Document Imaging Blog

Red Sox are going paperless just in time for spring training

Here's a new paperless office story. Imagine for a second stacks of paper invoices at the Red Sox corporate office standing in the way of the hot dog supplier ... or worse yet ... the beer supplier from getting their invoices paid net 30. Could this be the end for the great American pastime?

That's a bit of an exageration. It was never nearly that bad at the Red Sox. But they did need to process invoices better.

The Red Sox get their share of paper invoices. The organization works with hundreds of vendors and receives thousands of invoices every month. These invoices range from a 1,000 page telephone statement to single page handwritten bills from small vendors.

The Red Sox have fixed their paper invoice problem.  Invoices are scanned to PDF files when they enter the accounting department with personnel accessing and acting on them using eCopy PaperWorks software at their desktops. eCopy has built-in integration with Microsoft SharePoint, which the Red Sox utilize as a central location for employees to find information and to drive business applications.

If you would like to learn more about what the Red Sox are doing with their invoices, see the press release here.

Document Scanning Services to Green Your Business - Imaging Services Blog

 

Check out the Feb 3 post on the Imaging Services Blog by clicking on 4 Ways Document Scanning Services Can Help You Green Your Business.

It provides a good look at the basic ways that document imaging can help your business become a better corporate citizen.

Construction Firm Solves Paper Problem with SharePoint

Marc Filanc, CEO of the 300 person construction firm that bears his name, envisioned his consultants would have instant access to key documents wherever and whenever they needed.

This was easy enough for non-paper documents. The J.R. Filanc Construction company solved this problem by creating a Microsoft SharePoint portal where they could upload and download Word, Excel, PDF and other "electronic" documents anywhere there was an Internet connection.

But what about documents on paper? How did Filanc create a paperless office so the consultants could be more productive? Read the story here.

Why Would Xerox Buy ACS if Everyone is Going Paperless?

The picture above is Xerox CEO Ursula Burns with ACS CEO Lynn Blodgett. The photo was part of the announcement that Xerox will buy BPO provider ACS. 

In an interview this morning on CNBC, host Joe Kernan essentially asked Burns why are you buying ACS if the world is going paperless? Burns responsed "We don't see the world going paperless."

It's been my experience that many, if not most, journalists see the topic of document imaging as soon to be dead. Clearly Kernan believes this. 

Journalists believe this because they have for some time operated in an almost paperless environment and their response to the "news" that many offices are going paperless is that this is no longer news.

Journalist should understand that it will be a long, long time before a majority of offices have no need for document imaging technology. If this were not the case, would Xerox be paying $6.4 billion for ACS?

Watch Neo use scan to PDF software and the paperless office to escape Mr. Smith in eCopy video below.

Social Media & the Paperless Office

Will the rise of social media end the need for document imaging solutions? Read a short article in Small Business Technology magazine where I am quoted on this timely topic.

Net Generation and the Changing Office

With every new generation comes an increased technology savvy and evolving work approach. But the Net Generation – the first group of “digital natives” – is shaking up the office workplace such as no other age bracket.

 

It often feels like this group was born with cell phones and handheld gaming devices in their hands, and can’t imagine working without keyboard and mouse at the ready.

 

And these natural born techies see paper as archaic. This permeates their personal lives – try and find someone in their twenties who gets their daily news from a newspaper. They are also a prime audience for digital devices like Amazon’s Kindle.

 

Paper as archaic also extends to their work lives where they are as comfortable reading a document on a monitor as baby boomers are reading the same document in hardcopy. Paper in the workplace also strikes against the environmental instincts of this age group.

 

Industry researcher IDC says the Net Generation “feels that their companies have not yet adopted electronic processes.” This is a risky position for organizations that want to attract the best and brightest.

 

Here are three steps organizations can take right now to help the Net Generation thrive in the workplace – and contribute to their potential.

• Start the transition away from paper. Document scanning software can help you connect paper-based information directly into the applications that run your businesses. It delivers easily proven ROI – there’s no reason to wait.
  
• Look for software that enables staffers to work with electronic documents like they do with hardcopy information. Adding annotations, signatures, highlights, blackouts and whiteouts to scanned documents. Tapping optical character recognition (OCR) to create easily searchable text.
  
• Embrace the Net Generation as tech mentors in the office. This is a perfect opportunity where the students can become the teachers. Let them experiment in ways to drive paper out of workflows – and lead and teach the rest of the organization.

 

Gartner Calls MFP Manufacturers' Messaging "Greenwash"

There is no question that there's been a resurgence of interest in the paperless office. Much of this new found interest has been a result of increased desire for organizations to present a better face when it comes to sustainability, reducing greenhouse gases and other environmentally sound practices.

It's to be expected that MFP technology providers would want to join the bandwagon and put on a green face, too, even if their business models depend on customers printing more pages. What I've found surprising is that the industry analyst firm Gartner addressed this topic so candidly in a research note late last week. Gartner analysts Don Dixon and Pete Basiliere said MFP technology providers' public messaging around sustainability is "greenwash," that is, more marketing than actual programs and process changes to reduce paper in enterprises.

If you have a Gartner subscription, I recommend that you read the Gartner research report (#G00166785) called Cost Optimization is Key to Print Management in the Recession.

DoD Agencies, CACs, HSPD-12 & MFPs

Many US national guard units have been making progress moving towards the paperless office by using their MFPs to scan paper documents as they come into the organization. But what many units haven’t counted on is Homeland Security Presidential Directive - 12 (HSPD-12) and the need for CAC authentication at the MFP.

HSPD-12 requires all Department of Defense organizations to secure access to computers and peripherals using common access card (CAC) smart cards. You can read more on the need for CAC with MFPs here.

Many DoD agencies have fallen dreadfully behind in meeting the requirements of HSPD-12 when it comes to copiers and MFPs. They need to move quickly to secure the devices so that they can continue to use scanning as a way to make document workflows more efficient.

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!