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Growing market for electronic document interchange
B a n k i n g and finance .
benefit from optical discs Optical disc storage is used increasingly by the insurance industry, banking, the US federal government and in large engineering design offices, according to a recent report. The current $400M market for optical disc storage and retrieval equipment will approach $2B by 1992 as use extends beyond the 'vertical' market applications into the general office environment. Microfilm-based systems will be displaced by these systems. Development of optical discs in the USA has been dominated by computer companies, but now documentoriented companies such as Bell and Howell, Eastman Kodak, FileNet, Integrated Automation and Optotech are leading the field. The report states that future competition in both the computer industry and the storage and retrieval (S and R) industry will come from Japanese suppliers such as Hitachi and Matsushita. At present
the Japanese lack detailed applications knowledge and software so this has prevented them from competing directly in the end user S and R market. The Japanese have had to sell their equipment OEM to systems integrators in the USA. Some of these US companies have then added software and resold the equipment for four times the price they paid for it. The situation from the users' point of view is good. While the price of optical systems is falling each year the capabilities are increasing. An optical S and R system from FileNet in California, for example, can accommodate images equivalent to 280 file drawers of documents. Another advantage of the technology is that it makes document information more easily available to users within an organization. There are problems, however, in convincing users to change to optical
Growing market for electronic document interchange Electronic document interchange (EDI) is a rapidly growing market which is expected to double from $40M in 1986 to $80M in 1987. Worldwide revenues will be over $1B around 1994, according to a recent report. Major beneficiaries of this market will be third-party service suppliers such as McDonnell Douglas, General Electric, Transettlements and IBM Information Network. Some of the biggest customers, however, will go direct to party-to-party EDI using software packages in the users' mainframe computers.
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Researchers expect that the ex-Beli telephone operating companies will soon be permitted to enter all valueadded network markets and that they will see EDI as an attractive market opportunity. More than 40 vendors compete in the market for EDI software packages. Supply Tech, EDI Inc., Metro Mark and General Motors' EDS division are leading vendors. General Motors' automobile manufacturing operations and subcontractors represent a significant market for EDI within themselves.
disc technology. They are increasingly wary of disruptions to their systems and may look upon this as a transient technology. Confusion about the technology also exists e.g. WORM, DRAW, CD-ROM, C D - P R O M and CD-I. Following on from the success of optical S and R systems in the industries mentioned earlier, the report finds that new markets are now opening up including: • medical/health care • legal • real estate • transportation • education • law enforcement • communications • architecture • engineering and construction. Satellite data storage is another market which some organizations, such as Eosat, believe could benefit from this technology. It would store raw satellite data and additional revenues could be generated by enhancing the data through the use of image processing and other techniques. (International Resource Development Inc'., 6 Prowitt St, Norwalk, CT06855, USA)
[] One industry which will lose a large amount of business to EDI is overnight couriers. Up to 30% of overnight package traffic could be directly replaced by EDI. A 10% decline is expected over the next few years, with the greatest impact coming after 1991. The business forms industry e.g. bills of lading, purchase orders, will also suffer. A tax on document transfer will probably be levied in some European and third world countries, although not in the USA. This is a result of the standardized nature of EDI messages and the fact that they must be transmitted over government-controlled PTT transmission facilities. (International Resource Development Int'., 6 Prowitt St, Norwalk, CT06855, USA)
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information and software technology
benefit from optical discs Optical disc storage is used increasingly by the insurance industry, banking, the US federal government and in large engineering design offices, according to a recent report. The current $400M market for optical disc storage and retrieval equipment will approach $2B by 1992 as use extends beyond the 'vertical' market applications into the general office environment. Microfilm-based systems will be displaced by these systems. Development of optical discs in the USA has been dominated by computer companies, but now documentoriented companies such as Bell and Howell, Eastman Kodak, FileNet, Integrated Automation and Optotech are leading the field. The report states that future competition in both the computer industry and the storage and retrieval (S and R) industry will come from Japanese suppliers such as Hitachi and Matsushita. At present
the Japanese lack detailed applications knowledge and software so this has prevented them from competing directly in the end user S and R market. The Japanese have had to sell their equipment OEM to systems integrators in the USA. Some of these US companies have then added software and resold the equipment for four times the price they paid for it. The situation from the users' point of view is good. While the price of optical systems is falling each year the capabilities are increasing. An optical S and R system from FileNet in California, for example, can accommodate images equivalent to 280 file drawers of documents. Another advantage of the technology is that it makes document information more easily available to users within an organization. There are problems, however, in convincing users to change to optical
Growing market for electronic document interchange Electronic document interchange (EDI) is a rapidly growing market which is expected to double from $40M in 1986 to $80M in 1987. Worldwide revenues will be over $1B around 1994, according to a recent report. Major beneficiaries of this market will be third-party service suppliers such as McDonnell Douglas, General Electric, Transettlements and IBM Information Network. Some of the biggest customers, however, will go direct to party-to-party EDI using software packages in the users' mainframe computers.
342
Researchers expect that the ex-Beli telephone operating companies will soon be permitted to enter all valueadded network markets and that they will see EDI as an attractive market opportunity. More than 40 vendors compete in the market for EDI software packages. Supply Tech, EDI Inc., Metro Mark and General Motors' EDS division are leading vendors. General Motors' automobile manufacturing operations and subcontractors represent a significant market for EDI within themselves.
disc technology. They are increasingly wary of disruptions to their systems and may look upon this as a transient technology. Confusion about the technology also exists e.g. WORM, DRAW, CD-ROM, C D - P R O M and CD-I. Following on from the success of optical S and R systems in the industries mentioned earlier, the report finds that new markets are now opening up including: • medical/health care • legal • real estate • transportation • education • law enforcement • communications • architecture • engineering and construction. Satellite data storage is another market which some organizations, such as Eosat, believe could benefit from this technology. It would store raw satellite data and additional revenues could be generated by enhancing the data through the use of image processing and other techniques. (International Resource Development Inc'., 6 Prowitt St, Norwalk, CT06855, USA)
[] One industry which will lose a large amount of business to EDI is overnight couriers. Up to 30% of overnight package traffic could be directly replaced by EDI. A 10% decline is expected over the next few years, with the greatest impact coming after 1991. The business forms industry e.g. bills of lading, purchase orders, will also suffer. A tax on document transfer will probably be levied in some European and third world countries, although not in the USA. This is a result of the standardized nature of EDI messages and the fact that they must be transmitted over government-controlled PTT transmission facilities. (International Resource Development Int'., 6 Prowitt St, Norwalk, CT06855, USA)
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information and software technology