by Tom Beasley

Welcome to another informative issue of The AccuView.

This issue focuses on distributed capture. It used to be that most document scanning occurred in centralized environments. An organization would send all of its important documents, from multiple departments and branches, to a single location where specially trained scanning technicians would image the paper on expensive high-speed devices. While this approach is still popular, many businesses are realizing the benefits of distributed scanning.

With a distributed model, multiple lower-speed, lower-volume and less-expensive scanners are strategically placed throughout an organization, so paper can be captured where it originates. Distributed scanning can be a more productive and cost-effective solution for your business; however, you need to justify the distributed approach and implement the solution correctly in order to realize and optimize these benefits.

Several of our customers are already successfully using a distributed scanning solution. And it seems they're not alone. According to a recent survey by TAWPI, more than three quarters of survey participants report that they have been engaged in remote scanning operations for one year; 36 percent have used remote locations for more than three years. The survey also states that, while there may be areas for improvement in distributed capture systems, 93 percent of the end users state that their systems met or exceeded expectations.

Is distributed capture right for your business? Or would a centralized scanning operation better suit your needs? We can help you analyze your business requirements, documents and workflows, and then design and implement just the right system for you.

Please contact us for a consultation.

Warm regards,
Tom Beasley
tom.beasley@accuimagellc.com

An important part of any capture operation is the determination of where capture will actually be performed. This is often referred to as the "point of entry" into an organization. Scanning generally falls into one of two point of entry categories:

Centralized Capture - documents are consolidated at a single location where they can be scanned in an operation dedicated to that purpose. Electronic files are then transmitted to remote points. This is usually done over networks, but in some very high volume environments, CDs or tapes are burned and shipped via courier.

Distributed Capture - documents are scanned as close to their point of creation as possible with the scanned image (and/or its relevant data) transmitted to remote locations.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both capture methods. Centralized capture offers the economies of scale that come from having dedicated equipment and employees that can focus on a single task. Many large volume forms processors, such as claim processors, mortgage processors or order fulfillment operations choose this method. The disadvantage of consolidated capture is that it removes the form from its source, thereby making it difficult to quickly correct errors. Sending documents to a remote location for capture also may create a lag time between their receipt and availability to be acted upon.

An example of distributed capture might be an independent insurance broker who would scan an application at a remote office and transmit the document to a company headquarters. The biggest advantage is the local control allowed by capturing data at its source. A disadvantage would be the added costs of equipping multiple locations with the necessary capture technology.

With the widespread use of networked computing systems, along with the declining cost of capture tools, it has become more practical to capture information remotely and transmit images to a centralized location for processing.

In November 2005, TAWPI participated in a study addressing the use of distributed capture. The study was initiated and sponsored by Datacap, Canon and is the industry's first survey focused exclusively on distributed capture benefits, success factors and barriers. Power Decisions Group provided study design consulting and prepared the analysis.

The study gives an interesting look at a capture methodology that is becoming the industry norm.

Distributed capture has now existed for nearly a decade, though early implementations relied on fax machines and wide area networks (WANs) to connect remote capture sites. With the proliferation of bandwidth and a new generation of browser-based capture software, the ability to cost-effectively distribute scanning to the locations where documents originate has become much more prevalent in the past three years.

Indeed, among the participants in this survey, more than three quarters report that they have been engaged in remote scanning operations for one year; 36 percent have used remote locations for more than three years.

Several patterns emerge from the data gathered. It is clear that distributed scanning has proven its worth for nearly all those who have implemented a system. There is a very high level of satisfaction among end users. While the ROI is rapid, there is still an opportunity for greater return. Finally, distributed solutions are being used in a wide variety of industries in both large and small document volumes.

Satisfaction

Remote scanning and capture users report satisfaction levels that far exceed the industry norm - more than 93 percent of remote scanning and capture end users state that their systems met or exceeded expectations. Room for Improvement: Despite high satisfaction with their solutions, respondents indicated that capture vendors can do a better job on some key attributes, including implementation cost, implementation speed, system flexibility and vendor support.

Return on Investment: More than 70 percent of survey respondents report a full return on their investment in less than 12 months. Also, results indicate an opportunity for significant additional ROI, as only 7 percent of remote scanning respondents use forms processing technologies to capture data from paper forms and 48 percent are still manually indexing scanning documents.

Cost Reduction Lower Priority

Surprisingly, document shipping cost reduction was not the primary objective for implementing distributed capture. The key benefits sought from a remote scanning and capture application were improved business processes, better customer service and reduced document processing time. Respondents consistently achieved these benefits after deployment. Spectrum: Contrary to commonly held assumptions, multiple locations and a high document volume are not a requirement for worthwhile distributed scanning and capture. The majority of users had five locations or less and low document volumes (see chart).

Key Success Factors

End users were very clear on the solution required for a successful distributed capture implementation. Features cited include scalability, built-in data validations and edit capabilities, administrative tools, and browser-based solutions.

Barriers

End users with multiple locations not currently scanning remotely provided the following reasons: 32 percent cited "Other Priorities," 25 percent are currently deploying or evaluating a system, 24 percent responded that remote scanning was "too expensive" or had "insufficient payoff."

Source: TODAY, Special Supplement, "Here and There and Everywhere: Distributed Capture Taking Hold," March/April 2006

When Should You Consider Distributed Scanning?

"To determine if a distributed document processing model is a fit for your business, you should review your current costs for document transportation, the number of departments or individuals in your company that regularly handle paper, the volume of documents each manages, and the value of being able to post and access information online faster," says Scott Francis, director of product marketing for the imaging products group at Fujitsu Computer Products of America. "These variables should then be weighed against the cost of hardware, software and the network and PC upgrades that may be necessary to implement a distributed scanning solution."

