Alvex

Alvex is the solution based on Alfresco for content management, projects and business processes of the organization. Alvex solves a problem of consolidation of the tough business processes described by strict regulations and real daily tasks which variety and dynamic communications do not keep within formal schemes.

Alvex 2.0

Alvex 2.0 is the open solution on the Alfresco platform focused on project management and cases (Adaptive Case Management, Agile Project Management). Version 2.0 saves all opportunities of Alvex 1.x for management of documents and business processes and enters essentially new opportunities. In versions 1.x approach to business processes was traditional, focused on pipeline work — work is based exactly around processes (regulations), employees carry out tasks of a measure of their receipt^[1].

Version 2.0 shifts focus from procedures to the purposes, entering for this purpose cases and projects. Processes, tasks, documents, events can be tied to cases, creating thereby a picture of real work (see the drawing). The structure of a specific case is created by the employee who is responsible for it. Depending on a situation it is possible to use strict regulations and processes (BPM), flexible control lists (ACM) or their combination within one case. Planning can be hierarchical, in this case the project manager creates a general view of the plan, and the appointed contractors specify structure of the stages. Hierarchical planning allows to receive an end-to-end picture from strategic objectives to the routine tasks providing their accomplishment.

To business users cases allow to see a context of the current task — from where it arose what history of a project work in general which of colleagues is involved in it at the moment and what it is busy with. At end of this or that task the status of all case is automatically updated that gives a relevant picture, how successfully there is a work.

To heads of an upper link orientation to cases allows to receive more objective picture of work of the organization. Compare that more clear and informatively: 'in time 94% of tasks are carried out, 2% of tasks are overdue more than for a week' or 'the project is beaten out from the diagram, signing of the contract, responsible Ivanov is overdue, the meeting on the agreement is planned for tomorrow'.

Certainly, different tasks require different approaches. Sometimes pipeline BPM will be the most correct option. In certain cases any products of general purpose are inappropriate and necessary specialized industry solutions. Nevertheless the case management is at the moment actively demanded by the market owing to the flexibility and ease at implementation in comparison, for example, with the complex ERP project.

Alvex 1.4

Using e-mail or phone to notify the colleague on a new task, or sending him the new document revision by mail, it is very easy to forget about a task and about the document right after the letter is sent or the conversation is finished.

Alfresco allows to start business processes and to monitor the current tasks. Alvex gives the chance to build reports on tasks and business processes - how many tasks at each employee now how many who executed affairs for the set period, what average time of passing of business process of the set type. If there are not enough standard reports - it is possible to add the.

Moreover, Alvex allows to connect business processes among themselves and to build a vizulny tree of the connected processes always to have an opportunity to deal with what occurs in a complex case which does not manage to be laid in one sample process.

• The component Reports and analytics shows the current loading and efficiency of your command.
• Now Alvex includes an opportunity not only to create the connected processes, but also to see all tree of the connected processes in an evident type that it helps not to get confused with tasks at dynamic creation of business processes.
• The history of business processes for the document allows to understand in what tasks and processes the document and what its processing ended last time with participated.
• Alvex includes the organizational structure module from version 1.2. Now you can synchronize your organizational structure from the third-party server of directories: Active Directory, OpenLDAP or Oracle Directory Server.
• Now when filling cards of documents in registers it is possible to use data from reference books. Reference books can be kept in Alvex, and it is possible to synchronize from external systems, such as 1C.

Also together with Alvex 1.4 the new model of licensing Alvex for the small companies (less than 100 employees) appeared. Now such companies can purchase a subscription to Alvex not on number of servers, and on number of users of a system.

Alvex 1.3

Dynamic processes and communications between business processes

If you do not manage to arrange real life under strict BPM, means it is necessary to change approach. If life is difficult, dynamic also multioption — a system should allow to describe adequately it. Alvex gives the chance to build a way of specific process directly during its accomplishment, but at the same time to monitor that obligatory stages and control deadlines were not skirted.

Structure of the company — convenience of management and use

Alvex allows to set structure of your company in Alfresco. You can create any hierarchy of branches, departments and departments what confused it was not. Describe roles of employees in divisions, add employees there, appoint by him the head and the administrator of a branch of organizational structure. Farther during the work with tasks and business processes it is possible to look for employees not only by name, but also on a position or a role in the organization.

