OpenText implementation in a Government Environment
Rating: 8 out of 10
March 26, 2018
NP
Vetted Review
Verified User
8 years of experience
We have implemented it in 13 departments within the Western Cape Government. It is being used through the whole organisation for document and records management. The file plans of the various departments as well as the retention schedules are being used to manage the documents. A strict records and document management policy are being adhered to within the whole organisation managed by archive services.
- Document Management is being done well since it allows you to put in a corporate folder structure that applies to the business unit you currently work in.
- Records Management works well in this organisation as it allows you to classify the document according to the file plan, as well as manage it according to the retention schedule for tat file plan.
- The ability to collaborate on files works really well. You can share with users within your group, as well as allow other users access to the files for either read access to read/write access.
- Access control of the folder and even individual files allows you to ensure only necessary people can have the right type of access. This is especially welcome in the government environment where document management is of utmost importance.
Cons
- The forms maker that comes bundled with the product is not always that easy to use. I would like to see it come standard with a better forms maker application.
- The user interface of version 10.5.2 can be quite daunting when you first start using it. Once you get to know it, it becomes easier. Also for non-technical users it can be quite difficult to get going with it.
- There are no easy reports creation application that comes with version 10.5.2. So getting usage stats can become quite a difficult task and a database administrator is need to write the necessary queries to get the reports.
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9.6
- It has ensured that some processes can be expedited through the document management coupled with workflow. This give us the ability to provide a better services to the public.
- It has reduced the use of paper since you can now access your document from your laptop or mobile device to use within meeting or even working from home.
- It has saved on time by sharing document with parties thousands of kilometers away. and they can collaborate and the document is available immediately for access on this side. There is only one version available and multiple document attached to emails.
- Microsoft Sharepoint and Alfresco Activiti
SharePoint is not very strong on records management as part of the base system. So after evaluation, it was found to not comply to all needs and therefore discarded. We also evaluated Afresco which is an opensource offering. The problem was that we could not find enough people with Alfresco skills to implement it with enough confidence that it will be successful. We also had a problem then with supporting the implementation. We could get all necessary training from OpenText to allow us to support the project in-house.
