MAstEring PAPEr And ForMs in thE inForMAtion · PDF fileMAstEring PAPEr And ForMs in thE...

Enterprise Applications Consultingwww.eaconsult.com • 510.540.8655

Joshua Greenbaum, Principal

Enterprise Applications Consulting

Fall, 2012

MAstEring PAPEr And ForMs

in thE inForMAtion LiFECyCLE:

thE sMArt PEn And PAPEr ALtErnAtivE

TableofContents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................... page1

PaperandFormsAutomationintheEnterprise:TheProblemandtheOpportunity ......................... page2

SmartPensandSmarterPaper............................................................................................................ page4

AnotoSmartPenandPaperTechnologyintheEnterpriseToday....................................................... page7

BusinessProcessRenewalandAnotoSmartPenandPaperTechnology ......................................... page10

Conclusion:SmartPenandPaperTechnologyandInnovation......................................................... page12

SmartPenandPaperintheInformationLifecycle

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Introduction:MobilityandtheMythofthePaperlessOffice

Thestunningcommercialsuccessoftabletsandothermobilesolutionsoftenmasksthenewnessof

thesetechnologies,mostofwhichhavebecomepopularonlyinthelasttwoyears.Theirpopularityalso

masksjusthownewtheindustry’sunderstandingisoftherolemobiledevicescanplayinautomating

well‐establishedandhigh‐valuebusinessprocesses.

Nowhereisthismorethecasethanintheworldofdocumentandpapermanagement,andinparticular

thatcornerofthemarketthatisconcernedwiththeproblemofcapturingandmanagingthevast

quantitiesofinformationthatstarttheirjourneythroughtheenterpriseasapieceofpaper,aform,or

someotherdocument.Thebillionsofpagesofprintedpapercreatedeveryyearaspartofkeybusiness

processesinfinance,insurance,healthcaredelivery,fieldservicemanagement,construction,

architectureanddesign,andmyriadotherindustriesarestillanimportantstartingpointforthe

informationlifecyclesofenterprisesofallsizes.

Despitethepromiseofthe“paperlessoffice”andthecommonwisdomthatthere’snobusinessprocess

asmartphoneortabletcan’tmakebetter,thereremainsanenormousrangeofdocumentsandpapers

thatstillneedtobefilledoutormarkedupbyhand,evenastheneedforthecaptureanddigitizationof

theinformationinthesedocumentsbecomesincreasinglyvaluable.Astheenterprise’sunderstandingof

thepossibilitiesandlimitsoftabletsandsmartphonesgrows,itisclearthatotherapproachestosolving

theproblemofcapturingpaper‐baseddataarenotonlyworthexploring,butcanaddsignificantvalueto

existingenterpriseprocesseswhileleveragingnewtechnologiesandusers’growingfamiliaritywith

existingmobile‐basedenterpriseprocesses.

Oneofthemoresalienttechnologiesthathasalreadyprovedtobeakeycomponentinrenewingand

revaluingexistingbusinessprocessesistheoriginalmobiledevice–thepen–whichinthe21stcentury

hasbeentransformedfromadevicethatputsinkontopaperintoarugged,versatile,andexceptionally

easytousedatainputdevice–asmartpen–thatlendsitselftosomeveryuniqueandhighlyvaluable

usecases.Inparticular,thesmartpenandpaper–inuseforoveradecade–excelinanumberofareas

wherethetabletandsmartphonefallshort.Inothercases,addingasmartpentoatabletorsmart

phone‐basedprocesscansignificantlyenhancebothusabilityandvalue.

Thesesmartpens,whenusedtowriteonpaperandformsimpregnatedwithmicroscopicdotpatterns,

turnpenandpaperintoadigitalinformationdevice,andtransformwritingonpaperintothefirststepin

theautomatedmanagementofdataandinformation.Astheadventofthepaperlessofficeremains

firmlyrootedinanunattainablefuture,andtheneedforimprovingexistingpaper‐basedprocesses

growsdaily,thecaseforsmartpenandpaperintheenterprisebecomesmoreandmorecompelling.


