David Johnson, AP solutions manager, Perceptive Software
In a day and age where the corporate mantra includes: “do more with less,” “work smarter not harder,” or “Kaisen,” we still see many organizations processing accounts payable invoices the old-fashioned way. That is, many organizations still receive a majority of their invoices via paper, route them through the organization through intercompany mail--or just walking them from desk to desk, move invoices from pile to pile (waiting to be matched, matched/waiting to be entered, entered/waiting to be paid, paid/waiting to be filed, filed/hopefully to be found again).
Perhaps it’s time to say, put your money where your mouth is. Better yet, put more money on your bottom line by investing in an enterprise content management system that will make your AP processing significantly more efficient.
The Institute of Financial Operations recently conducted a survey regarding the automation of accounts payable with the results issued at their annual Fusion Conference in Orlando, Florida. According to their study, more than 75% of the respondents indicated that they receive a majority of their invoices via paper. Of those responding, 39% stated that their paper invoice volume exceeded 90% of their total volume.
When looking at the paper invoice volume, 32% indicated that their volume over the past year has not changed. When combining the following categories over the past year: slightly lower, unchanged, and slightly higher, the results showed that over 80% of paper invoice volume has essentially remained static. There appears to be no end in sight of paper invoices for these organizations.
There is a cost associated with the manual payment process too. According to this same study, 41% of respondents indicated their processing cost per invoice was $5.00 or less while 59% reported a per invoice cost in excess of $5.00. These processing costs savings do not include the potential for early payment discounts offered by vendors.
I attended Disney’s Accounts Payable Department presentation at Fusion on their world-class accounts payable processing. They reported a per invoice cost of $1.61 per invoice with the aid of automation. It’s worth noting that Disney processes in excess of 5 million invoices annually. Thus, a mere change in cost per invoice of $0.01 will affect their bottom line by $50,000.
So c’mon, do more with less and work smarter not harder, let automation bring bottom line results to your organization. Your competitors are.
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Showing posts with label document scanning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label document scanning. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The alligator and the vendor
Posted by Mark Brousseau
ibml Business Solution Consultant Curtis Williams sees an alligator up-close at Celebration, Florida, during downtime at last week's Fusion conference.
ibml Business Solution Consultant Curtis Williams sees an alligator up-close at Celebration, Florida, during downtime at last week's Fusion conference.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Make information safekeeping part of your hurricane preparations
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Forecasters at Colorado State University recently announced that the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be very active. Before the season starts, it's time for businesses to get ready, while remembering their most valuable asset: information.
"No matter the size of a company, without access to information, clients could be lost and the owner may be at risk for losing the business altogether," said Marshall Stevens, co-owner of Stevens & Stevens Business Records Management, Inc, a Florida-based records management center. "To ensure business continuity, owners should develop a disaster recovery plan to assess how they're storing and managing information. These plans can help keep a business up and running so all business functions could be handled, even without access to your facility or network."
Get prepared by considering the following:
... Location and security of your storage facility – Store information off-site in a location that's been designed to withstand high sustained winds, is located in a non-flood zone, has a secure vault and is also secured with alarms, security cameras and pass codes.
... Accessibility – Be sure you can access your information no matter the time of day or day of week.
... Document back-ups – Whether you make copies or have external hard drives, back-up files of key documents is crucial. Keep back-ups in multiple locations, so if a disaster affects your office, another copy of your information is still available.
... Alternative records storage options – Consider utilizing technology that allows files to be converted to electronic images, which are then hosted on a secure, password-protected website. So, if files are destroyed or you couldn't access your facility, information wouldn't be gone for good.
"Hurricane season can be an uneasy time, but by planning how you'll protect information now, if disaster does strike, you can focus on running your business rather than trying to pick up the pieces after the fact," said Stevens.
How does your company safeguard its information during a hurricane?
Forecasters at Colorado State University recently announced that the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season will be very active. Before the season starts, it's time for businesses to get ready, while remembering their most valuable asset: information.
"No matter the size of a company, without access to information, clients could be lost and the owner may be at risk for losing the business altogether," said Marshall Stevens, co-owner of Stevens & Stevens Business Records Management, Inc, a Florida-based records management center. "To ensure business continuity, owners should develop a disaster recovery plan to assess how they're storing and managing information. These plans can help keep a business up and running so all business functions could be handled, even without access to your facility or network."
Get prepared by considering the following:
... Location and security of your storage facility – Store information off-site in a location that's been designed to withstand high sustained winds, is located in a non-flood zone, has a secure vault and is also secured with alarms, security cameras and pass codes.
... Accessibility – Be sure you can access your information no matter the time of day or day of week.
... Document back-ups – Whether you make copies or have external hard drives, back-up files of key documents is crucial. Keep back-ups in multiple locations, so if a disaster affects your office, another copy of your information is still available.
... Alternative records storage options – Consider utilizing technology that allows files to be converted to electronic images, which are then hosted on a secure, password-protected website. So, if files are destroyed or you couldn't access your facility, information wouldn't be gone for good.
"Hurricane season can be an uneasy time, but by planning how you'll protect information now, if disaster does strike, you can focus on running your business rather than trying to pick up the pieces after the fact," said Stevens.
How does your company safeguard its information during a hurricane?
Monday, January 17, 2011
Leveraging MFPs to drive process improvements
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Multi-function printers (MFPs) – devices that can print, fax, copy and scan documents – continue to experience tremendous growth, Daniel Schmidt, product marketing manager, Kofax, told attendees at Kofax Transform 2011 Americas this morning in San Diego.
Schmidt cited statistics from IDC that the MFP market grew by 18 and 22 percent last year, representing a total market of 13 million MFP devices, compared to just 800,000 document scanners.
Despite this tremendous growth, most organizations have an opportunity to further reduce their operations costs by leveraging and extending MFPs as part of their business processes, Schmidt said.
Realizing these costs savings, Schmidt said, are as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Consolidate control of MFPs.
2. Leverage MFPs for distributed scanning.
3. Integrate MFPs into a scan-to-process initiative.
Consolidate
At most organizations, MFPs are fax-enabled via individual telephone lines, Roman Swoboda, vice president, business communications, Kofax told attendees. In cases where a company has thousands of deployed MFPs – possibly across the globe – this means thousands of individual telephone lines.
Swoboda said this type of MFP deployment creates a number of issues, including the tremendous costs associated with the individual phone lines (a single line costs up to $500, Swoboda noted), the lack of document tracking and archival, and the limited security over who can send faxes and where.
“A better approach is to connect the MFPs to a centralized infrastructure where faxes are sent in a consolidated and very structured way,” Swoboda said. This offers a number of advantages, including improved tracking and compliance, lower costs (fewer “trunk lines”), and the ability to leverage a consolidated platform. One company that consolidated its MFP infrastructure was able to eliminate up to two-thirds of its analog lines, delivering payback in six to eight months, Swoboda said.
Optimize
Another opportunity for improving MFP deployments is to extend the process to create searchable PDFs, as well as documents that can be archived. Schmidt suggested companies scan documents in remote offices and send them to a central archive. This reduces the costs of transporting documents between locations, eliminates the opportunity for lost document, improves information security, and enables the end-user to leverage all of the benefits of data capture, including bar code recognition.
Integrate
To maximize their MFP deployments, organizations should integrate the devices with their business processes. Schmidt said this approach can reduce processing time from days to minutes, in turn, providing more timely information that can enhance customer service. It also lowers processing costs, including labor and shipping costs; creates an audit trail for tracking documents end-to-end and improving compliance efforts; and improves security, providing complete document control.
What do you think?
Multi-function printers (MFPs) – devices that can print, fax, copy and scan documents – continue to experience tremendous growth, Daniel Schmidt, product marketing manager, Kofax, told attendees at Kofax Transform 2011 Americas this morning in San Diego.
Schmidt cited statistics from IDC that the MFP market grew by 18 and 22 percent last year, representing a total market of 13 million MFP devices, compared to just 800,000 document scanners.
Despite this tremendous growth, most organizations have an opportunity to further reduce their operations costs by leveraging and extending MFPs as part of their business processes, Schmidt said.
Realizing these costs savings, Schmidt said, are as easy as 1-2-3:
1. Consolidate control of MFPs.
2. Leverage MFPs for distributed scanning.
3. Integrate MFPs into a scan-to-process initiative.
Consolidate
At most organizations, MFPs are fax-enabled via individual telephone lines, Roman Swoboda, vice president, business communications, Kofax told attendees. In cases where a company has thousands of deployed MFPs – possibly across the globe – this means thousands of individual telephone lines.
Swoboda said this type of MFP deployment creates a number of issues, including the tremendous costs associated with the individual phone lines (a single line costs up to $500, Swoboda noted), the lack of document tracking and archival, and the limited security over who can send faxes and where.
“A better approach is to connect the MFPs to a centralized infrastructure where faxes are sent in a consolidated and very structured way,” Swoboda said. This offers a number of advantages, including improved tracking and compliance, lower costs (fewer “trunk lines”), and the ability to leverage a consolidated platform. One company that consolidated its MFP infrastructure was able to eliminate up to two-thirds of its analog lines, delivering payback in six to eight months, Swoboda said.
