Exchanging information is a daily routine for businesses around the world. But for some markets, simply exchanging data through the likes of e-mail or instant messaging services is not enough. In order to better suit the needs of customers demanding desktop collaboration tools, The Data Corporation recently announced the latest version of its groupware offering.
According to the Windsor, Ont.-based company, the Tenix product goes beyond just the exchanging of files and messages, and allows companies to share information outside of the corporate umbrella in a secure fashion. In its newest form, Tenix 2.0 now supports Microsoft’s .Net framework, which the company said allows it to build applications quickly, with a higher level of reliability.
“We wanted to build a tool where people could share information, where they could manage all the versions of information that is all encrypted and secure, and provides them with a centralized workspace where they could basically bring in different peers, manage the rights of those peers and give people access to different things,” said Daniel Gagnier, director of business development with The Data Corporation. “We wanted to take advantage of the Internet and some of the encryption technology that is available with Microsoft’s .Net framework.”
Gagnier added that Tenix 2.0 integrates with all Microsoft Office applications and is supported by triple DES and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) to enable secure instant messaging and file sharing between corporate peers.
Tenix 2.0 comes in three different flavours: the ASP model puts the download and installation in the customers hand, while The Data Corporation hosts the service; The ASP plus Remote Storage model is designed for customers concerned with security who want to maintain their own data; and the Enterprise model where the customer can replicate The Data Corp.’s data centre and manage the solution internally. The three options give customers more freedom and flexibility when addressing their needs, Gagnier said.
And, while desktop collaboration tools are an important addition to a variety of businesses, Gagnier said that Tenix 2.0 is geared specifically to professional services, including law firms, banks and healthcare professionals, which makes one new customer very happy.
Lloyd Hayes, director of technology and marketing with the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) in Ottawa, said the organization was looking for an inexpensive way to send electronic documents and messages between its Canadian offices.
“We also wanted to be able to send documents to each other, but we wanted them to be held on a server, not at our own location, because some of our locations don’t have backups,” Hayes explained. “We also wanted to be able to exchange e-mail. For example, if you are sitting on (Microsoft) Outlook and you want to send an e-mail to someone and there is some confidential information, you don’t want someone to sniff it out with an IP sniffer. What you can do with Tenix is send it immediately. If you are in any Microsoft Office product, you can send whatever you are working in instantly and Tenix compresses it and encrypts it and sends it faster than e-mail.”
Hayes added that he is also able to hold chat sessions from the same window or application that the e-mail was sent from. He noted that even in an office environment, it is difficult to get people to work together on a particular document, and is that much more difficult to collaborate with colleagues in different geographic locations.
“Sometimes it is a disruption to pick up the phone, but it is less of a disruption to open up an instant messaging session,” he said.
Tenix 2.0 is available now and pricing starts at $199 for an annual subscription. For details visit www.tenix.net.
