Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Distributed Capture versus Centralized Capture

Logic and research tells me that Distributed Capture and Distributed Scanning is on the rise in imaging operations across vertical markets. Really the only exception being Services Bureaus where centralized scanning makes sense. In 2006 HSA and TAWPI completed a landmark Forms Processing Study which indicated that 69% have installed and/or are planning to install distributed scanning in their imaging operations within the next 12 months while 31% have really no plans of instituting distributed scanning. MFP usage is on the rise. Everything is pointing in the distributed capture direction. Right?

Well, I got thrown for a loop this morning. Each week on TAWPI’s homepage we have a Question of the Week. Last week's question was; “Do your anticipate you capture to become increasingly centralized or increasingly distributed?” We had approximately 200 respondents answering this question. To my surprise more than 80% who responded beleived their capture in the near future will become increasingly centralized. Wait a minute here…..

Now barring someone with a serious centralized capture agenda and answering this question multiple, multiple, mutliple times. Does this make sense? These visitors to TAWPI.org are most likely the same demographic who answered our forms processing survey; senior level/executive level Operations and IT professionals involved in imaging and forms processing operations from across all verticals....My interest level in this topic has surely peaked.

It looks like the TAWPI Forum and Expo this August in Boston will need to have on the agenda a Distributed Capture versus Centralized Capture full blown shoot out. Bring your pistols….

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It could be explained
a) by a number of vendors and high volume scanner manufacturers answering the question.
b) by service bureaus answering

In the survey we deliberately excluded vendors as not being representative of end users and we overwhelmingly found that service bureaus were expecting more centralized scanning.
I believe that the economics of capture in an e-business environment means that we do not have the time to move paper.
So in environments where the paper is received centrally it will be scanned there (and users are in some cases trying to get documents delivered more to centralized sites).
In environments where the paper is delivered to localized offices, it will be scanned there.