Optimize
Another opportunity for improving MFP deployments is to extend the process to create searchable PDFs, as well as documents that can be archived. Schmidt suggested companies scan documents in remote offices and send them to a central archive. This reduces the costs of transporting documents between locations, eliminates the opportunity for lost document, improves information security, and enables the end-user to leverage all of the benefits of data capture, including bar code recognition.
Integrate
To maximize their MFP deployments, organizations should integrate the devices with their business processes. Schmidt said this approach can reduce processing time from days to minutes, in turn, providing more timely information that can enhance customer service. It also lowers processing costs, including labor and shipping costs; creates an audit trail for tracking documents end-to-end and improving compliance efforts; and improves security, providing complete document control.
What do you think?
Information explosion driving capture growth
Posted by Mark Brousseau
There continues to be an enormous explosion of information, Alan Kerr, executive vice president of field operations, Kofax, said this morning during Kofax Transform 2011 Americas in San Diego. There also are “more and more ways” that information is coming into an organization, Kerr added.
It’s for these reasons that capture solutions are becoming more strategic, Kerr said. “People have to be able to increase service, meet compliance demands, and take costs out of the business,” Kerr said.
Not surprisingly, Kofax thinks the future is bright for capture solutions. “The capture market is about $2 billion a year and is expected to grow at an 11 percent compound annual growth rate through 2013,” Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish told attendees during his opening address.
Why the growth in capture solutions? Bish identified several driving factors:
… “As we improve our products, we continue to growth the market,” he said.
… “There is an increasing realization on the part of our customers that the paper will not go away,” Bish said. “Users have concluded that the only way to make it go away is to scan it.”
… “Paper is a compliance risk,” he noted.
… “There is a desire to convert all of that unstructured content into accessible information,” Bish said.
… “We have seeded the market for enterprise solutions with our tactical installations,” he said.
… “We can deliver proven short-term return on investments, often through the elimination of manual processes,” Bish said.
The growth of capture solutions represents “a lot of potential, as well as some challenges,” for Kofax Transform 2011 Americas attendees, Bish said.
For end-users, the challenge is to unlock the data stuck in their paper-driven business processes. “Improving business processes starts with information,” Kerr noted. “How do you capture this information? How do you transform it to make it useful? And how do you exchange it across the enterprise?”
For their part, capture vendors have to be able to provide departmental solutions, enterprise solutions, big batch back-office solutions, and knowledge solutions, Kerr said. “You have to be able to scale up and across. You must also be able to support global capabilities,” Kerr added.
So what else are end-users looking for from a capture solutions provider? Kerr said there are several key criteria:
… Partners that understand the end-user’s business problems and enterprise
… A financially stable company that is investing in the marketplace
… A strategic business relationship
… Return on investment
Against this backdrop, Bish concluded: “I really believe that the future is really bright here at Kofax and there is a tremendous opportunity for us to engage with end-users and our channel partners.”
What do you think?
There continues to be an enormous explosion of information, Alan Kerr, executive vice president of field operations, Kofax, said this morning during Kofax Transform 2011 Americas in San Diego. There also are “more and more ways” that information is coming into an organization, Kerr added.
It’s for these reasons that capture solutions are becoming more strategic, Kerr said. “People have to be able to increase service, meet compliance demands, and take costs out of the business,” Kerr said.
Not surprisingly, Kofax thinks the future is bright for capture solutions. “The capture market is about $2 billion a year and is expected to grow at an 11 percent compound annual growth rate through 2013,” Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish told attendees during his opening address.
Why the growth in capture solutions? Bish identified several driving factors:
… “As we improve our products, we continue to growth the market,” he said.
… “There is an increasing realization on the part of our customers that the paper will not go away,” Bish said. “Users have concluded that the only way to make it go away is to scan it.”
… “Paper is a compliance risk,” he noted.
… “There is a desire to convert all of that unstructured content into accessible information,” Bish said.
… “We have seeded the market for enterprise solutions with our tactical installations,” he said.
… “We can deliver proven short-term return on investments, often through the elimination of manual processes,” Bish said.
The growth of capture solutions represents “a lot of potential, as well as some challenges,” for Kofax Transform 2011 Americas attendees, Bish said.
For end-users, the challenge is to unlock the data stuck in their paper-driven business processes. “Improving business processes starts with information,” Kerr noted. “How do you capture this information? How do you transform it to make it useful? And how do you exchange it across the enterprise?”
For their part, capture vendors have to be able to provide departmental solutions, enterprise solutions, big batch back-office solutions, and knowledge solutions, Kerr said. “You have to be able to scale up and across. You must also be able to support global capabilities,” Kerr added.
So what else are end-users looking for from a capture solutions provider? Kerr said there are several key criteria:
… Partners that understand the end-user’s business problems and enterprise
… A financially stable company that is investing in the marketplace
… A strategic business relationship
… Return on investment
Against this backdrop, Bish concluded: “I really believe that the future is really bright here at Kofax and there is a tremendous opportunity for us to engage with end-users and our channel partners.”
What do you think?
Kofax kicks off its Transform event with some news
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Kofax Transform 2011 Americas opened with breaking news this morning as Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish announced the sale of the company’s European hardware business to Hannover Finanze, a private equity firm in Germany. The hardware business represented about one-third of Kofax’s total revenues. Bish told attendees that he signed the paperwork for the transaction over the weekend.
“Since all of that hardware business is conducted in EMEA, it won’t affect anything in the Americas,” Bish told the announced crowd of 650 here in San Diego. About a year ago Kofax announced that it was exploring whether to sell its hardware business. The increasingly competitive market for hardware in EMEA, and the company’s desire to focus more closely on its fast-growing software business were key factors in that decision. The transaction is expected to close in March.
Kofax also announced plans today to restructure its EMEA software business. “This will not affect how we engage with channel partners or end-users,” Bish explained. “It will be business as usual.”
Bish summed up the announcements by stating: “As a result of these moves, there’s a whole lot to be excited about at Kofax in addition to everything else that we’ve accomplished in the past year.”
Among the company’s achievements in the past year cited by Bish:
… Kofax added more than 1,900 new customers
… The company closed many more enterprise sales, including 17 deals worth more than $500,000 -- up from 10 the prior year – and nine deals worth more than $1 million – up from five in the prior year
… Kofax closed the two largest sales in the company’s history, including one worth $5.9 million to a leading global freight company and another worth $4.4 million to a major financial services firm
… The company launched eight new software products
… Kofax finished upgrading its executive management team
… The company’s overall market share increased from 10 percent in 2008 to 11 percent in 2009, according to data from Harvey Spencer Associates
… Kofax maintained its leadership position in image capture with a 25 percent share, according to data from Harvey Spencer Associates
What do you think?
Kofax Transform 2011 Americas opened with breaking news this morning as Kofax CEO Reynolds Bish announced the sale of the company’s European hardware business to Hannover Finanze, a private equity firm in Germany. The hardware business represented about one-third of Kofax’s total revenues. Bish told attendees that he signed the paperwork for the transaction over the weekend.
“Since all of that hardware business is conducted in EMEA, it won’t affect anything in the Americas,” Bish told the announced crowd of 650 here in San Diego. About a year ago Kofax announced that it was exploring whether to sell its hardware business. The increasingly competitive market for hardware in EMEA, and the company’s desire to focus more closely on its fast-growing software business were key factors in that decision. The transaction is expected to close in March.
Kofax also announced plans today to restructure its EMEA software business. “This will not affect how we engage with channel partners or end-users,” Bish explained. “It will be business as usual.”
Bish summed up the announcements by stating: “As a result of these moves, there’s a whole lot to be excited about at Kofax in addition to everything else that we’ve accomplished in the past year.”
Among the company’s achievements in the past year cited by Bish:
… Kofax added more than 1,900 new customers
… The company closed many more enterprise sales, including 17 deals worth more than $500,000 -- up from 10 the prior year – and nine deals worth more than $1 million – up from five in the prior year
… Kofax closed the two largest sales in the company’s history, including one worth $5.9 million to a leading global freight company and another worth $4.4 million to a major financial services firm
… The company launched eight new software products
… Kofax finished upgrading its executive management team
… The company’s overall market share increased from 10 percent in 2008 to 11 percent in 2009, according to data from Harvey Spencer Associates
… Kofax maintained its leadership position in image capture with a 25 percent share, according to data from Harvey Spencer Associates
What do you think?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Going Green with ECM
By Derrick Murphy of ibml
There's no doubt that reducing or eliminating paper-based processes presents clear and sizeable economic advantages. In large part, these cost savings have driven the demand for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. But digitizing paper-driven processes is also an essential component of the sustainability, or "green," initiatives now underway at companies large and small.
By its nature, ECM promotes efficiency and optimal use of resources. By replacing paper-based processing with electronic processes -- and eliminating paper-related transportation, storage and handling -- ECM solutions can help organizations more quickly realize their green initiatives.
In fact, when you consider the hefty environmental impact of office paper (the U.S. alone consumes about 100 million tons of paper each year, according to the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC), ECM is a great way to get your organization started down the path to sustainable and green practices.
ECM and the 'Green Movement'
Information and communication technology account for about 2 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Energy Information Administration. That might not seem like a lot, but it can easily be reduced. ECM solutions support green initiatives by providing users the ability to:
Reduce paper consumption -- The average worker generates an estimated 45 to 15,000 sheets of paper every day, according to the American Records Management Association (ARMA). ECM solutions allow documents to be processed, managed and stored electronically, including delivery via e-mail, which significantly reduces the amount of paper the average worker consumes each day.
