Stop the Bleeding: Secure Your Information without Band-Aids

December 4

2014

Learn how to stay on top of your paper and reinvent your company by becoming the auditor, bullet-proofing your information management and staying accountable. Simple advice for reaping the benefits of going paperless.

A Guide for Paper-Based Businesses

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A Guide for Paper-Based Businesses

December, 2014

Author:

Jessica Champion, Director of Marketing

Conversion Technologies International, Inc.

Sources:

Freer, Kate. “The Move to Invoice Workflow Automation [New PayStream Advisors Report].” blog.corcentric.com. Corcentric, November 6, 2014. Web. December 4, 2014. < http://blog.corcentric.com/the-move-to-invoice-workflow-automation-new-paystream-advisors-report/>

Kempner, Dennis. “Ten Benefits of Going Paperless.” community.aiim.org. AIIM, July 29, 2014. Web. December 3, 2014. < http://community.aiim.org/blogs/dennis-kempner/2014/07/29/ten-benefits-of-going-paperless>

Kovar, Joseph F. “8 Surprising Disaster Recovery Stats.” CRN.com. CRN, September 7, 2012. Web. December 3, 2014. < http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/storage/240006796/8-surprising-disaster-recovery-stats.htm>

Copyright © 2014 Conversion Technologies International, Inc.

7000 Atrium Way, Suite 2

Mount Laurel, NJ 08054

(856) 722-5588 │(800) 840-4CTI

www.ctiimage.com │info@ctiimage.com

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Executive Summary CHANCES ARE, if you’re a company, you have files. It doesn't matter how many or

what types of files you're storing, you probably have recordkeeping requirements,

compliance mandates, and personnel and clients who depend on the information you

house.

But have you ever questioned the security of your information? After all, just because

files are held in a locking cabinet at the end of the day, doesn’t mean they’re always

secure. Do you have disaster recovery methods in place?

According to CRN’s 2012 report, 8 Surprising Disaster Recovery Stats, “Only 51 percent

of small businesses have an IT business continuity plan in place, ensuring IT systems

are up and running within 24 hours, compared to 74 percent of large businesses.” This

information comes from a survey conducted by Regus, a London-based provider of

flexible workspace for businesses

worldwide.

CRN also found that United States-

based businesses are behind the

curve when it comes to disaster

recovery facilities and alternate

workspaces, compared to other

countries such as Japan, France and

Canada. And for those companies

that do have remote offices, a survey

conducted by Sepaton reported

inadequate protection of 15 percent of the data held in those alternate locations.

But what’s even more alarming than the lack of preparedness and sufficient measures

taken to protect data are the findings of a study by Acronis and the Ponemon Institute

after surveying thousands of IT experts. The results of the survey show that a

staggering 60 percent of system downtimes are caused by human error, while only 10-

26 percent are caused by natural or onsite disasters such as earthquakes or fires.

Human error accounts for more system downtimes than even server issues and power

outages, and for 86 percent of the companies surveyed, downtimes experienced in a

12-month period cost each business an average of $366,363 per year.

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The same survey also revealed

shortcomings in the protection

of machine data and servers,

both physical and virtual. Only

about 37 percent of businesses

in the study reported backing

up their virtual machines on a

daily basis, and about 49

percent back up their virtual

machines weekly or monthly. *Source: CRN

So what does this mean for

you? Well, it could mean that

it’s time to evaluate your

office’s information

management processes.

Leading document and

information management

industry specialists encourage companies to perform their own mock-audits, especially

in those industries where surprise audits, field examinations, and compliance surveys

are commonplace.

Becoming the Auditor PAPER-BASED PROCESSES are seriously threatened by the possibility of water or fire

damage. Moving to a paperless model allows a company versatile access to their

information electronically, which also allows for easier back-up, storage, and retrieval.

Going paperless not only enhances a company’s disaster recovery readiness, but it also

delivers huge ROI – return on investment. As stated by Dennis Kempner in AIIM’s blog

from July, 2014, “Many people think the switch to paperless will cost more, in terms of

training, hardware and software than continuing to be paper-based. And, while

expenses do exist, the return on investment is enormous. For some businesses, the

switch to paperless can pay for itself within a matter of weeks or months.”

