Competitive Chart
Workflow |
 |
Others |
Entire documents are checked out one person at a time. |
No |
Yes |
| Several people can work on one document at one time, without all of their edits piling up in a single Word file. | Yes |
No |
| Users can preview a document even when others are working on it. | Yes |
No |
| Threaded discussions take place on the same screen as the image, table, text, etc. being discussed. | Yes |
No |
| Task assignments are made in the same interface in which the tasks will be accomplished. | Yes |
No |
| Users report the status of their work on the same screen where they are doing their work. | Yes |
No |
| Rewards employee buy-in by displaying to management any and all help given to other employees. |
Yes |
Only rarely |
| Relies on inherently insecure and vulnerable email exchanges. | No |
Yes |
Project Management |
|
Others |
| Project management is accomplished at the same interface where the project is created and where task assignments are made. | Yes |
No |
| The document's table of contents, or the project's various elements, can be created or re-arranged in the same interface where task assignments are given. | Yes |
No |
| The status of project or project elements can be viewed at a single screen | Yes |
Not for complex projects |
| The status of individuals working on various projects or project elements can be viewed at a single screen. | Yes |
Yes |
Information Technology |
|
Others |
| Workstation installation required. | No |
Usually |
| Relies on email. | No |
Almost always |
| Requires Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer. | Yes |
Yes |
| Is accessible from any internet connected computer. | Yes |
Often requires "synching" with the server |
| Some components run on the workstation, some components run on the server (Internet Explorer excluded). | No |
Yes |
| Installation requires on-site consultants. | No |
Yes |
| Installation takes weeks or months. | No |
Yes |
| Installation requires on-going internal IT support of at least one full-time employee. | No |
Yes |
| Installation requires on-going external IT support, often totaling hundreds of hours a year. | No |
Yes |
| Ratio of consulting fees to software cost is at least 2:1. | No |
Yes |
| Risks security and spying vulnerability arising from file transfers via email. | No |
Yes |
| Employs the server operating system least vulnerable to worms, viruses, and hacking attacks. | Yes |
No |
Search and Reuse |
|
Others |
| Search queries return the exact paragraph, table, image, etc. matching the query. | Yes |
No |
| Search results show where in the document that exact paragraph, table, image, etc. is located. | Yes |
No |
| With the click of a button, search results can be incorporated into a new project or document. | Yes |
No |
| Search engine can be made available to call centers, technical support, partners and customers. | Yes |
Yes |
| Search results by any of these people can be incorporated into a unique downloadable document of the user's design. | Yes |
No |
| Files can be attached to document elements for reference. | Yes |
No |
| Footnotes can be attached to document elements. |
Yes |
Depends on the workstation text editor |
| File attachments, existing footnotes and the element's source and authorship are automatically included when the element is re-used in other documents or projects. | Yes |
No |
| Can export any document to PDF format. | Yes |
Typically requires additional workstation software |
| Can export any document in XML format, ready for news feeds or other manipulation. | Yes |
Typically requires additional workstation software |
Integrated Experience |
|
Others |
Requires the use of at least four applications (excluding Internet Explorer) - some running on the desktop and some running on the server. |
No |
Yes |
| Follows the 80/20 rule, where 80% of these application's features are never used. | No |
Yes |
| Requires the user to manually deposit documents into the knowledgebase or reference library on the server. | No |
Yes |
| Requires the user to manually meta-tag documents to make the knowledgebase or reference library function as intended. | No |
Yes |
| Requires on-site training lasting at least one work day and often lasting three or four work days. | No |
Usually |
| Rewards employee buy-in by assuring that the system automatically tracks and attributes all intellectual capital to its original author. | Yes |
No |
Intellectual Capital |
|
Others |
| All intellectual capital is placed under the control of management as it is created. | Yes |
No |
| Intellectual capital is never left on workstations or otherwise made unavailable. | Yes |
No |
| Intellectual capital is always encrypted and never exposed within email or attached to email. | Yes |
No |
| All intellectual capital is automatically structured as it is created. | Yes |
No |
| Document or project templates of any complexity can be easily created and deployed to global workforces. | Yes |
Rarely possible; more rarely easy |