eShowcase

Enterprising Software Boosts Productivity by Tapping into Familiar MS Office Applications

Need enterprise software? Want to be an instant power user, too? Microsoft (Redmond, WA) and SAP AG (Walldorf and Munich, Germany) promise to make it all possible with a new fusion of Microsoft's desktop productivity tools and SAP's business process expertise. It's code-named Mendocino, and the two companies are slated to roll the product out fully in 2006.

Mendocino

The jointly designed and developed Mendocino is expected to boost productivity by plugging information workers into a streamlined environment where process functions and data from mySAP ERP 2004 are available through familiar Microsoft Office applications. Extended menus, a SAP-specific smart panel in MS Office, smart document creation in MS Word, and business analytics delivered through Excel should all add up to time and cost savings.

To put all of that in perspective, think of having access to corporate-driven tasks such as time management, budget monitoring, and organization management right from your desktop. Repetitive tasks are reduced, and users are quickly empowered to work directly with automated corporate processes.

Microsoft, 1-800-642-7676, http://www.microsoft.com, SAP, 1-800-872-1727, http://www.sap.com

Exchange Supply Chain Data in Real Time, Even with Outside Vendors and Investigator Sites

InfoPro Solutions (Agoura Hills, CA) delivers the "missing link" in the extended clinical supplies chain with its introduction of Clinicambio, the world's first real-time clinical data exchange system accessible by authorized contractors, IVR vendors, and investigator sites.

Clinicambio

Marketed as an "essential tool" for pharma and biotech companies increasingly outsourcing many of their clinical supply processes, Clinicambio facilitates better materials management capability and inventory tracking, faster distribution to investigational sites and drug dispensation to patients, and reconciliation in a validated environment. It also enables external vendors to leverage its functionality while still utilizing their existing IT investments.

The software acts as a hub for information and data that a sponsor hosts and exchanges with outside vendors. Clinicambio has the ability to identify every message received from external systems and route it to the appropriate queue. Vendors and investigators can review completed work orders and kits, check the status of shipment requests and assignments, and enter notifications and messages directly into the system.

InfoPro Solutions, 1-818-879-0075, http://www.infoprosolutions.com

Global Trial Management and Translation System Bridges Borders and Languages

In the world of clinical trials, individual clinicians, research groups, and pharmaceutical firms benefit from services that accelerate capturing, authoring, managing, and distributing content across multiple formats and languages. Idiom's (Waltham, MA) WorldServer GMS globalization management system is software for content management, translation, and globalization-specific process automation that easily integrates with existing content management solutions, bringing unprecedented ease to clinical trial globalization efforts.

WorldServer GMS

The Center on Outcomes, Research and Education at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare recently adopted the system for its Translation and Formatting Services division. WorldServer, in effect, has provided a highly scalable and flexible framework that helps ensure the quality and consistency of work being done by CORE's extensive network of 500 translators around the world.

WorldServer GMS can produce output in a number of formats, including PDF. A demo is available on the Web site.

Idiom, 1-781-464-6000, http://www.idiominc.com