Letter Gen White Paper

It allows users to produce dynamically generated documents that are created using multiple data
sources. Users can receive their documents in different formats: PDF, Word, ODF, RTF, HTML, Fax,
Email, and Printing.

Table of Contents

General....................................................................................................................... 3
History ........................................................................................................................ 6
Module overview ....................................................................................................... 8
The LetterSigner ....................................................................................................... 16
Technology ............................................................................................................... 18
Development Strategy .............................................................................................. 20
Market...................................................................................................................... 23
References................................................................................................................ 24
Business Cases.......................................................................................................... 24
Partnerships ............................................................................................................. 27

LetterGen April 8, 2010 Page 2 of 27

General

Document creation interface based on the well-known Eclipse framework and Open Office
interface, allowing the creation of easy-to-use models
Open interfaces for all well-known databases and ERP/CRM applications, covering nearly all
information systems
Integrated WYSIWYG design and content management interface, including versioning, for
document authors
Secure, location independent, web-based access for document users, authors and
administration
User-based or full automatic batch creation of highly variable documents with the right
data, based on defined workflow settings
One architecture and one document creation process for all communication channels
(print, web, fax, e-mail, and data export) and third party information systems
Meeting your requirements for Compliance and Audit control of your printed documents


In a study of Forrester Research of June 25, 2009 “Document Output for Customer
Communications Management” the following reasons where listed for implementing a solution like
LetterGen.

Moving structured applications to on-demand transactions and e-transactions
Eliminating a big headache – aging structured output systems
Targeting extensive Microsoft Word and mail merge systems
Empowering the business to move DOCCM out of the IT infrastructure
Linking ECM and Business Process Management
Configuring authoring environments that reduce behavioural change
Creating starting points to kick-start interactive applications
Building process-specific templates with scalable controls
Design output infrastructures and efficient processes
Developing authoring approaches that work for the user

They identify three types of categories and applications

Source: Forrester Research, Inc


Structured output runs in batches, often in large volumes
Interactive output marries custom content or data with preset structure
On-demand output is triggered by multichannel requests

Drivers for the DOCCM market are:
Multichannel output
On-demand output
DOCCM convergence with ECM


History

The LetterGen product was initially developed in 1997 by Real Software as part of a project at
Generale Bank for the automation of professional loans.
They were searching for a better way to manage the content of their credit contracts, 'National
Library of Credit Contracts'. It was based on the Windows DNA standards (VB, IIS, MS Word), using
XML as the transport language and IBM MQSeries for the communication between NT and the
Mainframe.

The requirements of the Generale Bank were the following:

A central and unique library of templates
Fast time-to-market of changes in the templates
Correctness and audit of the credit contracts
Less manpower for the contract generation
Multilingual
Independent of legacy systems
Non computer scientist template designers
Batch, Semi-Interactive and Pure Interactive generation
Available both central as well as in the branches.

A first version of the software went live in 1998, followed by many new releases with additional
functionalities. Thanks to the system they were able to save 25% on the contract creation. Today
375 credit officers are using our system on a daily basis to create the Commercial Credits. At ASR
verzekeringen, previously called Fortis Insurance Netherlands, more than 1800 insurance officers
use our system to create insurance contracts. It is also used within the Leasing Division, the
Payments Division and the Securities Division for the communication on corporate actions.

In 1999, Océ Headquarters in Venlo decided to found a joint venture with Real Software, named
Océ Real Business Solutions. The objective of this new company was to enhance the developments
at the Generale Bank and to make it a commercial product with the name VarE-Docs. In the years
that followed, Océ Nederland sold the product to SNS Bank, ABN Amro Hypotheken Groep, AON,
Allianz and some other companies. It was mainly sold in the Banking and Insurance Sector, but also
in the industrial sector, and to some hospitals and governmental organizations.

In 2005, Real Software got a new majority shareholder, Gores Technology group. The new
management decided that VarE-Docs were to be discontinued as a product, since it was not any
longer the strategy of the company to develop products.

At that time, BTR Services was founded, and a part of the VarE-Docs team joined the new
company. The strategy of BTR was to become the ICT services partner of the Belgian Banks and to
develop service oriented solutions. The first solution created was LetterGen. After Fortis Bank
committed itself to acquire the product, we started developing. With the past experience of what
went good and what went wrong with VarE-Docs, we created a new architecture to cope with the
performance issue of VarE-Docs (no high volume capability) and the instability of the Microsoft
standards, but at the same time, we kept all the functionalities of VarE-Docs.


