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Xplor Announces 2021 Technology and Application of the Year Award Winners

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Recipients to be recognized at XPLOR21 in St. Pete Beach on November 16th

Lutz, FL — October 21, 2021 – Xplor International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today announced the recipients of its 2021 Technology and Application of the Year Awards. The awards will be presented at a ceremony Tuesday, November 16, 2021, during the XPLOR21 event at the TradeWinds Island Grand Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida.

Tweet this: @opentext has won the #XPLOR21 Technology of the Year Award and Pink Elephant Productions @colorkarma / Massachusetts Commission for the Blind has won the Application of the Year! Honorable Mentions include: @CrawfordTechInc @Racami1 @Quadient and CSG https://bit.ly/3m20ZAX

Application of the Year Award:

The Application of the Year Award is presented to an individual, a company or an organization to recognize outstanding achievement in the imaginative application of current technology and/or unique implementation of existing document and communication systems. This award is open to members and non-members alike.

Xplor will award two honorable mentions in addition to the 2021 winner.

  • The winner of the 2021 Xplor Application of the Year is Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and Pink Elephant Productions for their implementation of “The Quest for Independence.” This “Pre-Employment Transition Guidebook” utilizes multichannel and multi-media application technology using a graphic novel format, for visually impaired individuals between the ages of 14-21 years of age.
  • An Honorable Mention is being awarded to Quadient for their InspireXpress, an application of technology that shifted over 25,000 legacy CCM templates to their customers’ Inspire platform by applying Artificial Intelligence (AI,) Machine Learning (ML,) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology to the cumbersome process of migrating legacy CCM applications to a new platform.
  • A second Honorable Mention is being awarded to CSG for the “CSG Experiences Practice” a dynamic approach that leverages holistic data analysis to create tangible insights allowing companies to better know their customer and deliver exceptional experiences. Through CSG’s customer engagement platform, companies can identify and tap into individual customer voices to discover the values, pains, and needs of the customer

Technology of the Year Award:

The Technology of the Year Award honors an individual, company or organization that has conceived and developed an original concept leading to a significant advancement in the industry.  This can be a new program, product, or technology that notably enhances the capabilities of document and communication systems. This award is open to members and non-members alike.

Like the Application of the Year award, Xplor will present two honorable mentions, in addition to the winner of the award.

  • The winner of the 2021 Xplor Technology of the Year is OpenText for their “OpenText Exstream for Salesforce,” a document generation tool with which Salesforce users can combine business data that is maintained in Salesforce with the capabilities of the OpenText Exstream platform, which allows the mapping of Salesforce standard and custom objects to available templates using information from the Salesforce system in business documents processed by Exstream.
  • An Honorable Mention is being awarded to Crawford Technologies for “PRO DocNow,” an engine for document manipulation enhancing already composed documents with color, logos, graphics, and more, to enabling production optimization by adding barcodes, generating postal sorting logic, and mining documents for index creation.
  • A second Honorable Mention is being awarded to Racami for “Pay+,” which recognizes each person’s document within a print job and stores those documents securely and executes workflows that send communications based on their preferences, payment history, demographics, and lifestyle. Initial notifications are via email to let people know that their bills are ready to pay. Additional communications workflows are prebuilt and triggered at different points in the payment lifecycle.

“We once again had a wide array of submissions this year making the decision by the Awards Committee difficult,” said Skip Henk, EDP, President and CEO of Xplor International.  “I would like to congratulate all of our 2021 award recipients and also thank all of those who took the time to apply for an award.”

Xplor International will also be announcing the recipients of additional awards at XPLOR21 on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, during the awards ceremony.

For more information regarding XPLOR21, or to access the registration site, please visit https://cvent.me/gRg97O. Questions should be directed to Register@xplor.org or +1-813-949-6170 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (ET), Monday through Friday. Vendors interested in being a sponsor or exhibitor can contact Xplor HQ, at +1-813-949-6170 or via email at sales@xplor.org.

