Item: OnBase
Rating: 10
Author: Sheila Shaver

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

OnBase is our Enterprise Electronic Content Management system. 30+ departments use OnBase for retrieving documents that have been entered by Building Services, Clerk's Office, Finance, HR, PD, Public Works, Purchasing, Risk Management or Utilities. We have over 50 workflows automating many processes - to name a few: Agenda Management, Boards & Commissions (using Workflow & WorkView processes, HR Personnel Form approvals, Finance AR/AP/Payroll Report Approvals, Public Works using barcodes, Insurance Certifications/renewal notifications and PD Citation processing/Case Management. We have eliminated a lot of cumbersome emails and attachments by filing the
supporting document in OnBase and automatically have a notification sent to the required personnel with a hyperlink to the filed document.

Different modules used in conjunction with Workflow have significantly reduced the time it takes to complete tasks.

Pros and Cons

Automated forms processing through workflow: Retrieve information from external database, update form, send notifications, acquire approvals.
Outlook Integration: File and retrieve emails or documents from OnBase while remaining in Microsoft Outlook.
Use barcodes to automatically import and index documents with no user interaction required.

Training. Hyland offers Premium Subscription training, but there is a cost. I feel that since upgrades are part of our maintenance agreement, we should be able to access the training required for using and understanding the upgraded modules.
Workflow Documentation. Workflow generates documentation for either the Admin or the User. Neither one is easily modified to acquire only the information we really need and the users will understand.

Most Important Features

Workflow is the most important and most used feature - constantly adding new LifeCycles to automate more processes
WorkView is new to us but starting to be used more - have new requests coming in for additional processes to be converted to WorkView
Outlook Integration is widely used throughout the City
Reporting Dashboards is a recent purchase and requests are increasing for additional dashboards.

Return on Investment

Automated HR Personnel Action Forms - eliminated paper, eliminated routing through inter-office mail (saves days and reduces possibility of being lost), email notification requesting approval includes hyperlink for immediate access.
PD automation for Traffic Camera Citations - combines citations to create a case. Workflow generates packets when preparing for Court. Eliminated Access database, spreadsheets and thousands of folders. 70% savings on time and 95% on paper reduction.
Workflow timers can automatically move items through workflow based on different criteria with no user interaction required.
Finance Reports are swept into OnBase and enter Workflow. Unity Form used to determine specific keywords for reports for which notifications are then sent out requesting approval. Automated tracking on a different form until all period reports are received. Entire process is automated in OnBase. No manual requirement except the individual approval (clicking a task).
Citizens submit an application to be on one or more City Board or Commission. Application enters workflow for approvals(s). Documents are generated for Council approval. Information is then added to WorkView - all through workflow.

Alternatives Considered

OnBase was in place when I took over as Administrator 15 years ago.

Key Insights

Do you think OnBase delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with OnBase's feature set?

Yes

Did OnBase live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of OnBase go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy OnBase again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365, Oracle PeopleSoft ERP, EnerGov

Likelihood to Recommend

Different ways to ingest items into OnBase - Scan, DIP, Bar Code Recognition or bring in through Microsoft Outlook. Items can be restricted and secured by either group, user or a specific keyword value. There are dozens of add-on modules to help accomplish or automate any task your process might need. If you're going to use for much more than basic document filing and retrieval, a dedicated OnBase Administrator position should be required. If you don't purchase Hyland's Premium Subscription for training, the courses open to everyone is severely limited and hinders frequent upgrades due to the time it takes for self-teaching and testing.

Users and Roles

400 - Financial (AP/AR/Payroll) Report approvals from 50+ Departments/Divisions. HR processes automated (onboarding, action forms, hiring/terms/seasonals). Police Automated Traffic Enforcement (cameras) process (Citations, Notice of Violations, Court Cases, Payments). OnBase Agenda - every department electronically creates and submits Agenda Items for Council. Clerks office is able to use the system to generate Council Packets and Agendas. Council documents (Resolutions & Ordinances) are generated when meeting is finished and auto-signed by the Mayor and City Clerk inside of workflow using a Task. City Clerks office uses the 'Boards and Commissions' Concept Solution (WorkView) to manage 31 Boards/Commissions/Committees, etc. Dozens of department admins use 100+ Scan Queues, 50+ scheduled sweep processes and 50+ scheduled commit processes to get documents into OnBase. Outlook Integration is used by dozens of users for filing email and/or attachments. Over 150 different Notification types are sent out using Workflow. ESRI Integration used - maps are linked to Council documents and specific public works documents (maps, plats, easements, etc). Document retrieval, full-text search and custom queries are the most used functions by the most users.

