EDITOR’S COMMENT
How document capture is
boosting digital transformation
W
hilst it is a commonly held
belief that reducing and
removing paper is a best
practice, we are still a long way from
becoming a paper-free world. 25% of the
businesses polled in the AIIM Paper-
Free in 2016, Are we there yet? Report,
indicated that they run a totally paper-free
environment, a mere 7% increase on the
previous year’s findings.
In today’s digital age, getting smarter
about data and taking steps to ensure
that information is no longer an under-
utilised asset, needs to be a high priority
on the business agenda. Organisations
should view digital transformation not
as a challenge, but as an opportunity
for them to manage information with
greater efficiency, facilitate better sharing
and collaboration, reduce costs, boost
productivity and improve the bottom line.
Here are a few tips for accelerating
digital transformation.
End-to-end Digital processes
Due to increased manual effort, paper
produces the highest costs and the largest
loss of time. In today’s era of near real-
time communication, this is no longer
viable. Take a close look at all paper-based
workflows. Most of them are recurring
routine operations, which can be easily
automated and thus made more efficient.
Input management
Create a paper firewall, so that costly
paper-based operations do not enter
into business processes in the first place.
Capturing or scanning information, at
the point it enters the organisation and
seamlessly integrating the data within
business processes and workflows, ensures
over Wi-Fi. Equipped with standard drivers,
they can be easily and securely integrated
within existing and legacy business
applications and used alongside cloud or
web-based capture applications. This new
generation of scanners can be controlled
by smartphones and tablets, but also by
permanently installed scanning solutions
and browser-based capture software, which
makes them flexible devices.
David Whitton is Regional General Manager
at Kodak Alaris Information Management
greater control, security and accessibility.
The key is to ensure that data quickly
becomes active for all employees and can
be used to drive the business forward.
Browser-based capture
Browser and mobile capture solutions
enable documents to be digitised anytime,
anywhere and across all devices. The
software runs centrally on servers, there is
no need to install on individual terminals,
meaning documents can be captured via
a browser, from within a line of business
application or using a smartphone.
Expenditure on infrastructure is reduced
and as IT support is centralised, businesses
benefit from lower operating costs and a
faster return on investment.
Freedom of Wireless scanning
Wireless scanners enable seamless
connectivity through the office network or
Decentralised capture
Historically, centralised document
capture was sufficient. However modern
working practices and trends including
Bring your own Device, which is driving
more use of mobile devices at work,
combined with customer expectations for
24/7 access and real-time communication,
has created a requirement for knowledge
workers to tap into decentralised capture
solutions. This is exactly why companies
should be leveraging new scanning
technologies and solutions that simply,
efficiently and securely integrate paper
documents directly into electronic
processes, independent of the application
or available hardware.
In conclusion, the bottom line is always
at the heart of any business decision and
any capital investment needs to be carefully
considered. However, it is important to look
at the long-term picture. We are managing
more information than ever, which
makes the requirement to create efficient
systems to handle it much more pressing.
In today’s mobile-first era, paper-based
processes are no longer viable, and forward-
thinking organisations should be digitally
transforming their information management
strategies to improve operational efficiency
and e nsure profitable growth.
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