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For many industries, especially healthcare and

banking, compliance is also a key concern. Ensure

compliance instead of complaints by asking yourself,

who’s really profiting from all that paper?

Inefficiencies and redundancies caused by paper-

based processes are costly. Don’t believe us?

If your processes are antiquated, take a look at your

bottom line and evaluate how much money your

company has spent on printing and photocopier

costs, storage expenses, and labor. The answer

might surprise you.

Furthermore, aside from cost and efficiency issues,

customer service and on-site security are

compromised in companies who are heavily

dependent on paper. Many office employees spend

unnecessary time looking for misplaced files.

In the same blog from AIIM, Kempner informs us

that seven percent of all paper documents get lost or

misfiled. Staff could spend their time much more

efficiently without printing, organizing, copying, filing,

and retrieving so much paper.

We’ve all been left on hold while a customer service

representative goes to locate our file and leaf

through it until they find the appropriate document.

As Kempner says, “When digital documents can be

found instantaneously by keyword search, customer

service can greatly improve.”

And besides, have you ever asked yourself how

secure your files really are at the end of the day?

What happens when employees leave their desks or

forget to lock cabinets? What about after hours?

Just because your documents are held in locking file

cabinets doesn’t mean they’re always 100 percent

secure.

Filing cabinet locks can break easily, and where

there’s a will to reach physically-stored information,

there’s usually a way. By going electronic, your

company will ensure that all files and file access will

be accounted for, and you’ll have an audit trail of

any changes performed within your electronic

records management system.

Who’s really profiting from all that paper?

Copier and printer suppliers

Paper and supply companies

Building leasing companies

Storage facilities

(Certainly not your customers, employees, or

your bottom line!)

“When digital documents can be found instantaneously by keyword search, customer service can greatly improve.”

– Dennis Kempner, AIIM

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Staying on top of your paper means more than just evaluating what it’s costing

you, though. Don’t let a surprise examination catch your company off-guard. For

the unprepared office, visits

from field examiners and

auditors can be a time-

consuming distraction, not to

mention stressful.

Conducting a mock audit of

your company’s policies,

processes, and recovery

measures can enhance your

thoroughness and patch holes

in your information

management protocol.

DOCUMENT FORMAT can make

a big difference in security and

efficiency, too. Consider

imaging your loose-leaf documents or stacks of paper and storing the images within a

secure content management solution customized for your company, and outsource it!

Many companies specialize in this type of project, whether you have archives, back-file,

or day-forward projects. The cost of letting an expert do it for you is minimal when you

consider that it guarantees speed, flexibility, quality, and ROI plus improved profitability.

However, if you prefer to do it yourself, many of the same companies will provide you

with the necessary hardware, software, training, and implementation to make it happen.

Work Smarter, Not Harder SICK OF THE PAPER-CUTS, band-aids, and dry, chapped fingers and knuckles? Sorting

and sifting through files, especially when the cabinets are crammed to capacity, is often

painstaking work. The amount of time it takes to put something away and find it again

on a daily basis grows exponentially whenever a new account is added or a change is

made to a customer’s file, and individual documents are easily damaged.

Not to mention, office space is limited and expensive. If your office is starting to feel like

it’s closing in on you because more filing cabinets are being added and desks are being

pushed closer together, it’s time to re-think your real estate. What else could you be

doing if you were maximizing the space you’re paying for? Could you afford to hire

another employee? Could you reallocate funds towards some other meaningful cause

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that usually gets relegated to the “if we have money left over” line of the budget, such as

charitable contributions or client events?

To put it frankly, filing cabinets are fossils. Digitization is the way of the future, and any

information management company that’s worth your time will become an extension of

your staff and help your organization overcome its fears of going paperless. Once you

see just how smoothly most information management solutions integrate with your

current environment, you’ll be reaping the rewards of your increased productivity and

customer satisfaction in no time!

Your Department Stakeholders

Will Thank You

WONDERING if your company leans more heavily on paper than those in other

industries? Some examples of industry types with an intense influx of paper include

healthcare, banking and financial services, insurance, education, government,

manufacturing, legal, pharmaceutical, transportation…you get the point. Not many

fields are immune to paper.

