Apeos is the melding of the Latin word aperire, which means “to open” and the English acronym for Open System and expresses a bold new concept that personify the Open Office Frontier.

Fuji Xerox discern the need to create a place where solutions could be offered to customers at the management level as well as those supporting the management level, who are facing enterprise-level issues. These solutions would be offered through the proficient use of a wide range of devices, software and services via the network. This place has become a reality and has been given the name Intelligent Field Apeos.



Apeos is the core name in the development of a number of products. ApeosPort is the name under which Fuji Xerox will develop devices; software for connecting devices will be produced under the name ApeosWare while third party affiliations and third party software will be promoted under the name ApeosPartners.

We are introducing these new brands to provide our customers with products and services of extraordinary new value. Up until now, we at Fuji Xerox have made use of digital multifunction devices and our own, as well as external software, to provide our customers with solutions that responds to a wide variety of business situations and promote “intellectual creativity”. By providing a place we call Intelligent Field Apeos and forming alliances with many partners (ApeosPartners), we can effectively utilize ApeosPort, the Apeos gateway, to connect mission-critical processes or business services.

With Apeos, we are now able to provide customers, whose management issues are undergoing constant change in response to changes in the social environment, with solutions that comprise a flexible combination of devices, software and services. Enterprise level management issues can be resolved through the development of Intelligent Field Apeos and ApeosPort – the Gateway to the Intelligent Field and the stance of providing value exclusive to the customer that could be more distinct.

WHAT IS APEOS?
Apeos is a virtual work field – an environment that provides solutions to today’s increasingly complex business challenges by freely utilizing software and services that exist on the network. Mission-critical data and documents can be linked to allow total integration of information via Web Services technology. Furthermore, with its advanced security measures, you now have greater flexibility in the management of information at your fingertips.



The 3 Fundamentals of Apeos
To familiarize you with the “Intelligent Field Apeos”, we would first like to explain the 3 fundamentals relating to Apeos.



1) ApeosPort :
In addition to the basic functions of copy, fax, print and scan of a conventional multifunction, you can operate a complex job flow at just a touch of a button, e.g. “Press the OO button and then scan in 300dpi full colour – convert to PDF file – save in the xx folder on the network – inform to Mr.XX by e-mail, and so on. By setting the indications in this job flow, it is also possible to tie the information of the scanned paper to the data information of the critical business system. In addition, you could also browse the Web applications such as the business systems on the intra-net, from the operation panel of the ApeosPort, or even access to the Web applications, just from the screen of the ApeosPort, without your PC.

2) Critical Business System :
Critical Business System is the system computerizing the core business of the company such as financing/ salary/payroll calculation/ sales and stock management, etc. Most companies today possess softwares for these core businesses to manage the huge databases and derive much efficiencies from these systems. However, the needs are high to link “the paper documents used each time in actual business” to the critical business system, and potentially, enormous benefits could be realized by the enhancement of this efficiency.

3) XML Language / SOAP Protocol :
Up until now, building a smooth business flow that connected critical business system (for example, ERP) to digital multifunction devices required the development of separate interface systems for each service software and digital multifunction device, inevitably incurring tremendous expenditure in time, labour and money.

In response to this need, Fuji Xerox decided to adopt a connecting technology, such as XML(extensible mark-up language)/SOAP (Simple Object Application Protocol) for its digital multifunction devices that would enable services to be connected with one another. The connecting technology is one that is already on its way to becoming the standard in the network environment.. For instance, if the business system automatically issues a job flow in XML / SOAP, transmits to ApeosPort, the ApeosPort would then translate it automatically, display it on the operation panel. This means that ApeosPort is now one of the components of the critical business system.

As a result Fuji Xerox was able to greatly reduce the time and costs required to connect key business systems with digital multifunction devices, as well as create an environment that facilitates participation easier with external system vendors