About Xplor International
Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community, Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision-makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Marketing Director
+1-813-949-6170
Chad@xplor.org

Xplor International Awards Nine Member Scholarships for 2017

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Lutz, FL – August 28, 2017 – Xplor International, in conjunction with Xplor Canada, today announced that they have awarded nine member scholarships for the 2017 school year. The 2017 recipients include:

  • Ariel M. – Saint Mary’s College of California
  • Collin B. – University of California, Berkeley
  • Hamzah N. – University of Calgary
  • Isabelle B. – University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • Jessica T. – Ryerson University
  • Jordan W. – University of Nebraska at Omaha
  • Katarina B. – Ryerson University
  • Katherine K. – Clemson University
  • Reginald B. – Ryerson University

In 2010, Xplor decided to go beyond its traditional member offerings to help promote and support the next generation of industry professionals. The Xplor Member Scholarship program was founded to provide financial assistance to Xplor members and their immediate families who are pursuing careers in the field of document and communication technology including such studies as web design, marketing, IT, business, print, cyber security, etc.

The program is funded by the generosity of Xplor Elite Sponsors and in partnership with Xplor Canada.

Qualifications for an Xplor Scholarship include being an Xplor member (or immediate family) and maintaining a 3.0 GPA at a four-year or two-year college or university degree program in the United States or Canada. Scholarship recipients were selected based on their application submission, response to an essay question, academic achievement, participation in school activities, and service to the community.

“The Xplor scholarship program remains a great member benefit.” says Skip Henk, President and CEO of Xplor International. “We thank our Elite Sponsors and Xplor Canada for their partnership in supporting this great program.”

About Xplor International
Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Director of Marketing
+1-813-949-6171
Chad@xplor.org

Xplor International Accepting Applications for 2017 Scholarships

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Association Scholarships Open to Xplor Member’s and Their Immediate Families

Lutz, FL – May 30, 2017 – Xplor International, today announced that they are accepting applications for their 2017 scholarship program through the deadline of July 14, 2017.

In 2010, Xplor decided to go beyond its traditional member offerings to help promote and support the next generation of industry professionals. The Xplor Member Scholarship program was founded to provide financial assistance to Xplor members and their immediate families who are pursuing careers in the field of document and communication technology including such studies as web design, marketing, IT, business, print, cyber security, etc.

The program is funded by the generosity of Xplor Elite Sponsors: NEPS, Crawford Technologies, GMC Software Technology, Canon Solutions America, Compart, OpenText Exstream, Ricoh, and Solimar Systems.

To qualify for an Xplor Scholarship, one must be a current Xplor member (or immediate family) and maintain a 3.0 GPA at a four-year or two-year college or university degree program in the United States or Canada.

Scholarship recipients are selected based on their application submission, response to an essay question, as well as academic achievement, participation in school activities, and service to the community.

“The scholarship program is a great member benefit.” says Skip Henk, President and CEO of Xplor International. “Not only are member’s eligible, but their spouses, children. I encourage members to apply.”

Each year scholarships are awarded in various denominations, up to $1000 USD. The 2017 deadline for applications is July 14th. For more information, or to apply, visit www.xplor.org/scholarship.

About Xplor International

Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Director of Marketing
+1-813-949-6171
Chad@xplor.org

Leading Vendors Line Up to Sponsor Xploration® 17

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Lutz, FL – March 9, 2017 – Xplor International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today announced the line-up of conference sponsors for Xploration® 17, being held March 28-30 at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

“Our sponsors are critical to the success of our programming.” said Skip Henk, EDP, President and CEO of Xplor International. “I’d like to thank our long-time sponsors for their continued support and welcome a few new players as well!”

Xploration® 17 Conference Sponsors include:

Registration:

  • Conference Bag– Canon Solutions America
  • Lanyard/Badge Holder– OpenText
  • Writing Pad – Appvion

Food and Beverage

  • Tuesday Lunch – Elixir Technologies
  • Wednesday Lunch – Crawford Technologies
  • Beverage Breaks – GMC Software
  • Thursday Breakfast – Xplor Canada

Networking Events

  • Opening Reception – NEPS, Inc.
  • Wednesday Happy Hour Reception – Crawford Technologies and RenderX, Inc.

