Over the last few years, people and companies have warmed to the idea of electronic documents. Where once people would have scoffed at the idea of receiving bills or bank statements electronically, today it’s becoming a requirement to retain customers. In the iSeries community, software vendors have adapted their forms applications to distribute documents in a variety of ways, and they continue to shape their offerings to meet future demands.

In the early days of OS/400 forms software, the packages were designed primarily to do one thing: save money by reducing companies’ dependence on pre-printed forms using electronic templates, blank

If your company is like most OS/400 shops, it’s not using a centralized document management system. It’s using a good old reliable line printer to generate the checks, invoices, reports, and other documents that your business requires on a daily basis. But many OS/400 shops around the country have stepped up to more advanced forms processing systems that give them better-looking documents that can be delivered electronically, while cutting costs and improving customer service along the way.

Industry insiders say the penetration of document management software in the OS/400 space is increasing but is still somewhere below 50 percent, and

When Panasonic announced last week that it supports the iSeries with its WORKiO multifunction printers (MFPs), OS/400 shops looking to escape centralized printing prison gained another option. With print speeds ranging from 23 to 60 pages per minute, and list prices from $8,500 to $20,300, Panasonic says, its WORKiO line of MFPs eliminates the need to choose between high-volume centralized systems and lower-end printers that don’t offer finishing options.

Through collaboration with IBM, eight of Panasonic’s WORKiO line of MFPs–the DP-2310, DP-3010, DP-3510, DP-3520, DP-4510, DP-4520, DP-6010, and DP-6020–have been enabled for OS/400 printing. All of these devices are

Bsafe Software Solutions this week says it will start shipping a new version of its iSeries security software suite with new features in the areas of tracking changed data and generating security alerts. The company, which is based in Israel and has been trying to break into the North American market, says the changed data tracking feature in Bsafe/iSeries Global Security Version 3.3 can help companies comply with government mandates that call for tighter data security.

With an array of third-party OS/400 security products to choose from, the folks at Bsafe Software Solutions point to the Windows interface as its