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By Joe Yankle
The drive towards digital transformation shows no signs of slowing down as organizations in all sectors recognize the competitive advantages of digitizing their manual or paper-based processes.
This new digital economy is forcing public-sector organizations to face up to how they receive, store, secure and manage their data. There’s an overwhelming need to get smarter about using all this data to deliver valuable insights, reduce costs and improve citizen relationships.
It's far from a single step from analog to digital information management, because organizations are faced with a mixture of data collection methods -- some digital and others paper-based -- and lack transparency around the nature of the data, leaving many drowning in a sea of data chaos.
This situation is compounded in the public sector where digital transformation is not moving as rapidly as in commercial sectors because of longer procurement cycles and spending constraints that often prevent agencies from adopting cutting-edge technology. This is especially frustrating because the public sector recognizes the benefits of digital workflows, but with limited budgets it remains adrift in a sea of data, unable to process, store, manage and analyse that data efficiently.
However, it doesn’t have to be that way. By focusing attention on specific areas, some of which are outlined below, agencies can gradually realize the value of transitioning to a digital world.
Accounts payable
Paper-based invoicing costs time and money for invoice preparation, printing, dispatching and postage. Digital invoice processing is one of the most advanced solutions available and can handle end-to-end processing in many cases without any human intervention.
Digitizing paper inputs in accounts payable enables the faster processing and easier control of payments, which allows agencies to take advantage of discounts and avoid penalties. They can also avoid the time-consuming and laborious practice of matching invoices with purchase orders and can reduce the time spent tracking and chasing approvals.
Forms processing
Filling out paperwork is widespread in the public sector, forcing public agencies to spend money on a slow and error-prone process that can be easily automated. There are significant advantages to offering citizens a digital-only forms processingalternative (eForms, for example) or by digitizing and processing data automatically. Benefits include:
Onboarding
Onboarding new employees, citizens or customers generates a considerable cost for most agencies. These expenses can include the manual administration and tracking of employee paperwork, manually provisioning a new contract and the rekeying of data when updating information into other systems across the agency.
The process requires far less work when it is digitized. Using the right platform, an organization can bring new customers on board quickly and smoothly, leading to increased customer satisfaction and a significant reduction in manual errors.
Records management
Government agencies must follow clearly defined processes and rules for handling and storing documents. Throughout the document lifecycle, data must meet compliance requirements and retention policies. The forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation, for example, which applies to any U.S. organization that handles citizen data from Europe, will overhaul how data is stored, secured and managed.
New regulations require process adjustments, additional validation and documentation, which makes records management a moving target and particularly hard to administer in a paper-based environment.
Through digitization, agencies can eliminate inefficiencies and time wasted on the direct and hidden costs of a paper-based system. They can also protect against disasters like fire, hurricanes and flooding, which can cause enormous damage to paper-based systems. It’s also easier to protect sensitive personal data in digital systems with passwords, data encryption and two-factor authentication.
Other advantages include eliminating time-consuming manual processes, establishing ongoing operational cost savings, improving employee productivity and, crucially, maximizing tight budgets. Some analysts estimate that government digitization, using current technology, could generate more than $1 trillion annually worldwide. The process can be challenging, but the benefits of digitization are far reaching.
This new digital economy is forcing public-sector organizations to face up to how they receive, store, secure and manage their data. There’s an overwhelming need to get smarter about using all this data to deliver valuable insights, reduce costs and improve citizen relationships.
It's far from a single step from analog to digital information management, because organizations are faced with a mixture of data collection methods -- some digital and others paper-based -- and lack transparency around the nature of the data, leaving many drowning in a sea of data chaos.
This situation is compounded in the public sector where digital transformation is not moving as rapidly as in commercial sectors because of longer procurement cycles and spending constraints that often prevent agencies from adopting cutting-edge technology. This is especially frustrating because the public sector recognizes the benefits of digital workflows, but with limited budgets it remains adrift in a sea of data, unable to process, store, manage and analyse that data efficiently.
However, it doesn’t have to be that way. By focusing attention on specific areas, some of which are outlined below, agencies can gradually realize the value of transitioning to a digital world.
Accounts payable
Paper-based invoicing costs time and money for invoice preparation, printing, dispatching and postage. Digital invoice processing is one of the most advanced solutions available and can handle end-to-end processing in many cases without any human intervention.
Digitizing paper inputs in accounts payable enables the faster processing and easier control of payments, which allows agencies to take advantage of discounts and avoid penalties. They can also avoid the time-consuming and laborious practice of matching invoices with purchase orders and can reduce the time spent tracking and chasing approvals.
