Document Exchange Server (DES) pricing.

I have not been writing for a while... but felt like I should put more effort into this... I hope you find the information below helpful.

In short DES has four pricing components:

1. Per Server - this is broken down to three basic model:
i) CPU Model - allows you to size your system based on CPU or per Site. There is also a departmental server (small business type of setup).

ii) Site Model - There are also unlimited site.

iii) Departmental Model - limited functionality and connectivity.


2. Per INPUT - each input would pay a set licensing price. Note that some of their CPU server models comes with preset INPUT licenses.
3. Per DESTINATION - that's where you pay for your destination connectors (DMS, etc.)
4. per User - That's the user stations



Most other competitors do not have as complicated pricing as DES. In most cases you generally find Per Device + Per Server. The Connector to Ascent Capture is also available and can be used to send documents to Ascent Capture (see my note on the Ascent Capture - CLICK!). There are various packages on Maintenance and Support as well. The pricing depends on number of maintenance years and type of support.

Note that above pricing model provides a lot of flexibility and allows users to select from variety of options. At the same time these little numbers could easily add up and make this already feature-challenged software to be pricey. The key is to know what is included and what's not included in each package.

Pricing level - Small deployment can use the Departmental Server but they will be limited to Ascent Capture and MS SPS as destination. if you know you are not going to grow, Departmental server maybe for you but know that with Departmental server Ascent Capture (CLICK!) is your expansion strategy. If you are looking for flexibility, start with the 1-2 CPU server but be ready for sticker shock.

On the down side, scalability is an issue and make sure to discuss your "processing and indexing" requirements clearly (Devil is in the details!)... you may find out that you have to purchase Ascent Capture additional licenses to really do anything with DES.

One last thing, ask for DES references within your own industry, and the size of the actual connected devices. What you may find is that due to limitations currently facing the product, there are not that many successful deployments. The product has ways to go before it's ready for scalable use.

Document Exchange Server by Kofax

Well here is a short article about Document Exchange Server or DES by Kofax. Some of you may remember Kofax Ricochet, basically a coversheet that held indexing information. DES is a glorified Ricochet with web viewing added into it. What are the flaws of DES?

1. Completely disjointed - What I mean by that it does not control how many users can scan into it, DES does not control scanning parameters (you can get color images when you expect B/W or low res when you need high res. etc.) and it leaves the routing completely to the user this simply means the user can file things into wrong destinations, with wrong names... etc. etc.
2. While scanning devices get smarter and smarter (and you pay for smarter devices), DES makes little to no use of the available techniques that allows users to rec. the benefits of smarter devices. Next time you are evaluating use of DES, ask the question: "Can users get to see list of destination folders?" or "Can users interact with back end Document management application while in front of the MFP devices or scanners controlled by DES?"... and if the sales man says yes, request a DEMO :)
3. No proven install base - that's right... ask for enterprise deployment of DES and also Document Scanning Server... neither case have been a success... as a matter of a fact both products have been a flop.
4. Pricing - these days you can get 10 times better capabilities in 1/10 of the price... don't leave the competitive pricing to your "friendly Resellers" since they are in on charging you more :)... ask for competitive pricing for products that work with MFP/Scanners and see the difference for yourself.
5. Click charges... that's right they are in there... you may not realize it but ask these questions and you will notice that the DES still includes click charges when you like to PROCESS your images... Question 1: "Can I do image processing?" answer: YES - YOU NEED ASCENT CAPTURE (CLICK!)... "Can I use VB or Other Scripting to connect these to my Business Applications?" Answer: YES - YOU NEED ASCENT CAPTURE (CLICK!)

Just a couple of words from your friendly Document Capture Workflow expert...