The new product was based on the new SOA standards, Open standards like Open
Office and Java a more portable language than VB.

At the end of 1997, BTR Services acquired the IP rights of VarE-Docs from Real Software, acquiring
as such 10 years of development and an adult interface for interactive document generations. With
the acquisition, we also took over the support of the existing customers.

In 2008, we signed an OEM agreement with IBM, stating that we could integrate LetterGen with
Websphere Process Server and sell the combination on a worldwide basis.

In October 2008, we ran performance benchmarks at the Innovation Centre of IBM in Amsterdam;
resulting in a generation of 36 million documents of on average 60 pages in 24 hours. This was
better than expected and outclassed the VarE-Docs product (10.000 documents in 24 hours) by
large.

At CeBIT 2009 in March, a new module, the LetterSigner was launched. At the same event we
entered into a strategic partnership with VASCO Data Security International Inc to integrate the
Digipass in the LetterSigner.

On October the 1st 2009, LetterGen NV was found as a subsidiary of BTR Services holding the IP
rights of the product suite.

At CeBIT 2010 in March, the LetterWriting Application was launched. It is a plug-in for Microsoft
Word enabling the creation of documents using predefined fragments that can be added while the
user is writing his letter.

Today, LetterGen is available in a stable version, running live at some of our customers, integrated
with the old VarE-Docs interactive document generation environment, named LetterData. We are
now starting the development of a new version of LetterData based on the architecture of
LetterGen.


Module overview


Modelstore
The modelstore is the repository of the LetterGen system. It holds the templates and the business
logic associated with these templates.
The different functionalities are:

Unique, central library of models
Unlimited organisation hierarchy
Role based security
A standard interface to LDAP authorization systems
Staging
At implementation time, as many stages as needed can be defined. Eg. Test, Acceptance,
Marketing, Legal, Production, etc
Versioning
Versions are based on timestamps. This enables regenerating documents with the
templates that were in production at a given moment in time
Web Service Interface
Multiple database vendor support
Support for DB2, MS SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL or a ECM system like Documentum
Multiple application server support
IBM WebSphere, JBoss

Generator
The generator generates the documents based on the XML message, the templates and the
business logic in the modelstore.
Main features are:
Focus on document production
Service-enabled
High-availability (ad hoc/batch)
Multiplatform
In-memory ModelCache
The generator uses a compiled version of the models, which it receives from the
modelstore and stores it in a local, in-memory cache.
Easy Load-Balancing


LetterSketch
The Lettersketch tool is developed for non-IT business users to manage the templates and business
logic.
Main features are:
Multilingual
Both user interface and model exist in multiple languages. Today we support Dutch, French,
German, English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese for the user interface. For the models we
support all common languages.
WYSIWYG
Interface based on the ISO Open Document Format using the standard OpenOffice
interface
Preview functionality
A generator is included in the tool for generation of the model with test XML data
Reusable fragments
Fragments of documents can be used as building blocks in other models
Conditional fragments
Fragments based on easy to implement logic, combination of data-elements and
conditions, fragments are set visible or not
Data formatting (dates, numbers, …)
Support for tables
Headers and footers
Signatures, bar codes, logo’s, pictures


LetterTools

With LetterTools we bring a series of services that work with the source XML and the generated
ODT file. The following are typical services, but additional services can be ordered or developed
using the LetterTools development toolkit.

Printing and faxing
Conversion to PDF, DOC,TIF, JPG, etc
Email
Interface with ECM Solutions
Interface with back-office applications
Interface with database systems

LetterData
LetterData is an interactive environment for document generation. It allows an end user to select a
template, enter the required data for the template and start generating the document. Once the
document is generated, it can be edited using Microsoft Word or Open Office and enhanced with
additional available text blocks. After it is saved, the document can be transferred to a manager for
validation. Finally, the document can be transferred to post-processing services like emailing,
printing or faxing.


The following picture is a sample of such a work flow:

XM
L

1. The officer selects a template in LetterData
2. All mandatory data is entered using LetterData
3. An XML message is generated
4. LetterGen generates the requested documents
5. The documents are validated by the officer and transferred to his manager
6. The manager validates and signs the documents
7. The documents are processed by the distribution engine.


