The growing interest in efficient content management across an enterprise has been highlighted by a recent document from a leading computing company.
IBM has released a paper in partnership with scanning manufacturer Harvey Spencer & Associates titled Business Empowerment Through Enterprise Capture that focuses on the benefits gained through a flexible approach to data input and management.
While the ability to convert paper documents into digital records is becoming increasingly common throughout many business sectors, many managers are still unaware of how the process will impact on their firm's operations.
The usefulness of the resulting files is heavily dependent on the capabilities of both the staff members who drive the operation as well as the frameworks used to scan, read and store the results.
To help generate the best possible use of the information gained through the content capture process, IT executives may find that standard solutions that come with out of the box programs may not be up to the task.
Custom applications and software development may be needed by many departments to generate a tangible and lasting improvement on how data is processed - where it goes to, how it is stored and the accessibility it then maintains.
For example, sales data that is collected by a firm may need to accessed by multiple departments but kept from the view of external clients who may have access to the content management system (CMS).
With an intelligent input program designed through an application development process, specific metadata tags can be applied to the resulting files that allow the CMS to regulate which of its users are able to access the resulting documents.
In cases where the information to be captured is unique to a business - for example from mobile workers or field consultants - having a dedicated web portal that securely encrypts and transmits data directly to a central site can be invaluable.
This ensures that the resulting documents are stored safely by the parent company - reducing the chances of misuse through human error and enforcing accountability on the end user.
The use of custom programming can also save these valuable workers from the time-consuming task of manually entering details and frees them to perform more value-adding activities.
Software development can also be made to allow these remote workers to make use of their own equipment when scanning - allowing departments to save money on dedicated optical capture technologies that are designed for specific uses.
The flexible nature of applications makes them ideal for use outside the office - IT executives can apply certain protocols that allow the end user to change certain input variables on the run, getting the best use possible out of the information gathered.