SoftCo Appointed Amazon ISV Solution Provider for SoftCo Cloud

Dublin, Ireland.  SoftCo, a global developer of document management and business process automation solutions, has been appointed as an Amazon ISV Solution Provider for its SoftCo Cloud service. Reflecting SoftCo's proven capability for delivering enterprise grade solutions via the Cloud, this appointment enables SoftCo to extend its Software as a  Service (SaaS) model onto Amazons highly scalable and secure AWS platform.

SoftCo Cloud delivers solutions for Corporates, Governments and SME's globally. Solution areas include E-Procurement, Accounts Payable Automation, E-Invoicing, POD scanning, Case Management, Custom Workflow and Compliant Document Management solutions. SoftCo Cloud customers include Generali PanEurope, The Mater Private Hospital, Kingsbourne PTY (South Africa) among many others across multiple industry sectors.

Through this appointment, SoftCo can now leverage Amazon AWS’s global platform to deliver its Cloud solutions. AWS infrastructure is highly secure with a number of industry-recognized certifications and audits that include: PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, FISMA Moderate, HIPAA, and SAS 70 Type II. SoftCo Cloud solutions can be hosted in any of the AWS data centre locations in the U.S., Europe, South America, Singapore, and Japan.

“With this appointment, SoftCo is confirming its commitment to deliver best in class Cloud solutions to our customers” comments Ted Laverty, Marketing Director, SoftCo. “The AWS platform provides us with the flexibility and security that our customers require with the support of a global infrastructure partner.”

For more information about SoftCo Cloud please please click here

For more information about the SoftCo Amazon ISV Solution Provider please click here

Generali PanEurope ensures compliance with SoftCo Cloud & SoftCo Managed Services

Dublin, Ireland.  SoftCo, a global supplier of document management and business process automation solutions, is helping Generali PanEurope Limited (GPE) meet the compliance challenges of the insurance market with a new end-to-end business process for document management. Irish-based GPE provides sophisticated wealth management and employee benefit solutions to a European audience.

With thousands of client files on paper, GPE was facing challenges around document processing, storage and retrieval. In 2010 the company went to market in search of a partner who could deliver on its vision for electronic storage of all client policy documentation. GPE chose SoftCo, recognising its financial services experience, its leading edge Business Process Automation (BPA) technology and the cost competitiveness of its solution.

SoftCo Cloud and SoftCo Managed Services provide a total solution for GPE's document management challenges, incorporating an innovative cloud-based infrastructure that offers total security and better cost efficiencies:

• SoftCo collects, scans and processes all GPE documentation on-site in SoftCo's dedicated Managed Services location. 
• All documents are uploaded to SoftCo Cloud, a secure on-demand document management and BPA platform hosted on ISO27001 compliant infrastructure. 
• Web-based access to a secure archive allows faster document searching and retrieval for staff in all GPE locations, in Ireland and Europe. 
• Full  lifecycle management  allows automatic alerting of documents approaching the end of required retention periods.
• Easy upload of e-mails and other client policy documents from a staff member's browser direct to SoftCo R8 in the SoftCo Cloud. 

 "We are delighted with SoftCo's document management solution: it's fast, it's easy to use, and it gives us great control," said Birgit Smith, Business Analyst, Generali PanEurope. "It was a burden to have to search through paper files for required information, and staff say they love having everything available from their browser and easy to find."

Read the full Generali PanEurope case study here

SouthWestern and Thornton & Partners to speak at SoftCo User Conference 2012

Dublin, Ireland. Registration is now open for the 2012 SoftCo R8 User Conference that will take place on Thursday 24 May, 2012 at SoftCo’s headquarters in Leopardstown, Dublin. The User Conference is aimed at both business and IT professionals from existing SoftCo clients. Attendees will benefit from a number of practical demonstrations of SoftCo R8 powered solutions, in addition to learning about how existing R8 installations can be leveraged to automate new business process areas.