Automate paper-based processes -- Compared to electronic processes, processing paper documents is slow and expensive. ARMA and IDC estimate that the average company spends between 7 to 14 percent of its total costs on document processing in a paper environment. By digitizing document-driven business processes, ECM solutions can automatically identify and route content, such as invoices requiring approval, to the appropriate users or applications, eliminating the need for transportation or multiple copies as well as downstream document storage or shredding/destruction.
Reduce document shipping -- Studies have shown that the average document in an organization is photocopied 19 times. ECM solutions allow organizations to distribute electronic documents securely via intranets, extranets and broadband connection. The more work organizations perform online, the shorter paper trail and the less waste produced. Additionally, this real-time 24/7 access enables employees to review, approve or collaborate on documents without printing or shipping.
Reduce document storage -- Storage requirements for hard copy documents double every three years, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically helps companies reduce their carbon footprint by reducing real estate/facilities needs and the associated energy consumption.
Less paper waste -- The average American office worker disposes of 100 to 200 pounds of paper per year, studies show. OB10 cites estimates that production of paper invoices would take up as much space as 10 football fields stacked 100 feet deep (and this doesn't count the storage space before they get to the landfill). ECM solutions address the paper trail that follows many people around and reduce the amount of waste employees generate as well as the energy they consume shredding.
The Financial Benefit
Each of the "green" benefits of ECM solutions mentioned above has an economic benefit:
Reduced paper consumption -- It costs almost $10,000 to fill a four-drawer file cabinet. By leveraging technologies such as e-invoicing, companies can eliminate these paper expenses. For instance, one company is saving $8,000 to $10,000 a month in paper and toner by using ECM.
Reduced document shipping -- Without an ECM solution, an organization might have to copy a document to send to various people. By sharing documents electronically, companies avoid the expenses associated with transporting documents across sites, including courier fees, postage, gas, and vehicle upkeep. Similarly, sharing documents electronically also eliminates the 280 hours per employee that ARMA and IDC say companies spend each year tracking down lost documents.
Reduced document storage -- Paper storage costs an average of $0.14 per page or $1,400 per file cabinet, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically eliminates this cost.
Less paper waste -- Digitizing documents reduces a company's costs for destruction/shredding. What's more, in a scanning environment, organizations can physically out-sort and re-use batch headers -- or eliminate them altogether depending on the scanner they use -- to reduce paper waste.
ECM in Action
These aren't hypothetical benefits. Organizations of all sizes, across industries, are achieving "green" benefits -- financial and environmental -- through digital technologies. Here are some examples:
... Banner Life Insurance eliminated the need to photocopy checks and oversized documents (to make them scanner-ready) by deploying scanners that can handle comingled documents of different sizes.
... Wyoming Medical Center (WMC) implemented a solution for scanning medical records. This will eliminate the energy consumption associated with storing its over 13 million pages of patient files in a 5,000 square-foot records room. Additionally, with all of its medical records available online, WMC no longer needs to fax information to physician offices, in turn, reducing paper consumption.
... Humana eliminated the need to insert paper separator sheets between the batches of work it scans by deploying intelligent scanners that can automatically identify different document types.
The bottom line? There's no need to worry that your organization will have to sacrifice operational efficiency or effectiveness to be environmentally friendly. ECM technology can help you do both.
What do you think?
There's no doubt that reducing or eliminating paper-based processes presents clear and sizeable economic advantages. In large part, these cost savings have driven the demand for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. But digitizing paper-driven processes is also an essential component of the sustainability, or "green," initiatives now underway at companies large and small.
By its nature, ECM promotes efficiency and optimal use of resources. By replacing paper-based processing with electronic processes -- and eliminating paper-related transportation, storage and handling -- ECM solutions can help organizations more quickly realize their green initiatives.
In fact, when you consider the hefty environmental impact of office paper (the U.S. alone consumes about 100 million tons of paper each year, according to the Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC), ECM is a great way to get your organization started down the path to sustainable and green practices.
ECM and the 'Green Movement'
Information and communication technology account for about 2 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Energy Information Administration. That might not seem like a lot, but it can easily be reduced. ECM solutions support green initiatives by providing users the ability to:
Reduce paper consumption -- The average worker generates an estimated 45 to 15,000 sheets of paper every day, according to the American Records Management Association (ARMA). ECM solutions allow documents to be processed, managed and stored electronically, including delivery via e-mail, which significantly reduces the amount of paper the average worker consumes each day.
Automate paper-based processes -- Compared to electronic processes, processing paper documents is slow and expensive. ARMA and IDC estimate that the average company spends between 7 to 14 percent of its total costs on document processing in a paper environment. By digitizing document-driven business processes, ECM solutions can automatically identify and route content, such as invoices requiring approval, to the appropriate users or applications, eliminating the need for transportation or multiple copies as well as downstream document storage or shredding/destruction.
Reduce document shipping -- Studies have shown that the average document in an organization is photocopied 19 times. ECM solutions allow organizations to distribute electronic documents securely via intranets, extranets and broadband connection. The more work organizations perform online, the shorter paper trail and the less waste produced. Additionally, this real-time 24/7 access enables employees to review, approve or collaborate on documents without printing or shipping.
Reduce document storage -- Storage requirements for hard copy documents double every three years, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically helps companies reduce their carbon footprint by reducing real estate/facilities needs and the associated energy consumption.
Less paper waste -- The average American office worker disposes of 100 to 200 pounds of paper per year, studies show. OB10 cites estimates that production of paper invoices would take up as much space as 10 football fields stacked 100 feet deep (and this doesn't count the storage space before they get to the landfill). ECM solutions address the paper trail that follows many people around and reduce the amount of waste employees generate as well as the energy they consume shredding.
The Financial Benefit
Each of the "green" benefits of ECM solutions mentioned above has an economic benefit:
Reduced paper consumption -- It costs almost $10,000 to fill a four-drawer file cabinet. By leveraging technologies such as e-invoicing, companies can eliminate these paper expenses. For instance, one company is saving $8,000 to $10,000 a month in paper and toner by using ECM.
Reduced document shipping -- Without an ECM solution, an organization might have to copy a document to send to various people. By sharing documents electronically, companies avoid the expenses associated with transporting documents across sites, including courier fees, postage, gas, and vehicle upkeep. Similarly, sharing documents electronically also eliminates the 280 hours per employee that ARMA and IDC say companies spend each year tracking down lost documents.
Reduced document storage -- Paper storage costs an average of $0.14 per page or $1,400 per file cabinet, according to ARMA and IDC. Storing documents electronically eliminates this cost.
Less paper waste -- Digitizing documents reduces a company's costs for destruction/shredding. What's more, in a scanning environment, organizations can physically out-sort and re-use batch headers -- or eliminate them altogether depending on the scanner they use -- to reduce paper waste.
ECM in Action
These aren't hypothetical benefits. Organizations of all sizes, across industries, are achieving "green" benefits -- financial and environmental -- through digital technologies. Here are some examples:
... Banner Life Insurance eliminated the need to photocopy checks and oversized documents (to make them scanner-ready) by deploying scanners that can handle comingled documents of different sizes.
... Wyoming Medical Center (WMC) implemented a solution for scanning medical records. This will eliminate the energy consumption associated with storing its over 13 million pages of patient files in a 5,000 square-foot records room. Additionally, with all of its medical records available online, WMC no longer needs to fax information to physician offices, in turn, reducing paper consumption.
... Humana eliminated the need to insert paper separator sheets between the batches of work it scans by deploying intelligent scanners that can automatically identify different document types.
The bottom line? There's no need to worry that your organization will have to sacrifice operational efficiency or effectiveness to be environmentally friendly. ECM technology can help you do both.
What do you think?
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The OIT booth at ARMA 2010
Jim Thumma (left), vice president of sales and marketing for Optical Image Technology, Inc. (OIT), and Vijay Magon, technical director for ccube solutions, in the OIT booth at ARMA 2010 in San Francisco.
ibml's booth at ARMA 2010
ibml's booth at ARMA 2010 this week in San Francisco. ibml was demonstrating its ImageTrac Lite scanner at the conference.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Organizations Ramp-up Records Management Technology Adoption Plans
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Enterprises plan to accelerate records management adoption in 2011, Brian W. Hill, senior analyst, Forrester Research, said today during a presentation at the ARMA Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Sixty-three percent of records management stakeholders plan to expand or roll-out new records management products in 2011, Hill said, citing the results of a study conducted by Forrester Research and ARMA. The key drivers of this growth include the need for organizations to manage a broader array of electronic content, support regulatory requirements, and ease eDiscovery pain.
Hill said records management software spending next year will top $250,000 for 17 percent of respondents to the study by Forrester Research and ARMA. “If you factor in some of the other costs associated with records management – such as change management – the figure is actually quite a bit higher,” Hill added.
While spending on records management solutions is on the upswing, satisfaction rates are declining. Fifteen percent of respondents to the study by Forrester Research and ARMA indicated that they are “very satisfied” with their records management solution – down from 23 percent the year before. “Given the maturity of records management, this is cause for concern,” Hill said, adding that there are a lot of reasons for low satisfaction. “Some of them have to do with technology, but others have to deal with people and processes, such as complex and lengthy deployments and the high costs of software and services,” Hill explained.
