DocuShare relieves document headaches caused from

access, distribution and storage problems

for TABCORP IT Library

Fuji Xerox Knowledge Management System

a big win for all concerned

T

ABCORP is one of Australia’s

leading providers of leisure

and entertainment with core

operations in gaming, wagering

and Star City Casino in Sydney.

The company holds the exclusive

licence to sell totalisator bets on

thoroughbred, harness and grey-

hound racing. It also operates and

monitors gaming machines through

a network of independently owned

gaming venues across Victoria.

The company’s IT Library is located in

TABCORP headquarters in Melbourne.

Far from the gaming machines and

racing events, this area supports the

serious, technological side behind the

gaming and wagering business.

Alongside the physical reference and

software collection accessed via the

Library’s traditional catalogue, the

IT Library also manages technical

support documentation produced by

the 150-strong IT department. In all,

there are about 3,000 document titles

registered – mainly in soft copy format

– supporting corporate, core wagering

and gaming host systems. When

different versions of these documents

are considered, this figure is tripled.

Not surprisingly, document management

had become a major problem for the

IT Library. Documents were difficult

to find, co-existing procedures had left

IT staff confused about how to handle

documents properly and there were

extensive problems with version control.

“We had arrived at a stage where we

were encountering increasing problems

related to general access, distribution

and storage. With inconsistent and

scant document details recorded

across any of four access databases,

we were spending too much time

looking for documents which were

potentially out of date,” explained

Alanna Brown, IT Librarian.

Traditionally, IT employees registered

their project documents with the

Library. Two Librarians subject

classified these documents and

assigned a document number for

electronic storage. It was then the

employee’s responsibility to send

updated versions of these documents

to the Library for successive storage.

Unfortunately, many of these later

versions were never sent through.

In many cases, documents were

never registered in the first place.

In addition, there were even more

difficulties with documents being stored

in directories accessible only by the IT

Library staff. Employees had to contact

the Library for all their documentation

retrieval needs, which was time-

consuming. Issues related to document

access permissions and document

status required constant verification.

“In the IT business, an out-of-date

technical document can cause severe

problems and unnecessary support

delays. In addition, distribution of new

document versions, once submitted,

meant Librarians spent too much time

in front of the photocopier and collect-

ing superseded versions,” said Brown.

The Librarians wanted a document

management system that would simplify

procedures and provide a more efficient

and reliable service. They needed to

provide easy and immediate access to

documents (subject to strict security),

making it possible for staff to find

documents on their own PCs, so they

would become more self-sufficient

users and allow the Librarians to focus

on other core work.

“We used to spend ages in front of a photocopier printing

multiple copies. Now our time is used more efficiently

and the paper mountain is reduced.”

CASE STUDY

TABCORP

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13 14 12

www.fujixerox.com.au

Australian Head Office

Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Ltd

101 Waterloo Rd, North Ryde NSW 2113

Phone (02) 9856 5000 Fax (02) 9856 5003

© Fuji Xerox, Xerox, The Document Company, DocuShare and the stylised X are registered trademark/trademarks.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Whilst the information is correct at the time of printing Fuji Xerox Australia Pty Ltd ABN 63 000 341 819

reserve the right to change the specifications of the equipment described herein without notice.

Quality Endorsed Company. ISO 9002. Lic 1950/01 Standards Australia

Printed in Australia, February 2002 • TABCORP

Management was supportive and a

Selection Committee reviewed the

various companies and their product

offerings. “It was very much a collabora-

tive decision-making process to ensure

everyone had a say,” said Brown.

After careful consideration, the

Committee members chose to entrust

Fuji Xerox with their system needs

because DocuShare, the product on

offer, had everything they wanted.

Xerox DocuShare is a system that lets

individuals and groups share and control

information freely via the Internet or

Intranet. With DocuShare, electronic

files of every type can be uploaded

and made instantly viewable on the

Web. An easy search engine allows

authorised staff to find documents

quickly. Viewers have instant access

for viewing and downloading, while

authors of documents may edit or

post documents and make revisions at

anytime from their PCs. Staff can only

work from the latest document version,

thereby eliminating confusion about

document status.

Since DocuShare became operational,

the IT Library has uploaded nearly 1000

current document titles to the system,

which has included the weeding of

duplicate and hard-copy documents.

DocuShare has quickly become popular

with IT staff who appreciate its easy

search engine and the fact they can

now confidently work from their desks

to find items rather than always heading

off to the library. They can also print

documents from their desk, which is

a bonus. Librarians no longer have to

spend a lot of time printing and photo-

copying documents for people to take

back to their offices because employees

can work directly on DocuShare.

“We used to spend ages in front of a

photocopier printing multiple copies.

Now our time is used more efficiently

and the paper mountain is reduced,”

said Brown.

Since people can only work from current

versions of documents, document control

has been greatly improved as well.

The Librarians are also appreciative that

DocuShare could be customised and

incorporated into the company Intranet,

which the Library also maintains.

“We were able to feature our logo and

branding so DocuShare has the look

and feel of our other technology. It is

surprising how many products were

limited in this area,” said Brown.

At present, only the 150 IT staff are

on the system, but most of the 500

TABCORP employees will be able

to tap into DocuShare over the next

few years as the need arises.

Word is spreading through the other

departments about its capabilities and

various project managers have been

down to the Library for a demonstration.

The business is recognising the full

potential of DocuShare and its ability

to be utilised by all corporate divisions

of TABCORP.

TABCORP is also considering other

Fuji Xerox technology for the IT Library.

While there will always be a need for

hard copy documents in a library

setting, especially for archival purposes,

the IT Library is looking at the potential

of implementing a Fuji Xerox scanning

system incorporating a Document

Centre or FlowPort server software so

hard copies of records can be scanned

easily and efficiently into DocuShare.

Further Information

Tania Billington

Fuji Xerox Australia

02 9856 5000

Alanna Brown

TABCORP

03 9868 2338

Kim Carter

Just Go Write

02 9528 8784

0407 771 698

“DocuShare has quickly become popular with IT staff

who appreciate its easy search engine and the fact

they can now confidently work from their desks to find

items rather than always heading off to the library.”

CASE STUDY

TABCORP