Handover to new leadership promises ongoing success
In January, company founders and presidents Jürgen Biffar and Thomas Schneck transitioned leadership of the DocuWare Group to Dr. Michael Berger, formerly the company’s Chief Technology Officer, and Max Ertl, formerly the company’s Chief Revenue Officer. Since 1988, Biffar and Schneck have steered DocuWare toward its current success.
Later this year, Jim Roberts became President of DocuWare Corporation heading up sales for the Americas and overseeing activities in DocuWare’s US headquarters. Roberts brings decades of leadership experience and a proven record of taking customer- and process-centric companies to the next level of sales and expansion.
DocuWare’s acquisition by Ricoh was announced
Ricoh is committed to our growth strategy and respects our talented DocuWare team and our company culture. Because of this synergy, DocuWare will operate as an independent subsidiary. Our staff, brand, product, website, and technical support system are here to stay.DocuWare has an ambitious growth plan, and that includes enabling current and future Partners with leading document management and workflow automation technology. With Ricoh’s support and strong global network, we can achieve our goals and continue to be the reliable, trustworthy and innovative solution provider our customers know.
With our combined strengths and experience, DocuWare and Ricoh will be able stay ahead of technology trends and meet the evolving needs of the modern digital workplace.
Floating on DocuWare Cloud
%20(2).jpg?width=300&name=iStock-187130245%20(1)%20(2).jpg)
At the start of 2019, more than 2,000 customers opted to implement DocuWare Cloud. Over the course of 2019, the number of customers rose to more than 3,000. These customers are attracted by the scalability and mobility that this solution offers for workflow automation and document management.
Dr. Michael Berger, Co-President of DocuWare explains why the company's cloud strategy has been so successful. “DocuWare continues to invest in the usability, security, flexibility and scalability of our cloud architecture,” he says. “We see tremendous growth in small- and mid-sized organizations, where business agility requires leaders to digitize and automate their office processes.”
Cloud solutions enable organizations to scale up, integrate with other applications, orchestrate new workflows, and expand into additional business areas without downtime and complex development cycles. To make implementation even simpler, DocuWare also offers preconfigured cloud solutions. Based on our years of experience with thousands of customers, these solutions are modular with predefined processes. Our preconfigured solutions further reduce the time needed for system design and installation.
New capabilities and a user-friendly workflow tool
DocuWare released Version 7.1 and Version 7.2. Each new DocuWare version benefits our customers and shows DocuWare’s dedication to continuous improvement. DocuWare version updates increase efficiency, improve ease-of-use and further enhance security to meet and exceed current industry standards. Our product roadmap incorporates technology advancements and adds additional capabilities to our solutions.
Electronic signatures bring a level of security to important documents
DocuWare always provides the most advanced security possible in order to protect our customer’s confidential documents and data. In 2019, we took a significant step forward, by integrating with Validated ID, a verified Trust Service Provider, to offer electronic signatures. These signatures can be used anytime an organization is required to prove that a signature is authentic and ensure a document has not been altered. An electronic signature can be used on proposals and sales contracts, employee benefits forms, vendor agreements, and other documents that require a verified signature for audit and compliance purposes.
Validated ID’s VidSigner offers three types of digital signatures: remote, biometric and centralized. The type a customer chooses depends on whether signers visit their location in-person; what type of device will be used for access; and the level of security needed.
Online Process Planner takes workflow from theory to practice
The Process Planner is a handy tool and free tool that helps users visualize and plan workflows. You don't have to be an expert - it's intuitive and easy to use! Users can also share and export work steps and results with colleagues and vendors inside and outside your organization at any time – whether or not everyone involved in the planning is a DocuWare user.
Want to try it out? Register here. All you need is an email address and a password. Once you register, you can subscribe to our Process Planner newsletter via your account settings to get more practical examples and information on business process management.
Find out more about the Process Planner here.
We're so proud of our community involvement!
As part of our initiative to support STEM education, we created opportunities for employees to participate in company-sponsored events that advance that cause. Many DocuWare employees also volunteer on their own time as firefighters, animal shelter workers, and teachers. DocuWare encourages volunteerism and supports the nonprofits our employees dedicate their time to. We extend the reach of our philanthropic spirit through our global network of 600 DocuWare partners by supporting the nonprofits with whom they work.
Girl power multiplies at a hands-on STEM workshop
Eleven 8th grade girls from Nora Cronin Presentation Academy visited DocuWare’s U.S. headquarters in August. Their visit is part of DocuWare’s initiative to support local students who are interested in working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Academy is a private middle school for girls from minority or low-income communities in the City of Newburgh and the greater Hudson Valley area. Their goal is to break the cycle of poverty through education, while instilling a sense of self and a community-minded perspective in their students.
STEM education takes an integrated approach that focuses on hands-on learning. With that in mind, Maria Holden, Support Manager Americas at DocuWare, along with her team: Tatiana Weems, Aracelys Toribio and Shawn Rutigliano, created a workshop for the students to learn by doing.
The students were divided into four teams. Each team was assigned to work at a different fictitious company. The teams were made up of a web designer, a marketing manager and a purchasing agent.
“These 8th graders learned that everyone in an organization has a job to do, and it takes cooperation to achieve a common goal,” Holden explains. “I also wanted to inspire a curiosity about technology in these students. I’d like to see more girls pursuing careers in the computer science field.”
Team building event benefits STEM education
Throughout the year, DocuWare supports community activities and values being a good corporate citizen. DocuWare’s July quarterly meeting traditionally includes a fun team building activity that benefits a local charitable organization. At this year’s meeting, DocuWare employees were divided into 15 teams who competed to see who could build the fastest solar car.
The teams also built cars made of recycled materials and prizes were given for the most creative recycled car. Before the solar car competition, team members assembled 75 solar car kits to be donated to the Newburgh Armory Unity Center (NAUC). DocuWare’s solar car kits will be used by children who are students of STEM programs at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center.
The center serves the residents of the City of Newburgh and the students of the Newburgh Enlarged City School District. Community members of all ages come together there for educational, athletic and civic opportunities.
Max Cuacuas, Director of Operations at the center was a guest at our event and brought four students with him to accept our donation of solar cars and kits. He explained that the STEM programs there teach students skills that prepare them to pursue careers in technology. “It’s important for them to interact with people in their community who work in the tech field. Having these role models encourages an interest in technology that is likely to be sustained through high school and college,” he says.
Our philanthropic efforts for children are not just reserved for children. In the fall of 2019, we launched a certified tech training course in IT Fundamentals for adults at the Unity Center. Once they are certified, we help our graduates find jobs within our wide network of local business partners.
We’re looking ahead to 2020 with great optimism and anticipate another productive and successful year.
Joan Honig is Marketing Content Manager at DocuWare.