Synchronizing eDiscovery, records management and archiving efforts was identified as a challenge by about half of the organizations surveyed. “These handoffs are a big headache for organizations,” Hill noted.
And the problem could get worse. “Records management professionals must recognize that expected storage volumes for records systems are significant and growing fast,” Hill said. “Records management stakeholders expecting more than 50 percent storage growth may need to reset their expectations with those of IT storage stakeholders to ensure that capacity plans are appropriately aligned.”
To improve the likelihood of success for your eDiscovery program, Hill suggested the following seven habits:
Effective habit No. 1: Get executive support and build the right team.
Effective habit No. 2: Stop saving everything.
Effective habit No. 3: Streamline legal hold and look to leverage ‘early case assessment’ applications.
Effective habit No. 4: Focus on a broad array of ESI as part of your legal risk mitigation efforts.
Effective habit No. 5: Seek to rationalize systems and processes that support eDiscovery.
Effective habit No. 6: Strategically plan for global eDiscovery implications.
Effective habit No. 7: Accelerate eDiscovery program formalization.
What do you think?
Enterprises plan to accelerate records management adoption in 2011, Brian W. Hill, senior analyst, Forrester Research, said today during a presentation at the ARMA Annual Conference in San Francisco.
Sixty-three percent of records management stakeholders plan to expand or roll-out new records management products in 2011, Hill said, citing the results of a study conducted by Forrester Research and ARMA. The key drivers of this growth include the need for organizations to manage a broader array of electronic content, support regulatory requirements, and ease eDiscovery pain.
Hill said records management software spending next year will top $250,000 for 17 percent of respondents to the study by Forrester Research and ARMA. “If you factor in some of the other costs associated with records management – such as change management – the figure is actually quite a bit higher,” Hill added.
While spending on records management solutions is on the upswing, satisfaction rates are declining. Fifteen percent of respondents to the study by Forrester Research and ARMA indicated that they are “very satisfied” with their records management solution – down from 23 percent the year before. “Given the maturity of records management, this is cause for concern,” Hill said, adding that there are a lot of reasons for low satisfaction. “Some of them have to do with technology, but others have to deal with people and processes, such as complex and lengthy deployments and the high costs of software and services,” Hill explained.
Synchronizing eDiscovery, records management and archiving efforts was identified as a challenge by about half of the organizations surveyed. “These handoffs are a big headache for organizations,” Hill noted.
And the problem could get worse. “Records management professionals must recognize that expected storage volumes for records systems are significant and growing fast,” Hill said. “Records management stakeholders expecting more than 50 percent storage growth may need to reset their expectations with those of IT storage stakeholders to ensure that capacity plans are appropriately aligned.”
To improve the likelihood of success for your eDiscovery program, Hill suggested the following seven habits:
Effective habit No. 1: Get executive support and build the right team.
Effective habit No. 2: Stop saving everything.
Effective habit No. 3: Streamline legal hold and look to leverage ‘early case assessment’ applications.
Effective habit No. 4: Focus on a broad array of ESI as part of your legal risk mitigation efforts.
Effective habit No. 5: Seek to rationalize systems and processes that support eDiscovery.
Effective habit No. 6: Strategically plan for global eDiscovery implications.
Effective habit No. 7: Accelerate eDiscovery program formalization.
What do you think?
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
E-Discovery: Addressing the Risks
By Rich Walsh of Viewpointe
At the heart of many risks facing companies today lurks e-discovery – the locating and accessing of electronically stored information (ESI) for purposes of litigation. ESI can be any electronically stored information – documents, emails, databases, etc. – potentially for use as evidence by lawyers in legal cases.
Compounding the risk to companies is the volume of data subject to e-discovery. In fact, the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, a group dedicated to dealing with this problem, calls the deluge of electronically stored material used as evidence in civil actions the single biggest storyline in the legal world today.
In a recent cross-industry report commissioned by the Deloitte Forensic Center, “E-Discovery: Mitigating Risk Through Better Communication,” just 43 percent of the respondents felt that their companies were somewhat up for the e-discovery challenge. The report notes that in the e-discovery process legal, IT and other departments – those that don’t normally work together – are often thrown together “in a room” to do a difficult job under quite a bit of pressure. And with a lack of common language and systems among these groups, it only further muddies the process.
Where is all of this leading? The Deloitte report found that 49 percent of respondents expect their company’s IT department to have to work more on e-discovery efforts in the near future. So, on top of IT’s workload and limited budgets, adding new e-discovery work will further challenge their priorities. In preparation, companies will need to figure out, sooner than later, where (and even if) they have stored and can easily retrieve everything they might need to produce.
I’d love to hear from TAWPI members as how your companies may be preparing for this challenge. Any tips for colleagues? Share with us.
Rich Walsh is president, Document Archive & Repository Services at Viewpointe. He has more than 25 years of operational information technology experience.
At the heart of many risks facing companies today lurks e-discovery – the locating and accessing of electronically stored information (ESI) for purposes of litigation. ESI can be any electronically stored information – documents, emails, databases, etc. – potentially for use as evidence by lawyers in legal cases.
Compounding the risk to companies is the volume of data subject to e-discovery. In fact, the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists, a group dedicated to dealing with this problem, calls the deluge of electronically stored material used as evidence in civil actions the single biggest storyline in the legal world today.
In a recent cross-industry report commissioned by the Deloitte Forensic Center, “E-Discovery: Mitigating Risk Through Better Communication,” just 43 percent of the respondents felt that their companies were somewhat up for the e-discovery challenge. The report notes that in the e-discovery process legal, IT and other departments – those that don’t normally work together – are often thrown together “in a room” to do a difficult job under quite a bit of pressure. And with a lack of common language and systems among these groups, it only further muddies the process.
Where is all of this leading? The Deloitte report found that 49 percent of respondents expect their company’s IT department to have to work more on e-discovery efforts in the near future. So, on top of IT’s workload and limited budgets, adding new e-discovery work will further challenge their priorities. In preparation, companies will need to figure out, sooner than later, where (and even if) they have stored and can easily retrieve everything they might need to produce.
I’d love to hear from TAWPI members as how your companies may be preparing for this challenge. Any tips for colleagues? Share with us.
Rich Walsh is president, Document Archive & Repository Services at Viewpointe. He has more than 25 years of operational information technology experience.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Investment in knowledge workers critical to economic recovery
Posted by Mark Brousseau
One of the keys for economic recovery lies in aggressive investment in Social Business Systems designed to dramatically improve the productivity of middle tier knowledge workers.
That’s according to a new report by AIIM and noted author Geoffrey Moore (Dealing with Darwin, Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado, The Gorilla Game and Living on the Fault Line).
These "Systems of Engagement" enhance the ability of knowledge workers to quickly cooperate with each other in order to improve operating flexibility and customer engagement, the report says.
"We have spent the past several decades of IT investment focused on deploying 'systems of record.' These systems accomplished two important things," notes Moore. "First, they centralized, standardized, and automated business transactions on a global basis, thereby better enabling world trade. Second, they gave top management a global view of the state of the business, thereby better enabling global business management. Spending on the Enterprise Content Management technologies that are at the core of Systems of Record will continue -- and will actually expand as these solutions become more available and relevant to small and mid-sized organizations. However, there is also a new and revolutionary wave of spending emerging on Systems of Engagement -- a wave focused directly on knowledge worker effectiveness and productivity. Social Business Systems are at the heart of Systems of Engagement."
According to AIIM Chair Lynn Fraas, Vice President of Crown Partners, "Social Business Systems provide a means for organizations to build on their investment in content management solutions. Increasingly, Systems of Record have become a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for business success. In the future, organizations will differentiate themselves based on how well they deploy Social Business technologies to improve organizational flexibility and better engage customers. These Social Business technologies are transforming customer engagement through such consumer facing tools as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. They are simultaneously creating new models of employee and partner collaboration, cooperation and conversation within organizations -- models that will eventually replace e-mail as the primary means of internal collaboration."
According to Moore, "The first wave of spending left knowledge workers mostly on their own. We gave our workers laptops, connectivity, email, and the Office suite, and told them to go be more productive. The world of consumer social technology has given our workforces a taste of what is possible beyond this kind of rudimentary e-mail driven collaboration. Given the pressures that global business models are putting on collaboration and coordination across enterprise boundaries, the demand for increased capabilities is escalating rapidly. The implications of this for IT organizations and CIOs are revolutionary -- organizations need to quickly get in front of this curve or they run the risk of getting run over by it. We are on the cusp of a new wave of investment in Social Business Systems that will focus on providing knowledge workers with the tools to collaborate with a business purpose."
"We are not just talking about collaboration for collaboration's sake," concludes AIIM President John F. Mancini. "Nor are we talking about companies tentatively setting up Facebook fan sites or Twitter accounts to appear to be 'social.' We are talking about the strategic deployment of Social Business Systems that can help organizations improve the flexibility and responsiveness of their core processes and be more responsive to customers. As organizations implement these Social Business Systems, they need to meet three criteria: 1) How to do so quickly; 2) How to do so responsibly; and 3) How to do so in a way that achieves a business purpose."
What do you think?
One of the keys for economic recovery lies in aggressive investment in Social Business Systems designed to dramatically improve the productivity of middle tier knowledge workers.
That’s according to a new report by AIIM and noted author Geoffrey Moore (Dealing with Darwin, Crossing the Chasm, Inside the Tornado, The Gorilla Game and Living on the Fault Line).
These "Systems of Engagement" enhance the ability of knowledge workers to quickly cooperate with each other in order to improve operating flexibility and customer engagement, the report says.
"We have spent the past several decades of IT investment focused on deploying 'systems of record.' These systems accomplished two important things," notes Moore. "First, they centralized, standardized, and automated business transactions on a global basis, thereby better enabling world trade. Second, they gave top management a global view of the state of the business, thereby better enabling global business management. Spending on the Enterprise Content Management technologies that are at the core of Systems of Record will continue -- and will actually expand as these solutions become more available and relevant to small and mid-sized organizations. However, there is also a new and revolutionary wave of spending emerging on Systems of Engagement -- a wave focused directly on knowledge worker effectiveness and productivity. Social Business Systems are at the heart of Systems of Engagement."
According to AIIM Chair Lynn Fraas, Vice President of Crown Partners, "Social Business Systems provide a means for organizations to build on their investment in content management solutions. Increasingly, Systems of Record have become a necessary but not sufficient prerequisite for business success. In the future, organizations will differentiate themselves based on how well they deploy Social Business technologies to improve organizational flexibility and better engage customers. These Social Business technologies are transforming customer engagement through such consumer facing tools as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. They are simultaneously creating new models of employee and partner collaboration, cooperation and conversation within organizations -- models that will eventually replace e-mail as the primary means of internal collaboration."
According to Moore, "The first wave of spending left knowledge workers mostly on their own. We gave our workers laptops, connectivity, email, and the Office suite, and told them to go be more productive. The world of consumer social technology has given our workforces a taste of what is possible beyond this kind of rudimentary e-mail driven collaboration. Given the pressures that global business models are putting on collaboration and coordination across enterprise boundaries, the demand for increased capabilities is escalating rapidly. The implications of this for IT organizations and CIOs are revolutionary -- organizations need to quickly get in front of this curve or they run the risk of getting run over by it. We are on the cusp of a new wave of investment in Social Business Systems that will focus on providing knowledge workers with the tools to collaborate with a business purpose."
"We are not just talking about collaboration for collaboration's sake," concludes AIIM President John F. Mancini. "Nor are we talking about companies tentatively setting up Facebook fan sites or Twitter accounts to appear to be 'social.' We are talking about the strategic deployment of Social Business Systems that can help organizations improve the flexibility and responsiveness of their core processes and be more responsive to customers. As organizations implement these Social Business Systems, they need to meet three criteria: 1) How to do so quickly; 2) How to do so responsibly; and 3) How to do so in a way that achieves a business purpose."
What do you think?
Thursday, October 7, 2010
26 Tips to Remember When Classifying Documents
By Jim Thumma
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Optical Image Technology
Before the inception of electronic document management (EDM), most of us organized documents alphabetically by subject. As EDM continues to redefine how we file and store important information—classifying documents by their type and use or by vital content that can be searched—alpha listings are slowly become obsolete. Yet humans often learn best by association. Thus, this alpha listing seems a viable way to provide useful tips for transitioning from a paper-based filing system to electronically indexed documents. The path is fairly straightforward, but unseen obstacles can play havoc with your intent.
With this cursory nod to the past and both eyes fixed on your future, we’re sharing our experience helping customers in the form of 26 ‘directives’. A bit presumptuous, perhaps? Maybe. After all, we can’t make you take these steps, but if you do, you’ll be off to a good start. If you don’t, well… that’s for another article. Take heed!
Analyze your document types. Who will use each? Which content is important to each type of end user in your department? Which content is valuable to users in other areas of the business?
Be a good listener. If you want your business to run smoothly, vital content must be available to the right people when they need it. To build a strong indexing plan, listen first and make decisions later.
Classify your information with process automation in mind. Which routine processes depend on each document type? What content must be available, and at what point in each process is it needed?
Don’t under- or over-index. Indexing too little information makes future search challenging or futile. Classifying extraneous information that no one cares about makes searches slow and cumbersome.
Educate your end users. Show them how EDM will help them to succeed in their jobs. Fear breeds doubt; insecurity promotes lackluster projects. Address users’ fears. Provide sufficient training.
Find an indexing structure that meets your needs. Should searches return direct hits or just narrow your search results? Consider your resources. Simplified indexing schemes help if resources are stretched.
Give workers adequate time for training. Although a configurable and user-friendly solution should demand minimal schooling, everyone’s needs are different. Hire temporary help to get other jobs done.
Hire outside know-how where you need it. Some vendors and consultants conduct document inventories, create indexing schemes, and more. Know your limitations. Plan accordingly.
Identify which documents are non-essential. If a doc type isn’t needed for business, legal, historical, or reference purposes, it’s probably not worth keeping. Streamline the clutter before you start indexing.
Join in the conversation. Employees need to see their managers stand behind and support document management projects they are expected to embrace. Don’t be invisible. Show enthusiasm.
Keep pace with project timelines. Everyday fires of business can draw workers away from a project. As business needs continue to advance and change, your project may risk becoming irrelevant.
Leverage all available resources to support discoverability. Capture and index pertinent emails, faxes, images, and documents into EDM. Indexing documents into one central repository eases search.
Minimize manual data entry. Wherever you can, standardize and automate indexing using data captured in document scans, bar codes, and online forms. This reduces the likelihood of human errors.
Note who needs access to which information and decide how they will be able to use it. Consider who should be allowed to list, amend, annotate, save, or delete documents. Configure security accordingly.
Organize documents by type. Use batch scanning to save time. Before indexing, consider whether each type should be scanned as-is, or whether pages should be combined or split into multiple documents.
Populate from existing sources and third-party apps such as customer/vendor databases and accounting systems. Re-use data during indexing to reduce duplication and conflicting or erroneous information.
Question your document types as well as your mode of filing them. Work with employees to determine more effective ways to file, search, and retrieve. Don’t assume the status quo still makes sense.
Remember that reports require specific content. Legislative requirements, audits, and quality control reports may require data you otherwise wouldn’t consider indexing. Revise your plans accordingly.
Standardize data collection by providing drop-down boxes, tips for data entry (i.e., the correct format for a date or number sequence), etc., to encourage accurate input. Your end users will appreciate it.
Test-drive your file plan parallel to existing systems before going fully digital. Ensure diverse users can find documents and information they need to work efficiently. Adjust your indexing scheme if needed.
Unearth inconsistencies between departments regarding data collection practices. Are middle names or initials used? Are PIN numbers a separate field or concatenated with last names? Standardize. Now.
Verify questionable scans and imported files immediately. Quality systems should identify problematic files; a smart indexing plan is worthless if it returns useless images. Re-scan/re-import, then index.
Weave an imaginary line through your business, showing where each doc type is used for decisions or processing. Understand how content is used. Then re-examine your plan to ensure successful search.
X-ray your documents: study them closely. Now is the time to streamline. Can document types be combined or eliminated to streamline data collection and reduce duplicate or conflicting information?
Yammer no more. With the advanced technology that’s available, there is no reason to lose a document…ever. Test, test, test. If you don’t get expected search results, go back to the drawing board.
Zero in on effective change management from day one. Communicate goals and plans. Collaborate. Ensure all ideas are heard. Train employees well. Mark milestones when they are met. Celebrate!
Vice President of Sales and Marketing
Optical Image Technology
Before the inception of electronic document management (EDM), most of us organized documents alphabetically by subject. As EDM continues to redefine how we file and store important information—classifying documents by their type and use or by vital content that can be searched—alpha listings are slowly become obsolete. Yet humans often learn best by association. Thus, this alpha listing seems a viable way to provide useful tips for transitioning from a paper-based filing system to electronically indexed documents. The path is fairly straightforward, but unseen obstacles can play havoc with your intent.
With this cursory nod to the past and both eyes fixed on your future, we’re sharing our experience helping customers in the form of 26 ‘directives’. A bit presumptuous, perhaps? Maybe. After all, we can’t make you take these steps, but if you do, you’ll be off to a good start. If you don’t, well… that’s for another article. Take heed!
Analyze your document types. Who will use each? Which content is important to each type of end user in your department? Which content is valuable to users in other areas of the business?
Be a good listener. If you want your business to run smoothly, vital content must be available to the right people when they need it. To build a strong indexing plan, listen first and make decisions later.
Classify your information with process automation in mind. Which routine processes depend on each document type? What content must be available, and at what point in each process is it needed?
Don’t under- or over-index. Indexing too little information makes future search challenging or futile. Classifying extraneous information that no one cares about makes searches slow and cumbersome.
Educate your end users. Show them how EDM will help them to succeed in their jobs. Fear breeds doubt; insecurity promotes lackluster projects. Address users’ fears. Provide sufficient training.
Find an indexing structure that meets your needs. Should searches return direct hits or just narrow your search results? Consider your resources. Simplified indexing schemes help if resources are stretched.
Give workers adequate time for training. Although a configurable and user-friendly solution should demand minimal schooling, everyone’s needs are different. Hire temporary help to get other jobs done.
