Welcome back to our "Flashback" section of "Document Processing Technology." In this month's issue, we will review the evolution of the magazine and how it got its name.
The fourth issue of our magazine was the first to be called Document Processing Technology. Formerly Document Mailing Technology, the publication changed its name because the original concept of the magazine looking at the mailing process of a document quickly evolved to include discussions of the document process, which included everything from the creation of the document to its distribution.
The lead feature in the first issue of Document Processing Technology was "Rightsize Info Processing," which concentrated on the new trend of shifting from centralized mainframe processing to midrange, or network-based, distributed platforms. The reasons for this shift, the article concluded, were the desire to increase end-user productivity, ensure inter-operability between applications and data, improve system data integrity and security, extend the value of existing investments and to reduce processing costs. The average cost of millions of instruction per second (MIPS) with the midrange host was half the cost of running a mainframe system. However, rightsizing has not eliminated mainframe and centralized processing and printing applications. The author of the article, Jane Matheson, said, "Man does not live by MIPS alone. And because there are certain functions at which mainframes excel like focused network and systems management, around-the-clock availability, efficient mass storage and genuine data security the mainframe will continue to have its niche in information strategies." Mainframes have continued to exist, but today we are more likely to see advances like rightsizing to help companies get the most out of their mainframe and midrange systems.
Also included in this issue was an article on the Moore Corporation and its nine steps to help businesses reduce operating costs and increase efficiency in forms management. Included in those nine steps were a formal analysis by
Another article in this issue focused on how one company, British Petroleum, began moving its mail operations in-house and outlined the benefits of this procedure. By moving mailing operations in-house, British Petroleum calculated that it could save an estimated $280,000 per year on postage and labor. The company concluded that the new equipment used in these operations would pay for itself in less than three years.
This was the year that Postalsoft Inc., a mailing software developer, announced its agreement with the Xerox Corporation. It reported that under this new alliance, Postalsoft was named a Xerox Value Added Remarketer and could offer complete hardware and software mailing systems for laser printer users. At the same time, Xerox Business Services introduced its Total Satisfaction Guarantee. This Guarantee stated Xerox would "consistently deliver the highest quality services and product output that its customers expected."
Some people making news at the time of this issue were Kevin P. Murtha, who was named vice president of Technical Services for Postalsoft, Harold Roethel was named the account manager for Siemens Nixdorf Printing Systems in upstate
Join us next time as we celebrate our 10-year anniversary with interviews from the people who created Document Processing Technology, and we will continue our discussion of the history of the document processing industry.
For more information or to contact the author of this article, please email editorrb@chorus.net.
