Xerox is to launch a consulting division aimed at helping users
deploy content, knowledge and document management systems.
One of Xerox Global Services' goals is to determine quantifiable
metrics for demonstrating return on investment for knowledge and
content management projects. These traditionally have been
difficult to measure in terms of cost savings and productivity
gains, said Jim Joyce, president of Xerox Connect.
Xerox Global Services will bring together existing Xerox services
and product groups from around the world into a single structure.
The division will use Xerox products, as well as third-party
technologies.
Xerox Global Services is coupling services and products for content
management, knowledge management and document management, which are
necessary for solid integration, according to Joyce.
"To think you buy knowledge management or content management in a
box is crazy. Document management has been available for years, but
managing a document is a difficult task for most organisations," he
said. "You can buy technology, but unless you can integrate it
effectively into a business process you won't get the
results."
Xerox Global Services comprises two units: Business Innovation
Services and Managed Services.
Business Innovation Services begin typically with a discovery
process, designed to find out whether a company needs knowledge
management. The unit also looks at where Global Services expertise
can be used and establishes metrics for the deployment.
"It is important to define the discovery process of problems in the
services to gain results because more problems are cultural than
technical," Joyce said.
The Managed Services unit offers post-implementation support.
Xerox Global Services will tap into its Xerox Palo Alto Research
Centre, using years of research and development aimed at
understanding how people interact with technology, Joyce
said.
The centre has explored the social and technical components about
how people and processes work together.
"It is about understanding where knowledge is and how it is found.
By working with human elements of this, there are real things you
can do to help people embrace the technology and incorporate it
into the workflow," Joyce said.