f_OXYDE
Needing a thoroughly secure method of storing and sharing highly confidential documents, Austrian company f_OXYDE turned to DocMoto, specialist document management software for Apple’s Mac.
The company, which operates in research and development chemistry and specialises in patents, licensing and authorisation of biocidal products, is dependent on rigorous document management in order to meet the regulatory requirements of its industry. Organising the documents means having the ability to ensure complete accuracy of content, security in exchanging files with clients and rapid search-ability when retrieving data from the system.
Christian Thonhauser, managing partner at f_OXYDE, describes how the firm settled on Apple’s Mac computers in the first place:
“In my previous company, I decided to have everything Apple-based for security reasons - it’s vital to have a very stable system when involved in confidential research. And after seeing the success of Apple there I never looked back.”
One of f_OXYDE’s initial document management issues was guaranteeing the accuracy of data during the development of research papers.
Christian says: “Any document containing errors - even format errors - might be rejected and hold-up the authorisation process, possibly leading to deadlines not met and temporary loss of product marketability. The documents we’re handling are usually MS Word forms transferred into working documents by entering the information required. This information can be trivial, such as addresses or safety data, or very complex and expensive to generate, including testing data and robust summaries of these studies.”
“In the past - before DocMoto - we’d have multiple people working on the same material but using manual versioning to reflect the progress of a document. This was a complete pain! - incredibly time consuming with too great a margin for error. With DocMoto, each new and revised version of any file is automatically created and includes a full history of all revisions during the life of the document. This allows me to concentrate on peer reviewing the text before releasing it to the client.”
Once documents are ready to send externally, f_OXYDE relies on having a secure method of delivery. Christian explains:
“We’re handling confidential and business critical information and, previously, we shared them with clients using FTP upload of encrypted ZIP containers or PDFs with a shared password. This was problematic, since some clients had FTP locked by administrators or were prevented by firewalls and security was questionable. With DocMoto, security is much more streamlined and effective.”
“For searchable storage and file sharing we gave up Apple Filing Protocol file transfer access completely on the new system and decided to rely 100% on DocMoto, even for larger quantities of documents that are not changed very frequently, namely our scientific library which includes publications, abstracts and data from literature. As security and data are our main concerns we even purchased two identical FW800 RAID 5 systems (that can boot from any Mac) just in case the one running fails.
“So, we no longer have a library structure on our server and nothing is stored on local machines; DocMoto is the single, core repository of the whole new system.“
And when f_OXYDE’s previous server system encountered problems, the DocMoto team was on hand to help:
Christian says: “They were amazing. At short notice we took our Mac Mini Server and the old FW800 RAID system to the DocMoto offices and they fixed the system so we were able to re-start operations by the next working day. The combination of remote installation, document transfer from the old machine and set-up using one, virtual meeting session worked like a charm. It’s been definitely the best IT support we’ve ever had - worth every penny!”
According to Christian, DocMoto has become central to f_OXYDE’s business operations: “We have search functionality, automated backup of versions, secure and fast remote access for us when working from home or abroad, and a secure web client for exchange of documents with our customers.”
“We would not be able to do our regulatory management business without a perfect document management system, and DocMoto was the best - if not the only - option for a Mac-only network if you don’t want to bother with the administration of Linux DMS servers, let alone a Windows server.”