Hire outside know-how where you need it. Some vendors and consultants conduct document inventories, create indexing schemes, and more. Know your limitations. Plan accordingly.
Identify which documents are non-essential. If a doc type isn’t needed for business, legal, historical, or reference purposes, it’s probably not worth keeping. Streamline the clutter before you start indexing.
Join in the conversation. Employees need to see their managers stand behind and support document management projects they are expected to embrace. Don’t be invisible. Show enthusiasm.
Keep pace with project timelines. Everyday fires of business can draw workers away from a project. As business needs continue to advance and change, your project may risk becoming irrelevant.
Leverage all available resources to support discoverability. Capture and index pertinent emails, faxes, images, and documents into EDM. Indexing documents into one central repository eases search.
Minimize manual data entry. Wherever you can, standardize and automate indexing using data captured in document scans, bar codes, and online forms. This reduces the likelihood of human errors.
Note who needs access to which information and decide how they will be able to use it. Consider who should be allowed to list, amend, annotate, save, or delete documents. Configure security accordingly.
Organize documents by type. Use batch scanning to save time. Before indexing, consider whether each type should be scanned as-is, or whether pages should be combined or split into multiple documents.
Populate from existing sources and third-party apps such as customer/vendor databases and accounting systems. Re-use data during indexing to reduce duplication and conflicting or erroneous information.
Question your document types as well as your mode of filing them. Work with employees to determine more effective ways to file, search, and retrieve. Don’t assume the status quo still makes sense.
Remember that reports require specific content. Legislative requirements, audits, and quality control reports may require data you otherwise wouldn’t consider indexing. Revise your plans accordingly.
Standardize data collection by providing drop-down boxes, tips for data entry (i.e., the correct format for a date or number sequence), etc., to encourage accurate input. Your end users will appreciate it.
Test-drive your file plan parallel to existing systems before going fully digital. Ensure diverse users can find documents and information they need to work efficiently. Adjust your indexing scheme if needed.
Unearth inconsistencies between departments regarding data collection practices. Are middle names or initials used? Are PIN numbers a separate field or concatenated with last names? Standardize. Now.
Verify questionable scans and imported files immediately. Quality systems should identify problematic files; a smart indexing plan is worthless if it returns useless images. Re-scan/re-import, then index.
Weave an imaginary line through your business, showing where each doc type is used for decisions or processing. Understand how content is used. Then re-examine your plan to ensure successful search.
X-ray your documents: study them closely. Now is the time to streamline. Can document types be combined or eliminated to streamline data collection and reduce duplicate or conflicting information?
Yammer no more. With the advanced technology that’s available, there is no reason to lose a document…ever. Test, test, test. If you don’t get expected search results, go back to the drawing board.
Zero in on effective change management from day one. Communicate goals and plans. Collaborate. Ensure all ideas are heard. Train employees well. Mark milestones when they are met. Celebrate!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Optimizing document scanning
Posted by Mark Brousseau
In spite of the tremendous growth of document imaging over the past decade, half of the companies that responded to a recent TAWPI Question of the Week (www.tawpi.org) admit that their organization images 30 percent or less of their documents and forms that could be usefully scanned.
Based on the survey results, these organizations are badly lagging their peers that have adopted document imaging in a big way: 17 percent of survey respondents indicated that they scan 75 percent of their documents and forms while 33 percent of respondents said they scan all of their documents.
Overall, the survey results illustrate that there is plenty of potential growth for document imaging, explains Derrick Murphy (dmurphy@ibml.com), president and CEO of ibml (www.ibml.com).
Murphy attributes the slow adoption of scanning by some companies to the perceived (or actual) complications of deploying an integrated document imaging solution, and the change management associated with it. "Process change scares some people more than new technology," he explains.
But Murphy believes that more companies will take a fresh look at their document imaging initiatives as the economy emerges from the recession. "They'll re-evaluate imaging for all of the reasons vendors like ibml have talked about over the years: accelerating access to critical information, re-balancing their labor force, improving customer service, and lowering operating costs," Murphy says.
"Now is a good time to invest in capital assets that better position your organization to take advantage of the inevitable economic turnaround," Murphy concludes. "Companies that aren't prepared to take advantage of the turnaround risk falling behind their forward-thinking competitors."
What do you think?
In spite of the tremendous growth of document imaging over the past decade, half of the companies that responded to a recent TAWPI Question of the Week (www.tawpi.org) admit that their organization images 30 percent or less of their documents and forms that could be usefully scanned.
Based on the survey results, these organizations are badly lagging their peers that have adopted document imaging in a big way: 17 percent of survey respondents indicated that they scan 75 percent of their documents and forms while 33 percent of respondents said they scan all of their documents.
Overall, the survey results illustrate that there is plenty of potential growth for document imaging, explains Derrick Murphy (dmurphy@ibml.com), president and CEO of ibml (www.ibml.com).
Murphy attributes the slow adoption of scanning by some companies to the perceived (or actual) complications of deploying an integrated document imaging solution, and the change management associated with it. "Process change scares some people more than new technology," he explains.
But Murphy believes that more companies will take a fresh look at their document imaging initiatives as the economy emerges from the recession. "They'll re-evaluate imaging for all of the reasons vendors like ibml have talked about over the years: accelerating access to critical information, re-balancing their labor force, improving customer service, and lowering operating costs," Murphy says.
"Now is a good time to invest in capital assets that better position your organization to take advantage of the inevitable economic turnaround," Murphy concludes. "Companies that aren't prepared to take advantage of the turnaround risk falling behind their forward-thinking competitors."
What do you think?
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Capture 2011: From Imaging to Archive
Coming in Early 2011 -- Actionable ideas for improving document-driven business applications!
TAWPI, IAPP and IARP have joined forces to create Capture 2011 – the premier event on complex data capture and transactional content management. This one-of-a-kind event focuses on emerging technologies and best practices for the automation of critical document-driven applications such as: invoice processing, order entry, application processing, loan processing, tax processing, healthcare payments processing, mailroom automation, payments and more!
Through end-user case study presentations, interactive panel discussions, and visionary keynote presentations, attendees will gain actionable strategies for improving business outcomes in document-driven applications. The event also will feature valuable networking opportunities, and an expo hall in which attendees can see data capture and transactional content management technologies and services firsthand.
Topics covered will include:
• Complex data capture
• Content management
• Workflow/decisioning
• Enterprise data capture
• Information archive/storage/delivery
• Data security/privacy/compliance
• SharePoint optimization
Vertical markets covered:
• Banking/financial services
• Insurance
• Government
• Healthcare
• Service bureaus
• Utilities/telcos
• Retail/mail order
• And more!
Capture 2011 will be an unparalleled event for professionals responsible for managing document-driven business applications. Don’t miss it!
For more details, visit www.tawpi.org or www.iappnet.org.
TAWPI, IAPP and IARP have joined forces to create Capture 2011 – the premier event on complex data capture and transactional content management. This one-of-a-kind event focuses on emerging technologies and best practices for the automation of critical document-driven applications such as: invoice processing, order entry, application processing, loan processing, tax processing, healthcare payments processing, mailroom automation, payments and more!
Through end-user case study presentations, interactive panel discussions, and visionary keynote presentations, attendees will gain actionable strategies for improving business outcomes in document-driven applications. The event also will feature valuable networking opportunities, and an expo hall in which attendees can see data capture and transactional content management technologies and services firsthand.
Topics covered will include:
• Complex data capture
• Content management
• Workflow/decisioning
• Enterprise data capture
• Information archive/storage/delivery
• Data security/privacy/compliance
• SharePoint optimization
Vertical markets covered:
• Banking/financial services
• Insurance
• Government
• Healthcare
• Service bureaus
• Utilities/telcos
• Retail/mail order
• And more!
Capture 2011 will be an unparalleled event for professionals responsible for managing document-driven business applications. Don’t miss it!
For more details, visit www.tawpi.org or www.iappnet.org.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Capture users eye data extraction and document classification improvements
By Mark Brousseau
When it comes to enterprise capture, end users cite data extraction as the most important process to automate. A whopping 60 percent of respondents to a recent TAWPI Question of the Week identified data capture as the most important step to automate, far outpacing classification/sorting and integration with business processes, which were each identified by 20 percent of respondents.
None of the survey respondents saw filing/archival or data validation as important to automate.
Derrick Murphy (dmurphy@ibml.com), president and CEO of ibml (www.ibml.com), a Birmingham, AL-based document scanning solutions provider, isn't surprised by the survey results. "Data extraction and classification probably offer the greatest opportunities for cost reductions in the enterprise capture process," Murphy says. "By automating data extraction, users can reduce the amount of manual intervention required for data entry and quality control. And the more you can classify automatically, the less pre-sorting of documents is required. This results in decreased document preparation, lower operations costs, and fewer delays in getting documents scanned."
Murphy also sees value in integrating enterprise capture with legacy business processes to reduce or eliminate exceptions and special handling, and to accelerate access to mission-critical information.
What aspect of the capture process is the most important to automate in your operation?
When it comes to enterprise capture, end users cite data extraction as the most important process to automate. A whopping 60 percent of respondents to a recent TAWPI Question of the Week identified data capture as the most important step to automate, far outpacing classification/sorting and integration with business processes, which were each identified by 20 percent of respondents.