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Thisreportdiscussestheopportunitiespresentedbysmartpenandpapertechnology,pioneeredby

AnotoGroupAB,particularlywithrespecttotheuniqueusecasesthatdefineanext‐generation

approachtoautomatingdocumentandpaper‐basedformsusedintheenterprise.Thefirstsection

definesthescopeoftheopportunityforautomatingexistingpaper‐basedprocessesintheenterprise

usingsmartpenandpapertechnology,highlightingthedomainswheresmartpenandpaperoffera

superioruserexperienceorusecasetotabletsandsmartphones.Thesecondsectionhighlightshow

customersandpartnersofAnoto’stechnologyhaveleveragedthistechnologytoenhanceexisting

businessprocessesandtherebycreatehigh‐valuepaperandformsmanagementusecaseswheresmart

pensarethemobiledeviceofchoice.ThefinalsectiondiscusseshowAnoto’stechnologicalimpacton

theenterpriseandenterprisebusinessprocesseswillevolveasdocumentandformprocessingconverge

withmobilityandtherequirementsfordigitaldatainput.

PaperandFormsAutomationintheEnterprise:

TheProblemandtheOpportunity

Anonlinesearchoftheterm“paperlessoffice”yieldsnumerousreferencestorealandimagined

paradigmshiftsthathavefascinatedtechnologistsandcompaniessincethedawnofthepersonal

computerinthe1970s.Thefactsonthegroundtelladifferentstory,however.Accordingtothe

StatisticalAbstractoftheUnitedStates,printingandwritingpaperproductionintheU.S.hasactually

increasedoverthelast30years,fromover16milliontonsperyearin1980toover32milliontonsin

2006,thelatestreportedyear.Meanwhile,theglobalprintermarketisexpectedtogrowatacompound

annualgrowthrateof4.5percentthrough2015,accordingtoresearchfirmTechnavio.Accordingto

researchfirmIDC,printeroutputreached3.1trillionpagesin2010.Inthebusinessworld,thedocument

capturemarket–whichincludesscanningandothertechnologiesfordigitizingpaper–continuesto

growatanaverageof5%–7%,accordingtoresearchbyHarveySpencerAssociates.


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Figure1.AmountofOfficeQualityPaperProducedinUS(inmillionsoftons),1980–2006

Source:AmericanForestandPaperAssociation,Washington,DC.

Behindthesenumbersisthestarkrealitythattheuseofprintedpaper,aspartofcorebusiness

processesacrossnumerousindustries,remainsafactoflife.Thisistruewhetheroneisfillingoutaform

inadoctor’soffice,annotatingablueprintataconstructionsite,orfillingoutamaintenanceformina

railyard:thefactremainsthattheintersectionofpaperandbusinessprocesses–suchaspatienton‐

boardingandinsurancecompliance,collaborativeengineeringanddesign,orriskmanagementand

regulatorycompliance–isnotslatedtodisappearanytimesoon.Indeed,iftherawdataontheamount

ofpaper,printers,anddocumentsinuseareanyindication,theserequirementsaregrowing,not

shrinking.

Withthegrowthofpaper‐basedprocessesstillregardedasaninevitable–iftosome,unexpected–

reality,awiderproblemhasemergedthatisparticularlygermanetobusinessestryingtomanagethe

costandcomplexityoftheircorebusinessprocessesinaworldofincreasingcompetitionandglobal

operations.ITorganizationsandtheirlineofbusinesscolleaguesareincreasinglytaskedwithoptimizing

theircorebusinessprocesses,manyofwhichhavetobeautomatedbypackagedenterprisesoftware.

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Thatautomationisinmanycasesincomplete,however.Embeddedinasurprisinglylargenumberof

theseautomatedprocessesisthewidespreadrequirementtorecordinformationsuchasnotes,

sketches,andchanges,onformsandotherprinteddocuments.Thismaybeasignatureorsignoffonan

insuranceorfinancialform,checkmarksonamaintenancereport,amarkuptoadesignorCADdrawing,

oranyotherofthemyriadwaysinwhichtheso‐calledpaperlessofficeremainsverypaper‐centric

indeed.

Akeyreasonforthepersistenceofpaper‐basedprocessesistheoverarchingusabilityofpenandpaper.

Botharehighlyfamiliartoanyonewhohasgrownupinanevenminimallymodernsociety;theyare

extremelyruggedanddependable;andtheyhavenoappreciablelearningcurveorbarriertoentry.This

iswhatmakespenandpapersounique:despitetheadvancesintheuserexperienceofcomputers,

tablets,andsmartphones,therearemanyusecasesandtypesofuserswhereapenandpaperare

vastlysuperiortokeyboard,mouse,ortouchscreen.

Thereinliestheinnovators’dilemma,paper‐processversion:thegrowingrequirementforbusiness

processautomationisrunninghead‐onintotheproblemofcapturingpaper‐basedinformationina

digitalform.Whilescanningandmaintainingadigitalfacsimileofadocumentcansufficeinsome

limitedcases,failingtofullycapturetheinformationenteredonagivenpieceofpapercanhavethe

effectofgroundingkeyelementsofprocessautomationina20thcenturypieceofun‐digitizedpaper.

Thisisparticularlytrueforprocessesinwhichthepaperdocumentispartofaprocessworkflowand

wheretheactualinformationentereddeterminesthenextsteporstepsintheprocess.

SmartPensandSmarterPaper

Makingthepapercomponentofabusinessprocess“smarter”andmoredirectlyconnectedtoan

automatedbusinessprocessturnsouttobenotonlysimplerthanitmayappear,butthesolutionisalso

lesscostlyandmoreeasilyusedthanmanywouldhavebelieved.

Therearetwopartstoautomatingpaperprocesses,andbotharesurprisinglysimpleandfamiliar–

smartpaperembeddedwithinvisiblemicrodots,andasmartpenthatcapturespenstrokesand

translatesthemintodata,andunderstands–viatheembeddedmicrodotsinthepaper–howtolinkthe

penstrokestoavirtualformorotherdocumentandtotherelevantbusinessprocess.


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Figure2.TheLifecycleofSmartPenandPaper

Thissmartpenandpapersolutionhassiximportantattributesthatmakethecombinationakeytoolin

thedrivetoautomatebusinessprocesseswhilemaintaininghighlevelsofusabilityanduseracceptance.

Smartpenandpaperprocessesaremoreuser‐friendly.Whilemulti‐touchtabletshavebeenpraisedfor

theireaseofuseandfamiliarity,thepenandpapervastlyexceedtheseinputtechnologiesintermsof

useracceptanceandusability.Indeed,tabletsandPCscanfunctionasbarrierstouseracceptanceina

numberofcases.Thisisespeciallytruewheretheuserpopulationisnotespeciallytechnology‐savvyor

isactuallytechnophobic,asiscommoninhealthcareservices,whereelderlyandlowersocio/economic

statuspatientsareoftennotcomfortableusingtabletsandPCs.Byusingasmartpenandpaper,andby

addingopticalcharacterrecognitiontodigitalrecordscapturedbythesmartpen,familiarhandwritten

documentsandformscanbecomepartofapermanent,fully‐digitized,record.


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Smartpenandpaperprocessesaremorecollaborative.Inanumberofcases,usingsmartpenand

papermakesiteasierforindividualstocollaborateonaprocess.Thatprocesscan,forexample,involve

agroupofarchitectsmarkingupablueprintataconstructionsite,oritcaninvolveadoctortakinga

medicalhistorywithouthavingaPCortabletgetinthewayofthepatient/doctorinteraction.Withmost

ofthecollaborationintheenterprisestilladhocandnon‐digitalinnature–despitethehypearound

socialcollaborationtools–capturingpenandpaper‐basedcollaborationallowsthemajorityofthe

informationtobecomepartofadigitalrecord.

Smartpensandpapersaremorerugged.Manybusinessprocessesrequirecapturinginformationunder

less‐than‐idealcircumstanceswhereaPCortabletmaynotbethebestsolution.Thismaybein

environmentallychallengingenvironments,whereextremesofheatandcoldrequireglovesandother

equipmentthatimpedetheuseofkeyboardandtouchscreens,butwhereasmartpenandpaper

solutionworksverywell.Otherworkenvironmentsrequirehighlyruggedizedequipment,whichinthe

caseofaPCorlaptopcanmeanasignificantexpense,whileasmartpenandpaperwouldneedlittleor

nomodification.Anotheridealusecaseforsmartpenandpaperisfordatacollectioninconstrained

spaces–suchasinspectingthefuselageofanaircraft–thatcanbedifficultifalaptoportablethastobe

broughtalongforcapturingthedata,buteasyenoughifallthatisrequiredisasmartpenandpaper.

Smartpensandpapersarerelativelyinexpensive.ThecostofatabletorPC‐basedsolutioncanaverage

$400–$1200permachine,whereasconsumerandenterprisesmartpensretailfor$100–$180.With

theexpandingselectionoflow‐costprintersthatarecapableofprintingsmartpaper,thecostofprinting

asmartpaperformhasdeclinedtobelargelysimilartothecostofprintingastandardform.Thismakes

theoverallplatformcostofasmartpenandpapersolutionsignificantlylowerthanaPCortablet‐based

SMARTPENANDPAPERATTRIBUTES

User‐friendly

Collaborative

Rugged

Inexpensive

Keepsusers“ontask”

Easytointegratetoexistingbusinessprocesses


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solution.Thiscostratioisevenmoredramaticwhenconsideringtheruggedizationissue,mentioned

above.

Smartpensandpapershelpkeepusers“ontask.”Theuseofsmartpenandpaperplacesanintrinsic

limitonwhatausercandointhecourseofcompletingaspecifictask.Ageneralpurposedevicesuchas

PC,tablet,orphone,providesapotentiallylargenumberofdistractionsanddiversionsforusers,who

maybetemptedtousethedeviceforapurposeunrelatedtothespecifictaskorprocessathand.The

closelinkbetweensmartpenandpapermeansthattheonlyinteractionausercanhavewiththedevice

isdictatedbywhatisonthepieceofpaper.ThisisparticularlyinterestingforITmanagerswhostruggle

withtheimpactoftheuseofsmartphonesandtabletsatwork:withasmartpenandpaper,thereis

significantlylessopportunityfordataorotherintellectualpropertyto“accidently”leavethepremisesas

theresultofusingthedevicetoinputdataintoabusinessprocess.

Smartpensandpapersareeasilyintegratedintoexistingbusinessprocesses.Theabilityofasmartpen

tocapturethepenstrokesofauseranddigitizethemlendsitselfreadilytotheuseofthistechnology

insideanexistingbusinessprocessthatisalreadydependentontheuseofapaper‐basedform.Anoto’s

smartpentechnologyincludesform‐creationsoftware,programminginterfaces,andoutputstandards,

suchasAdobePDF.Therefore,smartpenandpapertechnologycanbeusedforpre‐existingworkflows

andbusinessprocesses,andcanalsobeintegratedintothedevelopmentofnewbusinessprocesses.

Thisadaptability,coupledwiththeavailabilityoflow‐costprintersandquick‐printsolutionsforsmart

paperoutput,makesitrelativelyeasyforITorbusinessuserstocreatesmartpenandpapersolutions.

Takentogether,thesesixattributeshaveallowedAnoto’scustomersandpartnerstousesmartpenand

papertechnologyinordertocreateuniquesolutionsthatleveragethetechnology’slowcostandeaseof

useinanumberofhighlyvaluablebusinessprocesses.Thenextsectionhighlightssomeoftheunique

usecasesinthemarkettoday,anddiscusseshowtheyaremakinganimpactonusabilityandbusiness

processexcellence.

AnotoSmartPenandPaperTechnologyintheEnterpriseToday

TheuseofAnotosmartpenandpapertechnologyintheenterprisespansawiderangeofusecases,

withexamplesspanninghealthcaredelivery,fieldservicemanagement,architectureanddesign,clinical

trialmanagement,training,andmanymore.Ineachexample,smartpenandpapertechnologyenables

companiestocaptureimportantinformationinanextremelyefficientandnon‐disruptiveway,

augmentingexistingbusinessprocesseswiththeabilitytodigitizeinputthatotherwisewouldhavehad

toberekeyed,scanned,orsimplyleftinanalogform.


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Healthcaredelivery.Healthcaredeliveryhasbeenoneofthepioneeringsectorsforsmartpenand

papertechnology,astherequirementforfillingoutandsigningpaperformshasnotbeingreplacedas

rapidlyorsuccessfullybyall‐digitalinputtechnologiesasmanyinthefieldhadonceassumed.The

persistenceofpaperandthepreferenceforsmartpentechnologyisalsoverymuchtheresultofthe

demographicsofhealthcaredelivery–whilemanypatientsaretech‐savvyenoughtousetabletsand

PCs,thereremainssignificantpatientpopulationsthatlackafacilityorcomfortwiththesetechnologies.

Usingasmartpenandpaperlowersthosebarriers,accordingtoRobert

Jasa,DirectorofHealthcareInformaticsatPacificCataractandLaser

Institute,Chehalis,Washington.PCLI’spatientpopulationincludesmany

elderlypatientswhoarenotnecessarilyateaseusingPCsortablets.“The

penwasaverynaturalsolutiongivenourdemographic,”Jasasaid.

Equallyimportant,usingasmartpenandpapersolutionhelpedthe

companycontroladministrativecostsbyminimizingtheuseofpaper‐

basedprocesses,suchasconsentformsandpatienthistoryforms.While

theclinicsstillprinttheseassmartforms,theynolongerneedtocollect,

scan,andfiletheforms.Oncethepatientfillsoutthesmartform,thepen

isdockedandthepatient’skeystrokesareconvertedtoinformationthat

goesdirectlyintotheelectronichealthrecord.“Icancost‐justifyitonthisusecasealone,”saidJasa.

TheuseofsmartpensalsoplacesimportantlimitsaroundtheroleoftechnologyinPCLI’sclinics.

AccordingtoJasa,theuseoftabletsorelectronickiosksforgatheringinformationfrompatients

presentsotherproblems:“Whenyouputakioskinawaitingroom,oratablet,youendupwithalotof

questions,”andJasaaddedthattheseincludequestionsaboutpatientconfidentiality.Inaddition,he

addedthatusingasmartphonehasitsowndrawbacks:“Iwouldratherpassoutpensthansmart

phones.Asmartphonehastoomanyopportunitiesfordoingthingsotherwhatweneedtogetdone.”

Insuranceunderwritingandclinicaltrialmanagement.Theuseofsmart

penandpapertechnologyinhealthcarehasanimportantanalogueinthe

insuranceandmortgagebrokeragebusiness,bothofwhichsharethree

importantcharacteristics:abroad‐basedandpotentiallynon‐techsavvy

population,numerouslargeandcomplexform‐basedprocesses,and

regulatoryrequirementsthatrequirecomprehensivearchivingand

supportforaudits.

Kayentis,adeveloperofsmartpenandpapersolutionsbasedoutsideof

Paris,France,hasdevelopedaninsurancesolutionthatleveragesthe

Iwouldratherpassout

pensthansmartphones.A

smartphonehastoomany

opportunitiesfordoing

thingsotherwhatweneed

togetdone.

RobertJasa,Directorof

HealthcareInformatics,PCLI

Thepenmaintainsthe

intimacyofthepersonal

contact.Andthedatacan

besharedinstantly.

GuillaumeJuge,

ManagingDirector,Kayentis


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usabilityandfamiliarityofpenandpaperforinsurancesalesteams.Insteadoffillingoutformsandthen

scanningthem,oraskingcustomerstofilloutformsonacomputer,theKayentissolutionusesasmart

penandpapertocapturetheinformationnecessaryforunderwritingapolicy.“Thepenmaintainsthe

intimacyofthepersonalcontact,”saysGuillaumeJuge,managingdirectorofKayentis.“Andthedata

canbesharedinstantly.”

Thisinstantaccessallowssalesmanagerstobothmonitortheirsalesteamsandverifytheaccuracyof

thedocumentssubmittedbythecustomers.Mistakesmadeinthefieldcanbequicklynotedand

corrected,accordingtoJuge.

Kayentisalsosellssmartpenandpapersolutionsthatareusedforclinicaltrialmanagementby

pharmaceuticalmanufacturingcustomers,aswellasforfieldmaintenanceintheaeronautics

manufacturingmarket.Inbothdomains,theabilityofthesmartpenandpapersolutiontocaptureand

digitizeallnotations,additions,andcommentsisimportantinmaintainingtheauditabilityoftheclinical

trialsandaircraftmaintenancerecords.“Aerospaceissimilartopharmaceuticalmanufacturinginthat

theyneedtotraceeverythingforyearsandyears,”saidJuge.Beingabletorespondrapidlytoregulatory

auditswithfullydigitizeddocuments,eventhosefilledout“byhand,”helpsKayentis’customerswith

importantbusinessprocessesthatcanotherwisebeasignificantdraininresources,andplacea

companyatriskifanauditisunsuccessfulordelayed.

Engineeringandconstruction.Smartpenandpapertechnologycansupportadditionaloperationsinthe

field,includingengineeringandconstruction,wheretherequirementsforcapturingandmovingdata

fromthefieldtotheofficeoftenrunintoanumberofbarriers.One

customer,aUS‐basedengineeringandconstructionconsultingfirm,uses

smartpensandpaperinitsfieldoperations.“Wehadaneedtogetfield

notesandrecordsbackintotheofficeasquicklyaspossible,”the

presidentofthecompanysaid.“Becausetheywereonpaper,itwastime

consumingandcumbersometogetthemfromthefield.”

Thecompanyhadthreeproblemsthathadtobeovercomeinordertofix

thisissue.Thefirstisthatthecompany’sworkinthetelecommunications

industryoftenmeantthatthe“field”wasnoplacefortheaveragePCor

tablet.“Ourguysareinarough,dirtyenvironment,”thecompany’spresidentsaid.“Itdoesn’tworkto

haveaPC‐basedapplicationbringupadrawing”forannotationandreview.

Infact,preservingthepapersideofthesefieldoperationswasessential,andfullydigitizingtheprocess

wasn’tanoption.“Ourengineeringdrawingsareonpaper,”thepresidentpointedout.“Inthefieldwe

needpaperdocumentstoreferenceandfordocumentingchanges.”

Ourguysareinarough,

dirtyenvironment.Pensare

reallyruggedanddurable.

PresidentofaUS‐based

engineeringandconstruction

consultingfirm


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Thesmartpenandpapersolutionprovidesthefamiliarityofapenandpaperwiththerightlevelof

ruggedizationforthecompany’sfieldoperations.“Pensarereallyruggedanddurable,”thepresident

noted.“Idon’tknowifwe’veeverhadonefailinthefield.“

Thatfamiliaritymeantthatthecompany’sfieldteamsneedednonewtraininginordertousethesmart

penandpapersolution.“Fromthefieldperspective,they’rejustdoingwhattheynormallydo,”the

presidentadded.

Backintheoffice,changesmadeinthefieldareentereddirectlyintoadatabasethatmakesthem

accessibletothecompany’sstaff,and,moreimportantly,tothecompany’scustomersaswell.“Wecan

sendthecustomerscopiesoftheprojectasitison‐going,”thepresidentadded.“Thebottomlineisthat

wecanturnaroundtheinformationtothemmorequickly.”

Theaboveexamplesshowtheadaptabilityofsmartpenandpapertechnology,aswellastheeasewith

whichitcanbeinsertedintoanexistingprocesswheretraditionalpaperhadbecomeabarrierto

automation.Byreplacingplainpenandpaperwithsmartpenandpaper,eachofthesecompanies,

workingwithAnotopartners,wereabletosignificantlyautomatetheirbusinessprocesseswitha

minimaltonon‐existentchangeintheuserexperience.

BusinessProcessRenewalandAnotoSmartPenandPaperTechnology

Theabilityofsmartpenandpapertechnologytoremovebarrierstouseracceptanceandstreamline

paper‐basedprocessesinawidevarietyofindustriesisthejumpingoffpointforamuchbroadersetof

usecasesthanthosedescribedabove.Indeed,Anotosmartpenandpapertechnologycanbefoundin

manyotherindustries,fromeducationandtraining,tomanufacturing,tofinancialservices,andmore.

Unifyingtheseusecasesistheabilitytostreamlinethepaper‐basedelementsofagivenbusiness

processwithoutdrasticallychangingthatprocessorrequiringsignificantend‐usertraining.Indeed,the

abilitytoaddefficiencyandautomationtoestablishedbusinessprocessesatlowcost,withlittle

disruption,andwithhighlevelsofuseracceptance,isthehallmarkofthesmartpenandpaper

opportunityintheenterprise.

Behindtheusescasesoftodayarenumerouscapabilitiesthatenablesmartpenandpapertechnology

tobesuchaneffectivecomponentinbusinessprocessrenewal.AsAnotocontinuestoevolveits

offering,thecompanyhasanewsetofcapabilitiesthatwillenableitscustomersandpartnerstofurther

extendthevalueandreachofthistechnology.


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Securityandauditability.Theabilityofsmartpenandpapertechnologytoensurehighlevelsofsecurity

andauditabilityprovidestwocapabilitiesthatenableimportantenhancementstoexistingbusiness

processes.Thisisduetotwokeyfactors.Themostobviousoneistheabilitytodigitizeandstore

informationthatotherwisewouldhavetoremaineitherinpaperformatorscannedandleftinanon‐

searchableformat.Thisabilitytocapturenotes,sketches,andotheradhocinformation,inadditionto

theformatteddatathatcanbecapturedfromasmartform,allowscompaniesinregulatedindustriesto

maintainamuchmorecompleteandaccessible“papertrail”insupportofauditsandotherarchival

requirements.

Thesecondbenefitofsmartpenandpapertechnologycomesfromtheabilitytoauthenticatehand‐

writteninformationandbettercontrolitsprovenanceanduse.Eachindividualpieceofsmartpaperor

smartformhasuniqueidentifiersinthemicrodotpatternsthatmakethatpaperdocumenttrulyunique.

Likewise,thesmartpenthatcapturesthepenstrokesonapieceofsmartpaperalsohasauniqueID,

whichmeansthatitispossibletoidentifywhichindividualsmadewhichpenstrokes–asignature,for

example–onwhichprecisepieceofpaper.Thistraceabilitycansignificantlyaidinanyforensic

discoveryorauditprocess.

Workflowandprocessflow.Theabilitytoembedworkflowinasmartpenandpaperdocumentisakey

capabilitythatwillgrowinimportanceastheusecasesofthistechnologyexpand,andasAnoto’s

workflowcapabilitiesevolve.Addingworkflowtoapaperdocumentatthetimeofinputisanimportant

partofbusinessprocessrenewal.Inmostcases,standardpaperdocumentsareeitherrekeyedor

scannedinordertodigitizetheircontents,addingaphysicalprocessthatcomeswiththeriskthat

qualitywillbecompromisedinthetranslation.

Asmartpenandpaperdocumentcanbenotonlyautomaticallydigitized–todaybydockingthesmart

penorusingBluetoothtoconnecttoamobiledevice,andinthenearfuturethroughaWi‐Ficonnection

–butthedatainthedocumentcanalsobeusedtotriggerexternaleventsthroughaworkflowengine.

Thus,apatientfillingoutaformwhochecks,forexample,thatheorsheisdiabetic,couldbe

automaticallyscheduledforabloodtestbasedonaworkflowtriggerinitiatedbychecking“yes”onthat

partoftheform.Thesameformcouldalsobeautomaticallyroutedtothepatient’sdifferentcare

providersbasedonthepatient’srecordnumber.Similarly,dataqualitycanbeautomaticallyverifiedand

inconsistenciesflaggedandroutedtoaqualityassuranceexpertbasedonaworkflow‐triggeredanalysis

ofthedataonthesmartform.