Conference Programming

  • Industry Analysts’ Workshop – GMC Software
  • Track – All Things Data – Compart North America
  • Track – Customer Experience – Elixir Technologies
  • Track – Business Management – OpenText
  • Keynote Speaker / Gary Vitti – Ricoh USA

There are a couple more sponsorships still available. Vendors interested in either a sponsorship or becoming an exhibitor should contact Xplor’s Director of Sales, Deborah Green at 770-444-3845 or via email at deborahgreen@xplor.org.

About Xplor International
Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Marketing Manager
+1-813-949-6171
Chad@xplor.org

Xplor Announces 2017 Technology and Application Award Recipients

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Award Recipients to Be Recognized in Orlando at Xploration® 17

Lutz, FL — February 21, 2017 – Xplor International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today announced the recipients of its 2017 Technology and Application of the Year Awards. The awards will be presented at a ceremony Tuesday, March 28, 2017, during the Xploration® 17 event at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Florida.

Tweet this: Congratulations to the #Xplor17 Technology of the Year winner: @PitneyBowes & Application of the Year Award winner: @gmc_net!

Application of the Year Award:
The Application of the Year Award is presented to an individual, a company or an organization to recognize outstanding achievement in the imaginative application of current technology and/or unique implementation of existing document and communication systems. This award is open to members and non-members.

Xplor will award two honorable mentions in addition to the 2017 winner.

  • The winner of the 2017 Xplor Application of the Year is BMO Bank of Montreal and GMC Software. The initiative BMO undertook is a one-of-a-kind customer onboarding project that pioneered an end-to-end digital account opening process, enabled by the creation of dynamic eForms and eSignature capabilities. BMO Bank of Montreal embraced digital transformation to achieve operational efficiency, significant reduction of cost, and an improved customer experience.
  • An Honorable Mention is being awarded to Gore Mutual who leveraged technology from OpenText Exstream, Infusion and Duck Creek Technologies to create uBiz – a platform that plugs directly into broker websites, replicating their design palette to provide their small business customers with a seamless digital experience.  New customers can get quotes, policies and secure insurance all online.
  • An additional Honorable Mention is being awarded to Health First and Ricoh USA, Inc., who collaborated on identifying areas of improvement and best practices in workflows, as well as implementing a centralized monitoring and management solution. Working together Health First and RICOH Managed Services utilizing RICOH ProcessDirector to reduced errors, increase security, and improve overall efficiency.

Technology of the Year Award:
The Technology of the Year Award honors an individual, company or organization that has conceived and developed an original concept leading to a significant advancement in the industry.  This can be a new program, product, or technology that notably enhances the capabilities of document and communication systems.

Like the Application of the Year award, Xplor will present two honorable mentions, in addition to the winner of the award, due to the large number of submissions.

  • The winner of the 2017 Xplor Technology of the Year is being awarded to Pitney Bowes Clarity Solutions.  Harnessing the power of the Industrial Internet and “industrial data science”, Pitney Bowes Clarity solutions is a new cloud offering for Pitney Bowes systems that leverages data analytics and services to help increase productivity and lower the cost of running a print and mail operation.   Clarity collects, integrates and organizes existing sensor data from remote systems to support real-time insight, predictive analytics and prescriptive maintenance.
  • An Honorable Mention for Technology of the Year is being awarded to Elixir Technologies Corporation for their Tango+ product. Elixir’s Tango+ is a 100% browser-based content lifecycle management platform that enables companies to create, manage and deliver business-critical contracts, correspondence, and other communications via print and e-channels.
  • An additional Honorable Mention for the Xplor Technology of the Year award is being presented to Xerox Corporation for their Direct to Object Inkjet Printer. This inkjet drop on demand printer can print directly onto a wide range of substrates (including plastics, glass, ceramics and metal) and virtually any surface type (including smooth, rough, slightly curved or stepped).

