Document Imaging Blog

If You Buy an MFP, Why Not Use It for Scanning

 
In a recent presentation, MFP Report editor Brian Bissett referenced an amazing statistic from the market research firm Power Decisions Group. He noted that, in 2008, only 33% of US organizations say they are using MFPs for distributed scanning.

Yet his own research shows that 85% of office MFPs sold in the US have some level of network scanning functionality. So the obvious question is, if you are paying for an MFP equipped with network scanning, why wouldn't you use it?

I believe many people don't understand how powerful MFP scanning can be. See my posts on the misconceptions of MFP scanning.

What do you think? Why aren't you using your MFP for document imaging? I'd love to hear from you.

Two Key Points on Document Imaging from Xerox Global Services

Xerox Global Services Vice President and GM Ashby Lowry (shown here) presented the keynote today at the Photizo Managed Print Services (MPS) conference in San Antonio. Photizo is the analyst group that was quoted in the Feb. 24 Wall Street Journal article on MPS.

In his presentation, Lowry made two key points about MFP document scanning:

1. It is the role of MPS providers to "signal" their clients to let them know when they should be scanning and not printing documents. He mentioned XGS client Microsoft as one implementation where scan to e-mail played a role in reducing the amount of material that the software company sent to landfills by 20 million tons.

2. Lowry also mentions that MPS providers must manage multi-vendor MFP implementations. If you take this point to the next logical conclusion, MPS vendors must also manage MFP scanning in multi-vendor implementations, and it would be important that the MFP scanning software work across brands. Otherwise the users will continually have to change the way they scan as they move from device to device.

The Photizo conference is very well attended given the current economic climate. There are approximately 130 people from office equipment dealers, software vendors, VADs and MPS providers attending the event, which is billed as the first ever MPS conference.

Misconceptions of MFP Scanning (Part Two)

Organizations find MFP scanning increasingly attractive because they can combine scanning, copying and printing all on one device. Doing so allows companies to buy faster, more powerful (page per minute) devices because they don’t need pay for separate devices to do each task.

But with the growth of MFP scanning, companies have questions about how it can best fit into document workflows. My last post addressed comon misconceptions in this area. Today’s post continues to look at common misconceptions of MFP scanning:

• MFPs are restricted to small-size documents. Not correct. While the MFP document feeder may restrict you to 50 or so pages, just hit the “scan more” button and you can continue scanning for any number of pages.
• Scanned images from MFPs will be much larger file sizes than images from scanners. Not true. MFP scanning software includes image compression so even color pages can be reduced to as little as 200 KB per pages while retaining sharp text and good image quality.
• You can’t create searchable PDFs with MFP scanning. Yes you can. MFP scanning software allows you to create and save PDFs that are available for text searches within documents and network folders.

Please add your comments on additional MFP scanning misconceptions you have heard.

Misconceptions of MFP Scanning

Today there are millions of MFPs populating the workplace. The ease of MFP scanning makes it attractive to everyday office professionals to add hardcopy documents to their electronic workflows.

But MFP scanning is still new to many organizations, leading to questions about whether it is possible to use MFPs the way you would standalone scanners. Here’s a look at four common misconceptions of MFP scanning:

• Scanning will create a line at the MFP. People will queue up. Not true. It takes 30 seconds to two minutes to scan almost all documents if the scanning software is properly designed, and you can scan while someone else is printing.
• You won’t be able to preview a scanned image at the MFP. Yes you can. Previewing will allow you to check the image to be sure it scanned correctly before returning to your desk.
• You can’t use barcode recognition to automate routine document scanning tasks. Not correct. For example, using barcodes during a batch process can eliminate bottlenecks with automated splitting of document batches and naming of files.
• You can't do image cleanup or drop colors out of images automatically. Yes, you can create clear, legible images from less than perfect originals on the fly with MFPs, eliminating scanning errors and saving time.
  
  Today, eCopy introduced Business Automation Services that address barcode recognition and image enhancement. You can read the news release here.
  
  Please share with us other MFP scanning misconceptions you have experienced.

WSJ: Xerox Tries to Go Beyond Copiers

In Bill Bulkeley's Feb. 24 Wall Street Journal article on Xerox and managed print services, the most telling point made in the article was "more than half of the 1.5M devices the company (Xerox) currently manages are from other vendors."

This leads me to believe that a critical consideration in the selection of MFP document scanning software is that it must operate with all the leading MFP brands. The vast majority of large organizations don't want to be locked into their MFP brands so that they can multi-source or change brands. This is one reason why Xerox and HP have been so successful with managed print services. MPS allows you to go with Xerox and still keep your non-Xerox brands. You should insist on the same flexibility when it comes to your MFP document imaging software.

MFPs and Network/Data Security

I wanted to pass along a link to a great article on MFPs and security in Computer Technology Review, written by Sharp's Vince Jannelli.  It is a very succint and well-written summary of security concerns around  MFPs and I agree with nearly everything in it.