Obviously, if multiple departments or individuals dispersed throughout your organization regularly create, handle and submit documents to a central scanning or filing system, it may make sense to consider distributed scanning as an option. Many organizations spend millions of dollars a year shipping documents via mail or overnight delivery to a centralized scanning or filing facility. Furthermore, retrieving documents from these central locations can be detrimental to employee productivity and customer service. Distributed scanning can alleviate these obstacles by providing you with a platform to image documents into a common image repository the moment they are received or created. Your departments or employees don't even have to handle large volumes of paper to make a distributed solution cost-effective.

"Today's workgroup scanners range in price from $500 to $2,000," says Murray Dennis, president and CEO of Visioneer, Inc. "So, even if an employee spends only five to ten minutes a day searching for, filing and retrieving documents, you can realize a quick payback with distributed scanning. Ten minutes a day translates to roughly 200 minutes a month. If you calculate employee labor costs at $50 an hour, then a $1,000 scanner will pay for itself in three to six months."

Perfect Document Processes, Workflow First

Once you've determined that a distributed scanning system is right for your business, it is important to carefully review the document management processes in your organization before the installation process is initiated. "Technology is a way to enhance or create efficient processes," says Kevin Keener, marketing manager of distributed capture products for Eastman Kodak. "If issues exist in your current document flows, simply adding technology may create more issues than it resolves. It is important to begin by designing a blueprint for making the process efficient first. Only then should you look at ways document imaging can take your operational procedures to the next level."

Determining your document workflow is the key to a successful distributed scanning implementation. You need to establish where the documents will reside - for example, will they be archived in a central image repository, or will they be sent through an approval cycle or linked to an ERP application? Once you have mapped out your document lifecycles and workflows, you can move on to implement imaging technology.

Ease of Use is Paramount in Distributed Scanning

Unlike centralized capture applications, distributed capture takes the scanning process away from specialized scanner operators and places it in the hands of everyday knowledge workers. These employees typically have other job responsibilities and are unfamiliar with how document scanners operate. For this reason, the hardware you select should allow employees to accommodate all document processing requirements in a specific job location, while still being easy to use.

"The scanner you select for a distributed implementation should include features like flatbed capabilities, color capture, double-feed detection, and document imprinting," says Fujitsu's Francis. A scanner bundled with image enhancement software such as Kofax VRS (VirtualReScan) or Kodak PerfectPage can also make the scanning process easier on your employees. With this software, users won't have to worry about adjusting contrast or brightness levels to optimize image quality or rescanning documents to correct the skew. Features such as one-touch scanning, where scanning functions and image routing can be preprogrammed and executed with the touch of a button, are also helpful. You should also ensure that the scanner you select comes equipped with TWAIN or ISIS drivers so that it can interface with many of the workflow and backend content management software platforms on the market.

Maintain Your Distributed Scanning Environment

When implementing your distributed scanning solution, you may select several scanners from multiple scanner segments (i.e., workgroup, departmental, low-volume production) that represent many different vendors. Managing this type of environment can be a difficult task.

"If your distributed scanning solution includes equipment from more than one manufacturer, you might think you have to manage multiple service providers, which can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive task," says Kodak's Keener. "Thankfully, this is not the case. Many manufacturers have service programs that provide support for scanner models from a variety of vendors. It is recommended that you partner with a single service provider to make maintaining your distributed scanning solution easier on yourself and your staff."

Selecting the right service contract for your distributed scanning environment requires you to once again review your document imaging and workflow processes. If a specific job location's document imaging efforts are vital to company operations, then you won't want to risk being faced with any scanning downtime. Therefore, you may want to opt for an onsite service contract with an advanced unit replacement option to ensure you won't miss out on days of imaging if one of your scanning units malfunctions. If the scanners are inexpensive workgroup units, you may even want to purchase a few extra to keep in inventory and replace yourself if a malfunction occurs. In other areas, where scanning isn't as vital to corporate operations, a simple depot repair service program may be enough to meet your needs.

Source: Integrated Solutions, "Distribute Scanning Wisely," March 2006

An ideal scanning unit for distributed capture environments, the Canon DR-3080CII is a high-speed, high-performance, color desktop departmental scanner. It offers advanced functionality, enhanced productivity and superior reliability in a compact package.

Scanning at speeds up to 86 images per minute, the DR-3080 offers a wide choice of scanning modes: 24-bit color, 256 levels of grayscale and black-and-white modes, even advanced text enhancement for the documents with text on a dark background. Equipped with dual sensors, the DR-3080 provides fast one-pass, two-sided scanning for robust document management and flexible paper handling. Connectivity is easy, too. And with only minimal training, virtually anyone can learn to operate the scanner efficiently in a short amount of time.

Document Feeding Document Size Grayscale Color Scanning Modes Stacker Capacity Interface Dimensions Weight

Automatic or Manual 2.2" to 14.3" 8-bit, 256 levels 24-bit Simplex, Duplex 100 Sheets USB 2.0 and SCSI-III 7.5" (h) x 13.5" (w) x 11" (d) 17.8 lb.

For more information about the DR-3080 or other scanners,
contact us.

AccuImage, LLC is a systems integrator that empowers their customers with solutions designed to gain the maximum value from their information at every point in the information lifecycle. Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, AccuImage specializes in the design, installation and support of document and content management systems, forms processing solutions, and electronic workflow systems. The company offers hardware and software from leading companies - AnyDoc Software, Böwe Bell+Howell, Canon, Captaris, Captovation, EMC Documentum, Fujitsu, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Kodak, Kofax, Panasonic, Plasmon and Verity - as well as consulting, document conversion and professional services.

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