Technical news

InterformNG2 4.4.0 was released on 31-08-2026. It carries 215 changes, and most of them are about control - who can reach what, from where, and with which credentials.

If your IT department sends you a security questionnaire once a year, this is the release that answers most of it. There are also two features customers have been asking for directly, and seven things to check before you upgrade. The full release log is on the Help Center; this is the short version.

Security comes first in this release

Secrets held in settings and workflows are now encrypted with AES-256. Values encrypted with AES-128 stay readable, so nothing stops working when you upgrade. A secret tied to a URL is bound to that URL and cannot be decrypted with a different one.

Three new controls sit with the System Admin:

• Native command execution. Off by default. It gates the “Execute native O/S command” component.
• Outbound connections. Switches off all, or some, of the components that make outbound network connections - HTTP and REST, FTP and SMB transfer, message queues, the connectors, e-mail in and out, socket and LPD printing. A blocked component shows as “blocked by security” in the workflow designer.
• Filesystem allow-list. When direct file access is allowed, this lists the paths a workflow may reach. Anything outside the list is blocked.

User passwords must now be at least 12 characters, and commonly used passwords are rejected. On a new installation the default “admin” and “default” users start with a temporary password and are forced to change it at first sign-on.

One point worth being plain about: these controls are system-wide and administrator-only, and they change nothing until someone configures them. Upgrading gives you the controls. Deciding how tightly to set them is a conversation with your administrator, and the Guide for Secure Configuration in the Help Center walks through it.

Two fixes in this release will matter to specific customers straight away. Sign-in through Entra ID or OIDC now falls back to the “upn” claim when “preferred_username” is absent, instead of failing. And importing printer definitions with an encrypted password now drops that password when it was encrypted with a key from a different tenant or installation, rather than leaving the printer list in a bad state.

Two more security changes to note: password export decryption has been removed, and the audit log now records connection tests made from tenant settings. HTTPS certificate expiry raises a notification and an e-mail warning, and for a certificate on a load balancer you can enter the expiry date in system settings to get the same warning.

If you are filling in a security questionnaire, ask us for the Software Bill of Materials and the Security Remediation Attestation. That is a faster route than working through individual fixes.

One installation, several IBM i systems

A single InterformNG2 installation can now connect to more than one IBM i system. Each connection is named, the connections live in their own system settings group, and a workflow component or a printer picks the connection it uses.

Two customers asked for this independently. Both were facing a second installation to licence, patch and monitor purely because they had a second IBM i system. If that describes your setup, you now have a reason to consolidate.

Two things to know. The connections are defined at system level rather than per tenant, and no maximum number is documented.

Alongside it, “IBM i Call Program” now supports up to 20 input parameters and 20 return parameters, both raised from 10. Workflows using 10 or fewer are unaffected. A program that needs more than 10 has to be changed and recompiled on the IBM i, and the original program object stays in place so existing installations keep running.

Modern authentication for incoming e-mail

E-mail server input can now receive mail through the MS Graph API, and IMAP input can authenticate with OAuth2. Outgoing mail is unchanged. The “To email server” component also accepts an EML payload now.

If your e-mail-driven workflows still sign in with a user name and password, this is the supported way off it. Your identity team will need to create an app registration with the right permissions - talk to us or to your partner about what that involves in your environment.

InterformNG2 as a remote output client

An InterformNG2 installation can now act as the remote output client for another InterformNG2 installation. An Entra ID app registration can be used for remote output notifications.

That opens a central-plus-satellite print setup for organisations with sites that need local printing and central control. It is an additional option: the standalone remote output client is not withdrawn.

The designers are now interactive

This is the part your template team touches every day.

The transformation designer has an interactive result view - click an element in the result and see it in context - a three-panel split of sample input, transformation and result, and validation of the transformation against Schematron, XSL or XSD. The Excel designer also gained an interactive result view, along with working cut, copy and paste shortcuts. In the template designer, the result view supports multi-selection by dragging a rectangle, table rows copy with their borders and colours, and the last edited field is reselected when you reopen a template.

One table change deserves its own line. Repeated header rows are now only added to a page if at least one regular row fits with them. A manufacturer had been hand-adjusting every outgoing quotation because header rows were landing at the foot of one page with the detail rows pushed to the next. That manual step is gone.

Answering “why is this template slow”

The template designer can now produce a performance report giving the count and timings of every XPath expression it runs. A slow template stops being a support ticket and becomes something you can diagnose yourself. The XML usage report can also be exported to a file now.

