Intelligent Documents

On November 25, Seth Rowland, Document Consultant and Lawyer, wrote an article For TechnoLawyer Magazine titled “A Systemic Approach To Legal Document Automation Part 1: Building Technology Bridges.

The Article

This article describes how companies can improve on their document automation process by changing the way they assemble documents and data. Rowland explains that companies tend to have “islands of data and documents that can interfere with the automation process. In order to build document “bridges” his suggestion is to group documents together that are commonly used in the same transaction before starting the automation process. To solve the data island issue, he suggests that companies should “build bridges to enable data to flow between the islands”. He goes on to suggest that to build the data bridge companies should either “push” or “pull” their data from the data source directly into the document assembly system.

What’s Not Stated in the Article

The conclusion of the article states that “each template that you add to the system will be easier to code since it will be building on previous templates”. The keyword here is the word “code”, today’s more advanced automation systems do not require any programming or “coding”. Applications like Docfire allow the end user to create complex rules with simple drag and drop tools, making the system easy to learn and use (document rules are used to produce proper grammar and insert appropriate language in an automated document). Most document automation tools in the market today require the user to actually type in the code for “If Then Else” or “For Each” type statements in order to create document rules.

In addition to ease of use, today’s more advanced automation systems allow users to create their own Datasource including records that can easily be published to a set of documents. With Docfire users can create a new data source, define the fields, add records, and then easily publish the data to a set of documents.

 DocFire is a completely “on-demand” application (like SalesForce.com) that helps organizations create and manage their own rules and processes, data, and documents online from a secure central location without the need for any special software or IT involvement. 

In order to go above and beyond document generation DocFire™ introduces a revolutionary new approach to working with documents by using their patent-pending technologies to combine data entry, content generation, and analysis all in one place – the document!   

DocFire™ gives you the ability to build and manage data sources or integrates with existing ones like MS-SQL or XML, model and test rules using your own business processes and data, and the ability to create truly intelligent documents your users can interact with using only Microsoft Office.

Using DocFire™, organizations can create and enforce simple or complex rules and regulations from a central location without the need for additional applications or IT staff thus reducing the uncertainty and risk of working with documents or forms.  Users are always guaranteed to have the latest templates available to them including the most recent data, rules, and text.

In use by Fortune 1000 customers, DocFire™ is easily scalable for small and large organizations from 1 to thousands of users.

Users who are interested can sign-up online now at www.docfire.com.

On July 17 Anthony Garritano, Editor of Mortgage Technology Magazine, wrote an article titled “The Next Big thing Is All About The Data”

This article looks at the how the collapse of the subprime market is forcing mortgage companies to look at how their data is currently being collected, stored and used. The article discusses how new regulations and licensing requirements will change dramatically in order to a) help the borrower make an informed decision and b) ensure the borrower is qualified and able to sustain the obligation.

Use of an intelligent document system can reduce a company’s exposure that can be caused by data errors. In the article Garritano states, “Lenders are actively integrating to database systems to verify income, employment, duplicate or inactive Social Security numbers and multiple loan applications. I also see the need for intelligent docs or SMARTDocs, which contain data that can be verified against business rules right within the document themselves to enforce legal and investor compliance and that validation travels with the document as electronic evidence or audit trail.”

On June 24th, Bob Glushko of Doc Or Die posted “XML Fever.”

This is a great post (and paper that he co-authored) to see coming from a “expert” in document modelling.   Too many people think because they put a few tags around data elements they are “xml” savvy, compliant, standards-based, [insert buzzword here].

At the end of the paper this line really drives the point home about using XML - “it is just a format, and the difficult work of analysis and modeling information has not and will never go away.”

In our world, people often wonder why we put so much emphasis on the modeling of data.  The fact is, a well-defined model (or architecture for that matter) has proven to be not only more understandable and usuable but also flexible in the long term.

Here’s our new address…

2901 Auburn Road - Suite #200
Auburn Hills, MI 48236
(248) 844-4824

Before starting the document assembly process it is important to take the time to create an assembly blueprint.  Templates must be properly planned and designed before the first automation or data element is added.  If this is not done the document assembly will take much longer and will be prone to error.

This article lays out 4 steps that you should take before starting the document assembly process.  These steps will describe the assembly prep process as it pertains to commercial mortgage closing documents but the same process should be used regardless of the document type

Read the rest of this entry »

Administrator A person that holds the responsibility for setup and configuration of document automation software

AjlDoc Document An intelligent document designed by AjlSoft consisting of a Word or RTF file imbedded with rules and data

AjlRules Designer A tool used to create the rule logic imbedded in an AjlDoc intelligent document

AjlSuite Tools that are used to create, edit, automate, and generate complex transactions. The Suite includes AjlRules Designer, AjlDoc Documents, and AjlDoc Published Suites
Read the rest of this entry »

Ajlsoft, a leader in intelligent document automation software, announced an alliance today with RT Software Systems to use their new environmental friendly data center to deliver Ajlsoft’s “Intelligent Office” product suite using the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model to their growing client base.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve posted the updated presentation from our webinar (including voice-over) and step-by-step instructions for how to automate a documents.

You can view and hear the presentation at eHow.com.

Due to popular demand we have put together a short list of “features” that our products offer:

Make your documents “intelligent”

Build your own rules

Work with your data

Manage your documents and rules

You can also find the most recent feature list on our website at: Features