Forms processing
Filling out paperwork is widespread in the public sector, forcing public agencies to spend money on a slow and error-prone process that can be easily automated. There are significant advantages to offering citizens a digital-only forms processingalternative (eForms, for example) or by digitizing and processing data automatically. Benefits include:
- Streamlining the data entry process to speed up the entire business process.
- Reducing the error rate compared to extensive manual rekeying.
- Freeing up knowledge workers to focus on higher value tasks.
- Accelerating data extraction from documents, helping staff to deliver faster responses and better outcomes.
Onboarding
Onboarding new employees, citizens or customers generates a considerable cost for most agencies. These expenses can include the manual administration and tracking of employee paperwork, manually provisioning a new contract and the rekeying of data when updating information into other systems across the agency.
The process requires far less work when it is digitized. Using the right platform, an organization can bring new customers on board quickly and smoothly, leading to increased customer satisfaction and a significant reduction in manual errors.
Records management
Government agencies must follow clearly defined processes and rules for handling and storing documents. Throughout the document lifecycle, data must meet compliance requirements and retention policies. The forthcoming General Data Protection Regulation, for example, which applies to any U.S. organization that handles citizen data from Europe, will overhaul how data is stored, secured and managed.
New regulations require process adjustments, additional validation and documentation, which makes records management a moving target and particularly hard to administer in a paper-based environment.
Through digitization, agencies can eliminate inefficiencies and time wasted on the direct and hidden costs of a paper-based system. They can also protect against disasters like fire, hurricanes and flooding, which can cause enormous damage to paper-based systems. It’s also easier to protect sensitive personal data in digital systems with passwords, data encryption and two-factor authentication.
Other advantages include eliminating time-consuming manual processes, establishing ongoing operational cost savings, improving employee productivity and, crucially, maximizing tight budgets. Some analysts estimate that government digitization, using current technology, could generate more than $1 trillion annually worldwide. The process can be challenging, but the benefits of digitization are far reaching.
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Architects, engineering firms and construction companies all have large amounts of paper drawings, blueprints and other oversized documents that take up real estate and are difficult to manage and share with partners and sub-contractors. By scanning them, organizations are able to easily access and share large format documents when in the field or in the office.
Why You Should Scan Your Large Format Documents?
Once scanned, your large format images, which are often cleaner than the original, can be loaded into your project management software, other line-of-business systems or document management software. This will eliminate the time and hassle of searching through flat drawers, tubes and hanging files—especially when you need these documents in the field. Scanning also ensure these critical documents are archived while freeing up valuable real estate. Drawings are no longer lost or damaged by the wear and tear of handling and copying them, and they can be searched for by any employee from anywhere and emailed to third parties.
Focus on Your Core Business vs. Managing Your Paper.
Scanning your drawings and other oversize documents ensures that mission-critical information is both preserved and accessible by all authorized parties. When architects, engineering firms and construction companies no longer have the worry, inefficiency and expense of managing large format documents in paper form, they can focus on their core business of designing and building the world’s next great structures.
Why You Should Scan Your Large Format Documents?
Once scanned, your large format images, which are often cleaner than the original, can be loaded into your project management software, other line-of-business systems or document management software. This will eliminate the time and hassle of searching through flat drawers, tubes and hanging files—especially when you need these documents in the field. Scanning also ensure these critical documents are archived while freeing up valuable real estate. Drawings are no longer lost or damaged by the wear and tear of handling and copying them, and they can be searched for by any employee from anywhere and emailed to third parties.
Focus on Your Core Business vs. Managing Your Paper.
Scanning your drawings and other oversize documents ensures that mission-critical information is both preserved and accessible by all authorized parties. When architects, engineering firms and construction companies no longer have the worry, inefficiency and expense of managing large format documents in paper form, they can focus on their core business of designing and building the world’s next great structures.
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In more than one way, a paperless office indicates how savvy the business owner is. Today many businesses are choosing to do away with paper documents in favor of digital ones. It is a quickly accelerating trend due to the efficiency, security, and accessibility that come with digital document management solutions.
If you still depend on paper documents in your business, here are 10 great reasons why you should consider going paperless.
1. Be Eco-Friendly:
An estimated 2,500 trees are cut down to make 10 million pages and the average office worker in the U.S. prints about 10,000 pages every year. In the US, about 85 million tons of paper become waste every year. More than 400 million ink cartridges end up in landfills annually, as do about 100 million toner cartridges. Going paperless allows you to make an immense contribution to protecting the Earth and fulfilling your business’s green objectives. Plus, clients who take their environmental responsibilities seriously will appreciate your eco-friendly practices.
