Company Profile: Version One

In those the early days, Version One helped clients like Johnston Publishing, Attwater and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to develop systems for dealing with huge volumes of document-based transactions in a more efficient manner. Rows of filling cabinets were replaced by gently humming servers. Entry clerks gave way to optical character recognition (OCR). Even today, some Version One clients run document management systems that were originally created nearly two decades ago.

Today, the firm is part of COA Solutions, a UK business software vendor and provider of business applications. The 2007 marriage made sense as document management increasingly focused on handling the flow of documents to and from critical ERP and HR systems.

So after 20 years, a milestone it shares with Citrix and Tivoli, Version One and its channel of 150 partners is still growing although, “…like the UK IT industry as a whole, have found the market conditions during the past 18 months challenging,” says Julian Buck, general manager of Version One.

As many document management projects are tied around larger enterprise systems, “Historically, organisations tended to replace their accounting/ERP and HR systems every six or seven years, but now businesses tend to hold onto their systems for 10+ years, instead investing in bolt-on applications to add functionality to their core business systems.”

“This means that we have seen continued and sustained interest in document management when tightly integrated into existing accounting and ERP systems, providing important added functionality to help cut costs and improve process efficiencies,” he explains.

Buck highlights the need to quickly show a return on investment as the clincher for deals in the current climate, “Document management solutions can often provide a tangible return-on-investment, usually within just six months. Version One resellers are finding that these solutions are proving a far easier sell during challenging economic times than systems which have a less tangible ROI.”
 
A rise in awareness on green issues and the prospect of tougher legislation is also moving the market, “Green policies have positively impacted Version One’s sales over the past 18 months as UK businesses are increasingly looking towards document management systems to help support their environmental agendas.

“These days, we are witnessing greater numbers of organisations moving to automated, paperless processes as much for their environmental benefits as their business benefits,” adds Buck. Public sector led initiatives, such as Greening Government ICT, he believes are helping to accelerate the adoption of document management applications and private sector organisations are sure to follow suit.

Although operating within a tough economic climate, Version One is looking to continue to grow its reseller channel both in the UK and abroad, and in April 2009 launched its US operation, V1 Document Management, to fill the gap in the market for integrated end-to-end document management solutions within the SME space. The American market is viewed as a key component to the company’s growth strategy.

“We have an ongoing reseller recruitment programme and continue to actively seek out new business partners. Typical resellers are accounting and HR software resellers and software authors that target the SME space,” explains Buck, who believes that the channel, which accounts for more than 90 percent of its sales, is mature and ready to offer document management into a wider market.

So as Version One puts blows out its candles and prepares itself for the next 20 years, it, like the wider document management industry, is confident of recovery and ready for the future.
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