Functionalities of LetterData include:

End-user interface for interactive document generation
Management of document requests
Can be used for reprinting documents that were destroyed in the mailing machine
Management of workflow
Dynamic data editor
Based on the data-definition in LetterXSD. Fill-in forms are generated and used to create
the XML data input for LetterGen
eForms
Archive
Generated documents are stored in LetterData until a cleanup mechanism removes them.
When no cleanup is carried out, the documents will remain in the system as an archive of
the generated documents

LetterXSD
Many tools exist on the market to create XSD's. However, a tool that offers a combination of
definition of the data structure, translations of the tags and maintenance of selection tables in
multiple languages, did not yet exist. Because our goal is to deliver a user-friendly solution for non-
IT professionals, we developed LetterXSD.

Management of data structures
Management of translations
Management of selection tables
Generation of XSD for usage in LetterSketch


LetterWriter
The LetterWriter is a plug-in for Microsoft Word enabling end users to select predefined fragments
they can add in their document. These fragments can contain variable data and business logic
defined in LetterSketch.


With the plug-in the following features are available:

Select/deselect fragments
Mutually exclusive fragments
Modifiable fragments
Pop-up to enter variable data
Selection of attachments
Preview of fragments
Features made available according to user-rights


LetterSigner

The Lettersigner application offers all the necessary features to sign documents. To serve a
broadest possible market, the Portable Document Format (PDF) was chosen as the document
format to use with the LetterSigner. Both the “classical” manual handwritten signature and digital
signature may be used to sign documents. It is also possible to add other fields in a document to
enter a date, or a text like “read and approved”.

Signing with an electronic pen
When using the LetterSigner on a Tablet PC or using a specific signing device connected to the PC,
documents can be signed by hand using the stylus. The look and feel of this manual signing process
equals the ceremonial aspect of signing a paper version. Drawing the signature is only allowed on
predefined fields, the rest of the document remains unchanged. These fields are indicated by
standard PDF form fields, which can be added by LetterGen during the document creation. When
saving the document, the handwritten fields (signatures and text) are embedded into the PDF
document, the electronic signature is represented as a stamp and secures the document.

Digital signing with the eID or VASCO DIGIPASS CertiID
An electronic signature is a legally recognized electronic tool that indicates that a person accepts
the content of an electronic message or document.

Digital signing of documents is based on Public Key Infrastructure. By means of PKI based
smartcards, such as the Belgian eID, or DIGIPASS CertiID from VASCO, the document is signed using
a 1024 bit RSA key, resulting in a digital signature. Along with this signature, a certificate (X509) is
added to the document to provide the identity of the signer. The combination of the signature and
the certificate delivers irrefutable proof of both the identity of the signer as well as the
authenticity of the signed document. Since the signed document is fully PDF compliant, both the
document and the signatures can be displayed and validated by a viewer using Acrobat Reader.
Any user that modifies and saves the document after it has been electronically signed will
invalidate the electronic signature(s).


Main advantages of the LetterSigner are:

Green IT
Fast time-to-signature
Classic & digital signature
Visible signature on the displayed or printed document
Revision lock
Digital timestamp needed for electronic archiving following European regulations


Technology

LetterGen is developed based on open standards using Java, XML and JMS. It runs on a Java
runtime environment and easily interfaces with standard off-the-shelf BPM solutions.
In annex you can find the ‘LetterGen Requirements Checklist.doc’, which mentions the hard and
software requirements for LetterGen.

Process controller based architecture
In this implementation, a process controller like Websphere Process Server or Oracle BPEL controls
the environment where LetterGen and LetterTools are orchestrated services. The main advantage
of this implementation is that the business rules are defined in a tool and can be easily customized.
The Queue-based implementation is rather static compared to this architecture, and can only be
maintained by the infrastructure department.


Queue-Based Architecture
This implementation is based on Queuing mechanisms using JBoss, IBM Websphere MQ or
Microsoft MSMQ.

Benchmarks

Dell power Edge SC 1420, dual µCPU 3.4 GHz, 2 Gb internal memory, Windows 2003 Server
: more than 10.000.000 documents a day
Sun T2000, Solaris, 8 CPU : more than 10.000.000 documents a day
AIX – test in IBM Innovation centre – Oct 08 : more than 36.000.000 documents a day of
on average 60 pages


Development Strategy

Open Source
The LetterSketch module is a combination of Eclipse, Open Office and self-developed code. We
have taken strong measures to avoid Open Source contamination. DLA Piper performed an audit
on the code to validate this contamination.

Scrum
LetterGen is developed using the Scrum methodology. The advantage of this methodology is the
usage of sprints. Thanks to these sprints, we can divide the development work in manageable
parts, avoiding big bang releases.