Document generation from templates using automatic page overflow was also improved. The case behind that work was documents of 1,000 pages and more using page overflow without a page break. We have not published a before-and-after figure, so treat it as an improvement rather than a number.

Also in the release

New “AES encrypt/decrypt” and “RSA-OAEP key wrap” workflow components, added to support Poland’s Krajowy System e-Faktur (KSeF), and a BASE64 option on “Calculate checksum”. These are cryptographic building blocks: KSeF authentication and submission are not part of 4.4.0. If e-invoicing is on your roadmap, the e-invoicing page covers the formats InterformNG2 handles today.

Also: an AES-256 option on the PDF protect and restrict component. JavaScript files can be edited in the library text editor. Selected resources can be exported directly from the library, and the transform library accepts uploaded XML files. System log files can be exported from the admin log viewer. A new logging option, “Log workflow input on error”, stores the workflow input payload in the job log when a workflow fails. Tenant selection at sign-on has a search function. PCL6 works for an unregistered printer using direct socket print. The global system settings “system” group is split into four - General and Administration, Workflow Capabilities, Maintenance, and IBM i Connection.

Before you upgrade

Seven items change behaviour on an existing installation. This is the list to check first, and the release log carries the detail.

• IBM i command line input. The user must now have the Webservice role. It was previously only suggested. Check the role on that user before upgrading.
• Native command execution is disabled by default. Enable it, or the “Execute native O/S command” component stops working.
• REST webservice Basic now requires a password of at least 8 characters. Before installing, add a user name and password to every workflow using this component and check the calling system works with them. A workflow left without credentials, or with a shorter password, stops working after the upgrade.
• Allow database selects now defaults to disabled. It was enabled before. Enable it if any workflow or template uses ng:databaseLookup, “From database with custom SQL” or “Database SQL Select”.
• Secrets are encrypted with a method earlier releases cannot read. On a rollback to an earlier version, re-enter every secret that was changed under 4.4.0.
• Linux installations need a change to the ExecStart property in the service file. Follow the Linux installation guide before starting the service.
• Multi-server setups using built-in authentication get a new keystore on first start. The keystore, the interformng2.privateKey environment variable and the ng2.keystore.password property must be identical on every server in the environment. Copy them from one server to the others.

Getting 4.4.0

The full release notes are in the Release log on the Help Center. Sign in there to download the release, or talk to your Interform partner. If you want to walk through the seven items above against your own configuration, ask us - that is a short conversation and it saves a long one later.

What is an Output Management solution?

Managing and distributing critical business documents—such as invoices, contracts, and reports—can slow down operations and increase the risk of errors. With large volumes of documents processed across multiple channels, businesses need a way to automate and streamline archiving, distribution, and retrieval.

Document distribution is essential to daily operations. Without it, companies cannot send invoices, share critical information with stakeholders, or deliver services effectively. In other words, this distribution is a vital component of your business infrastructure.

This is where an Output Management solution (OMS) can make a significant difference.

In this blog post, we dive into the most relevant questions about Output Management: Why is it crucial? What are the benefits of using an Output Management solution?

If you want to read more the specific output that can be generated, you can read more here.

Who benefits from Output Management solutions? 

Output Management solutions are essential for businesses that rely on applications like ERPs or CRMs to manage their operations. An OMS automates and streamlines the creation, formatting, and distribution of business-critical documents, delivering efficiency and accuracy that manual processes can’t match.

Here’s how Output Management software benefits specific industries:

• Manufacturers: Automate invoices, shipping labels, certificates of origin, and production batch documentation to ensure seamless operations and compliance with trade regulations.
• Retailers: Streamline customer communications and integrate with Point-Of-Sale (POS) systems to deliver customized printed or emailed receipts based on customer preferences or purchase history. Generate and send personalized order confirmations, distribute real-time shipping updates, and notify customers when orders are ready for pick-up. This ensures omnichannel consistency across online, mobile, and in-store channels, and can also automate VAT-compliant invoices for different countries.
• Healthcare Providers: Manage sensitive patient reports, insurance documents, and legal compliance with regulations such as HIPAA or GDPR.
• Logistics Companies: Automate shipment tracking, customs documentation, and invoice delivery to improve supply chain efficiency.

While an Output Management solution provides tailored benefits for different industries, its advantages extend to businesses of all types. Any company with an ERP system can improve efficiency, accuracy, and scalability by adopting an Output Management solution.

What about company size?  

An Output Management solution, such InterformNG2, is not just for large enterprises. At Interform, we support a diverse customer base—from small enterprises to global corporations with over 75,000 employees. InterformNG2 is designed to integrate with any existing ERP systems and scale to meet the needs of businesses of any size.