WhiletheunderlyingAPIsavailableintheAnotosmartpenandpaperplatformaresufficientfor

supportingworkflow‐basedfunctionality,Anoto’sroadmapincludesaworkflow‐enablingtoolthatwill

allowcustomersandpartnerstomorereadilydevelopandmaintaincomplex,smart‐paper‐based

workflows.Thiswillenhancethevalueofpaper‐basedprocessesbyfurtherautomatingtheuseofsmart


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paperaspartofhighlyautomatedbusinessprocesses,withoutlosingusabilityandotherattributesofa

smartpenandpapersolution.Anoto’spartnersarealsohelpingmovetheneedleintermsof

functionality.PartnerslikeKayentis,DestinyWireless,andNextGenalsoprovidecompletesolutionsfor

differentmarketsthatincludeworkflowandbusinessprocessintegration.

Enhancedconnectivity.Asnotedabove,Anotoanditspartnersplantoenhancetheconnectivity

optionsforsmartpenandpapertechnologyinthecomingmonths.Thiswillextendthesynchingoptions

fromtoday’sUSBandBluetooth(viasmartphone)tonewsynchingoptionssuchasanenhanced

Bluetoothcapability,calledSmartReady,aswellasdirectWi‐Ficonnectivitythatwillalsoallowreal‐

timedatainputfromsmartpenandpaper.ThisnotonlyremovestherequirementtohaveaPC‐based

dockingstationaspartofthesmartpenandpapersolution,butitalsoopensupbroaderusecasesthat

couldbenefitfrommorerapidorevenrealtimeconnectivity.Thisalsoextendsthesophisticationofthe

characteranddataprocessingcapabilitiesofasmartpenbyenablingmoreoftheseservicestoexistin

realtimeonaconnecteddevice,bethataPC,orevenatabletorsmartphone.

Cloud‐basedfunctionality.Oneofimportantusecasesforenhancedconnectivityinvolvesenabling

smartpenandpapersolutionstoaccessasetofcloud‐basedservices,animportantcomponentin

Anoto’sfutureroadmap.ThisisanimportantenhancementforAnoto,asitwillenableasignificant

improvementtotheprocessesenabledbysmartpenandpapersolutions.Includedwouldberelatively

simplefunctionssuchascloudbasedstorageandinformationmanagement,aswellasmorecomplex

servicessuchasenhancedworkflowandapplicationintegration.AnAnotocloudwouldalsoallowfor

thecreationofanappstoreforsmartpenandpapertechnology,andwouldenablethirdpartyservices

suchasprinton‐demandservicesforsmartpaperandforms.

Conclusion:SmartPenandPaperTechnologyandInnovation

TheexistingsolutionsenabledbyAnotoanditspartnersproveanimportantpointconcerningthe

relationshipofpapertokeybusinessprocesses:aslongastherearepeopleinvolved,paperremainsa

popularanduser‐friendlycomponentinmanybusinessprocesses,particularlythosethatpre‐datethe

PCandtablet.And,aslongaspaperispartoftheprocess,thereisanopportunityforasmartpenand

papersolutiontoautomateoroptimizethatprocesswithoutrequiringsignificantreworkingofthe

processorretrainingoftheusers.

Empoweringoldprocesseswithnewformsofoptimization,however,isn’ttheonlysweetspotfor

Anoto’ssmartpenandpaper.Therearenumerousexamplesofnetnewprocessesthatleveragethis

technology.Inoneexample,aSwedishhomehealthcareproviderplacesaprinted“box”onthedoorsill

ofapatient’shome,andwhenthathomecareworkerarrives,heorshetouchesasmartpentothebox


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andtherebyrecordsthetimeanddateofthestartofthevisit.Theprocessisrepeateduponexiting,and

digitaltimestamphasnowbeencreatedthatcanbeusedforsupervisoryorauditpurposes.

Thisflexibilityisthehallmarkofsmartpenandpapertechnology–thebestofanold,familiar

experiencewiththebestofthenewdigital,mobileworld.Twoyearsintothetabletrevolution,it’s

becomingincreasinglyclearthatsometimesasmartpenandpaperareallauserneeds.AsAnoto

expandsthescopeofitsofferingsandmakesiteasiertocreatesmartforms,store,andmanagethese

formsinthecloud,andcreatesmartpaperandpenprocessesthatenhanceexistingbusinessprocesses,

themoreitwillbeobviousthataPCandtabletaren’talwaysthebesttoolsforthejob.

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