The first instalment of this three-part series on smart documents discussed how documents are evolving, mentioning briefly what possibilities smart documents have in store for the world. In part two, I discuss how listening to the needs of organisations will boost the document evolution and therefore productivity and efficiency.
Listening to organisations, understanding their needs, is business 101. Through listening, concerns about growing complexities, reduced resources and increasing costs can not only be grasped, but addressed.
Businesses need standardisation; they need simplification and consolidation; they need flexibility. End-to-end information security, from scanned input to printed output and all the points in between, is one of the highest priorities of any business today.
Listening to the daily realities confronted by businesses has brought the realisation that most printing and imaging devices have no single owner. Instead, the document management infrastructure is fractured across businesses, across workgroups and across geographies.
With this knowledge, it is apparent that organisations need assistance in better managing their printing and imaging infrastructures; a need which has always been seen and voiced, but not truly appreciated.
Combination solution
In addressing the deep-seated needs of organisations and finding the best conceivable place for smarter documents, a combination of assessment, people, process and technology is required.
Through listening to organisations, smarter document management organises itself into three pillars: technology, workflow and business.
To ensure that smarter document management is maximised, the process must begin with office document assessments.
Research conducted by Xerox reveals that for every dollar spent on printing in the business environment, another six are spent on the rest of the workflow. Undertaking office document assessments uncovers hidden costs and opportunities at every turn. It reveals ways to reduce time and costs by optimising the flow of documents and the information they contain. As evidence, an assessment of Xerox`s headquarters uncovered a saving of $1 million - no insignificant amount.
Xerox assessments of global customers found that businesses can save an average of 30% of their document costs. That is a major saving when considering that document processes account for more than 3% of revenue in large organisations. In a $1 billion organisation, that adds up to a spend of $31 million a year.
Tip of the iceberg
To ensure that smarter document management is maximised, the process must begin with office document assessments.
Printing evaluation
Cost savings are just the beginning. When you follow a document, you witness the interaction between people and information; revealing the importance of processes serving people rather than people serving processes. It highlights technology as an enabler, not the solution. It reveals IT in its completeness, with document management as an essential component.
A viable IT strategy requires an equally strong document management strategy. Technology must be implemented with a more holistic view and information workers must be freed of complexities so they can think more, do more and contribute more.
The existence of a virtual school is evidence of the value of holistic IT and the embrace of smart documents and smart document management.
Several years ago a group in Ohio began establishing Web-based education. The concept of an online public school started with one phone in an empty room. From there a system was developed to deliver tuition-free, alternative education anywhere in the state. What began as a pilot for 100 students is now home to more than 7 000 students.
This could not have happened without the right IT capabilities in place, from the secure network databases to the technology, document management and consulting services.
The existence of the electronic classroom of tomorrow illustrates daily that any organisation can implement a strategy that embraces IT in its true form - as information and technology. It illustrates that understanding needs and then intelligently fulfilling on these needs makes the electronic organisation of tomorrow a wholly attainable goal.
* The final instalment of this three-part series will delve into the ever-topical realm of information security and how smart documents and smart document management will contribute to protecting any organisation`s intellectual property.
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