Alfresco Content Accelerator – Collaboration Enhancements

The Alfresco Enterprise Viewer (AEV) has long contained collaboration features that dynamically display the users looking at a document. Recently we’ve updated the interface to include advanced functionality such as starting a Zoom or Microsoft Teams call directly from AEV. The Alfresco Content Accelerator (ACA, formally TSG’s OpenContent Management Suite) has been used for a variety of business cases like Claim Management, Policy & Procedure Management, Accounts Payable, Contract Management, Digital Archive, and many more. In looking at enhancements to add to the product, we wanted to take some of these collaborative features in AEV and apply them to the ACA.

The case management interface within the ACA is structured around making users more efficient when working with a group of documents in a folder or case. For example, claims processors can efficiently work with documents in an insurance claim in order to process document tasks quicker. Our current collaboration efforts are extending these concepts to answer questions such as:

• Are other users currently looking at the case folder? If so, who?
• What documents are the users currently viewing?
• How can a discussion be easily initiated from the interface with all of the people currently looking at the case folder?

The new collaborative features we are adding to ACA answer the above questions. Using the claims scenario as an example, a claims adjuster working in a claim folder can easily see when other users are working in the same folder:

Additionally, a user can also see what document(s) the other users are currently viewing as well:

If it is warranted, the claims adjuster can initiate a Zoom or Teams call directly from the interface so that the other adjusters can discuss the claim:

To see these new features in action, check out the video below:

Looking forward, we see a lot of opportunities to expand on these features and provide new functionality. Future plans include Microsoft Teams and Slack as options for starting a call from the case folder as well as the ability to save the conversation recording back into the repository. Let us know your thoughts below: