30
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
ANALYSIS
A blurring of lines between the
physical and digital office is
creating an increasingly dispersed
workforce that is communicating
and collaborating in unprecedented
ways. Gone is the static, paper-
based, boardroom-centric world of
old and in its place is a new social,
collaborative information landscape.
This trend is being driven by the
new generation of millennials, due
to make up 75% of the UK workforce
by 2025
1
. They have grown up in
an always-on, connected world and
are accustomed to collaborating
through social media and real-time
digital interactions. They have
moved beyond BYOD (bring your
own device) to BYOC (bring your own
cloud, content and collaboration).
Yet, in many businesses, the
easy collaboration and exchange of
information desired by millennials
is being frustrated by inadequate
information management and
processes:
n
Fragmented and inaccessible
content.
Most organisations
have accumulated multiple data
silos that make it difficult for
employees to collaborate across
the organisation. Many have
implemented collaboration and
knowledge management tools, but
they are often poorly integrated with
business workflow applications,
leading to low adoption.
n
Complex manual processes.
Organisations have made progress
on digitising their processes, but
many are still heavily dependent
on paper, and paper trails cost
time and money, as well as stifling
productivity. A recent AIIM survey
shows it can take around 37
minutes to find a paper document
2
.
n
Inadequate visual
communications.
The benefits of
video conferencing and collaboration
range from savings in business
travel costs and the associated
environmental impact to improved
employee productivity and morale.
Yet many organisations miss out on
these benefits because they haven’t
fully leveraged video conferencing or
other visual solutions, such as large
format interactive displays.
n
Security risks.
Workers
frequently collaborate and exchange
information with people outside
the company, such as suppliers,
partners, agencies and customers.
Companies could suffer real financial
consequences (and brand and
reputational damage) if confidential
or sensitive information is leaked.
A new framework
Next generation information
managed services (IMS) are
emerging as an effective solution
to the challenges of information
management and collaboration in
the digital workplace. By equipping
employees with software and
services for content capture,
communication, collaboration and
conferencing, IMS helps businesses
increase productivity, speed up
response rates and improve
interaction across departments and
between partners and suppliers.
Rather than having multiple
suppliers for a range of point
solutions, IMS lets businesses use
a single strategic partner to manage
information through every stage of
the document lifecycle, with all the
benefits of a traditional managed
services model.
Phase 1: Information capture
Before information can be used
to create business value, it must
be captured. This requires a full
evaluation of how information,
regardless of its source and format,
enters an organisation and how it is
used and accessed by employees,
partners and customers.
Information can be captured from
paper and digital content through
multifunction printers (MFPs),
business scanners or mobile
devices. For instance, paper invoices
or expense receipts can be scanned
and routed directly to an accounts
application through an MFP interface
panel.
Today, information capture must
extend beyond simply digitising
paper documents. Intelligent capture
solutions need to transform data
from structured sources (databases
and spreadsheets) and unstructured
ones (emails, images, video, social
media content and text documents)
into information that can be
accessed quickly and easily.
Effective information capture
minimises processing errors,
improves data accuracy and
accelerates business processes
by making information instantly
available in content repositories, for
instance through a cloud sharing
portal or broader enterprise content
management (ECM) system.
Phase 2: Information management
and collaboration
Another critical element of IMS
is the effective management and
sharing of information, for example
by implementing workflow processes
and secure authentication to ensure
teams are collaborating securely
and that only the right people have
access to contracts, invoices,
proprietary company information and
other sensitive documents. The types
of solution offered might include:
n
Cloud document management
and sharing.
Employee efficiency
can be significantly improved
through the use of a cloud-based
document sharing portal (e.g.
Dropbox, Box, OneDrive or a
Louella Fernandes explains how information
managed services (IMS) can help organisations
improve the way they process, share and
manage information throughout its life-cycle
and, in doing so, enhance communication and
collaboration in the digital workplace.
The collaborative and
connected workplace
Louella Fernandes,
Associate Director, Print Services
and Solutions, Quocirca.
Continued...
