from DSSResources.comLondon Fire and Emergency Planning Authority selects Hummingbird to meet regulatory demandsTORONTO, Nov. 22, 2004 - Hummingbird Ltd., a leading global provider of integrated enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, today announced that the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (LFEPA) has selected Hummingbird Enterprise(TM) to help manage its electronic documents more effectively and assist with the compliance requirements of the Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act and changes to fire safety legislation (the Regulatory Reform Order). The secure document and records management system will ensure tighter controls and easier access to information through a more reliable form of electronic document and record keeping. As is common with many organizations in the UK public sector, LFEPA had to review internal policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the Freedom of Information Act. Part of this process involved working with Knowhow Consulting to develop a business case demonstrating the benefits of using an electronic document and records management system to manage information across the organization. Knowhow recommended the Hummingbird Enterprise suite of technologies, including Hummingbird Enterprise DM (Document Management), RM (Records Management) and Workflow, due to its rich functionality and best fit with LFEPA's business requirements to manage the storage and control of both electronic and hard copy documents. Hummingbird Enterprise will enable LFEPA to reduce the time spent identifying, locating, retrieving and managing documents, allowing staff to concentrate on service delivery to the public rather than on administrative tasks. Having a central information storage repository will avoid the unnecessary duplication of the same document and will make sure that all users have access to reliable, up-to-date information. The Hummingbird system will also enable LFEPA to avoid costs in physical data storage requirements, with provision in place to scan incoming post and other hard copy material, making it easier to retrieve and share the information and allow the authority to re-deploy valuable space at its head office on Albert Embankment in the London borough of Lambeth. Hummingbird Enterprise will be introduced over the next few years and should be fully in place by April 2008. When the new fire safety rules come into place via the Regulatory Reform Order, LFEPA will triple the number of premises under its remit, putting an even greater strain on administrative resources; roll-out of Hummingbird Enterprise will be timed to support the new law. LFEPA runs the London Fire Brigade and is responsible for 112 fire stations across London employing 6,000 operational firefighters, and some 2,000 staff in administrative posts to support station activities and community initiatives. "In line with the Data Protection Act, we need to ensure that all employee information is correctly stored and controlled," said David Wyatt, head of information management at LFEPA. "For example, certain types of documents on a personnel file must be removed after a certain period of time. Using Hummingbird technology we are now able to set controls on such information, to make sure it is being deleted or recorded as necessary." "Under the Freedom of Information Act we will - in January 2005 - be required to make requested information available to the public, subject to certain limited exemptions. By the end of our four year project Hummingbird Enterprise will help us to find information to meet requests and identify which documents have information that can be made available to the public, ensuring that confidential or exempt information is not released. This will give us much tighter and more efficient controls on the management of information and enable us to provide information efficiently when requested," added Wyatt. "The UK fire and rescue service is under increasing pressure to deliver accurate and timely information to front-line operational staff and the public," said Tony Heywood, senior vice president, EMEA, Hummingbird Ltd. "This makes it all the more important for the fire and rescue service to make sure it has the proper processes in place to manage both structured and unstructured data." The Hummingbird Enterprise system will be rolled out in LFEPA office locations over the next four years, and will become fully integrated with other Authority business systems including fire safety, HR and legal. About LFEPA The London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority runs London's fire and rescue service (the "London Fire Brigade"). LFEPA employs about 7,000 people of which about 6,000 are operational firefighters and officers. LFEPA protects some 620 square miles in Greater London from 112 fire stations. Each year LFEPA handles around 300,000 emergency (999) calls. In 2003/04 the London Fire Brigade attended some 182,000 emergency incidents including 57,000 fires, 48,000 special services including road traffic accidents and some 77,000 false alarms. About Knowhow Consulting Limited Knowhow Consulting is a software consultancy that is a long-standing partner of Hummingbird. We have extensive experience in implementing Hummingbird and other related technologies to deliver advanced, integrated solutions to business problems. Our approach is not just to implement technologies, but to reduce risk and bring about the changes within the organisation that are needed to gain maximum advantage and tangible benefits from them. Our proven methodology is designed to ensure customers see a significant return on investment from the implementation of these enterprise applications. For more information, visit http://www.knowhowconsulting.co.uk. About Hummingbird Enterprise(TM) Hummingbird Enterprise provides an integrated platform for enterprise content management that provides global organizations with solutions to manage business interaction information such as documents, records, virtual deal room exchanges, discussions, email or financial data - linking business processes, information and people. Our solutions are designed as modular applications that are fully interoperable with each other, enabling our customers to incrementally build an enterprise content management solution to meet their evolving information needs in a cost effective manner. About Hummingbird Hummingbird Ltd. (NASDAQ: HUMC, TSX: HUM) is a leading global provider of enterprise software solutions. Our enterprise content management (ECM) solutions enable organizations to manage the lifecycle of enterprise content from creation to disposition. Hummingbird Enterprise solutions enable organizations to address critical business needs, such as information management, business continuity, compliance and risk mitigation. Founded in 1984, Hummingbird employs approximately 1450 people and serves more than 33,000 customers, including 90% of Fortune 100. Hummingbird solutions are sold directly from 40 offices worldwide and through our Alliance Network of partners and resellers. For more information, visit http://www.hummingbird.com SOURCE Hummingbird Ltd. |