Offshore development
For the development, we work with two offshore partners. ValueSource is a KBC subsidiary
company in Chennai, India. They are specialized in developing both Java and .NET using the Scrum
methodology.
Quality Software in Rio, Brazil is a well-known offshore testing specialist. The manager of the
testing division, Ricardo Cristalli, is vice-president of the Latin American Testing Association and
therefore a reference for testing organizations.
By using the Scrum methodology, we manage requirement process until delivery and al this on
time and within budget.
The following picture shows the workflow of the development process. At ValueSource, we
currently have one team leader and four active developers. At Quality Software, we have one
senior test consultant to write the test scenarios and two testers to carry out the scenarios and to
perform regression tests.


At BTR, we have one project leader and one functional analyst writing the requirements and
coordinating the test results. Another person manages the sources and various environments. One
architect develops new evolutions and prototypes for new functionalities. We have one team
leader and two junior developers responsible for customer support.

Development efforts
Since 1998, a team of at least 6 developers has been writing and enhancing the codebase. For the
period before the launch of BTR Services, this corresponds to 48 man-years.
Since the start of BTR , we made the following efforts:

Project Management 700 man-days
Analysis 700 man-days
Development in house 2400 man-days
Offshore Development 2800 man-days
Testing 1000 man-days
Documentation, translations, etc. 400 man-days

Roadmap
We constantly improve the product by considering prospect and customer feedback. We also look
at the evolutions at the competition to make sure that our product remains competitive. A detailed
roadmap can be found in annex.
The LetterData product (previously known as the interactive environment of VarE-Docs) will be
totally rewritten based on the standards used in the LetterGen product. For this major


development, we asked for financial support from the IWT. One of the challenges will be the
virtualisation of BPM solutions like IBM Websphere Process Server, Oracle BPEL and Cordys, so that
the workflow definition can be done in LetterData, without any knowledge of these environments.
In the same development effort a module will be added in LetterSketch to generate eForms.


Market

LetterGen can be implemented in many business segments. LetterGen can bring a real added value
whenever documents/letters have to be generated with variable content.

A few samples of sectors and documents that can be automated
automated:


References

Belgium The Netherlands Others

Banking

Insurance

Lease

Waterschap
Public Aa en Maas

Others

Business Cases

Business segment: industry
This enterprise produces several kinds of industrial exhaust systems. Every exhaust system needs a
separate instructions guide, as every installation consists of different (tailor-made) components.
In the past, this enterprise delivered the complete instruction guide by taking copies of the
instruction guides of the different components. Since the different components also came from
different suppliers, this resulted in a bundling of copies, all with a different lay-out, a different
content or an overlapping content, etc.
The enterprise was never sure that all the instructions of the different components were delivered
with the system and they could only hope that they provided the right copies and delivered the
right content with the exhaust system.
Thanks to our product, the enterprise could establish product cards for each installation. The
company was also able to consult the content management system to find out which components
were needed for which exhaust system. In this way, they were able to procure matching
instructions for every component of the exhaust system (in a uniform lay-out).
With the number of the machine, they can request the matching product cards. This results in


great satisfaction: on the one hand for the technician who needs to repair the machines in case of
breakdown and consequently needs to know which product it is and which components it consists
of (it is thus also possible to deliver technical cards and exploded views per device.) On the other
hand, the costumers are extremely satisfied, because the enterprise is able to guarantee a perfect
after-sales service.
Thanks to these individual product cards, it was easier for the enterprise to compose a catalogue
with all the different kinds of exhaust systems. Moreover they can easily adjust the content of the
catalogue, the product cards and the instruction guides if one of the components is changed.

Business segment: public transport
Dispatching notes
A bus/tramway driver has to know at the beginning of his shift which route to follow. Sometimes a
stop can be temporarily out of service; there can be works in progress, or a change in the traffic
situation, etc…
Thanks to our product, the driver can log on to the system and insert the number of his
bus/tramway and generate all the necessary information about his/her route.

Business segment: the local communities
The municipality started developing a new book of standards. They wanted to insert a new house
style management in their organization with a fixed lay-out (font types, paragraphs, logos, spacing,
etc.)
Due to the specific management structures, they had to cope with documents with a fixed lay-out,
but with content that changes constantly.
Their documents also needed different kinds of logic, such as the hierarchy of the signatures.
The document must first of all be signed by the mayor. When the mayor is out of the office, it has
to be signed by the deputy mayor, if he is not available, the document has to be signed by
somebody else, etc..
Thanks to our product the municipality was able to guarantee a fixed house style for all their
documents, they also could add all the necessary logic and moreover they could complete, modify,
delete or correct the fixed text after generation. (According to the document, and secured zones).

