Say the word “imaging,” and most people conjure up pictures of scanners and screens and storage systems in their heads. As such, too few imagine that there are any e2.0 possibilities in this corner of the business. But even a small step back from the mechanics of backfile conversion or paper document capture reveals the existence of plenty of fertile opportunities for revamping key business processes and bettering the business model.
Rather than bore you with all the details of several fascinating conversations I recently had on the subject, let me instead headline some of the core concepts we kicked around:
• Mixing and matching on-site licensed software with “in the cloud” service offerings promises to provide ultimate scalability and flexibility when it comes to processing invoices, to name just one common imaging target.
• Real-time in-the-field imaging using cell phone cameras promises to dramatically reshape current employee expense management procedures and cost structures, to name just one practical application.
• Opening what historically has been more of a back-room specialty in these ways promises to make imaging more of a mainstream process enabler by putting it more directly into the hands of more people than ever before.
Ironically, none of these concepts are especially new – they’re just not often applied to imaging, which tends to be thought of as some kind of front-end content-manufacturing mechanism. Taking our conceptual backwards step, however, makes clear that the technology can be dropped into the same kind of business-critical processes that ECM and other key applications can. And given the state and variety of technology architectures today, there’s no doubt that it should be, wherever possible.
If you’ve got imaging on the brain, get your copy of Holly Group’s high-value, low-cost guide 26 Key Questions for Scanning+Imaging Projects. Click here for details and download yours today!