It's tempting to write off 'green' as 'inefficient', particularly on the document management side of a business. Green solutions can be costly, they can require extensive change management, and in the process, delay normal business functions, which negatively impacts efficiencies.
A total document strategy offers a simple, elegant solution.
Shiona Blundell is divisional manager: communications and business process outsourcing at Bytes Document Solutions.
Documents are the DNA of communication in any organisation, whether they are e-mail, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets or voice recordings; they are no longer just physical pieces of paper, although paper does still dominate.
From a green point of view, companies need a collaborative environment to share, distribute and store documents safely and electronically instead of physically. And this is where real green solutions that are also efficient are possible in the document management world.
Simple solutions
Simple pieces of software can unlock the value of existing investments in hardware, by incorporating workflow solutions that deliver the kind of efficiencies businesses want to see today.
Much document-related inefficiency is due to a human element, either through not being in the office to sign off a paper-based document, or not having the time or right information at hand to make the necessary decision. Many larger companies have moved to automated document workflow solutions to overcome this, but the solutions themselves are often complicated and costly.
One of the first areas that companies can look at gaining quick efficiency is simply by leveraging off their existing infrastructure.
Enter extensible interface platform (EIP), a technology that integrates "dumb" devices into a workflow component and starts streamlining the process.
Nothing new
Most companies already have significant investment in printers and various multifunction devices. This means companies can use their existing infrastructure without having to add additional software, hardware and processes to the system. This in turn drives down the total carbon footprint of the organisation. EIP is already on many devices, so companies simply need to enable it.
By merely going "beyond the device", many companies can not only improve workflow efficiencies, but also become greener organisations in the process.
This is even more prevalent when companies look at a comprehensive document management strategy.
Starting at the device is just the first step in becoming more efficient and using fewer resources. EIP, for example, only becomes truly meaningful in a particular business process. Take the example of a home loan application, where there is a pack of documents that have to be signed off for the home loan to be approved. Instead of copying it in triplicate, the pack can be scanned in to kick off a workflow process. In this scenario the process is streamlined for both the bank and the applicant, ensuring quicker turnaround time and an automated paper process. This significantly reduces both people costs and paper costs associated with a simple process. With some basic customisation, the EIP component allows the user to start interacting with back-office systems.
The beauty of the solution is that employees are already used to interacting with a printer or copier. It's not something new they have to learn; it is just one or two extra buttons they have to push.
When one adds in components such as content management, device output management or fax-to-e-mail solutions, some change management may well be required. However, in order to achieve significant efficiencies and cut down on paper wastage, a holistic document management strategy needs to be embraced and driven from the top down.
One huge advantage to starting with the device as an interface into a larger strategy is that it keeps simple things simple. Why take a leave application and make it a complicated process with checks and balances, which are supposed to support a business requirement, but instead only ensure the requirement conforms to a process?
A total document strategy offers a simple, elegant solution that most companies can implement within a few weeks, by starting with leveraging their current environment.
The technology exists, costs have come down, the capacity of what is possible is far greater than it's ever been. Companies should now be using these simple solutions in everyday environments to solve everyday problems.
And become greener and more efficient in the process.
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