Why now?

As businesses face increasing demands for compliance, multi-channel communication, and operational efficiency, adopting an Output Management software, like InterformNG2, ensures you stay competitive through automated flows, reducing errors, and supporting scalability, to handle today’s challenges—and tomorrow’s opportunities. 

What are the economic benefits of using an Output Management solution? 

Investing in an Output Management solution delivers rapid return of Investment (ROI), particularly when your business faces one or more of the following challenges:  

• Growth and Expansion: Launching new products, entering new markets, or adopting a new visual identity often requires reformatting and redistributing critical documents. An OMS enables you to make these transitions without disrupting business operations. 
• Operational Complexity: If your business operates across multiple countries, markets or entities, managing diverse document formats can be a logistical headache. For instance, you may need to deliver PDFs to one region, invoices with specific tax formats to another, e-invoicing in certain of your markets, or shipping labels in different languages. An OMS streamlines this complexity by automating formatting and distribution to meet recipient-specific requirements. 
• Regulatory and Structural Changes: Businesses undergoing mergers, acquisitions or divestitures or those facing changes in legislation or industry standards – often need to update their document processes rapidly to remain compliant. An OMS ensures that your document flows adapt efficiently, reducing the risk of non-compliance or delays, when updating documents 
• Simplify and Consolidate with an Output Management Solution: An Output Management solution consolidates all your document and their workflow onto a single platform eliminating the need to juggle multiple systems/applications. This centralization reduces costs associated with maintaining integrations and synchronizing disparate platforms, minimizing data loss risks, and significantly lowers the likelihood of costly errors. 

By automating your printing and document management tasks, an OMS not only saves time and resources but also ensures greater accuracy and efficiency, helping your business focus on growth and innovation. 

Why Output Management solutions are crucial 

In today’s data-driven world, businesses cannot afford inefficiencies or vulnerabilities in their document flows. A document flow can result in sending incorrect invoices, or failing to deliver the service or goods you promised. All of which directly impact on your bottomline and potentially hurt your reputation or trustability.  

Output Management solutions address these challenges by:  

• Enhance operational efficiency through automation: OMS streamlines repetitive tasks, reduces manual errors, and ensures documents are delivered accurately and on time. 
• Ensure compliance and protect sensitive data: With robust data security features and compliance tools, OMS helps businesses meet regulatory requirements while safeguarding confidential information. 
• Provide scalability and resilience to support business growth and continuity: OMS supports business growth by adapting to increased document volumes and evolving requirements, ensuring continuity during periods of change.
   

By automating the management and distribution of critical documents, OMS enables businesses to operate with greater precision, agility, and security. For organizations relying on business applications like CRM or ERP-systems – or those managing complex document workflows – an OMS is not just a tool but a necessity for sustained success.  

What are the benefits of using an Output Management solution? 

Businesses across industries and sizes can reap significant benefits from an Output Management solution (OMS). While some advantages, such as efficiency and cost savings, are universal, others may vary depending on factors like industry regulations, company size, supply chain role, or geographical location. For example: 

• Industries with strict compliance requirements, such as healthcare, may see greater gains in data security. 
• Businesses with high volumes of transactional documents or operations across multiple regions can benefit from streamlined workflows and centralized management. 

1. Operational Reliability: Keeping Your Business Running Smoothly 

Operational reliability is the backbone of any successful business. Without dependable systems to manage and distribute critical documents, key processes like invoicing, compliance reporting, or shipping label generation can grind to a halt. This can lead to lost revenue, delayed services, and dissatisfied stakeholders.  

An Output Management Solution (OMS) ensures uninterrupted document workflows, even under high-pressure scenarios. By automating and standardizing processes, an OMS reduces the likelihood of errors, eliminates bottlenecks, and guarantees timely delivery of outputs. 

Analogy: Think of an Output Management solution like the plumbing in a building: when it works, everything flows without any interruption, and you barely notice it. But when it fails, the disruption is impossible to ignore. Similarly, an Output Management solution keeps your business running smoothly, ensuring critical operations proceed without a hitch. 

2. Cost Savings Through Automation 

An OMS reduces operational costs by automating repetitive document tasks such as creation, formatting, and distribution. 

Key cost-saving areas include: 

• Labor Savings: By minimizing manual interventions, businesses save on time and labor costs. 

• Error Reduction: Automation reduces the likelihood of costly mistakes like typos, miscalculations, or inconsistent branding. 

• Material and Delivery Savings: Switching to electronic delivery (PDFs or emails) cuts down on costs associated with paper, ink, postage, and traditional mailing. 

