5,700 Participants Make Strong Statement About Future of Document Industry At Recent Global Event TORRANCE, CA--Nov 19, 2001-- Disaster recovery and convergence were significant topics at Xplor(R) 2001, the Global Electronic Document Systems Conference & Exhibit. Over 5,700 top document and printing professionals, industry consultants, and exhibitors from around the world attended the recent event at the Orange County Convention Center, Oct. 28 - Nov. 2 in Orlando, Fla. U.S.A. Attendees focused on electronic document technology, in addition to networking and learning about new products and best practices for business communications. This was the 22nd annual conference and exhibit for Xplor. According to James Shand, EDP, commercial director, edotech Limited, and Xplor International chairman of the board, conference attendees and the nearly 150 exhibitors participating made a strong statement about the future of the document industry by attending Xplor 2001. "We're here and we're ready to do business," said Shand during an Xplor 2001 General Session. "Despite world events and economic challenges, the electronic document industry will move forward in positive and exciting new ways, helping organizations communicate more effectively and achieve business objectives." Disaster Recovery Explored Heightened concern and awareness about disaster recovery was evident at Xplor 2001. Although the subject is heavily explored every year at the conference, many attendees were placing a greater emphasis on the issue as part of their overall document strategy. Xplor 2001 featured a free 90-minute session to help organizations evaluate and update their disaster recovery plans for organizational documents. The standing-room only session featured expert Pat McGrew, EDP, McGrew + McDaniel Group, Inc., On "Document Strategy After the Attack," with panelists Jerry Dattilo, FileNET Professional Services, and Jerry Montella, Mail-Gard Concepts. Inc. According to Shand, "All too often organizations pay lip service to the preparation of disaster recovery plans until the invertible happens, then the real activity starts. Many attendees were seeking confirmation of their plans and looking for ways to verify what they had in place. Typically, organizations will short cut disaster recovery plans because they seek to reduce costs and regard it as an insurance policy which will never be called upon. Unfortunately, we cannot think like this any more and need to be prepared for business continuity." Convergence of Technologies Keith T. Davidson, Ph.D., EDP, principal, Davidson Communications, and former president and CEO of Xplor International, moderated a panel discussion on "Converging Points of View." Panelists included Carl Frappaolo, The Delphi Group, Elisabeth Bitsch-Christensen, CAP Ventures, and Frank Romano, EDP, Rochester Institute of Technology. The session focused on document technology and convergence, which was apparent throughout the week-long event. Toby Cobrin, EDP, technology advisor for Xplor International, and Xplor 2001 presenter, said "The convergence of transactional documents with the marketing and promotional document is finally becoming a reality. At Xplor 2001, it was clear that true 1:1 document creation is changing the way organizations personalize their traditional transaction-based documents - such as statements and invoices - which are being produced in the data center. Likewise, the promotional document is taking on a more customer-centric appearance with the help of new digital equipment and software which rivals the features of many offset presses." On the Xplor 2001 exhibit floor, attendees witnessed some of the top companies creating front-end functionality and back-end finishing capabilities to create a common environment so both types of documents - transactional and promotionalÂ¾can be created from the same equipment. The industry is also seeing a convergence in the types of output medium that can be delivered. "Customers are demanding information in a form that is convenient and acceptable to the individual," said Shand. "Delivery of documents can be interchanged according to the customer preference - over the Internet in applications like electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP), on paper customized to the customer preferences, or via wireless devices for customer convenience." Xplor's 2001 Innovator of the Year, Clarica Life Insurance Company, is a prime example of convergence and the types of applications being produced. Clarica, based in Canada, has been developing applications for insurance policies, customized marketing material, and statement processing that takes advantage of the convergence of transactional and promotional features of documents to deliver customer-oriented documents. Clairca received Xplor's Innovator of the Year Award during the opening General Session at Xplor 2001. Exhibit and First-Timers Nearly 150 vendors exhibited at Xplor 2001 showcasing solutions for digital printing and publishing, 1:1 marketing, e-business, customer relationship management, document management, mailing, and more. First-time exhibitors at Xplor 2001 included: CIM USA; CMD Services; CMS DigiNet; Colfax Envelope Corporation; CreoScitex; D&R Products; Global Graphics Software, Inc.; Longford Equipment International; Mead Paper; NowDocs, Inc.; OMD Corporation; OPEX Corporation; Pfankuch Machinery; Software A.G.; TOSS, Inc.; Tower Technology; and Versari USA. Additional Highlights In one powerful presentation, CEOs from seven of the industry's leading companies shared the stage at Xplor 2001 to present their companies unique direction and industry vision. Companies that presented include: Adobe Systems, IBM Printing Systems, Heidelberg Digital/NexPress, Hewlett-Packard Company, Oce Printing Systems, USA, Scitex Digital Printing, and Xerox Corporation. The Xplor 2001 keynote line-up included: David Weinberger, Ph.D., co-author of "The Cluetrain Manifesto" and editor of JOHO (Journal of the Hyperlinked Organization); Dan Schulman, former president and CEO of Priceline.com; and Tom Petzinger Jr., columnist for The Wall Street Journal. The Delphi Group hosted a special seminar on collaborative commerce, and Doculabs presented a series of interactive panel discussions on the exhibit floor. For more news from Xplor 2001, visit www.xplor.org.