

"Customers save money on storage, copying, mailing, and document re-creation, not to mention a huge increase in employee productivity," says Miller. "Customers see a return on their investment within the first year, usually as fast as three to six months."