Cucumber Software to block prying eyes

Cucumber Software says it has a system to keep prying eyes and light-fingered hackers out of networks that transfer sensitive electronic documents.

The Tauranga-based company has been testing the system with law firm Sharp Tudhope and plans a commercial launch within two months.

Cucumber general manager Jodie Tipping said the company would initially focus on selling its document transfer system to law firms and medical bodies.

"For professional services firms - like lawyers, accountants and health professionals - being able to guarantee confidential transfer of information to their clients can be a significant point of difference," she said.

Sharp Tudhope is pleased with the trial so far. Chief executive Neal Blackburn said the system was more secure than email, which was reassuring.

The software uses a web browser and a Microsoft Word toolbar extension to manage documents. Users are able to search the company's network for related documents, filtering by key words and date.

The system also prohibits external access to the company's network, with client documents posted to a secure area on a web site. Once a document is posted, an email is automatically sent to the client informing them they have a document waiting.

"Military-strength" encryption and digital signatures can be applied to the document for added security and for clients to confirm authorship, the company said.

Dave MacFarlane, from Tauranga furniture exporter Design Mobel - a client of Sharp Tudhope - has been using the system to access property, sale and purchase documents while travelling abroad.

"In the past, I'd sometimes receive up to six different documents from Sharp Tudhope in six different envelopes in one day," he said. "That was neither efficient nor environmentally friendly, whereas this new system is both."

Andy Walker, a Cucumber designer, stresses the need for simplicity and says overly complex software applications limit the benefits of technology for users. Simple, user-friendly software design was essential for clients to focus on running their businesses, not their IT systems, he said.

"It has to be, because there's heaps of very good core technology out there, but they're usually not packaged very well for the non-technical."

Tipping said the secure access system had given the company "another string to our bow".

It's a string that has led to the UK, where she said early talks to market the system were under way.

"I think there's a really big market," she said. "Everyone has a need to store information but particularly in the law and medical industry."