The conference will include information on the latest R8 business applications as well as technical break-out sessions and demonstrations. Industry leaders SouthWestern and Thornton & Partners will showcase how they have achieved more with R8.

For more information or to register for the User Conference please click here

Latest SoftCo Video: Delivering Accounts Payable Efficiencies Worldwide

Watch Argos, Sunny Delight Beverage Company and Mercury Engineering describe how implementing SoftCo Accounts Payable Automation eliminated process inefficiencies and saved hundreds of man-hours for their AP teams.

SoftCo Purchase-to-Pay Webinar: Addressing risk, improving efficiency and reducing costs

Dublin, Ireland. SoftCo, a global supplier of document management and business process automation solutions is hosting a Purchase-to-Pay Webinar on Thursday, 26 April, 2012. Killian McCarthy, P2P Specialist, from SoftCo will present real world examples of how leading organisations have streamlined their purchase-to-pay process addressing risk, improving efficiency and reducing costs.

This informative Webinar is aimed at Senior Financial and Business Professionals and will demonstrate that achieving greater synergy between procurement and accounts payable departments is key to driving down costs. Attendees will also learn how leading organisations such as Bank of Ireland, Sunny Delight & Logitech have addressed the challenges within their Purchase-to-Pay process achieving greater control, improving customer service and adhering to compliance obligations.

Register today for this Free Informative Webinar.
Attend and learn:

• How finance departments are focussing on streamlining procurement processes to significantly increase their cost savings.
• That achieving greater synergy between procurement and accounts payable departments is the key to P2P success
• How to improve customer service with instant access to receipts, invoices, purchase orders and proof of delivery documentation.
• How to automatically enforce procurement and payment approval rules to reduce risk and improve overall compliance.

To learn more about SoftCo Purchase-to-Pay Solutions please Click Here

SharePoint® Enhancements from SoftCo

Dublin, Ireland. SoftCo, a global supplier of document management and business process automation solutions is pleased to announce the release of SharePoint® Enhancements. The group of modules are designed to improve efficiencies and add functionality to existing SharePoint installations.
Microsoft SharePoint provides organisations with a strong platform for collaboration. However, in business critical environments organisations require more functionality and control than SharePoint can natively provide. With SharePoint Enhancements from SoftCo organisations can now add scalable document management and compliant storage technology to SharePoint instances throughout their network, improving performance and reducing costs across their entire business.

SharePoint Enhancements are built on SoftCo's proven document management technology which is used by hundreds of Blue-Chip and SME clients worldwide. They comprise of a number of key modules which can be applied to SharePoint sites individually or across an entire organisation. 

WebCapture for SharePoint
SoftCo WebCapture for SharePoint provides integrated cloud based document capture and management functionality for SharePoint instances through a centrally managed browser interface.
Read more

StorLife for SharePoint
StorLife for SharePoint is a software-only Content Addressed Storage (CAS) solution that simplifies the management and security of SharePoint information over its entire life cycle.
Read more

SoftCo R8 Extender for SharePoint
SoftCo R8 Extender for SharePoint enables staff to access the powerful BPA and Document Management functionality of the SoftCo R8 platform directly from SharePoint environments.
Read more

SoftCo sponsored Hermes proudly represented at Olympic Qualifying Tournament

Antwerp, Belgium Congratulations to the Ireland International Ladies Hockey Team and in particular the six SoftCo Sponsored Hermes Hockey Players on their gallant effort at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Antwerp. In all, Hermes Hockey Club had six players representing Ireland in the Olympic Qualification Tournament, including Lisa Jacob, Audrey O’Flynn, Aine Connery, Sinead McCarthy, Emma Gray and Miriam Crowley.

The final against Belgium took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,500 at the Beerschot club on the outskirts of Antwerp on Sunday, 25 March. Both Belgium and Ireland were aiming to qualify for their first Olympic Games in London 2012.

The Irish Team's fate was all but sealed before half-time, having conceded three goals in seven first-half minutes. Ireland eventually went on to lose 4-1.

