Automated data capture
Automated data capture
Data capture becomes an increasing problem as the use of the Internet sends incoming data levels soaring. The competitive edge of a business already depends on how effectively it manages the vast amount of information that it receives.
How then do companies avoid being swamped by data in a digital age? More importantly, how do they successfully capture and process vital customer information, and ensure that the content is delivered to the right person?Automatically, of course!
Any large customer-facing organisation can benefit from automated data capture (ADC) technology – reduced dependence on manual data input improves accuracy and reduces costs. And, of course, key business process can be accelerated and customer satisfaction levels can be improved. Win-win indeed.
However, until recently, data capture technology was basically limited to static forms, made up of pre-defined rules. The technology could only read predetermined identification marks on each document (for example, lines, boxes,headings and logos). As a result, data could only be captured and processed from a select subset of documents received by a business, i.e., forms, which were predefined.
Today, the variety and magnitude of documents entering an organisation can be staggering. Furthermore, the html format of the Internet has meant that there is no set way of receiving data. It needs to be captured from, for example,e-forms, mobile data and supplier invoices. Can an organisation manage information from so many sources? It can with unified content management.
Rather than installing and maintaining a separate system for all data types,companies should seek a single unified solution, which is capable of capturing,processing and validating data from all sources. The answer is in the form of a unified content platform, which can digitally capture and manage an enterprise's content, from the source through to enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, financial and other systems. Such a platform can be described as a technological architecture, as it is able to house a number of different products.
A key reason to choose a unified content platform is the flexibility it affords. New products can be added as and when a company requires them,resulting in the freedom to expand the system in line with company growth or changing business patterns.
The platform should consist of common services for all products. A solution for accelerated data capture could, for example, consist of an enterprise portal, a graphical user interface application designer, dynamic workflow management, communications handling and target application connecting agents– and the system should be able to efficiently deliver content via connecting agents to the organisation's major enterprise applications. This results in faster application development, lower costs and a greatly reduced learning curve when introducing new products.
An effective ADC system can manage the input from multiple sources, including paper forms, e-forms and mobile forms, and therefore needs to support XML, to allow standard document interchange.
Advances in technology allow data to be captured from semi-structured forms such as invoices, despatch notes, medical prescriptions and purchase orders– making ADC beneficial to many market sectors.
It is clear that the data capture industry is finally moving with the times,introducing technology that reflects changing working practices and business models. Recently, mobile data capture solutions have been introduced, which enable field staff to link into the corporate systems through personal digital assistants, and to access all forms of data. This gives sales staff the potential to change sales orders and raise purchase orders on the move, and to receive invoices and payments on the spot.
These technological advances will bring increased business efficiency, and will speed up processes and reduce costs. However, the real benefit lies in the potential they have to transform business models and, more importantly, to help companies survive the information overload in a digital era.
