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Kent Reliance
Building Society Improve Document Management by
Migration from OfficeVision to Interform |
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Ever since IBM announced
that OS/400 V4.5 was the last release of operating
system to support their OfficeVision product, companies
have been searching for an alternative solution.
Many took the decision to continue using OfficeVision
until it became critical to update the OS version
of their IBM System i (AS400). IBM may have announced
a clear migration path but many companies took the
opportunity to evaluate third party products which
in some cases offer additional features and benefits
whilst reducing costs.
Patrick Race Managing Director of SpaceTec said
“Although the IBM announcement to discontinue
support for OfficeVision after OS/V4.5 was a number
of years ago, we are finding that many of our customers
are only just tackling the issue. Companies preferred
to continue using OfficeVision, until it became
absolutely necessary to upgrade the Operating System
beyond V4.5. Many of our customers have invested
a great deal of time and money into their legacy
systems and they need to make sure that any new
applications are the right one and not just a quick
fix.”
Kent Reliance Building Society was one such company.
Utilising OfficeVision for the production of all
their documents meant that migrating to a new solution
and converting existing documents could be costly
in terms of labour and time. As winners of many
awards for their services and the technology behind
it, it was imperative to maintain their operating
standards. “We could only do this by ensuring
any changes to the technology went smoothly and
were unseen to our customers. This was a big challenge
as we need to ensure a seemless change from OfficeVision
to a new application.” said David Clare, Development
Manager at Kent Reliance Building Society
For Kent Reliance Building Society finding a replacement
solution was only the tip of the iceberg. It was
crucial that the solution would take existing documents
and templates and convert these with the minimum
amount of time and cost. They had very specific
requirements for all their documents and no resources
available to spend months on the conversion which
could also impact Customer Service. Kent Reliance
Building Society contacted SpaceTec as the UK provider
of InterForm400 software. They were also evaluating
solutions from other suppliers but it soon became
very clear that SpaceTec had the only application
that would offer a complete solution..
“We needed not only a replacement solution
but also one which would convert all our current
documents and offer a print feature. With SpaceTec
and InterForm400 we could do all this with the one
vendor. ” said David.
A single vendor application meant that the solution
could be implemented quickly with no issues regarding
compatibility of different modules. SpaceTec have
implemented InterForm400 for many customers in just
the same position and knew that they could meet
all Kent Reliance Building Society requirements.
“We wanted to show Kent Reliance Building
Society how InterForm400 would meet their requirements
in terms of converting documents, providing a stable
product to move forward with and the flexibility
of the print feature. To prove this we provided
them with contact details for Newcastle Building
Society (who use InterForm400 for exactly the same
reasons as Kent Reliance) to act as a reference
site,” said Race. “The result was that
Kent Reliance Building Society were able to see
how quickly and accurately InterForm400 could be
deployed and implemented”
New rules devised by the FSA regulatory body meant
that mortgage lenders and advisors had to take a
different approach to the procedures and documents
they were currently using. For Kent Reliance Building
Society this required an overhaul to their systems,
procedures and marketing literature. After a brief
discussion with SpaceTec it became obvious that
they would be able to use the already installed
InterForm400 to make the necessary changes. “Having
InterForm400 already installed saved us a great
deal of time when we were faced with the issue of
making changes to comply with the new FSA Regulation
rulings. two days consultation from SpaceTec showed
us how we could address the problem using InterForm400.
The reality was that we completed a large percentage
of the changes and were able to swiftly move ahead,”
said David
“SpaceTec have a number of customers who have
taken the route of migrating from OfficeVision to
InterForm400. We are finding that InterForm400 is
proving very popular as a replacement for OfficeVision,”
said Race. “The product is very stable and
offers many additional features. Combine this with
the knowledge that the product is constantly evolving
and it becomes a solid, reliable investment.”
“We have a good relationship with SpaceTec,”
said David. “They are always available to
help and support us where necessary. When the FSA
issue occurred they were very confident of the ability
of InterForm400 and were able to prove this to us
quickly.”
Kent
Reliance Building Society
Kent Reliance is the only building society based
in Kent. Incorporating the Chatham Reliance (established
1898) Dover District (established 1861) Herne Bay
(established 1888) and Kent and Canterbury (established
1847), Kent Reliance is proud of having served the
people of Kent for over 150 years.
With assets of over £1 billion, and with a
network of branches and agencies throughout the
county, they are continuing that proud tradition
of service. But now the products and service that
have made them the natural choice in Kent for mortgages
and savings are available to borrowers and savers
nationwide.
As a building society they are run for the benefit
of their members, and based on this commitment they
have built a reputation for personal service, generous
interest rates, and solid financial expertise.
Today, their members enjoy all the benefits of a
locally based building society plus the advantages
of an efficient, competitive and specialist financial
institution.
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