NovaSoft's system, called Novation, incorporates document management, workflow, Web-content management, and application development. By writing the product in Java, NovaSoft hopes to make it portable across a variety of computing platforms. Features in Novation include what the company calls visual component wiring, a technique for customizing Novation applications without writing code.
Data managed by the system is version-controlled and available in Web formats.
An integrated forms feature lets users enter, approve, review, and organize electronic documents. Jeetu Patel, VP of research with Doculabs, a research firm in Chicago, says the Java-based system should lead to faster development for NovaSoft customers. Novation's big benefit is that it has componentized everything at a high level of abstraction. Applied Komatsu Technology Inc., which uses NovaSoft's NovaManage 6.2 release, plans to upgrade to Novation. Woody Woodworth, a consultant who works with Applied Komatsu, in Santa Clara, Calif., says open interfaces make it easy to integrate Novation with other applications and systems.