Tournament top scorer, Hermes International Audrey O’Flynn pulled a goal back for Ireland in the 56th minute, her eighth in five matches. “The match just flew by. They were just winning every 50-50 ball, I don’t know, we just never got in to it, never got going. Ah, it’s just so disappointing. We said before the match that we’ve put in two years of hard work for this but we have to show that on the pitch – and we didn’t show it today. We just didn’t perform in any area of the pitch,” she added.

SoftCo are proud sponsors of Hermes Hockey Club. The club has produced many Irish senior international players over the years, including a number of Irish captains and several who have achieved over 150 caps. Over the past decade the Hermes 1st IX has achieved outstanding success domestically while also representing Ireland in European Competitions on six occasions.

For more information please visit www.hermeshc.com

SoftCo AP continues to drive efficiencies for Dublin Bus

Dublin, Ireland. SoftCo, a global supplier of document management and business process automation solutions, is continuing to deliver improved efficiencies for Dublin Bus with SAP integration for its Accounts Payable Department.

With invoice volumes around 40,000 per annum, the public transport provider went to market in search of an SAP-certified solution that would streamline its purchase-to-pay cycle and remove manual aspects from its AP process

In mid-2010, Dublin Bus chose SoftCo based on its strong track record in the public sector, including its ability to successfully integrate R8 technology into SAP environments. Since then the SoftCo AP Solution has continued to deliver real benefits and cost savings for Dublin Bus across its entire AP process including:

• Invoice handling costs have been significantly reduced, accuracy improved and queries from suppliers and colleagues are quickly resolved.
• The AP department has the ability to handle high volume of invoices without increasing AP headcount.
• Same-day processing of invoices has more than doubled delivering a significant improvement in supplier satisfaction.

“With SoftCo we’re paying our suppliers faster, we can handle the process better and our AP staff are not under as much strain. A number of our suppliers have actually rung us up to say thank-you for paying so promptly. We’re very happy with the way we do things now,” said Gerry Sullivan, Financial Accountant for Dublin Bus.

To view the full Case Study click here
For more on SoftCo's Accounts Payable Solutions contact us

About Dublin Bus
Dublin Bus, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned Córas Iompar Eireann Group, currently operates almost all commercial routes in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA). It is the main public transport provider for the GDA (extending as far as Newcastle in County Wicklow, Balbriggan in north County Dublin, Dunboyne in County Meath and Maynooth in County Kildare).
Carrying 118 million customers a year, Dublin Bus provides an extensive range of bus services - Radial, Cross City, Orbital, DART Feeder, Airlink, express limited stop commuter services, Nitelink, and Sightseeing tours.
For more information please visit www.dublinbus.ie

The Evolution of Document Management to the Cloud

Paper is still a prominent fixture in offices around the world, and manually processing that paper is an ongoing drain on productivity. While some organisations have embraced traditional on-premise document management systems to reduce their reliance on paper, other companies are looking to the cloud.

Document management technology is established across all sectors, with well-defined benefits that include cost reduction and increased productivity for organisations. The addition of workflow solutions enable organisation to further streamline and automate key business processes, delivering additional efficiencies and control. Document intensive business processes such as case management, customer service, HR and accounts payable have benefited greatly from these technologies over the last decade.

Now, with the coming of age of Cloud Technology organisations can leverage additional benefit from adopting both document management and process automation solutions via the Cloud. These benefits include reduced capital and administrative costs, elastic business models, seamless business continuity, enhanced security and additional integration possibilities:

