The Alero release is an ambitious release and aims to deliver a number of features currently unavailable in a single product or solution. This release of the product includes:

• New Installation: Alero v2008 R1 provides a completely new installer for Windows platforms. Installers for other platforms will be released soon. This new installation is based on the “InstallAnywhere 2008” product instead of “InstallShield Multiplatform”, which is no longer supported. The new installer is easier and faster, providing an even better experience when installing the Alero software. The “Alero Configuration Utility”, which is the utility used in the second step of the installation to create the service or shell script and to populate the database, has also been updated and simplified. The Alero Web Applications can now be installed separately and are delivered completely as self-encapsulated .WAR files. Installing or upgrading these applications is simple. Just deploy them in the appropriate directory under your web server of preference, and the applications are ready to go. All prerequisites for these applications are delivered in the .WAR files. A completely new, more comprehensive “Installation Guide” is also available. This guide is now delivered in PDF format and contains everything that you need to know when installing, upgrading, or uninstalling the Alero software.
• New Product Licensing: In order to protect the investments of our resellers and customers, Alero v2008 R1 provides a completely new licensing manager and licensing schema based on X.500 technology (PKI).
• New Signature Services: Alero v2008 R1 delivers a new set of signature services, which implement the Electronic Signature Management capabilities of the product. These services are delivered in this version of the product in BETA mode. Like other services in the product, Alero Signature Services are a set of modules that can be used transparently and seamlessly without having to deal with the complexities of other Electronic Signature Management products. They include services for registering users, signing documents, and verifying signatures, including no repudiation.
• New High Performance Import: The requirements of the HPI have changed since the initial development of HPI 7 years ago. In order to maintain compatibility with existing customers, a new module has been developed to provide more flexibility, even higher performance, and more reliability. This module meets all previous and new requirements expressed by our partners and customers, including the ability to monitor import processes in real time. It provides business activity monitoring, allowing customers to see import activity, and run reports, in real time. Although this new module has been designed to replace the current version of HPI, Alero customers can use this and the older version of HPI simultaneously, if desired.
• New Alero Process Simulator: Alero v2008 R1 delivers a new Alero Process Simulator application, which allows authorized users to simulate existing or new processes under different conditions. This application is delivered in this version of the product in BETA mode. The primary purpose is for our customers to start working with this application and to provide feedback, as they get more familiar with it. The Alero Process Simulator application is yet another application in the set of applications provided with the Alero Process Services. With this application, customers are able to see performance, bottlenecks, resource utilization, etc.; experience the results of different alternatives based on “what-if”; and run simulation at different speeds, all before committing any resources to the processes. Keep in mind that all Alero applications, including this and all the other process applications (Designer, Monitor, Trace, and Viewer), are completely web-based with zero footprint.
• New .NET Library: A new .NET library using managed code (written in C#) is now available with the Alero SDK toolkits. This library can coexist with the previous library but is intended to replace it in the long run.
• New Support for Business Activity Monitoring and Business Intelligence: Business Activity Monitoring and Business Intelligence were first introduced with the Alero Process services (BPM). Alero is now moving this technology into other areas of the product, including some of the Alero Repository services (ECM) like the new HPI module, storage, and migration. Through the use of AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) web development standards and libraries, Alero has enhanced the Alero Server Manager application to provide interactive, real time graphical and statistical information about import processes. This is intended to increase our applications' interactivity, speed, functionality, and usability. Ajax is a cross-platform technique usable on many different operating systems computer architectures, and Web browsers as it is based on open standards such as JavaScript and XML, together with open source implementations of other required technologies. These capabilities will be moved to other areas of the product, including migration, storage, etc. More reporting capabilities will also be provided in the near future so customers have a better understanding of resource utilization and process activity, helping organizations make decisions based on real data (system accountability).
• New HCAP HTTP Interface: In addition to the existing HCAP WebDAV interface, a new HTTP interface for Hitachi Content Archive Platform is now available. This interface was released at the beginning of 2008 in Beta mode but, in this release, it has been enhanced to achieve better transfer speeds.
• New Alero Web Client: In lieu of a portal such as Microsoft SharePoint 2003 or MOSS 2007, Alero has developed a complete, web-server independent application to interface out-of-the-box with the Alero repository, process, integration, and content services. If your solution needs to be web-based but not necessarily portal-based, then the Alero Web Client is the perfect solution for you. This solution will also integrate 100% with any common office desktop using WebDAV technology. This new client application was developed using JSF (JavaServer Faces), which is a Java-based Web application framework that simplifies the development of user interfaces for Java EE applications. Unlike other traditional request-driven MVC web frameworks, JSF uses a component-based approach. The state of UI components is saved when the client requests a new page and then is restored when the request is returned. Out of the box, JSF uses Java Server Pages for its display technology, but JSF can also accommodate other display technologies.