However, I want to address the following statment that Vince made in relation to platform virus security:

"A proprietary platform is idea, since it won't be susceptible to viruses designed to attack more popular oprating systems available on personal computers."

I don't dispute the statement. But, it is important to weigh the trade offs between a proprietary platform and an open platform. While the risk of viral attack is lower because it is unlikely hackers will develop malicious code aimed at proprietary MFP platforms, the costs of managing those proprietary platforms are significant -- particularly for those companies that have mixed fleets (brands) of MFPs.

This problem is becoming more apparant as MFPs increasingly fall into the realm of IT and become increasingly integrated into business and IT infrastuctures. Some costs of proprietary platforms include:

• IT Training and Staffing costs
• Limited options fo 3rd party integrations (ISVs resist developing on proprietary  platforms unless that platform has a significant majority of marketshare)
• Integration code isn't portable to other platforms (what happens if you switch brands, or acquire a brand through M&A, etc.)

Furthermore, there are open platform solutions on the market today for MFPs that are secure and meet the criteria that Vince laid out for solutions: data security, access control, audit trails, network security, fax security and platform virus security. To read more about how these and other security concerns are addressed in an open platform, check out the white paper, Addressing Document Imaging Security Issues.

 

 

Webinar: “Paper That Works” – Wednesday, Feb. 11

Just a quick plug for a AIIM Webinar that we are co-sponsoring with EMC next Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. (EST) on the topic of Distributed Capture. Click here to register.

 

Here’s the abstract…

 

Centralized imaging of large volumes of documents can deliver tremendous cost savings for organizations. Yet, centralized paper processing is not the right answer for everyone all the time. As multi-function peripherals (and desktop scanners) have proliferated, the ability to capture paper documents at the source — getting them to work for you faster — is available to any organization. Discover how to get started with distributed capture—and why you should.

 

Hope you can join us on Wednesday, but if not, download Frost & Sullivan's white paper: Distributed Capture Platforms: Reducing Costs, Removing Bottlenexks & Mitigating Risk for more information.

LegalTech Keynote on e-Discovery and Imaging

During yesterday's LegalTech keynote given by Fred Borchardt, a Partner at KPMG for 25 years, Mr. Borchardt talked about how law firms need to shift their e-Discovery strategy "to the left" in the Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM) and take a more proactive approach to information management.  In the same speech he also mentioned how prevalent paper remains within the legal industry. 

 

 

Given the prevalence of paper in law firms, moving leftward in the reference model means law firms should scan paper documents and convert them into searchable text as early as is practicable.  The workhorse of printing and copying in many legal firms, the MFP, when outfitted with intelligently integrated scanning and OCR software will play a vital role in making this shift in electronic legal records management a reality.

Shared Scanners - When are they needed?

There was an interesting discussion on the Document Imaging Group on LinkedIn earlier this week around the following question: "Would customers be interested in a cost-effective and easy way to share a high-speed scanner over a network?"

In thinking about this, shouldn’t the question be “would customers be interested in improving the way that they incorporate paper into their business processes?”  Shared scanners, networked MFPs, non-networked desktop scanners, and operator-driven scanners, either distributed or centralized, all may have their place in many organizations. What we need to be discussing with customers is where paper intersects with business processes and what the best approach is for converting that paper to electronic form so that those processes can be improved, secured, managed and measured.

 

Instead of focusing on the technology itself, ask companies these type of questions: Where does paper enter your organization? Does it get moved physically? Does it get copied? Where does the content on that paper need to reside? Does it need to be archived?

 

Determine what the customers’ business processes are first. Then determine at what point in that business process paper can be scanned. This will tell you who should be doing the scanning, what type of scanning device is most appropriate and how the document needs to be handled once scanned (converted, OCRd, cleaned up, named, routed, etc.). Once you know this, look for a document imaging solution that can provide a common interface and process for employees regardless of the device (scanner, MFP) or brand. Give users a common interface and the ability to get paper-based content directly into the systems that process that information -- in the format that is needed -- and you will be delivering serious, measurable value to your customers -- not just another piece of hardware or software.

Moving Down the Paperless Trail

"It's cheaper, it's easier, it gives you and your employees more flexibility, your savvier competitors are doing it, and since it requires flexibility it gives small businesses an advantage over large ones."

Wow...that's a pretty compelling argument. What's it about? It's Slate.com's BizBox's description of "going electronic" in an article summarizing an interview that fellow blogger and eCopy employee, Bill Brikiatis, did with Forbes.

The full article provides lots of good information for companies to consider when working to reduce the amount of paper in their work environment, but here's a few high-level takeaways that BizBox called out to backup their statement above:

1. Electronic is faster
2. The transition away from paper requires institutional flexibility, and that gives small businesses a leg up over big ones
3. At this point, being primarily paper-based is inefficient, because everyone's already partly electronic-based
4. Don't forget security

All good arguments for why to move towards a paperless environment. Are you working on a paperless initiative? Tell us how you are going about it and how you are justifying your initiatives!