Introduction to ECM Solutions

Welcome to AllAboutImaging.com, an informative website provided by United Imaging Group. We invite you to learn more about ECM (Electronic Content Management, also known as Document and/or Records Management), its technologies, and how an ECM solution can benefit your organization. At United Imaging Group (UIG), we help clients across the country improve the way they archive and manage both paper and digital documents. If you have any questions about records management, or would like help with your project, please contact us today and let one of our solutions specialists get your project off the right start.

Why is Records Management Important?

In the today's business world, how an organization manages documents and business records plays an important role in its overall success. Whether its a legal, human resources, or accounting document, ensuring that it easily retrieved and/or used for future purposes is very important. Proper records management will not only make your organization more efficient as a whole, it will help ensure regulator compliance, minimize future risk, and will dramatically reduce the chance of litigation and potential fines imposed.

A recent survey of 1,200 organizations by Gartner (the world's leading information technology research and advisory company) found the following:

    It costs $20 in labor to manually file a document
    It costs $120 in labor to find a misfiled document
    It costs $220 in labor to reproduce a lost document
    7.5% of all documents get lost; 3% of the remainder get misfiled
    Professionals spend 5 – 15% of their time reading information, but up to 50% looking for it
    40% of the organizations surveyed indicated disaster recovery planning not a priority
    2 out of 5 companies who experience a disaster are out of business in 5 years

What is ECM?

ECM, sometimes referred to as electronic document and/or records management, is the process of digitally managing documents and records within an organization. Documents are managed using two methodologies; document management (documents are managed as individual items) and records management (documents are related to a record, like a medical or employee record). Some ECM systems (like UIG’s Infinity Capture & ECM Suite) can manage documents using both methodologies simultaneously. Larger ECM solutions can route documents within a workflow. Workflow routes documents though a business process (i.e. an invoice approval process) moves them between users and departments for processing.

Learn more about UIG's Infinity Capture & ECM Suite

ECM Technologies

There are many technologies involved within ECM solutions. These technologies are used to efficiently archive and manage documents/records, maintain standards for document retention, and often times to automate business processes.. Below we detail some of the most common technologies we are asked about by clients as they research an imaging solution. Additional terms and their definitions can be found on UIG's main website in our Learning Center (Select Glossary of Terms).

Visit UIG's Glossary of Terms in our Learning Center

One Centralized Repository
The main focus of ECM solutions is to maintain documents in one centralized repository. This allows the organization to maintain standards when archiving documents and improve the time it takes employees to locate documents when they have the need to (i.e. a customer requests a copy of an invoice, etc.).

Document Types & Index Fields
ECM solutions use document types to store and organize documents within the system. When documents are imported into the system they are assigned a corresponding type (i.e. Invoice, HR Application, Contract, etc.). Each document type is assigned specific index fields that are used so that document can be located at a later time (i.e. invoice number, date, customer ID, etc.).

Full-text Indexing and Search
Some ECM solutions provide full-text indexing (also known as full-text OCR) functionality. This technology automatically reads the content of the document (i.e. a scanned page, Word document, etc.) and allows the user to search for the document by that content. This can be very useful for many types of documents, but we do warn that this technology typically doesn't work "as well as advertised" because searches take significantly longer to perform and the accuracy of the data is very dependent on how well the document was scanned and OCR'ed at scan time.

Check-In, Check-Out & Versioning

This group of features allows users to upload new versions of a document into the repository without overwriting the existing document in the system. While a document is being edited by a user, he/she will check-out the document so other users know it is being worked on. When he/she is done, they check-in the document and upload the new version. When a user views document that is versioned they will always see the current version of the document. If they wish, they can also view previous versions of the document as well.

Workflow

Workflow is a component that is typically seen in more expensive systems (meaning total cost of ownership, including consulting fees for configuration, not just software licensing fees). Workflow allows documents to be routed to through a defined business process flow to perform a specific business function. An example of this would be an invoice that is received in accounting that needs to travel through multiple departments to be approved, entered into a billing system, and ultimately archived into the repository.

Extensive Customizations

Many of the ECM solutions on the market can be extensively customized. Customization can include everything from altering the applications color schemes, using your organizations logo, complete customization of workflow, or even integration with other 3rd party applications (like a ERP billing system such as Oracle, etc.). Many of the applications on the market come out-of-the-box with specific functionality, but in the end they require extensive customization and/or add-on modules to get the desired functionality you may require.

Document Imaging

Many of the more advanced ECM solutions either include an imaging component or offer an add-on to their solution. Depending on your needs, you may consider adding a more advanced document imaging solution that can automate form identification and/or data extraction. If your capture requirements are minimal, we recommend selecting a solution that incorporates the imaging components directly in the same interface so it is seamless to the system users.

ECM Solution Architecture

The process of imaging and indexing documents can vary depending on your needs. It can be simple,

Basic ECM Solution

The follow example represents a basic ECM solution. This architecture can be scaled to meet the requirements based on the number of users, documents stored, etc. While every application will have its own unique requirements, this 10,000ft view is a general representative of an out-of-the-box ECM solution.

ECM Solution with an Advanced Imaging Engine

The follow example represents a more advanced system architecture that includes an automated forms processing system as part of the solution. This type of solution is used when a solution requires a high number of documents and automated forms processing and data extraction.

Cloud ECM, Is It For You?

The latest buzz word in the industry today is Cloud computing. While it is a great option for some, organizations need to carefully weigh the good, bad and the ugly is considering a cloud system.

Cloud Solutions

What is a Cloud?  A cloud is not just a hosted solution.  A Cloud is a large, shared system that that many organizations use at once.  What does this mean to you?