Over time, these savings compound. Freeing up resources for core business operations while mitigating indirect costs like customer service inefficiencies or compliance penalties. 

3. Multi-Channel Delivery: Meeting Diverse Customer Needs 

Modern businesses need to deliver documents in various formats—physical copies, PDFs, XMLs, or emails—depending on customer and regulatory requirements. An OMS automates the distribution process, ensuring timely and accurate delivery across all channels. 

Benefits of multi-channel delivery include: 

• Flexibility to adapt to shifting customer preferences. 
• Efficient response to regulatory changes. 
• Reduced manual errors through centralized management of delivery methods. 

By consolidating all delivery processes within a single solution, an OMS strengthens communication, streamlines workflows, and keeps businesses competitive in today’s fast-paced market. 

4. Compliance Assurance: Protecting Your Business  

For many industries, output data is a critical asset that must be protected from breaches and misuse. Healthcare providers, for instance, must safeguard patient records, while manufacturers must meet regulatory requirements for safety labels and documentation. Non-compliance can result in hefty fines, legal action, and reputational damage. An OMS provides the assurance businesses need to handle sensitive data with confidence. 

With built-in archiving, audit trails, and access control, an OMS helps businesses store and retrieve documents securely, meeting compliance requirements and protecting sensitive information. 

Built-in features like the previously mentioned protect sensitive information and prevent unauthorized access. Audit trails ensure that every document action is tracked and logged, making it easy for businesesses to demonstrate compliance with industry standards or government regulations.  

To conclude: 

An OMS delivers far-reaching benefits for businesses of all sizes and industries. By ensuring operational reliability, cutting costs through automation, enabling multi-channel delivery, and maintaining compliance, an OMS is an indispensable tool in modern document workflows. 

No matter your industry or operational complexity, an OMS empowers businesses to achieve greater efficiency, accuracy, and scalability, laying the foundation for sustained growth and success. 

Companies benefit from OMS by reducing manual tasks, increasing accuracy, and cutting down on operational costs. By automating document workflows, businesses can improve efficiency and eliminate errors associated with manual handling. Furthermore, modern Output Management solutions can help companies comply with local document regulations and create more modern print such as RFID. 

Is InterformNG2 the right Output Management solution for you? 

Interform’s Output Management solution, InterformNG2, is designed to integrated with any ERP and platform. Thereby offering businesses a scalable and secure way to automate document workflows. Discover how InterformNG2 can streamline your document workflows, reduce costs, and enhance compliance across your business. Contact us today to hear more (or fill out the form below) if InterformNG2 can fulfill your needs or you can request a demo right here

To enable ourselves, our customers and partners to identify and mitigate software security vulnerabilities and to comply with legal requirements all Interform software now includes an SBOM creation.

Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

Today, all modern software uses libraries, frameworks, code packages, and other third-party components mixed with original code to achieve a particular functionality. Therefore, a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) detailing the components in the codebase will allow for greater transparency, risk management, and impact analysis.

The concept of a Software Bill of Materials derives from the automotive industry where manufacturers maintain a detailed Bill of Materials for each vehicle. It specifies both original equipment and third-party supplier parts and if a defective part is found, the manufacturer knows exactly which vehicles are affected and can notify and repair rapidly.

Similarly, the Interform SBOM is a nested inventory of the software building blocks listing:

• Each component’s license type
• Version
• Patch status
• Dependencies between components in the software supply chain*

Why is SBOM important?

At Interform we work hard to provide our customers and partners with code that is high-quality, compliant, and secure. SBOM enables us to avoid reusing vulnerable components in our software projects and to help our customers better manage their software supply chain risk through knowledge of all Interform components and their dependencies.

Using an SBOM is also a highly effective strategy for reducing software supply chain cyberattacks, and it demonstrates compliance with data privacy regulations ensuring that the Interform solution is transparent and trackable.

With the growing complexity of software ecosystems e.g. with more distributed cloud-native applications often composed of hundreds of microservices – each with their own components and dependencies – the task of keeping one’s software portfolio secure and compliant has never been more important. If not properly managed, companies run the risk of introducing fatal security vulnerabilities.

For these reasons, we have adopted the SBOM practice and would recommend all companies select preferred software vendors who can provide their applications’ SBOMs.

If you seek more information on Software Bill of Materials, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) with the United States Department of Commerce has a good collection of materials to study.

Should you have questions about the Interform SBOM feel free to contact us directly.

*The ‘software supply chain’ of a typical app covers the components, libraries and tools that goes into building and delivering the software to customers. If any of these components have a security flaw, the impact extends to all applications using the component.