Business segment: insurance broker
This company bought our product to manage the administrative side of the acquired fleets at one
hand and their own customers on the other hand. The company is particularly specialized in lease
transactions and the management of the insurance contracts of the lease transactions.
They cover all the insurance certificates and claims. With our product, they generate all the
necessary documents that contain a great diversity of logics and variables. They generate for
instance the green cards, which must contain the correct data.
The lay-out of the documents is in this case more important, because the company provides his


clients with adhesive stickers. These stickers need to be placed on the right spot on the European
accident statement.
The emplacement of the data is therefore more than significant. All this is possible thanks to
LetterGen.
With LetterGen, they also generate the damage statistics and they take care of the communication
towards the companies or directly towards the driver. They dispose of their own fleet management
system that we have integrated with our system.

Business Segment: banking
Mortgage loans files are complex and contain various subfiles such as deposit fees, the amount of
the loan, the people that agree with the loan, the mortgage insurance, notary public’s letter, etc.
These files have not been created by a credit expert. He only wrote down what should be done.
Several typists then typed out the necessary documents and completed the files.
This made the lead-time very long, given that all these files had to be sent for approval to the
credit experts. Only when that was done, the typists could finish the files (1st version, approval,
2nd version, approval, etc.). The costumer had to wait a very long time after handing in his loan
application.
Thanks to our solution, they are able to generate in 3 ways and match all the bank’s requirements.
Examples of our solutions are:
A multilingual solution
A central and unique database that can also be consulted locally
Central requests for central generations, as well as central requests for local generations, as
local requests for local generations were possible
Authors without specific IT knowledge

Various generation methods:
Batch generation: the system decides autonomously when to generate and print. A transfer form is
for example automatically printed when a customer receives the instruction to pay for his
mortgage insurance.
Interactive/ manual generation: all data are filled in ad hoc through LetterData User Interface. (For
example when a new costumer applies for a loan and a new file has to be made.)
Semi-automatic generation: Only some of the data is provided automatically. Not all information
necessary to complete the contract is available. The data that is not provided can be filled in
through the LetterData User Interface. (Afterwards, it is possible to link these data back to the
mainframe).
Fully active file management system (altering, reprinting, putting on hold and deleting of files).


Partnerships

IBM
Since the start of the development of LetterGen, we receive support and guidance from IBM. As
we have chosen for open standards like open Office, Java and Eclipse, the link with IBM products
like Websphere Process Server and Lotus Symphony is quite obvious. Last year, we signed an
international OEM agreement for the Websphere products together with the LetterGen product.
Our product was also added in the product Catalogue of IBM.
Thanks to the partnership with IBM we have access to the engineers that developed the
Websphere product. We can use the Innovation Centres of IBM for product benchmarking free of
charge .

VASCO Data Security International
With the launch of the LetterSigner we announced a strategic partnership with VASCO. Through
VASCO, we get access to a worldwide network of branches and customers. The objective of VASCO
is to sell more tokens to their customers using our signing module. The advantage for us is quite
clear. We make ourselves known to the VASCO customers, have access to the engineering force of
VASCO in the security area and integrate our product with the number one solution in the market
concerning internet security.

Signovo
Signovo is an Israel-based company specializing in electronic signatures. It is a leading provider of
paper-free signature solutions, specializing in electronic and digital signature solutions. They offer
a unique and comprehensive product line that incorporates digital handwritten signature
capabilities into commonly used applications and business processes. Signovo is going to resell the
LetterSigner module together with their hardware.
Thanks to this partnership, our product will be exposed to the Signovo customers. Signovo is
recognized as one of the world leaders in the signature area and gives us a high potential in selling
the product.

Keynectis
Keynectis, the leading European provider of trust-based technologies and services, has been
empowering governments, corporations and financial institutions around the world for over ten
years, with comprehensive solutions to manage digital ID’s and to secure electronic
communications and transactions. Today, over 25 million electronic identities have been created
and more than 10 million documents certified thanks to Keynectis technologies.
With K.Sign® we have a good alternative for the Belgian eID, if companies want to use an electronic
signature which combines the company registration with the employee name.


Letter Gen White Paper

More Related Content

What's hot (18)

Similar to Letter Gen White Paper (20)

More from LeenVerleyen (8)

Recently uploaded (20)

Letter Gen White Paper