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BPM Product Captures Workflows and Tracks Documents Critical to Researchers at the Lab
San Diego — June 28, 2010 — BP Logix, developer of BPM software that incorporates predictive modeling to accelerate time-to-value, today announced that NEC Laboratories America, Inc.(NEC Labs), a subsidiary of NEC Corporation and a leading industrial research institution, has selected BP Logix Process Director to automate and streamline its documents. With intellectual property (IP) a priority for the Lab and researchers working on projects full time in two locations that are time zones apart, documentation and follow up are critical. Whether a researcher is writing research that becomes part of a technical report or developing abstracts for papers to be presented at conferences, capturing and tracking IP is critical. Based on Process Director, the core business system, called the IP Document Management System, is already helping to minimize delays and make tracking more visible.
Located in Princeton, New Jersey, and with offices in Cupertino, California, NEC Labs is recognized as one of the most preeminent and innovative research institutions of its kind. The Lab is part of NEC's global research infrastructure which includes laboratories in Japan, Europe, and China. NEC Labs conducts research in support of both NEC's US and global businesses. Its mission is to impact both the research community and high technology industry by focusing on: robust and secure systems, broadband and mobile networking, systems architecture, software verification, information analysis and management, machine learning, and quantum IT. NEC Labs research programs emphasize developing deep competence in areas important to NEC business and ripe for technical breakthrough.
Sanjay Palnitkar is the Manager of NEC Labs Information Systems Technology Group. Challenged by a legacy system that was too costly to maintain, customize or upgrade, Palnitkar recognized a need to:
- Automate the workflow process associated with documenting and publishing research
- Identify a system that would be both labor and cost-effective
- Secure a system that provided automated routing, electronic signatures and tracking
- Select a system that could be customized however did not require programming resources
NEC Labs needed an automated system that would:1) Address approvals required for document review, 2) Work with workflows that varied depending on projects and documents and 3) Accommodate queries. According to Palnitkar, “Being a research organization with about 100 full time researchers we have a lot of output that needs to be captured. Some of it will end up being used for future patents, book chapters or research papers. We needed to be able to track our documents and better manage that part of the process.”
Palnitkar’s team, headed by Will Dennis, was tasked with identifying and recommending a solution. Concurrent with evaluating products, Dennis began defining NEC Labs’ processes to ensure that all functionality could be maintained, while also documenting the new functionality they desired in a state-of-the-art solution. “To have an electronic workflow system with electronic signatures that was not prohibitively priced was the driver. The cost to maintain and modernize our existing system to include electronic signatures, tracking and workflow made it less viable. We needed a system that would reduce the work of the administrators and make our entire approval process more efficient. We found that in Process Director,” Palnitkar commented.
In addition to implementing a document management automation solution, NEC Labs also had to migrate 15,000 documents and 20,000 records from its legacy system to Process Director. The vendor of the legacy system customized an export program to format the legacy data. Process Director’s import program parsed the data and created records and documents in the database, enabling 17 years of technical research to move forward with the new system.
“We are pleased that NEC Labs selected Process Director as a core business system for the Lab,” stated Edward Skiko, CEO of BP Logix. “Process Director will help NEC Labs to capture and track all of the intellectual property -- what is written, what is released to conferences and all follow-up activities. We appreciate that, after a six month evaluation process, NEC Labs selected BP Logix for its workflow and automation needs,” Skiko concluded.
About BP Logix
BP Logix (bplogix.com) unites IT and business users enabling them to deploy sophisticated, form-based, workflow-driven enterprise apps in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost of traditional development. Our award-winning business process management (BPM) software powers workflow-driven solutions that cross organizational boundaries, embracing the C-suite, operations, sales, customers and prospects.
Customers including Abbott Labs, County of Fresno, DuPont, IDEX, Leo Burnett USA, Memphis Light, Gas and Water, MultiPlan, NEC Labs, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, the National Institute of Mental Health, Rite Aid, RidgeWorth Capital Management and Vulcan Materials Company use BP Logix-powered workflow apps to deliver clear and measurable improvements in productivity, compliance, and customer engagement.
The BP Logix name and logo are the registered service and trademarks of BP Logix, Inc.
Press Release Contacts –
Ingrid Andrews
CMG Delivers
760-438-3399
ingrid@cmgdelivers.com
Marti Colwell
BP Logix
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marti.colwell@bplogix.com