An estimated 2,500 trees are cut down to make 10 million pages and the average office worker in the U.S. prints about 10,000 pages every year. In the US, about 85 million tons of paper become waste every year. More than 400 million ink cartridges end up in landfills annually, as do about 100 million toner cartridges. Going paperless allows you to make an immense contribution to protecting the Earth and fulfilling your business’s green objectives. Plus, clients who take their environmental responsibilities seriously will appreciate your eco-friendly practices.
2. Save Space:
Safely storing paper documents requires several bulky file cabinets in your office. Switching to a digital solution allows you to free up valuable floor space where you can set up essential equipment, make room for more employees, or maybe set up a new foosball or ping-pong table.
3. Manage Data More Easily:
Using a digital data management solution means that going paperless is not only aesthetically appealing, but also more practical. Businesses often need to safeguard immense amounts of data, and when this data is stored in paper files, retrieval is an enormous challenge no matter how efficient the filing system is. Going digital gives you the advantage of locating and accessing data instantly. This significantly improves your operational efficiency and employee productivity, since people don’t waste time searching endlessly for each piece of data they need.
Safely storing paper documents requires several bulky file cabinets in your office. Switching to a digital solution allows you to free up valuable floor space where you can set up essential equipment, make room for more employees, or maybe set up a new foosball or ping-pong table.
3. Manage Data More Easily:
Using a digital data management solution means that going paperless is not only aesthetically appealing, but also more practical. Businesses often need to safeguard immense amounts of data, and when this data is stored in paper files, retrieval is an enormous challenge no matter how efficient the filing system is. Going digital gives you the advantage of locating and accessing data instantly. This significantly improves your operational efficiency and employee productivity, since people don’t waste time searching endlessly for each piece of data they need.
4. Secure Your Data:
Paper files may get lost, copied, folded, removed from the office or simply misplaced. When any of these situations arises, sensitive information is at risk. Go digital and you can safeguard all your data with top-notch security, allowing you to track who is accessing which files. You could even limit access to different data sets to specific employee groups, thus ensuring complete control over data flow throughout the organization.
5. Reduce Costs:
For any business to embrace a change, the change must positively impact the bottom line. Just imagine the kind of expense represented by the 10,000 pages the average worker prints every year. In addition, you have the cost of ink and toner and the cost of maintaining printers. Going paperless allows your business to cut costs on equipment like printers and copiers as well as office supplies like paper, ink, toner, paperclips, pins, folders and much more. Becoming a zero-paper office can mean big savings for your business.
6. Respond Faster:
According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report, 5 to 15% of professionals’ time is spent reading information, but a whopping 50% of their time may go into looking for it. Since accessing data is faster and more accurate when your data is stored digitally, your response time to customer queries and business needs is reduced dramatically. If you are using a data Cloud, the ability to access data from different locations cuts down the time taken for communication and data transfer. This is also valuable during disaster management. In the event that your business premises are inaccessible or unusable, perhaps due to a bad storm or a power outage, business need not come to a standstill, since all of your critical data is still available from remote locations.
Paper files may get lost, copied, folded, removed from the office or simply misplaced. When any of these situations arises, sensitive information is at risk. Go digital and you can safeguard all your data with top-notch security, allowing you to track who is accessing which files. You could even limit access to different data sets to specific employee groups, thus ensuring complete control over data flow throughout the organization.
5. Reduce Costs:
For any business to embrace a change, the change must positively impact the bottom line. Just imagine the kind of expense represented by the 10,000 pages the average worker prints every year. In addition, you have the cost of ink and toner and the cost of maintaining printers. Going paperless allows your business to cut costs on equipment like printers and copiers as well as office supplies like paper, ink, toner, paperclips, pins, folders and much more. Becoming a zero-paper office can mean big savings for your business.
6. Respond Faster:
According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report, 5 to 15% of professionals’ time is spent reading information, but a whopping 50% of their time may go into looking for it. Since accessing data is faster and more accurate when your data is stored digitally, your response time to customer queries and business needs is reduced dramatically. If you are using a data Cloud, the ability to access data from different locations cuts down the time taken for communication and data transfer. This is also valuable during disaster management. In the event that your business premises are inaccessible or unusable, perhaps due to a bad storm or a power outage, business need not come to a standstill, since all of your critical data is still available from remote locations.