“I want to first congratulate the 2017 Award Winners and thank all those who submitted a nomination.” said Skip Henk, EDP, President and CEO of Xplor International. “The Awards Committee once again had a difficult time selecting the winners from such a broad range of submissions.”

Xplor International will also be announcing the recipients of the Xplorer of the Year and Brian Platte Lifetime Achievement awards at Xploration® 17 on Tuesday, March 28, 2017.

For more information regarding Xploration® 17, or to register, visit www.xplor.org/xplor17. Questions should be directed to Register@xplor.org or +1-813-949-6170 between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (ET), Monday through Friday.

Vendors interested in being an exhibitor should contact Xplor’s Director of Sales, Deborah Green at +1-770-444-3845 or via email at deborahgreen@xplor.org.

About Xplor International
Xplor International is a not-for-profit association that provides thought leadership to the customer communications industry. As a community Xplor provides advocacy, education, training, mentoring and networking opportunities.

Our members are decision makers and recommenders who are involved in the conception, design, implementation production and delivery of multi-channel client, member and customer communications.

Xplor’s mission is to enhance organizational success and advance the careers of our members by providing research, publications, industry certification, professional development, web-based events, and conference programming. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida, with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: facebook.com/XplorInternational
Twitter: twitter.com/Xplor_Int or @Xplor_Int

Xplor International Media Contact:
Chad Henk
Marketing Manager
+1-813-949-6171
Chad@xplor.org

OpenText Exstream, Digital Transformation and Customer Communications Management

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An Interview with OpenText Exstream, Senior Manager of Product Strategy
By: Skip Henk, EDP – CEO of Xplor International

Last year Open Text Corp. acquired certain customer-communications management assets from HP Inc., an acquisition that certainly expanded and complemented the OpenText portfolio of software offerings.

Now that the dust has settled a bit, I wanted to catch up with Avi Greenfield, EDP – Senior Manager of Product Strategy, to discuss his views about digital transformation and Customer Communications from an OpenText Exstream point of view.

Avi, a 20 year industry veteran, is focused on technology solutions that build business value, focusing on customer communications and content management strategy. As I mentioned he is a Senior Manager of Product Strategy for OpenText Exstream, responsible for understanding the needs of customers for managing business-critical communications in complex and demanding environments, and driving the direction of the Exstream portfolio to meet those needs.

Avi received his Electronic Document Professional (EDP) certification in 2012.

Skip: Avi, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts today.

Avi: You are welcome; we appreciate Xplor allowing us the opportunity.

Skip: For our readers who are not familiar with OpenText Exstream, can you give us your 15 second   elevator pitch?

Avi: OpenText Exstream offers the fastest, most reliable communications production engine to enable

digital transformation for companies. Exstream helps companies in a range of industries and sizes optimize customer engagement through the design and delivery of personalized, consistent, compliant, anytime, anywhere communications for better customer experiences across all channels. The latest version includes capabilities that enable users to create responsive, mobile-ready content; generate robust, interactive charts; perform controlled in-context editing; and better handle PDFs.

Skip: There is a lot in the media now about “digital transformation” and “digital business/digital economy” – what does that mean to OpenText and why is it important? 

Avi:  With 50% of the workforce expected to be made up of those who were “born digital” by 2020, digital communications are becoming more and more important and many companies are looking to move to a digital business model. A recent Gartner report states that 89% of companies will compete on customer experience and 90% of CEOs place CX as one of their top three priorities, so companies will need to be able to provide exceptional customer experiences across multiple channels to stay competitive in the future.

The Millennial generation is now larger than the Baby Boomers and they have more than one trillion dollars in purchasing power. Companies need to adapt their customer communications to appeal to this highly digital and technologically advanced group. Digital transformation of your business will be critical and is much more than being able to send email or PDFs because these consumers want much more engaging experiences and access to their brands 24/7. They have the highest adoption and usage of mobile devices of any generation, and they navigate seamlessly between devices and channels, which means they expect relevant and consistent content, experiences and branding across all channels.