And though the digital revolution has brought about many improvements in process

automation and efficiency, even some of the most contemporary and modernized

companies still have universally paper-challenged departments, such as human

resources, accounts payable, and accounts receivable.

Luckily, there are content management solutions designed specifically with these

departments in mind. Platforms are available to HR departments of all sizes to

streamline the hiring process with a flexible, responsive workflow.

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Significant improvements have also been made in the areas of Accounts Payable and

Receivable, through invoice virtualization and streamlined PO requisition. By

implementing software solutions like some of the ones available today, companies can

increase control over the entire payables process and maximize scalability and

efficiency.

Bullet-Proof Your Information

to Unleash Earning Potential TO SUMMARIZE, going paperless doesn’t have to be a burden. As a matter of fact,

once you make the initial leap, your information will work for you and not the other way

around. The document management industry has been completely revolutionized to

become so much more than just storage and shredding. Many leading companies

embrace the latest information management strategies to ensure that your conversion

project is handled with the greatest care and meets the highest standards.

There’s no limit to the amount of increase in productivity your company could see after implementing a document management plan.

According to a November 2014 blog post from Corcentric’s Kate Freer titled “The Move to Invoice Workflow Automation,” a recent PayStream Advisors report shows great increased in e-invoicing, “which grew from 29% in 2011 to 48% in 2014.”

Among the companies surveyed, 47% admittedly “do not measure their processing costs, making it difficult to determine the value of automating their systems.”

However, when asked which issues most often contributed to “late payments and lost discounts, 68% said ‘manual routing of invoices’ and 58% cited ‘lengthy approval cycles.

“One of the benefits that…has made a significant impact on companies that have implemented IWA is the detailed

tracking, reporting, and analytics that have allowed these companies to

make more strategic business decisions, enabled them to forecast

spend more effectively, and provided them with complete audit trails of all

transactions.” – Kate Freer, Corcentric

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There are even some companies out there who are a one-stop shop, meaning they can

capture and digitize any media type and convert information to various industry formats

to allow quick retrieval and multiple-user access to your company’s most valuable asset

– its documentation. An example of such companies’ processes is illustrated below.

As you can see, the cutting-edge tools that are

available to document management companies

today will allow you to convert information of any

condition, medium, or size onto encrypted hard

drives, CD-Rom or DVDs, software solutions,

EDMS/EHR databases, and more.

And if your company doesn’t already utilize an

EDMS, many companies offer several cost-

effective on-premise or cloud-based solutions.

You name the desired medium and your

document management partner will export to it

according to your specifications and the highest

known industry standards.

The benefits of partnering with document

management experts and information specialists

are endless. With their experience and

credibility, the company of your choice will

complete your project quickly, saving you

priceless time.

They will also give you the flexibility of choosing

how and where your information will be

processed, guaranteeing cohesive management

and security of all documentation, which takes

the stress off of you.

Afraid your employees might need training on a

new software solution? Don’t worry – your

content management specialist wants to ensure

a flawless implementation, so they will happily

teach your staff how to navigate your new

platform.

And lastly, quality control is typically a

requirement of document management and

information solutions companies. The right

partner will take your final product seriously and

adhere to strict standards to deliver

unsurpassed image quality and accuracy.

Reinvent and revitalize your company by achieving greater compliance, improved

efficiency, and enhanced security, and watch your business flourish like never before.

Put an end to rummaging through file cabinets, desk drawers, and storage lockers to find

documents you need now. Store, search, and retrieve your information with the click of a

mouse or swipe of a finger. Say goodbye to the days of lost or misplaced information

and long customer hold times, and make way for increased intake, customer and

employee satisfaction, and most importantly: growing revenue!

If your company could benefit from completing a document conversion project of any

type or size, feel free to reach out to CTI with your questions. We’ll educate you and

provide a consultative evaluation of your needs. We can also recommend some of the

most highly regarded industry partners we’ve had the good fortune of working with. Visit

our website or contact us at the number below.

We’re here to help.

Copyright © 2014 Conversion Technologies International, Inc.

7000 Atrium Way, Suite 2

Mount Laurel, NJ 08054

(856) 722-5588│(800) 840-4CTI

www.ctiimage.com │info@ctiimage.com