None of the survey respondents saw filing/archival or data validation as important to automate.
Derrick Murphy (dmurphy@ibml.com), president and CEO of ibml (www.ibml.com), a Birmingham, AL-based document scanning solutions provider, isn't surprised by the survey results. "Data extraction and classification probably offer the greatest opportunities for cost reductions in the enterprise capture process," Murphy says. "By automating data extraction, users can reduce the amount of manual intervention required for data entry and quality control. And the more you can classify automatically, the less pre-sorting of documents is required. This results in decreased document preparation, lower operations costs, and fewer delays in getting documents scanned."
Murphy also sees value in integrating enterprise capture with legacy business processes to reduce or eliminate exceptions and special handling, and to accelerate access to mission-critical information.
What aspect of the capture process is the most important to automate in your operation?
Monday, July 5, 2010
Digitizing records is an untapped opportunity for many organizations
Posted by Mark Brousseau
In a recent document management industry survey sponsored by Oce Business Services, 83 percent of respondents indicated that their organization has a records management program in place. However, only 10 percent of the executives surveyed said their company's program included an integrated electronic records repository. This indicates that integrating digital processes and technology into their records programs could be an untapped opportunity for many companies.
Today's challenging business environment includes stringent statutory and regulatory mandates from a host of entities that require following specific processes. Digitizing business records – when implemented in an organized fashion using best practices – can help ensure that records are easily retrievable, storage costs are under control, legal discovery costs are mitigated and the organization is compliant.
An effective electronic document management program spans the capture, management, storage, preservation, and delivery of document images. Oce highlights the following key steps for developing and designing a thorough document capture process.
Sorting and Preparing
Sorting and preparing sets the stage for efficiently digitizing hard copy documents. In these steps, documents are sorted into a logical sequence to ensure that they are properly identified and routed for the capture process. Developing and implementing a logical sort sequence enables organizations to maximize the scanning process, insure intelligent distribution of images, and enhance future retrieval requirements. During this process technologies such as barcodes can be applied to reduce manual intervention and automate workflow processes, record retention, and image retrieval. Document preparation helps ensure that there are no obstacles present to interfere with maximum document processing.
Scanning
The preparation process is designed to make sure that documents will be transported through the scanner cleanly and efficiently. Using the proper equipment is important to this step. Scanner manufacturers provide a rated processing speed for each model they produce. When determining the proper scanner to use, organizations should consider the number of separator sheets that will be inserted in order to estimate the true volume and speed of the scanning process. (Separator sheets are pre-printed sheets of paper that have codes on them. Each time the scanning software encounters a separator sheet, it creates a separate document containing the pages found under it.) Other determining factors include size of paper to be scanned, simplex (one-sided page) versus duplex (two-sided page) scanning, and color requirements.
Indexing
The final step of the capture process is indexing. This is the process of assigning metadata (defined as data about data) to each image file. This metadata can be applied in a multitude of ways. One is manual data entry, which entails viewing the images and manually typing in certain metadata residing on the electronic image. Another method is using OCR (optical character recognition) software, which extracts certain data elements from the images and then applies this metadata to the image file. This eliminates possible operator error and improves metadata accuracy. A third approach is to employ technology that reads a barcode, a unique label on the document containing data that can be read by a computer.
In a recent document management industry survey sponsored by Oce Business Services, 83 percent of respondents indicated that their organization has a records management program in place. However, only 10 percent of the executives surveyed said their company's program included an integrated electronic records repository. This indicates that integrating digital processes and technology into their records programs could be an untapped opportunity for many companies.
Today's challenging business environment includes stringent statutory and regulatory mandates from a host of entities that require following specific processes. Digitizing business records – when implemented in an organized fashion using best practices – can help ensure that records are easily retrievable, storage costs are under control, legal discovery costs are mitigated and the organization is compliant.
An effective electronic document management program spans the capture, management, storage, preservation, and delivery of document images. Oce highlights the following key steps for developing and designing a thorough document capture process.
Sorting and Preparing
Sorting and preparing sets the stage for efficiently digitizing hard copy documents. In these steps, documents are sorted into a logical sequence to ensure that they are properly identified and routed for the capture process. Developing and implementing a logical sort sequence enables organizations to maximize the scanning process, insure intelligent distribution of images, and enhance future retrieval requirements. During this process technologies such as barcodes can be applied to reduce manual intervention and automate workflow processes, record retention, and image retrieval. Document preparation helps ensure that there are no obstacles present to interfere with maximum document processing.
Scanning
The preparation process is designed to make sure that documents will be transported through the scanner cleanly and efficiently. Using the proper equipment is important to this step. Scanner manufacturers provide a rated processing speed for each model they produce. When determining the proper scanner to use, organizations should consider the number of separator sheets that will be inserted in order to estimate the true volume and speed of the scanning process. (Separator sheets are pre-printed sheets of paper that have codes on them. Each time the scanning software encounters a separator sheet, it creates a separate document containing the pages found under it.) Other determining factors include size of paper to be scanned, simplex (one-sided page) versus duplex (two-sided page) scanning, and color requirements.
Indexing
The final step of the capture process is indexing. This is the process of assigning metadata (defined as data about data) to each image file. This metadata can be applied in a multitude of ways. One is manual data entry, which entails viewing the images and manually typing in certain metadata residing on the electronic image. Another method is using OCR (optical character recognition) software, which extracts certain data elements from the images and then applies this metadata to the image file. This eliminates possible operator error and improves metadata accuracy. A third approach is to employ technology that reads a barcode, a unique label on the document containing data that can be read by a computer.
How to communicate without saying a word
Posted by Tom Walker, portfolio manager, SAP Accounts Payable Solution, Open Text Corporation:
How to communication without saying a word?
This can be a difficult challenge in the world of Accounts Payable when working to post invoices accurately and quickly. Just accurately and quickly alone is a major task but when you add “quietly”…is it really possible?
Think of all the people involved…Accounts Payable Professionals, Approvers, Corporate Procurement, Field Procurement, Receiving, Contract Management, Master Data Management, Tax Professionals…just to name a few. There are a number of Vendors offering solutions to address the accurate and quick...although in many cases you have to decide…do you want it accurate or quick…one or the other but not both. Yet very few address the quietly issue.
Why is this important? For invoices that are received and immediately posted without any human intervention due to issues such as problem resolution or approval, communication is not a critical factor. Yet when that 80/20 rule kicks in where 20% of your invoices result in 80% of the problems, the Accounts Payable Professional must reach out and communicate. They need to communicate with the individuals that have both the knowledge and security authorization to resolve / approve invoices as required by best practice separation of duties.
As an example, in an ERP such as SAP this communication is often started by running a report such as MRBR to find invoices blocked for payment. Without a solution that includes “quietly” as a building block, the first communication triggers a barrage of activity including but not limited to emails, phone calls, entries into spreadsheets for follow up, follow up calls, making copies of invoices and pulling contracts.
So how do you add “quietly” to the process flow? You must examine the entire process flow from how you receive the invoice, how you capture the meta data at the header and line item level, how you determine if there is a problem and then who must be involved to resolve / approve. Equally important is anticipate what that person requires to complete the task…such as…access to invoice and related document images, history of others that have worked on the process including their comments, transactional data such as purchase order, goods receipt, prior postings to purchase order and options to resolution / approval.
One excellent example of a “quite” solution is provided by SAP with their SAP Invoice Management and optional OCR.
One last thought…quiet extends to reporting also…you need to anticipate the need for information related to the invoice. While invoice payment status is certainly important you must also anticipate others will want to know trends such as invoices paid without problem and if a problem…what type of problem is most common. Yet a truly quiet process goes beyond the expected reporting…the invoice occurred because of a purchase…the purchase occurred due to a larger business process such as a building project and so on. You must anticipate that others must be able to see the invoice as part of the bigger picture.
This bigger picture is ECM. You would expect that a large ERP would anticipate this more holistic requirement and SAP has also done that by providing an ECM solution through it partnership with Open Text that takes the invoice and quietly makes it available as part of the ECM big picture. This allows you to see for example all the invoices from one vendor on one project in one virtual view or to see all the invoices related to the project regardless of vendor. No longer is it required to communicate and ask the Accounts Payable Professional to accumulate all the related information and wait for a response…it is already waiting for you to access immediate and quietly.
So…accurate…quick…quiet…yes it is possible!
How to communication without saying a word?
This can be a difficult challenge in the world of Accounts Payable when working to post invoices accurately and quickly. Just accurately and quickly alone is a major task but when you add “quietly”…is it really possible?
Think of all the people involved…Accounts Payable Professionals, Approvers, Corporate Procurement, Field Procurement, Receiving, Contract Management, Master Data Management, Tax Professionals…just to name a few. There are a number of Vendors offering solutions to address the accurate and quick...although in many cases you have to decide…do you want it accurate or quick…one or the other but not both. Yet very few address the quietly issue.
Why is this important? For invoices that are received and immediately posted without any human intervention due to issues such as problem resolution or approval, communication is not a critical factor. Yet when that 80/20 rule kicks in where 20% of your invoices result in 80% of the problems, the Accounts Payable Professional must reach out and communicate. They need to communicate with the individuals that have both the knowledge and security authorization to resolve / approve invoices as required by best practice separation of duties.
