Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has made great progress in the fight for paperless offices. It’s become a staple component in just about any document management software.

So what is OCR? Wikipedia offers this definition: “…the mechanical or electronic translation of images of handwritten, typewritten or printed text (usually captured by a scanner) into machine-editable text.” (2008)

Fundamentally, a computer reads the document and creates a library of searchable information. This type of application allows an EDM solution the opportunity to build a database of text, making the search for usable information within and across documents much easier.

While many argue the accuracy levels for OCR engines can reach 98 or 99 percent, small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) may find this hard to achieve with most commercially-available software. Many variables can affect the accuracy levels of output, ranging from document condition to readability.

Where problems can begin to occur is when OCR is not applied to the text contained within the scanned document, but used to lift index values themselves (e.g. customer name, number, etc.). This becomes dangerous if there are no quality assurances or stop-loss measures in place. If that is the case, it becomes likely a document will be misplaced due to a character being off here or there.

Distributed capture has evolved with today’s business processes to incorporate paper-based information into digital workflows. Document imaging technology gives businesses the advantage to increase the amount and quality of information included in critical business systems. The integration of multifunction peripherals (MFP) have made document scanning available for the average office worker.

Whether a business wants to utilize a new distributed capture system or making improvements to its existing system, there are four key ways to ensure scanning processes are optimized to meet business needs.

Work with Your Existing Office Infrastructure.
With today’s emphasis on reducing environmental impact and cutting economic costs, it has never been more important to utilize existing IT investments in new ways. Businesses can significantly increase the value of existing systems by eliminating the need for paper-based workflows and file cabinet document storage.

HP today expanded its HP Total Care portfolio to help small and midsize businesses (SMBs) build a strong technology foundation that increases their productivity and collaboration, reduces environmental impact and provides greater flexibility as they refresh technology in preparation for the economic turnaround.

New offerings include:

• two desktop PCs and displays;
• solutions to collaborate in increasingly virtual work environments;
• HP LaserJet printer designed to help customers reduce their carbon footprint and save money;
• server and storage products to protect data; and
• a networking switch and solution to reduce costs and improve productivity.

“SMBs are the pulse of the economy, and HP is partnering with SMBs to provide a boost as the economy rebounds,” said Kathy Chou, vice president, Worldwide Small and Midsize Business Strategy, HP. “All businesses must find a reliable foundation upon which to build their futures, and for SMBs, HP’s new offerings will help sustain their well-being and prepare them for upcoming growth.”

For Saladino’s, a $385 million company that supplies restaurants up and down the West Coast, a sophisticated and reliable technology infrastructure is critical to meeting customer needs and tight delivery deadlines. The company, based in Fresno, Calif., upgraded to new enterprise resource planning software while standardizing on HP servers, storage and desktop PCs by working with Western Blue, an HP partner.

“HP systems are flexible and reliable. They have solid desktop PCs and the best server technology on the market. Knowing the different vendors, HP was an easy choice,” said Craig Urrizola, chief information officer, Saladino’s. “The benefit of the HP infrastructure continues long after the original deployment. I can easily manage the solution using web tools, and with every blade server that replaces older servers, we save power and improve efficiency. The new architecture also accommodates growth and change, providing important flexibility to our business.”

Among many businesses it is typical for print costs to consume almost 3% of total revenue in a given year. For many organizations, printing costs are nearly equivalent to the amount spent on research and development each year!

Businesses need to begin looking at the high costs of uncontrolled print services. They need to address how to cut costs while continuing to grow, manage and create opportunity. Within many businesses, hardcopy costs remain uncontrolled and unchecked, regardless of industry.

The average office worker spends up to half of their workday searching for simple information! No wonder it’s hard to increase production. A digital document storage system will not only increase worker productivity, but also reduce company costs.

Lost documents create ripples of inefficiency throughout any organization. Although small and medium sized organizations are often hit harder than large corporations, the effect is devastating across the board. In paper-based environments, digital document storage is a great alternative. These systems provide an easy-to-use, secure document storage alternative to ultimately boost productivity and reduce operating expenses.

In 1975 a Business Week article discussed how the personal computer revolution would ultimately lead to a paperless office.  In 2009, thirty-four years later, the information contained in paper form has changed, but businesses are increasingly inundated with paper records.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports:

· The average office worker goes through 10,000 sheets of copy paper a year.

· Each employee in a typical business office generates 1.5 lbs of waste paper per day.

· Reducing paper production by a ton saves the equivalent of 4,100 kWh of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.

Every aspect of the paper storage process adversely impacts a business’ budget and the environment as a whole.  These financial drawbacks of paper storage include the purchase of paper, personnel resources spent filing and finding documents, increase of square footage for physical file storage and recovery from flood or fire damage.

HP has been honored with a Fall 2009 STAR Award for Service Excellence from the Technology Services Industry Association.

HP received the Service Excellence in Innovative Support Award for its continued innovations in technology, process and staff dedicated to delivering great customer support. HP was presented with the award at the recent Technology Services World conference in Las Vegas.

“Innovative support programs and technologies are helping HP connect with customers in new ways, gain a better understanding of their needs and deliver great support experiences,” said Tara Bunch, vice president, Global Customer Support Operations, HP. “We are thrilled to be honored with this achievement.”

The Service Excellence in Innovative Support award is presented to a company that has embraced innovation in people, process and technology to increase agent productivity, service levels and customer satisfaction; increase problem avoidance; and effectively handle more interactions using unassisted channels.

“The STAR Awards are recognized throughout the industry as one of the highest honors for service and support organizations,” said Stephen Smith, chief financial officer and chief information officer, Technology Services Industry Association. “This award acknowledges that HP has been honored by its peers for providing world-class support as one of the best in the business.”

In today’s society everyone strives to become the boss whether it’s the manager, president or CEO. People tend to discount the little people like the secretary, assistant and file clerk. These employees are essential for making sure every-day tasks are completed smoothly and efficiently, yet businesses insist on making life harder for them by keeping with a paper-based office.

Take for example a department assistant at a state university. He or she organizes everything from adjunct teacher files, instructor contracts, course schedules, money orders and background checks. For each type of document there are separate filing storage cabinets.

Also take into consideration the issue of employee manuals. Every task required for a job is provided in the inconvenient form of a 4-inch binder categorized haphazardly in a conglomerate of miscellaneous information.

When you have one or more groups in an enterprise, utilizing a document management system will provide storage, easy access and control of large information caches.

As workgroups grow larger, the data in the system continues to grow with it. In document management systems, different sets of data are stored in different styles and fonts. Document management solution companies work on systems so anyone within a workgroup can access information.

Good document management software is judged by the accuracy, simplicity and availability of the information access methods. Most systems have a login that will not allow people without proper authentication to view the data. If the data is stolen, the system should be able to restore the lost document without losing format or information.

New color multifunction systems allow businesses to create color documents quickly and cost-effectively.  These systems print, copy and scan in brilliant color, equipping you with the tools to create, duplicate, and store your creations.

Make sure you’re staying ahead of the curve by investing in a color-enabled MFP.  Enjoy the same function and added benefit of professional color for about the same investment as a black-and-white system. Compared to ink jet or laser printers, a color-enabled MFP allows you to print, copy, and scan in full color at faster speeds for a fraction of the cost. Digital copiers also produce high-resolution copies with more clarity and detail than analog copiers.