Novell Announces SoftSolutions 4.1

New Mobile Capabilities Enable Remote Document Search and Retrieval

NEW ORLEANS -- May 9, 1995 -- Novell, Inc. today announced SoftSolutions 4.1, the latest release of the company's enterprise-wide document management system. The new SoftSolutions release includes the Remote Document Server, which enables remote users to search and retrieve documents stored in their organization's network document management system. The Remote Document Server is tightly integrated with the GroupWise messaging system for enhanced capabilities, and is also accessible from other MAPI- or VIM-compliant messaging systems.

SoftSolutions' Remote Document Server gives mobile users, networked users and telecommuters access to SoftSolutions' capabilities and document repositories via private and public e-mail systems. The new technology provides users with document text and attribute searching, document uploading and downloading, document forwarding and faxing capabilities from anywhere users can send and receive e-mail.

"With the increasing trend toward mobile computing, remote user access to network document repositories is now essential," said Linda Myers-Tierney, senior consultant at International Data Corporation (IDC), a Massachusetts-based industry analyst group. "With SoftSolutions and the Remote Document Server, users have continual contact with the documents they need."

In the past, document management systems have only allowed remote users to search and retrieve documents stored locally on the hard drives of laptops and desktop PCs. In contrast, SoftSolutions 4.1 gives remote users search and retrieval capabilities for both local documents and documents held in their organizations' network document repositories.

"The release of SoftSolutions 4.1 provides evidence of Novell's commitment to solving today's document management challenges," said Bob Young, vice president of marketing at Novell. "SoftSolutions offers powerful document management and library services that connect people with the information they need and enables them to act on it. The Remote Document Server takes this process one step further by allowing users to break their physical ties to the network without sacrificing access to network documents."

Using the Remote Document Server

To use the Remote Document Server, users send e-mail messages containing search criteria, document retrieval requests and general document management commands to a specified e-mail address. The Remote Document Server acts as an agent between the messaging system and SoftSolutions by capturing the information and passing it to SoftSolutions for processing. The Remote Document Server then replies to the user with a list of documents that meet the search criteria, a copy of the requested document or a report of the processed command.

Today's business environment demands that a user have 24-hour access to information, whether the user is sitting at a networked PC or dialing in from an airport halfway around the world. A clear example of the benefits of the Remote Document Server is illustrated by the business traveler who is collaborating with other users to complete a customer proposal. From a hotel room, the traveler can search and retrieve a draft proposal from the home office's SoftSolutions system, make the necessary additions, return the document to SoftSolutions and fax a finalized copy to the customer.

Remote Document Server and GroupWise

SoftSolutions 4.1 ships with a custom Remote Document Server interface for use with GroupWise clients. The interface resembles SoftSolutions' interface, allowing users to work in a familiar document management environment. GroupWise users work from a series of custom screens containing menus, drop-down-lists and buttons that automate the process of creating and sending e-mail messages to the Remote Document Server.

Remote Document Server Capabilities

The Remote Document Server gives remote users access to many document management features available in SoftSolutions, including:

• Document profile searching: Searching based on document attributes, such as author, title, document type, project, department, or other defined attributes.
• Full-text searching: Searching based on words contained in documents.
• Document retrieval: Downloads requested documents as E-mail attachments.
• Document check-out/check-in: Downloads requested documents and marks the document as "In-Use." SoftSolutions then prevents other users from accessing or overwriting the documents until they returned using the check-in feature.
• Import documents: Enables users to add a document to a SoftSolutions document repository via E-mail. The document is then instantly available to both networked users and other remote users.
• Forward documents: Forwards the requested documents as e-mail attachments to a list of user-defined E-mail addresses.
• Fax documents: Faxes the requested documents to a user-defined list of numbers.

Availability and Pricing

SoftSolutions 4.1 will be available in June. Current SoftSolutions 4 users can receive the SoftSolutions 4.1 update for free, until July 31, 1995. Suggested retail pricing for SoftSolutions 4.1 is $495 (US) per server and $295 (US) per workstation. SoftSolutions 4.1 servers will be available for NetWare and UNIX, and clients will be available for DOS and Windows. For more information, users may call Novell Information Services at (800) 861-2507.