• Reduced Capital & Administration Costs: Moving to a cloud-based solution means the costs associated with housing and maintaining the system on-premise – from initial setup costs to regular system performance checks - can be eliminated.
• Elastic Business Model: The realities of today's business environment mean that while some businesses are growing, many are contracting. With a pay-per-use billing structure, cloud-based document management solutions are flexible enough to grow and contract with a business, reducing the potential for overspending.
• Growing with a business: The realities of today's business environment mean that while some businesses are growing, many are contracting. With a pay-per-use billing structure, cloud-based document management solutions are flexible enough to grow and contract with a business, reducing the potential for overspending.
• Providing seamless business continuity: Providing proactive 24x7 monitoring of a solutions performance and usage is a core benefit of Cloud based solutions. By choosing a certified and reliable Cloud partner, organisations can ensure that their solutions are performing at their peak at all times and are in the hands of experts. The SoftCo NOC (Network Operating Center) ensures its customers cloud based systems are constantly monitored for bottlenecks, and potential failures with contingency plans in place when errors are identified. This removes the burden and cost from organisations in ensuring business continuity when compared to on-premise solutions
• Securing critical documents: The importance of a cloud infrastructure that is compliant with ISO 27001, the information technology security standard, cannot be underestimated. By complying with this standard, providers are assuring customers that their critical data is protected by strict procedural guidelines, regular checks and backup procedures.
• Delivering customised access plans: Cloud-based document management solutions can be customised to restrict or grant access to specific IP addresses – for organisations dealing with medical records for example, access can be heavily restricted to IP address originating within the organisation's office.
• Easily integrate with existing business applications: Systems like SoftCo Cloud are based on web services standards, which mean they can easily integrate with other cloud- based systems, like CRM and financial applications. This allows for seamless accessibility of all relevant documents, from records of associated correspondence in the event of a customer query, to copies of original invoices.

SoftCo is an experienced provider of cloud–based document management solutions that deliver business process improvements across many sectors. Leading organisations that have implemented SoftCo Cloud technology include Boston Scientific, Generali PanEurope, Resolution Underwriters and Kingsbourne SA.

To learn more about SoftCo Cloud please click here.

If you would like to speak to a SoftCo Cloud Specialist please click here

Bulmers Ltd. achieves AP Automation with SoftCo R8

Dublin, Ireland. SoftCo, a global supplier of document management and business process automation solutions, is pleased to announce that Bulmers Limited has chosen SoftCo to deliver an Accounts Payable automation solution to handle its growing volume of global supplier invoices. Bulmers Limited is part of the global C&C Group, producing some of the most famous cider and lager brands in the world.

Bulmers had an urgent requirement to implement a workflow and document management solution to streamline the process of approval and payment for almost 40,000 supplier invoices annually. Bulmers chose SoftCo to deliver a solution to address the challenges within its AP processes, to create greater efficiencies and to cut costs. After a close engagement that involved working closely with key Bulmers stakeholders, SoftCo designed a customised solution to optimise the invoice approval process end-to-end:

• Bulmers AP staff now use SoftCo R8, a compliant process automation and document management platform, to capture all supplier invoices.
• Automatic three-way matching means a significant volume of invoices are queued automatically for payment.
• 'Problem' invoices are escalated for action within the SoftCo AP process.
• Integrated workflow means that Bulmers AP staff receive email alerts and can address any issues via the SoftCo R8 system.
• Cleared invoices are queued in CODA Financials ERP for payment.
• All supplier invoices are archived in the compliant SoftCo R8 platform.

"The feedback from staff has been very positive. Problem invoices are actioned much more quickly than when we operated a manual approval system. And because staff act faster, we can pay suppliers faster and have better relationships with them," said Elaine O'Connell, AP Manager for Bulmers Limited.

To view the full Case Study click here

About Bulmers Limited
Bulmers Limited of Clonmel, a company within the C&C Group, owns the trade mark BULMERS® in the Republic of Ireland. Bulmers Ltd of Clonmel, Ireland, is not connected with HP Bulmer Ltd. of Hereford, UK. BULMERS ® Original Vintage Cider produced by Bulmers Ltd. of Clonmel, Ireland, is sold outside the Republic of Ireland under the name MAGNERS® Original Irish Cider.

For more information please visit www.bulmers.ie