Refining your image
Integrating imaging and business process automation with your core service offerings can be easier with the right solution provider. Let’s get one thing straight: Paper is going to be around for a long time, but the revolution of digital information has taken place. Remember when having your head in the clouds referred to being out of touch or unrealistic and going on vacation did not include taking your smartphone to instantly respond to work emails or phone calls? We have come to rely on having information available at our fingertips. We also are familiar with the rapid pace at which technology moves, and this one-way freight train loaded with evolving data technologies, continues to gain momentum. In addition, regulations and security requirements are only getting more stringent, forcing organizations to make decisions. An example of this for RIM (records and information management) companies was when the HITECH (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health) Act forced the medical industry to adopt electronic medical records (EMRs). Although RIM companies are still enjoying profits from storing and shredding paper documents, a dramatic change is taking place in the industry. The role of RIM services providers is changing from records storage and destruction partners to total information management partners. “Big data,” however, can offer “big opportunities” for RIM companies. Now is the time to add one of several new revenue sources to not only grow your business but also to compete in offering integrated solutions tailored to your customers’ needs. One such opportunity is document imaging and business process automation. Confronting obstacles I know you might have heard from your peers about their experiences in this area, have attended trade shows with sessions on the topic, have seen other companies try to offer these services and have even explored offering business process automation services yourself, but the challenges of committing to a technology seem too overwhelming and distracting to take action, even though business process automation is a natural fit. What is clear is this: Times are changing, and the digital world we live in today is a different ball game that requires a different offensive strategy. Integrating imaging and business process automation with your core services is becoming less of an option and more of a necessity if growth is your company’s goal. To meet your customers’ immediate and long-term needs, becoming a full-service information management company will not only help you to reach new clients, it also will help you to produce more revenue from existing clients. Contrary to what many commercial RIM professionals believe, document imaging can drive more boxes to your business, and if you are not offering this service to your customers, someone else will. Unfortunately, too many records management and secure destruction companies are not looking outside the box mostly because of the preconceived notion of the complexity of imaging and the obstacles they will face when offering this service. Do any of these excuses sound familiar? I don’t understand the technology or business processes associated with imaging. The barriers to entry are too high and too expensive. My existing staff is not trained to sell or provide imaging services. I am afraid of failing with my customers or of wasting time and money to learn imaging. I do not think my customer base is ready for or accepting of document imaging. I don’t have time to focus on a new service that will distract from my company’s core services. Document imaging is too expensive. Any one of these perceived obstacles is enough to prevent a business from offering or achieving success in document imaging....