Fujitsu Launches SaaS-based Document Management Service

Tokyo, July 20, 2011

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Chugoku Systems Limited today announced the availability in Japan of a SaaS-based version of the company's document management system, which has a deployment track record of approximately 400 companies, primarily in the manufacturing, retailing, and distribution industries.

The new service, Documal SaaS, can store documents for each work task that are produced as part of project planning, procurement/purchasing, production, and other related operations. Delivered as a SaaS-based service that leverages the Fujitsu Group's highly-reliable datacenters, Documal SaaS eliminates the need for expensive ICT investments and allows customers to quickly begin using the service. As a result, the service makes it possible for customers to quickly deploy a document management system, in addition to sharing information and strengthening collaboration between offices and business partners in and outside Japan⁽¹⁾, thereby improving business efficiency. In the case of a review or audit, records of work performed using the service can be reproduced when necessary, eliminating the need to manually produce special documentation thus making the process effortless. Furthermore, the service includes a variety of highly-convenient features, such as work templates that can easily be customized by users as well as workflow functions that facilitate the management of operations logs and other information.

During an early trial run of the service, one participant customer was able to make their operations paperless through the digitalizing of a process that involved the annual printing of 1,600 pages of thirteen different kinds of application forms, as well as by taking advantage of the software's workflow features. Accordingly, the customer succeeded in reducing printing, storage, and shipping costs while speeding up approval and notification processes. They also cut their CO2 emissions by 63%.

Background

In recent years, as companies in the manufacturing, retailing, and distribution industries continue to expand their businesses globally, customers are increasingly facing the need to share timely information with branch offices and business partners as part of project planning, procurement/purchasing, production, and other operations. At the same time, there is also a need to improve the speed of decision-making. As it is extremely costly and labor-intensive to integrate existing document-related systems that are employed across multiple offices, many customers have been unable to undertake this task. To overcome these challenges, Fujitsu and Fujitsu Chugoku Systems are offering the SaaS-based document management service "Documal SaaS". Documal SaaS enables customers to quickly and affordably begin using the service through the Fujitsu Group's highly-reliable cloud environment.

Service Features

1. Highly-reliable cloud environment enables customers to quickly and affordably begin using the service

Instead of individually owning an ICT system, customers can use the software as a SaaS from the Fujitsu Group's highly-reliable cloud environment. As a result, they are able to bypass costs associated with deploying, operating, and maintaining ICT systems, and can quickly and reassuringly begin using the service through the Internet.

2. Documents can be shared by offices worldwide

Documents can be shared regardless of whether an office or business partner is located in or outside Japan. Companies can globally share information on the progress of tasks and the latest updates. Consequently, the service supports offices in strengthening their collaboration, and it is also useful from the standpoint of business continuity planning. The service comes standard with language support in Japanese, English, and Chinese.

3. Work templates can be tailored to customer specifications

The service comes with three kinds of work templates that can be employed in a wide range of operations, including project planning, procurement/purchasing, production, business management, quality assurance, and customer support. These include templates for (1) sharing information with business partners, (2) quality-management and (3) manual-disclosure. With a minimal amount of simple maintenance work, these templates can be tailored to the terminology and specifications of the customer's unique work processes. For example, a boilerplate memo template, which is included as part of the templates for sharing information with business partners, contains a sample workflow pattern that can be modified and tailored to the workflow of information exchange with a business partner.

4. Employable in a variety of workflow-related tasks

In addition to supporting mission-critical tasks relevant to the manufacturing, retailing, and distribution industries, the service can also be employed in a wide range of general tasks, such as the circulation of proposals and the settlement of travel expenses. Customers can freely compose and reuse document layouts based on the type of document required. Moreover, by combining four key task actions—composition, approval, storage, and delivery—it is possible for customers to design their own unique workflow processes.

5. Effortlessly handles reviews and audits

The service records a comprehensive approval log that tracks information such as who issued which document when, whether it was approved or not, and when it was revised. It is also possible to view older versions of documents. In addition, logs are saved on every operation taken by users, including who logged in at what time and which documents were accessed. As records are kept on work performed with each form that is used, the records can be reproduced in the case of an ISO review or audit for internal control purposes. This reduces the amount of preparatory work required.

Pricing and Description

Pricing and Description

Service Name		Pricing (excluding tax)	Description
Initial Cost	Basic deployment service (required)	300,000 yen	Service platform environment configuration
	Work templates (Sharing information with business partners)	300,000 yen	Formatting and workflow templates for memo management (Q&A, assignments, and requests), purchasing/delivery specifications, message boards, etc.
	Work templates (Quality management)	300,000 yen	Formatting and workflow templates for complaint submission forms, incoming inspection reports, inspection results reports, etc.
	Work templates (Manual disclosure)	300,000 yen	Formatting and workflow templates for administrative rules, notices, and an assortment of form documents.
Monthly Fee	Basic operations service (required)	100,000 yen	Provides the service with basic Documal features. Includes 100 accounts and 30GB of disk space.
	1 additional account ID	1,000 yen	Additional user ID for 1 account
	100 additional account IDs	80,000 yen	Additional user ID for 100 accounts
	500 additional account IDs	250,000 yen	Additional user ID for 500 accounts
	1,000 additional account IDs	400,000 yen	Additional user ID for 1,000 accounts
	30GB of additional disk space	3,000 yen	Additional 30GB of disk space
	Content PDF conversion	100,000 yen	Provides the ability to convert stored documents into PDF format

Sales Target

100 companies within the next three years.