7. Back Up Documents Automatically:
A comprehensive data-management solution encompasses periodic, automatic backup of all your stored data. In the unfortunate event that your business is exposed to a malicious virus or a systems failure, you can switch to the backup to seamlessly restore order. This also eliminates the need for you to keep track of backups, so you can safeguard your critical data at all times.
A comprehensive data-management solution encompasses periodic, automatic backup of all your stored data. In the unfortunate event that your business is exposed to a malicious virus or a systems failure, you can switch to the backup to seamlessly restore order. This also eliminates the need for you to keep track of backups, so you can safeguard your critical data at all times.
8. Be Professional:
The marketplace is immensely competitive today and a business that comes across as being a completely professional and tech-savvy stands the best chance of succeeding. Your clients are not likely to be impressed if you carry around critical information in paper files that can easily be lost or stolen. Digital-data management gives your business a more professional appearance and indicates to your potential clients that you embrace business technology.
9. Swiftly Edit, Review, and Change Digital Files:
Digital files are not only easier to access and transfer but also lend themselves beautifully to edits, changeovers, and reviews. Have your clients review your digital documents immediately, make changes where necessary, and complete the communication process in a matter of minutes over the table or online. There is no need to go back to your office to get a corrected version of the document.
The marketplace is immensely competitive today and a business that comes across as being a completely professional and tech-savvy stands the best chance of succeeding. Your clients are not likely to be impressed if you carry around critical information in paper files that can easily be lost or stolen. Digital-data management gives your business a more professional appearance and indicates to your potential clients that you embrace business technology.
9. Swiftly Edit, Review, and Change Digital Files:
Digital files are not only easier to access and transfer but also lend themselves beautifully to edits, changeovers, and reviews. Have your clients review your digital documents immediately, make changes where necessary, and complete the communication process in a matter of minutes over the table or online. There is no need to go back to your office to get a corrected version of the document.
10. Integrate with Other Business Applications:
One of the greatest conveniences of digital data is that you can integrate it with other business applications instantly and easily. For instance, you can talk over the terms of a deal, draw up a contract, make changes requested by your client, and email the contract to him right away all in a single sitting. Or create a product for your client, integrate it into a presentation, or put it up on your website directly.
One of the greatest conveniences of digital data is that you can integrate it with other business applications instantly and easily. For instance, you can talk over the terms of a deal, draw up a contract, make changes requested by your client, and email the contract to him right away all in a single sitting. Or create a product for your client, integrate it into a presentation, or put it up on your website directly.
Whether you look at it from a social, environmental, financial, or practical perspective, you will find numerous benefits to going paperless with your business. You might even say that digital data paves the way for better and more efficient business overall.
Source : eFileCabinet
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The world is going paperless! Previously the prerogative of large corporations and departments, digitisation has become more democratic and now applies to all organisations, regardless of size or sector. Faced with growing volumes of paper processed every day, digitisation is a solution to several problems.
Reducing costs
Constrained by the economic situation, some organisations have reduced their budget allocated to manual processing whereas others strive to modernise them. The aim? Reducing document printing costs: consumables (toners, paper, envelopes, etc.), franking, physical storage... not forgetting related costs linked to the reproduction of documents and printer management.
Speeding up lead times
On increasingly competitive markets, companies need to show their reactivity at all levels. That is why they try to find ways to speed up internal processes while reducing information processing time. This has become a crucial factor in optimising customer relations.
Improving traceability
Changes in regulations help to speed up the paperless process. This optimises tracking of documents and their content, secures them and also offers better protection against risks and fraud. Enhanced scanning quality also guarantees better use of documents, by also establishing their integrity.
Supporting sustainable development
Environmental responsibility is not exclusive to major groups and is now a concern for all businesses. This trend is illustrated by a stated will to reduce paper consumption and the carbon footprint.
Reducing costs
Constrained by the economic situation, some organisations have reduced their budget allocated to manual processing whereas others strive to modernise them. The aim? Reducing document printing costs: consumables (toners, paper, envelopes, etc.), franking, physical storage... not forgetting related costs linked to the reproduction of documents and printer management.
Speeding up lead times
On increasingly competitive markets, companies need to show their reactivity at all levels. That is why they try to find ways to speed up internal processes while reducing information processing time. This has become a crucial factor in optimising customer relations.
Improving traceability
Changes in regulations help to speed up the paperless process. This optimises tracking of documents and their content, secures them and also offers better protection against risks and fraud. Enhanced scanning quality also guarantees better use of documents, by also establishing their integrity.
Supporting sustainable development
Environmental responsibility is not exclusive to major groups and is now a concern for all businesses. This trend is illustrated by a stated will to reduce paper consumption and the carbon footprint.