CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

8 January 2009

Product News

CSC Announces New Releases of Enterprise Content Management Solutions for Life Sciences Industry

CSC announced new releases of its FirstPoint and FirstDoc enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, adding features designed to support the systematic management of all aspects of the document life cycle and the growing collaboration needs of global life science organizations. Several new clients are implementing the solutions. More than 4,000 FirstDoc and FirstPoint licenses were recently issued to one of the global top 20 pharmaceutical companies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FirstPoint 1.6, released in September, offers small to mid-size life science companies an ECM solution with the enterprise-wide functionality enjoyed by "Big Pharma." The Microsoft Office SharePoint Server-based application enables adoption and cost effective scalability regardless of the size of the organization. FirstPoint enables real-time collaboration in a controlled environment, increasing productivity while reducing the risk of non-compliance. Other features include electronic signature, watermarking, PDF rendition management, and template-driven workflows that reduce the need for customizations and help users manage multiple vendors. In addition, the new release offers forms management that leverages Microsoft Office InfoPath technology for creation, routing and approval of essential regulatory-driven forms, such as Change Request and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA).

"Managing data and forms, along with documents is critical to drug development process improvements targeted by life sciences organizations," said Michael Naimoli, director of Microsoft Corporation's U.S. Life Sciences Industry Group. "CSC demonstrates its understanding of global regulatory demands and their impact on life sciences organizations. Utilizing SharePoint Server and Office InfoPath 2007, FirstPoint enables organizations to centrally manage and route electronic forms and automate time-consuming and error-prone processes."

FirstDoc 6.0, released in December, is based on EMC Corporation's new Documentum 6.5 platform. The new release allows users to personalize SharePoint Web parts according to user role and content access privilege. This personalization capability helps FirstDoc administrators broaden their team's individual user experience and increase productivity.

Two discrete modules were introduced to the new 6.0 solution, FirstDoc SharePoint Experience (SPX) and FirstDoc Collaborative Review Experience (CRX). SPX is a cost-effective way to increase user access to combined information and capabilities in a controlled SharePoint Server setting. CRX also leverages SharePoint Server to enable clients the use of familiar Microsoft Office tools, such as track changes in a real-time, multi-user collaborative workflow.

"FirstDoc exemplifies our commitment to interoperability, improves information sharing, reduces costs and enables clients to leverage their overall technology investments," said Deward Watts, president of CSC's Global Healthcare Sector. "FirstPoint's growing success in the market demonstrates the steady increase of SharePoint 2007 adoption among life sciences organizations and the need for a comprehensive enterprise solution that brings long-term value to our large clients and those in emerging markets."

CSC's Global Healthcare Sector, which serves healthcare providers, health plans, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, and allied industries around the world, is a global leader in transforming the healthcare industry through the effective use of information to improve healthcare outcomes, decision-making and operating efficiency.

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