AgFirst Farm Credit Bank Selects Hyland Software's OnBase for Enterprise Content Management; Reduces Paper-Associated Costs, Automates Processes While Ensuring Security and Borrower Privacy Policies.

CLEVELAND -- Hyland Software, Inc., developer of the OnBase(R) enterprise content management (ECM) software suite, announced that AgFirst Farm Credit Bank has selected OnBase as its document management and workflow solution. AgFirst, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., awarded the contract to KeyMark, a leader and innovator in document capture, management and workflow and an authorized OnBase solution provider. E[acute accent]"We recognized the need to streamline and automate processes while reducing the creation and storage of paper as the number of accumulated documents became increasingly difficult to manage," said Robert Zeman, director of Information Management Services for AgFirst. "The combination of KeyMark's vertical expertise and the industry-specific applications of OnBase gives the bank and our association customers the ability to minimize labor-intensive processes, improve service and strengthen compliance initiatives. With OnBase, we feel AgFirst is on the forefront of gaining additional operational efficiencies and systems integration innovation." E[acute accent]According to Gartner, "In evaluating ECM vendors and their vertically focused offerings, product promotion must be separated from core capabilities and functionality. Although a vendor may pursue one or more vertical markets, that does not necessarily correlate to deep functionality and domain expertise. Also, evaluate the ECM vendor's partner ecosystem because software vendors, systems integrators and value-added resellers can provide complementary products and services to the vendor's core ECM platform." (1) E[acute accent]KeyMark's solution utilizes OnBase to manage and retain all AgFirst's documents, regardless of format, thereby establishing efficiencies and driving down business costs. The system also automatically addresses security and borrower privacy policies while supporting disaster recovery initiatives. E[acute accent]"AgFirst presented us with a unique situation, as far as their business processes," said Jim Wanner, CEO of KeyMark, Inc. "They have a shared services model with additional considerations specific to AgFirst. It was vital that we structure a solution that would capture documents from numerous remote locations and then enter them into a centralized workflow. OnBase is widely applied by a number of financial institutions to solve specific business challenges, which made it a lot easier to come up with a solution tailored to meet AgFirst's specific needs." E[acute accent]AgFirst is an agricultural lender with total assets of $20.5 billion, who provides loans to more than 80,000 farmers, agribusinesses and rural homeowners through affiliated financial cooperatives. AgFirst's customers are 23 farmer-owned agricultural credit associations (ACAs), serving borrowers in 15 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. OnBase manages AgFirst's district associations' loan documents and is projected to improve employee productivity as a result of automated loan processes. Additionally, OnBase allows employees of the major business functions (credit reviewers, appraisers operations, marketing, and auditors) to evaluate documents securely via remote access saving travel time and costs. E[acute accent]"AgFirst and its affiliated associations will benefit significantly from OnBase as they seek to leverage their existing technology assets and streamline their business processes," said Jason King, director of Financial Services for Hyland Software. "With OnBase, banks can refocus their resources on better customer service and eliminate the hassles of paper and its associated manual processes."

E[acute accent]About AgFirst Farm Credit Bank

E[acute accent]With total assets exceeding $20 billion, AgFirst is the largest financial institution headquartered in South Carolina. The bank is part of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of agricultural lenders and the largest single lender to agriculture in the U.S. AgFirst provides funding and financial services to 23 farmer-owned Agricultural Credit Associations (ACAs) that serve 80,000 borrowers in 15 eastern states and Puerto Rico. AgFirst also operates a Capital Markets unit that arranges and participates in loans for agribusinesses across the nation and a Correspondent Lending unit that buys, sells and services rural home and agricultural loans.

E[acute accent]About KeyMark

E[acute accent]KeyMark is an award-winning document capture, management and workflow systems provider founded in 1996. They combine cutting-edge technology and innovative minds to create customized solutions that resolve today's business issues and anticipate tomorrow's. KeyMark has helped clients increase efficiencies and decrease operating costs in various industries including: healthcare, accounts payable, insurance, lending and human resources. KeyMark is headquartered in Liberty, S.C. with offices and affiliates in Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Miami and Lancaster, Pa. For more information regarding KeyMark, visit www.keymarkinc.com.

E[acute accent]About Hyland Software, Inc.

E[acute accent]Hyland Software, Inc., established in 1991, is a leading provider of rapidly deployable enterprise content management software. Hyland developed OnBase, enterprise-class software that combines integrated document management, business process management and records management in a single application. OnBase allows organizations to manage digital content, including scanned paper documents, faxes, print streams, application files, electronic forms, Web content, multi-media files, and e-mails. OnBase is used by businesses and government agencies to automate business processes, reduce the time and cost of performing important business functions, improve organizational efficiency and address the need for regulatory compliance through the management, control and sharing of digital content with employees, business partners, customers and other constituencies. Visit www.onbase.com for more information. E[acute accent](1) Gartner, Enterprise Content Management Vendors Increase Availability of CEVA Offerings; Author: Tom Eid; 17 February 2006