Support Headcount Required

1 - OnBase Certified Advanced System Administrator
OnBase Certified Advanced Workflow Administrator
OnBase Certified Workview Developer
Advanced knowledge in Microsoft applications & Adobe
Knowledge of Web/App Server configuration/settings/authentication, etc

Business Processes Supported

Indexing documents. Keyword values are very important so multiple users in multiple departments are able to find documents easily. Consistency is required. Use datasets when possible.
Agenda process - submitting Agenda Items, Item corrections, Agenda & packet generation, meeting processing, council document generation and signatures.
HR document processes - Personnel Action Forms, Seasonal Action Forms, Termination Forms and Performance Appraisals.

Innovative Uses

We have a Unity Form available to the public for submitting an application to a Board/Commission. When the form is submitted, it enters a very complex workflow going through different review depending on the board. If more than 1 board, multiple review forms are created. After reviewed, the form goes to the Mayor for review/appointment. Appointments then go to Clerk for next Council Agenda Resolution preparation. Approved resolution then creates necessary WorkView objects.
Police department receives a file containing overdue Red Light/Camera Citations. This file uses DIP to create Citation Unity Form for each Citation. Citations are grouped by License Plate# to create a Case (Unity Form). Points and dollar amounts are assigned to each Citation based on specified criteria. At a certain dollar amount or certain point threshold, a PD Safety Project Coordinator is involved - sending packet to owner, etc. If still no payment, the Case goes to Court. 90% of this is automated and done in Workflow. Manual intervention is only needed to run some tasks.

Future Planned Uses

Automate Business Travel Requests. Form approval through workflow, attach receipts to form, final submission to Finance.
Departments have a few old Microsoft Access databases that I want to convert to Workview.
Configure and use OnBase Mobile

Likelihood to Renew

Almost every department in the City uses OnBase. The demand for new automated process is increasing with Project requests being added to a waiting list.

Products Replaced

Key Differentiators

I was not involved in the initial purchase of OnBase

Evaluation Lessons Learned

I wouldn't change anything. I am very happy with OnBase and enjoy being the OnBase administrator. I love my job.

Support Rating

This rating is a compromise because I technically have 2 tiers of support.
I go through a re-seller that I give a (10). I send an email and receive acknowledgment within minutes.
For the few times we need to contact Hyland for assistance, it sometimes takes a couple of days to receive a response - and then the first tier might go back and forth a dozen times through email instead of initiating a phone call. And for an advanced issue, they take too long before they forward to an evangelist or someone more knowledgeable that is able to assist. I give that process an (8).

OnBase Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Good followup Problems get solved Kept well informed Support cares about my success	Need to explain problems multiple times Slow Initial Response

Premium Support

We are just trying Premium Subscription for the first time.

Bug Resolution

Yes - We were basically a beta-tester for OnBase Agenda. Bugs were reported, fixed, tested, pushed out again and tested again. All of this was done in a very timely manner.

Exceptional Examples of OnBase Support

When needed, we have received exceptional support from specific module experts (OnBase Agenda, Case Management, ESRI Integration and Full-Text for example).

Usability

As long as you know the document type you're looking for, OnBase is great. If you don't know the document type, you could have to look through many to find what you need. Or you could use a Custom Query, but then you have to learn which one to use. This is for the general user trying to retrieve documents. An Admin, or someone that uses OnBase daily will not have this issue and will consider easier to use.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar	None

Easy Tasks

Outlook Integration is my favorite way to get email and/or attachments into OnBase
Full-Text Search is an easy way to find documents
Report Approvals - using docpop/workflowpop link in email notification

Difficult Tasks

Merging or separating a document has to be done in a different Client depending on whether the document is a pdf or a tif file. One Client can't do both types.
Unity Form is unable to alphabetize MIKGs - which makes it difficult when you have dozens of rows.

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes, but I don't use it

OnBase - Data, Documents, Workflow and Processing no longer a chore

Overall Satisfaction with OnBase