You can fill organizational structure via the administrator's web console, can use the scripts working with organizational structure through Java, JavaScript or REST API. The head of department of organizational structure can control execution of tasks by the subordinates, and the administrator of a branch of organizational structure can create new divisions, delete or add new employees, to appoint by it roles and to configure divisions within the branch of organizational structure without access to the console of the administrator of Alfresco.

The My Deputies function allows employees to appoint deputies for accomplishment of tasks for the period of their absence at office.

Purpose of tasks of roles allows system administrators during creation of new business processes in a system to use a possibility of purpose of tasks to users with a specific role. For example, you can appoint tasks within business process "Approval of the account" to the chief financial officer. The chief financial officer can be replaced, and tasks without any reconfiguration of a system will come to the correct new employee.

End-to-end document flow of collegiate organs

If the meeting of directors, committees and other collegiate organs in your company still use a paper method of acceptance from employees of requests for consideration at a meeting, and then manually make the agenda of a meeting and its protocol, then Alvex will help them to correct this omission. Alvex 1.3 Enterprise includes the module of the organization of end-to-end document flow of collegiate organs which allows in the structure:

• create the special website of collegiate organ in Alfresco
• appoint dates of meetings and create the agenda
• process requests of employees for consideration of their questions at meetings of collegiate organ and add them to the agenda of a meeting in one click
• enter results of consideration of a question at a meeting into a system
• to automatically create the minutes and statements on all considered questions
• approve the minutes with all members of collegiate organ and send minutes abstracts to applicants and contractors

Document registration, maintaining registers, reference books

For many companies document registers are an integral part of the organization of workflow. At Alvex there are basic opportunities of office, such as possibility of maintaining registers of different types and document registration.

Within the module following features are available:

• the unlimited number of registers for documents of different types - can be used standard of the structure of Alvex, it is possible to describe own
• automatic numbering of documents in the register on the set template
• search of entries in the register in the specified criterion
• export of the register or arbitrary access of entries of the register in Excel

Besides, in Alvex 1.3 the possibility of maintaining reference books for substitution of values in cards of documents and tasks appeared. It will save time and will exclude the errors possible at set manually. It is possible to store reference books, for example, in standard lists of data of Alfresco.

Both Alfresco, and Alvex exist in versions of Community and Enterprise. Versions of Community are available under the license LGPL and are completely free, however stable lifecycle and technical support for them are not guaranteed. Versions of Enterprise include a number of the additional opportunities focused on corporate use. Also for versions of Enterprise technical support from the developer and predictable lifecycle with ensuring compatibility between releases is provided.

Alvex 1.2.1

In May, 2012 the release of Alvex 1.2.1 - the solution for management of documents and business processes based on Alfresco took place. Alvex solves a problem of consolidation of the tough business processes described by strict regulations and real daily tasks which variety and dynamic communications do not keep within formal schemes.

Alfresco provides tools for corporate content management (ECM), social content (SCM), business processes (BPM). Alvex adds features for creation of dynamic business processes (Dynamic BPM) to Alfresco. Also Alvex expands possibilities of Alfresco regarding ECM/BPM, gives anchors of processes to structure of the company and convenient instruments of control of the current situation both for non-management employees, and for heads.

Main opportunities of Alfresco:

• Library of documents: detailed access isolation, document revisions, the configured metadata, full-text search, tags
• Business process management: built-in Activiti and jBPM engines, support of the BPMN 2.0 standard
• Work areas for standing groups or temporary projects: documents, calendars, Wiki, blogs, forums
• Work completely via the web interface, support of different browsers and clients (Windows, MacOS, Linux)
• The certain mobile client running iOS (is available) to phones and tablets and Android (is planned)
• Access under the protocols http (s), ftp, webdav, a possibility of assembling as network drive (cifs), access from an e-mail client (imap)
• Support of the SharePoint protocol? for work with documents directly from Microsoft Office
• Support of Google Docs: documents can be stored in Alfresco and to edit in Google Docs
• Transparent integration with other systems with support of the CMIS standard

Main opportunities of Alvex:

• Support of dynamic processes taking into account as fixed, and flexible stages which exact type forms directly in course of execution
• Summary operational picture of own tasks and tasks of subordinates, current status of active business processes
• Flexible task of organizational structure of the company, support of a hierarchical structure and role model
• Integration of organizational structure into business processes
• Improvements of the user interface, access to all main actions from the personal homepage

Notes