Using an in-house document imaging service as part of any company’s document management strategy will not only save money but it will deliver end-to-end control of business-critical documents. In fact, creating an in-house document storage and management services could be the smartest thing a company can do, and helping customers create their own document imaging service can be a great source of revenue for resellers.
Companies save money using internal document imaging services in a number of ways. They save on paper and printing resources. They save on IT support time and personnel to monitor and manage multiple department printers. They save staff time not only running to and from the printer but also searching for lost files and making all those extra file copies for the next meeting. And they save a fortune in the space needed to archive paper documents.
The savings in paper use alone are substantial. The average American office workergenerates about 10,000 printed pages per year, of which 1,410 pages are waste. That’s about 8 million tons of paper or 178 million trees, and less than half of that paper is recycled. Every ton of paper printed requires the same amount of energy for printing as it would take to power the average home for 10 months. And there are more than 350 million ink cartridges thrown away every year. By creating your own document imaging service you eliminate all that waste and the associated costs.
Using a document imaging system to create a paperless office makes it easy to manage business-critical documents from creation to archive. At the same time it saves enough money to more than justify the cost of creating your own service. Let’s consider the lifecycle of a typical business document and how an internal document management service works at each step in the process:
- Creation – Despite the fact we live in the age of computers paper documents still prevail. Blueprints, signed contracts, order forms, paper receipts, handwritten documents – depending on the business there can be any number of paper documents that need to be filed and tracked.
- Capture – Both paper documents and electronically generated documents need to be captured and converted to digital format. Electronic documents can be forwarded for processing but what about paper documents? Using an in-house document imaging service allows companies to bundle and forward paper documents to be scanned, catalogued, and archived.
- Indexing – Once the paperwork is digitized it has to be indexed for easy access. Part of the process of developing your own document imaging service is to create metatags and catalogues documents for easy storage and retrieval.
- Management – Once digitized and indexed the documents need to be stored. Data can be stored on servers on the enterprise network, stored or in the cloud or in both places using a hybrid storage approach.
- Accessibility – Enterprise-stored documents can be retrieved at any time and cloud storage makes it easy to search and retrieve documents from any location.
- Security – In addition to becoming easier to access, electronically stored documents are more secure. Using document imaging automatically provides a backup of all critical paperwork. Access can be managed using password authentication and digital rights management. And documents are checked in and out of the system so there is always an audit trail.
- Searchability – One of the great advantages of migrating to a paperless office is there is no paper to misfile or misplace. All the documents are organized and stored so they are securely stored and in the same place whenever you need them.
- Share and Collaborate – Electronic paperwork is easy to circulate, including implementing version control. Comments and changes can be tracked and document versions locked so only the most recent version circulates making it ideal to support workflow processes.
- Archiving – Scanned documents are easily archived and take virtually no space compared to paper. Sensitive documents can be stored on a protected server or even archived to tape or some other physical medium and put under lock and key. And there is no worry of losing files in the event of fire or flood because all the content is archived offsite.
- eDiscovery – In the event of an audit or a need to produce paperwork for regulatory compliance or a legal action, all the necessary files are indexed and archived for easy retrieval. There is much less chance of missing files or having incomplete information with electronically stored documents.
- Preservation – If there are delicate or historically significant documents that need to be referred to regularly, an electronic archive makes it easy to access the contents of fragile documents without ever having to touch the original.
- Disposal – Once routine paperwork has outlasted its useful, it can be deleted at the touch of a button. It’s a lot easier to dispose of electronically archived documents than shredding paper.
As you can see, creating an in-house document imaging service can be invaluable for managing documents from end to end. And let’s not forget about the positive environmental impact. Using a document imaging service not only saves natural resources but it eliminates wasted paper, having to dispose of outmoded printing equipment and toxic printing supplies, and it saves energy. Document imaging is the perfect solution for companies that care about their carbon footprint.
So as you work with customers looking to get control of their document management processes, consider making document imaging products an extension of your reseller business? Even if you are already selling printers and printing supplies, there is additional income to be made from supporting customers’ in-house document imaging services. It promises regular monthly income for your reseller business and your customers will love the savings and service they get from creating their own document imaging service.
Do you think you can make a case for selling document imaging products to your customers? We want to hear more about how document imaging can fit into your business model.
