IBM Puts Business Content in Motion for Mobile Workforce, Speeds Access to Big Data through Mobile Devices

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Jun 20, 2012, 01:00 ET

ARMONK, N.Y., June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today introduced new software that helps employees tap into the broadest range of business information to do their jobs more effectively from their desktops, mobile phones and tablets. The new offering allows traditional and mobile workers to securely access, manage and gain insight from structured and unstructured content such as emails, documents, images, Web data and collaboration tools to improve productivity.

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Last year, smart phone shipments beat those of PCs for the first time ever, with 73 million more units being sold. With the proliferation of tablets, smart phones and social business applications, organizations are seeking an enterprise content management (ECM) solution that can help extend their employees' ability to access and share business content to speed workflow. In IBM's 2011 Global CIO Study of more than 3,000 CIOs, 75 percent of respondents identified mobility solutions as one of their top priorities.

IBM is responding to these trends with IBM Content Navigator, new software that gives employees access to a broad range of documents, records, images and other relevant content to do their jobs more effectively.

Built on open standards like HTML5 and CMIS, the new software provides a consistent user experience across a variety of mobile devices, operating systems and content sources, allowing employees across all lines of businesses to access, manage, contribute and share content any time, from any location. Whether they need to conduct everyday business while on the road or in a client's office, IBM is arming them with the access to the right data, anytime, anywhere. For example, a human resources manager who is traveling to meet employees can now access a range of documents such as employee records, compensation, benefits and evaluations without the need for a PC.

Similarly, an insurance claims adjuster who spends her day inspecting damaged property or vehicles can now use her iPad to take a picture, document the incident and automatically upload it in the client's claim file. The document can be found immediately by colleagues in the main office using Content Navigator's integrated search and analytics to speed-up claims processing.

In addition to the collaboration and mobile capabilities IBM Content Navigator delivers, the underlying platform was built for easy customization; employees can set up document collaboration areas themselves with minimal help from the IT department. This self-provisioning capability allows departments such as sales, human resources, finance or legal to customize the solution for their specific business needs.

For example, a government agency could use the software to provide large numbers of employees with access to enterprise content based on an individual's job role without having to devote IT resources to setting up the interface for each user. In the State of North Dakota, 22 agencies and more than 2,000 state employees – including the Departments of Commerce, Taxation, Transportation, Human Services, and Secretary of State – already use IBM's Enterprise Content Management software to manage a wide variety of citizen records and information, ranging from unemployment applications and vehicle registrations to tax filings and flexible benefit records.

"The self-provisioning capability IBM is offering will make it easy to set up a team space for collaboration without the help of our IT department," said Chuck Picard, enterprise electronic document management system coordinator for the State of North Dakota. "As additional state agencies and county governments start using the system, we will be able to instantly share critical information at both the state and local levels. This software provides significant economies of scale, which is a critical requirement for a state operating on a limited budget."

Aon Risk Solutions – an early adopter of electronic document management technology – sees the opportunity mobile access can offer its employees who need to access enterprise content on the go. "With IBM's help, we could reduce the need for customization and boost productivity by opening our enterprise content management system to mobile devices," said Stuart Williams, IT global product director, Aon Services Group.

Analytics and Search for Big Data
To gather the facts needed to make the right businesses decisions, organizations must have the ability to uncover trends, patterns, and relationships from both their structured and unstructured enterprise content. With IBM Content Analytics with Enterprise Search v3.0, IBM is integrating content analytics software with enterprise search capabilities into a unified platform. In fact, content analytics and enterprise search capabilities are an integral part of the IBM Content Navigator experience, enabling users to quickly locate content across IBM and third-party repositories, with thumbnails, facets, summaries and term highlighting. Through its capabilities in natural language processing, semantic search, and sentiment analysis, this solution provides richer, more accurate, and relevant insights from content such as documents, reports, e-mails, Web content, surveys and enterprise applications.

IBM has also integrated its content analytics software with a component of IBM's big data platform, InfoSphere BigInsights, which allows clients to derive greater insights in a cost-efficient manner from the ever-increasing volumes of unstructured information flowing both within and outside the enterprise. This helps clients overcome processing limitations and indexing constraints to analyze petabytes of information to support decisions in areas such as crime intelligence, healthcare, insurance claims and customer care.

"IBM is continuing to lead the way in helping organizations manage the content they rely upon for everyday operations," said IBM Enterprise Content Management Leader Doug Hunt. Today we are enabling clients to make content available in any context to help them deal with the information sprawl of big data. "It's key that clients can now drive business insights from enterprise content and share collaboration content with others who need it."

About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is the leading global provider of risk management, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services. Through its more than 61,000 colleagues worldwide, Aon unites to empower results for clients in over 120 countries via innovative and effective risk and people solutions and through industry-leading global resources and technical expertise. Aon has been named repeatedly as the world's best broker, best insurance intermediary, reinsurance intermediary, captives manager and best employee benefits consulting firm by multiple industry sources. Visit www.aon.com for more information on Aon and www.aon.com/manchesterunited to learn about Aon's global partnership and shirt sponsorship with Manchester United