As an example, in an ERP such as SAP this communication is often started by running a report such as MRBR to find invoices blocked for payment. Without a solution that includes “quietly” as a building block, the first communication triggers a barrage of activity including but not limited to emails, phone calls, entries into spreadsheets for follow up, follow up calls, making copies of invoices and pulling contracts.
So how do you add “quietly” to the process flow? You must examine the entire process flow from how you receive the invoice, how you capture the meta data at the header and line item level, how you determine if there is a problem and then who must be involved to resolve / approve. Equally important is anticipate what that person requires to complete the task…such as…access to invoice and related document images, history of others that have worked on the process including their comments, transactional data such as purchase order, goods receipt, prior postings to purchase order and options to resolution / approval.
One excellent example of a “quite” solution is provided by SAP with their SAP Invoice Management and optional OCR.
One last thought…quiet extends to reporting also…you need to anticipate the need for information related to the invoice. While invoice payment status is certainly important you must also anticipate others will want to know trends such as invoices paid without problem and if a problem…what type of problem is most common. Yet a truly quiet process goes beyond the expected reporting…the invoice occurred because of a purchase…the purchase occurred due to a larger business process such as a building project and so on. You must anticipate that others must be able to see the invoice as part of the bigger picture.
This bigger picture is ECM. You would expect that a large ERP would anticipate this more holistic requirement and SAP has also done that by providing an ECM solution through it partnership with Open Text that takes the invoice and quietly makes it available as part of the ECM big picture. This allows you to see for example all the invoices from one vendor on one project in one virtual view or to see all the invoices related to the project regardless of vendor. No longer is it required to communicate and ask the Accounts Payable Professional to accumulate all the related information and wait for a response…it is already waiting for you to access immediate and quietly.
So…accurate…quick…quiet…yes it is possible!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Improving content management
Posted by Mark Brousseau
Thinking outside the box can help organizations improve payback on their enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. Jim Bunn of ibml (jbunn@ibml.com) explains:
Great minds think alike. But, when it comes to enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, like minds can be a problem. If every organization approaches its ECM deployment the same way, using the same out-of-the-box technologies and the same old workflows, then creating exceptional results is going to be extremely difficult. The problem is compounded by the fact that many organizations don't have a thorough, in-depth understanding of their own business processes. The more a company thinks that its operations are just like any other, the more difficult it becomes to achieve new efficiencies.
To maximize payback on their ECM investments, organizations need to think outside the box by ignoring the industry groupthink and focusing on their own needs and objectives.
Starting with a clean slate
Long before they agree to their first meeting with an ECM vendor, organizations should get a handle on their operations requirements and business objectives. Additionally, they should understand all of the document types that pass through their operations and their data capture needs. Be warned: this process can be time-consuming. It will also be eye-opening. Upon closer inspection, some of your legacy processes are sure to elicit groans. But, there's nothing worse for an ECM business case than forcing inefficient manual processes into an automated workflow.
Deploying an ECM solution provides an opportunity to re-engineer business processes and eliminate some altogether. For example, take a hard look at every manual step in document preparation or image capture; start by measuring how long it takes for documents to be scanned after they have entered your company. This step will have the added benefit of allowing you to look for ROI/cost savings in your end-to-end document flow. Also, consider soliciting input from the different departments that are associated with a specific process to learn their information needs and any downstream exceptions they are seeing.
When you are researching your ECM needs, resist the temptation to cede control to your company's IT department. No one knows your business requirements better than you. Work collaboratively with IT to define system workflows to ensure that the deployed solution will meet your needs. For instance, an IT programmer is unlikely to know whether a specific work type should be routed to an individual's work queue (possibly for security/privacy reasons) or to a common operator queue. Some business users accompany their IT staff for technical training classes provided by vendors just so they know what the software is capable of. Then, they can better communicate their needs.
Think big. By definition, ECM solutions help bring down data silos and bridge information gaps. So, when you are developing your ECM initiatives, think beyond one department's needs. The combination of new integration tools and emerging technologies allows organizations to make information available to whoever needs it, quickly and securely, regardless of their location. To this end, it may make sense to leverage imaging, data capture and workflow investments to develop a shared services infrastructure where one department manages document processing for others.
Similarly, map out how documents currently enter your organization -- and who is touching them -- to determine if the information flow can be streamlined. Don't assume that distributed capture is the most efficient means of scanning documents. Many organizations are surprised by the "hidden costs" of distributed capture. Likewise, a completely centralized scanning operation may miss opportunities to expedite information capture and handling. What's important is that organizations look for a flexible scanning infrastructure with centrally managed control and reporting capabilities. In some cases, you may be able to integrate electronic forms into your automated workflow. These solutions can significantly reduce manual processing, forwarding only exceptions to operators for review.
Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate
Once you have automated your document processes, evaluate how you are doing. And then evaluate the process again. And again. It's not uncommon for business requirements (volumes, document design, etc.) to change soon after a new system is implemented. You want to be sure your ECM solution adapts as well. Consider using centralized reporting or analytics tools, real-time operations dashboards or periodic operations audits to ensure your ECM solution is still meeting your needs.
You may also want to adapt your compensation plan to reward employees for productivity and quality in the new automated document environment. Similarly, consider embracing flexible work hours -- to save labor costs and attract Blue Chip talent -- based on the needs of your operations.
With budget-strapped organizations fearful of making a misstep in new system implementations, it's easy to see how they become locked into a myopic way of seeing ECM deployments. But, that makes it hard to spot new efficiencies and pounce on opportunities for business process improvements.
The key to maximizing ECM payback is to think outside the box.
What do you think?
Thinking outside the box can help organizations improve payback on their enterprise content management (ECM) solutions. Jim Bunn of ibml (jbunn@ibml.com) explains:
Great minds think alike. But, when it comes to enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, like minds can be a problem. If every organization approaches its ECM deployment the same way, using the same out-of-the-box technologies and the same old workflows, then creating exceptional results is going to be extremely difficult. The problem is compounded by the fact that many organizations don't have a thorough, in-depth understanding of their own business processes. The more a company thinks that its operations are just like any other, the more difficult it becomes to achieve new efficiencies.
To maximize payback on their ECM investments, organizations need to think outside the box by ignoring the industry groupthink and focusing on their own needs and objectives.
Starting with a clean slate
Long before they agree to their first meeting with an ECM vendor, organizations should get a handle on their operations requirements and business objectives. Additionally, they should understand all of the document types that pass through their operations and their data capture needs. Be warned: this process can be time-consuming. It will also be eye-opening. Upon closer inspection, some of your legacy processes are sure to elicit groans. But, there's nothing worse for an ECM business case than forcing inefficient manual processes into an automated workflow.
Deploying an ECM solution provides an opportunity to re-engineer business processes and eliminate some altogether. For example, take a hard look at every manual step in document preparation or image capture; start by measuring how long it takes for documents to be scanned after they have entered your company. This step will have the added benefit of allowing you to look for ROI/cost savings in your end-to-end document flow. Also, consider soliciting input from the different departments that are associated with a specific process to learn their information needs and any downstream exceptions they are seeing.
When you are researching your ECM needs, resist the temptation to cede control to your company's IT department. No one knows your business requirements better than you. Work collaboratively with IT to define system workflows to ensure that the deployed solution will meet your needs. For instance, an IT programmer is unlikely to know whether a specific work type should be routed to an individual's work queue (possibly for security/privacy reasons) or to a common operator queue. Some business users accompany their IT staff for technical training classes provided by vendors just so they know what the software is capable of. Then, they can better communicate their needs.
Think big. By definition, ECM solutions help bring down data silos and bridge information gaps. So, when you are developing your ECM initiatives, think beyond one department's needs. The combination of new integration tools and emerging technologies allows organizations to make information available to whoever needs it, quickly and securely, regardless of their location. To this end, it may make sense to leverage imaging, data capture and workflow investments to develop a shared services infrastructure where one department manages document processing for others.
Similarly, map out how documents currently enter your organization -- and who is touching them -- to determine if the information flow can be streamlined. Don't assume that distributed capture is the most efficient means of scanning documents. Many organizations are surprised by the "hidden costs" of distributed capture. Likewise, a completely centralized scanning operation may miss opportunities to expedite information capture and handling. What's important is that organizations look for a flexible scanning infrastructure with centrally managed control and reporting capabilities. In some cases, you may be able to integrate electronic forms into your automated workflow. These solutions can significantly reduce manual processing, forwarding only exceptions to operators for review.
Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate
Once you have automated your document processes, evaluate how you are doing. And then evaluate the process again. And again. It's not uncommon for business requirements (volumes, document design, etc.) to change soon after a new system is implemented. You want to be sure your ECM solution adapts as well. Consider using centralized reporting or analytics tools, real-time operations dashboards or periodic operations audits to ensure your ECM solution is still meeting your needs.
You may also want to adapt your compensation plan to reward employees for productivity and quality in the new automated document environment. Similarly, consider embracing flexible work hours -- to save labor costs and attract Blue Chip talent -- based on the needs of your operations.
With budget-strapped organizations fearful of making a misstep in new system implementations, it's easy to see how they become locked into a myopic way of seeing ECM deployments. But, that makes it hard to spot new efficiencies and pounce on opportunities for business process improvements.
The key to maximizing ECM payback is to think outside the box.
What do you think?
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