    Good:  You can access it from anywhere, any time through an internet connection.

    Good:  The pricing model can be good for organizations with a smaller number of users and
         storage volumes.

    Good:  The costs are endured monthly and the pricing typically scales to your usage.

    Good:  The systems are well supported and have a guaranteed uptime.

    Bad:  If your internet connection goes down, or starts to slow down from heavy usage, the
         Cloud (and thus your documents) is not accessible.

    Bad:  Your documents are off-site and essentially out of your control.

    Bad:  Your documents are stored with documents and data from many other organizations.

    Bad:  There are many security concerns (data encryption, etc.) with a Cloud.

    Bad:  There are defined limits to document storage and it’s very expensive when you exceed
         them.

    Bad:  There are usually large hidden expenses in addition to the monthly usage fees.

    Bad:  You may forced to pay large fees to retrieve all documents from the system when you
         decide to stop using it.

    Bad:  If you need to perform a larger document scanning services, a Cloud solution usually
         doesn't usually have the connections to easily handle the document hand-off from the
         scanning software to the document/records management system.

In-House Solutions

Having your document/records management system in-house is still the best option for many organizations today.  How does it compare to a Cloud?

    Good:  Documents are maintained “within your walls”.

    Good:  If the system has the ability (like UIG’s solutions), you can access your
         documents/records from anywhere, any time through an internet connection.

    Good:  For organizations that don’t want to maintain an IT staff, many software companies (like
         UIG) offer maintenance plans where they fully manage your system.

    Good:  Many systems feature an auto updater (like UIG’s solutions) so administering the

         system is easy and administrators can easily push updates to all client computers.

     Good:In-house systems don't rely on your internet connection and are always available.

     Good: In-house systems have a much smaller risk of breaking when Microsoft updates are          installed on the client.

    Good:  There are no true size limitations to the number of documents you can store.

    Good:  Many software companies (like UIG) offer flexible licensing that competes well with the
         Cloud pricing model.

    Good:  A few software packages (like UIG’s solutions) allow you to easily export all

         documents out of the system when you decide to no longer use it.

    Bad:  If you choose to maintain your own system, you are responsible for all IT support and
         system maintenance.

Dedicated, Hosted Solutions (also called a Private Cloud)

3rd Option: a dedicated, hosted solution (sometimes called a Private Cloud).  A dedicated, hosted solution is when a software company (like UIG) offers its in-house system in a dedicated hosted environment.  This solution is the great option for organizations that don’t want to maintain an in-house system but want the benefits of a Cloud solution.  A dedicated, hosted solution has the following benefits:

    Good:  The pricing model can be good for organizations of all sizes.

    Good:  The costs are spread out monthly and compete well with Cloud pricing.

    Good:  The systems are well supported and have a guaranteed uptime.

    Good:  Documents are on a hosted solution, but the server is dedicated to your application

         and your documents and data are not mixed with others organizations.

    Good:  There are storage limitations, but they are typically much larger (100x+) than a Cloud
         solution.

    Good:  A few software packages (like UIG’s solutions) allow you to easily export all

         documents out of the system when you decide to no longer use it.

    Good:  Many systems feature an auto-updater (like UIG’s solutions) and updates are

         performed automatically.

    Bad:  If your internet connection goes down, or starts to slow down from heavy usage, the

         Cloud (and thus your documents) is not accessible.

Thick vs. Thin Client ECM Solutions

There are two types of applications: thick client applications (a Windows application) and thin client applications (browser-based application where the system is used by going to a web site). Both types have good and bad issues, including:

Thick Clients

    Good:  They have the most capability and can easily scan, import and view one or multiple          documents at once.

    Good:  If the application has an auto updater (like UIG’s solutions), administrators can easily
         update the client installations automatically.

    Bad:  If the application does not have an auto updater, performing software updates may

         require administrators to manually update each PC individually.

Thin Clients

    Good:   The entire system can be updated centrally by updating the server's files.

    Bad:  An internet browser has built-in security that prevents the application from scanning
         documents (although it can be done through a browser plug-in).

    Bad:  If your project requires high volume scanning, you will have to use (and purchase)
         another product that will run as a thick client application to batch scan documents.
    Bad:  The browser security also prevents the application uploading more than one document

         at a time.

    Bad:  There is a chance that the application will break each time the PC receives an update

         from Microsoft (they like to update the browser security functions fairly often).

    Bad:  If the application uses JAVA, the correct version of JAVA Virtual Machine must be

         installed on the PC.

    Bad:  Thin client applications may not support all internet browsers.

Determining Your Needs

The process of imaging and arching documents can be complicated. The first step in a successfully project is to detail your exact needs in order to select a product or solution that can meet your requirements.

    Define your high-level requirements and budget for this project.

    Identify where your documents originate (mail, fax, etc.).

    Determine if you can automate the processing of documents, and the savings that may provide.

    Research any legal restrictions around imaging and archiving your documents.

    Determine what features you may/may not need as that will directly effect the price and type

        of solutions you consider.

If you are new the imaging and ECM world, we invite you to visit UIG's Learning Center and our Getting Started Guide. Here you will find additional information about the items discuss here along with other resources like our Return On Investment (ROI) calculator.

Visit UIG's Getting Started Guide in our Learning Center

Ask The Expert (submit a question)

Our consultants are experts in the imaging field and are here to assist you with your project. If you have a question that we can assist with, please feel free to "Ask The Expert". One of our consultants will be happy to answer your questions and get you pointed in the right direction. All communications are kept confidential and are not publicized or distributed in any way.

Visit UIG's Ask The Expert in our Learning Center