IBM to break AS/400 logjam

IBM (White Plains, NY, http://ibm.com

) announced that it is beta testing a document management package for its midrange AS/400 computer. VisualInfo for AS/400 is expected to ship next fall.

The informal announcement, made at the annual AIIM trade show and conference, predicts the first major upgrade to IBM midrange imaging in years. Previous enhancements have maintained functionality as hardware improved. However, other sources within IBM questioned the significance of the changes.

The announcement, made at an informal briefing by Sue Wallenborn, product development manager for ImagePlus at IBM's Austin, TX, facility, suggests that the AS/400 will join desktop, workstation and mainframe platforms as a purveyor of workflow solutions through VisualInfo as part of IBM's highly-acclaimed EDMSuite.