from BuyersLab.

July 10, 2008 - Watch for more document imaging solutions for the eCopy ShareScan platform to arrive later this year and into 2009 thanks to the company’s newest eCopy ShareScan SDK (software development kit). eCopy, Inc. revealed an SDK roadmap to developers, who were gathered at the company’s Nashua, N.H., headquarters to learn about the latest software tools and “best practice” techniques for adding document imaging to business applications.

While much of the SDK product roadmap information is still confidential (developers in attendance signed non-disclosure agreements), eCopy did provide attendees with a hands-on demonstration of the next version of the ShareScan SDK. Unlike past versions, the upcoming kit provides a write-once universal form designer that truly supports any eCopy-enabled device without modification. With the current SDK, developers wanting to support different MFP brands would need to tweak the forms before they could deploy to different devices. The new tool set also includes an updated .NET Connector Wizard for building modules that let back-end applications integrate with eCopy’s platform. Other highlights eCopy was able to share at this time include additional SDK controls plus the added ability to localize applications easily using eCopy's language glossary.

eCopy’s ShareScan platform enables paper document workflows to be integrated with more than 85 leading back-end software applications, such as document-management solutions, fax software, collaboration platforms and more. There are more than 200 eCopy Software Alliance Partners developing ShareScan solutions, and more than 10,000 selling locations worldwide. MFP makers that offer an eCopy ShareScan option for at least some of their MFPs include Canon, Hewlett-Packard, Konica Minolta, Océ, Ricoh (including its Gestetner, Lanier and Savin brands), Sharp, Toshiba and Xerox. In fact, eCopy estimates that 75 percent of the MFPs sold in the U.S. and 86 percent of those sold in Europe are eCopy-addressable.

Developing for a cross-platform solution such as eCopy ShareScan is preferable for independent software vendors (ISVs), which otherwise would have to commit resources to develop and support distinct applications for each MFP maker’s proprietary SDK. As with previous versions, the next eCopy ShareScan SDK is built on an industry-standard development platform, Microsoft Visual Studio, which makes it easier for ISVs to find qualified programmers to develop the applications. Visual Studio’s graphical integrated development environment is also said to shorten development time. According to an eCopy survey of its ISV partners, it takes 25 days to develop, test and launch a new ShareScan application using the ShareScan SDK, compared to 50 days apiece with the SDKs from Canon (for its MEAP platform), Ricoh (ESA), Sharp (OSA) and Xerox (EIP).

“Our customers commonly express the need for paper documents, such as invoices, to drive their automated processes,” said Dave Marcus, a vice president at business-software maker K2. “eCopy provides a standard document scanning platform, which allows K2 to build one integration point that works across multiple MFP brands, saving development and support resources.”

eCopy expects that the new ShareScan SDK will further the adoption of its industry-standard document capture environment. It also hopes new applications will open up new markets, such as Segment 1 MFPs, standalone scanners and a new scanning category dubbed business process automation, which implements the sophisticated functionality of production scanning (usually handled by dedicated operators) with the end-user friendliness of ad-hoc scanning.

This article was originally posted at BuyersLab