Skip: What is the impact of digital transformation on CCM?

Avi:  We see it driving a lot of demand for modern CCM capabilities. Digital transformation means rethinking business processes to meet consumer demand for frictionless multichannel interactions. This frequently means updating or replacing core systems of record and systems and engagement like CRM, billing, customer care, and claims for example. Most organizations already have multiple systems that are used to produce and deliver traditional and digital communications. So when they update those core systems, it’s a great time to consider whether their current CCM tools and processes are able to serve all of their enterprise needs for engaging customers in a way puts them at the center and gives them the freedom to engage using the channels and devices of their choice. We see this leading to increased investment in enterprise-grade CCM tools and also increased focus and organizational resources dedicated to producing and delivering timely, relevant, compliant communications.

Skip: Given these changes, and a shift to digital documents and communications, what steps can people take right now to take advantage of this?

Avi: In the digital age, it is critical for your company to move from traditional paper-based documents to engaging conversations across all channels. By delivering communications in the channels preferred by your customers and designing with digital in mind, you can turn your communications into a differentiator.

Your communications should use clear and concise language and be compliant, accurate, and controlled. All this requires synchronizing the right data with CCM software and the business processes that intersect with customer touchpoints.

Communications—whether traditional or digital—are the primary customer touchpoint for most organizations. The quality, timeliness, and accuracy of those communications have a huge impact on the consumer’s perception of your company. And the quality of a customer’s experience is the single greatest predictor of whether they will return and promote your company or defect to a competitor and malign it.

The design of any communication is important and can either drive desired behaviors, additional revenue or loyalty if done well. If not, it can undermine customer experience and create expensive call center inquiries. As far as best practices, five key things to consider when designing any communication are:

  1. Design for understanding – What do you want recipients to understand?
  2. Design to drive action – What do you want recipients to do or not do?
  3. Design for digital first, but don’t neglect traditional channels – Do recipients have a seamless cross-channel experience?
  4. Design to align business user profile with the business process – How do you involve business users? Do they own content and messages? Can they help personalize communications for the front office?
  5. Design customer-centric communications from the outside-in – What do you do to modernize your processes and systems of interaction to deliver on consumer expectations for seamless cross-channel interactions?

Skip: Those are five great points. Do you believe the investment in CCM worth it?

Avi: Not only is it worth it, but it is essential to positive business outcomes. Providing a better customer experience is shown to increase loyalty and lifetime customer value and can be a key source of competitive differentiation. Delivering interactions that are clear, timely, and easy to understand leads to higher customer satisfaction.

So there are many pressures and expectations on customer communications. Companies must respond quickly to changing markets and circumstances, while providing consistent, high-quality communications in the recipient’s language and preferred delivery channel.

There is also a critical need to maintain compliance and control over communications for legal and regulatory reasons. At the same time, business users are demanding more control over the content and faster time to market. And of course operational requirements demand timely, optimized output at the lowest possible cost. So having an enterprise CCM platform with the right organizational commitment and resources dedicated to it is essential to increasing profitability, improving customer experience, and mitigating risk.

Skip: Avi, I once again thank you for taking the time to speak with me today and sharing your insights. Anyone who would like more information can contact OpenText here.

About OpenText Exstream
Exstream is a multichannel customer communication management (CCM) solution that is proven to improve the customer experience and make customer interactions more profitable. It allows business users to create the communications for connected customer journeys using the delivery formats and channels customers prefer – including email, web and mobile.

This software solution powers the transformation of all of your data—whatever file sources, formats, and systems you use—into relevant and insightful customer communications. With on-premise and cloud deployment options, Exstream is scalable to fit the needs of any department or complex enterprise environment. Design and deliver consistent, personalized, compliant, anytime, anywhere communications with Exstream.

skip_Henk_Photo_2011

 

Skip Henk, EDP
President/CEO
Xplor International