DM Jul-Aug 2022

DOCUMENT 

M A N A G E R 

Dm 

www.document-manager.com 

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT 

IMAGING & CAPTURE 

WORKFLOW/BPM 

CONTENT MANAGEMENT 

Back to basics: 

The A-Z of filing systems 

Data compliance: 

Intelligent Document Processing can help 

Technology focus: 

Hyperautomation 

As-a-Service: 

Next year's model? 

NEWS • PRODUCT FOCUS • USER PROFILE • INTERVIEWS 

ISSN 1351-3222 Vol 30 No 4 July/August 2022

Turn your paper 

documents into a 

digital archive! 

Our expert services include: 

Document Scanning 

Document Storage 

Microfilm & Microfiche Scanning 

FreeDocs Document Management System 

Records Management Consultancy Services 

Discover the easy, hassle-free way to 

go paperless and protect your documents. 

Call 0800 612 4065 

or email sales@storetec.net 

www.storetec.net 

BPO/Outsourcing/Bureau Business of the Year 2021, 2020, 

2018, 2017, 2015, 2014 & 2013 

Compliance Product of the Year – FreeDocs Document 

Management 2020 

Records Management Product of the Year 2019 

London, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle and Hull.

Dm 

COMMENT 

Editor: 

Dave Tyler 

david.tyler@btc.co.uk 

Sub Editor: 

Mark Lyward 

mark.lyward@btc.co.uk 

Welcome to the July/August issue of 

Publishing Director: 

John Jageurs 

Document Manager magazine, 

john.jageurs@btc.co.uk 

Sales Manager: 

which covers topics as diverse as 

Abby Penn 

print management in the cloud, the shift 

abby.penn@btc.co.uk 

Lead Designer 

from RPA to hyperautomation, the increased 

Ian Collis 

use of intelligent document processing in a 

ian.collis@btc.co.uk 

Circulation/Subscriptions: 

digital mailroom, and the importance of an 

Christina Willis 

up-to-date data management and archiving 

christina.willis@btc.co.uk 

Managing Director: 

strategy - surely something for everyone? 

John Jageurs 

We also take a look at the future of the as-a-service model. As-aservice 

is not a new concept of course, but it was the cloud that 

john.jageurs@btc.co.uk 

Published by: Barrow & 

enabled its modern characteristics and made it an attractive option 

Thompkins Connexion Ltd 

35 Station Square, 

for large and small business alike. Standardised, on-demand and no 

Petts Wood 

commitment solutions not only bring obvious business benefits, but 

Kent BR5 1LZ 

Tel: 01689 616000 

also heighten customer expectations for sustained value. As Canon's 

Fax: 01689 826622 

Tony Wills explains: "Value for money has always been important, 

Subscriptions: 

but now customers are expressing a need to have more visibility 

UK: £35/year, £60/two years, 

£80/three years 

and control over their expenditure. The as-a-service model can help 

Europe: £48/year, £85 two 

facilitate this by eliminating substantial upfront payment, allowing 

years, £127 three years. 

ROW:£62/year, £115/two 

businesses to spread the bill across multiple months of service." 

years, £168/three years 

At the same time as looking at emerging technologies and the 

Published 6 times a year. 

Single copies can be bought 

future of the sector, we also take a look at a topic that has been 

for £8.50 (includes postage & 

around for as long as document management itself - in fact 

packaging). No part of this 

magazine may be reproduced 

significantly longer. Virtual Cabinet's Laura Bell gives us an in-depth 

without prior consent, in writing, 

from the publisher. 

breakdown of exactly how filing systems work - how they should 

©Copyright 2022 Barrow & 

operate, and why it's vital to get the basics right before even 

Thompkins 

thinking about automation: "Whichever order your filing hierarchy is 

Connexion Ltd 

in and whichever fields it uses to file information correctly, the 

Articles published reflect the 

most important thing is to make sure all employees are indexing, 

opinions of the authors and are 

not necessarily those of the 

and formatting the file titles in a consistent way." 

publisher or his employees. While 

every reasonable effort is made 

Consistency in filing is key, and there is no point trying to move to 

to ensure that the contents of 

a paperless approach if the basic filing structures have not been 

articles, editorial and advertising 

are accurate no responsibility can 

properly thought through beforehand. Anyone who's been in IT as 

be accepted by the publisher for 

errors, misrepresentations or any 

long as me will doubtless remember the old 'Garbage in, garbage 

resulting effects 

out' aphorism. It still holds true today of course - and is perhaps 

even more important in a world of exponential data growth! 

And last but not least is a reminder to nominate in this year's DM 

Awards - nominations close at the end of August, so readers have a 

few short weeks to share their choices before the all-important 

public vote opens. Check out the full list of awards categories on 

page 28, and head to the website www.dmawards.com to make 

your voice heard. Don't forget, there's no need to nominate in every 

category, you can simply select the ones you're interested in. 

Dave Tyler 

Editor 

david.tyler@btc.co.uk 


July/August 2022 

@DMMagAndAwards 

3

Dm CONTENTS 

C O N T E N T S 

JULY/AUGUST 

6 

8 

14 

18 

22 

..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 

MANAGEMENT: DIGITAL MAILROOM..........................................................…….6 

Jim Close of Kofax explains how to evolve your digital mailroom to become the 'beating 

heart' of your organisation 

STRATEGY: DATA COMPLIANCE………...........................................................…….8 

Stephen Boals of Ephesoft examines the potential uses of intelligent document processing 

(IDP) for data compliance 

CASE STUDY: TESCO BANK………….............................................................…….10 

Parseq has provided a successful lockbox cheque processing solution to Tesco Bank for over 

3 years, including throughout the challenging pandemic period 

OPINION: CLOUD-BASED DM………........................................................……….12 

There are numerous benefits to a cloud-based approach to document management, 

argues Grace Schneider of Storetec 

MANAGEMENT: FILING……..............................................................................…14 

Laura Bell of Virtual Cabinet breaks down the basics of filing, arguing that an 

understanding of what you need to file and why is every bit as important as how you 

choose to do it 

CASE STUDY: DOCUMENT LOGISTIX…….......................................................……18 

Fujitsu scanners enable Document Logistix to deliver secure and cost-effective outsourced 

document capture for millions of documents each year 

STRATEGY: ARCHIVAL……….........................................................................……20 

Nick Parkin of Proceed Group explains how to close the gap between business and I.T., and 

reap the rewards of data archiving 

CASE STUDY: KEYSTONE LAW……………................................................……….22 

Innovative UK law firm Keystone Law is enjoying continued accelerated growth with its 

'lawyer-first strategy', supported by NetDocuments 

TECHNOLOGY: MICROFILM……..................................................................……..24 

Kaycee Jaeger of e-ImageData explains why low magnification is essential in 

microfilm scanning 

OPINION: PRINT MANAGEMENT……..........................................................……..26 

David Jenkins, CEO at directprint.io, says that migrating print to the cloud is the easiest way 

to solve print-related pain points, and save money to boot 

EVENT: DM AWARDS 2022……..................................................................……..28 

Nominations are now open for this year's DM Awards - read on for all the categories, as 

well as the all-important dates for your diary 

TECHNOLOGY: HYPERAUTOMATION….........................................................……30 

Tim Hood of Hyland explains how hyperautomation can create "an interconnected, superefficient 

network of technologies" 

ANALYSIS: AS-A-SERVICE…..........................................................................…….32 

Canon's Tony Wills describes the next step forward for the 'as-a-service' model 

4 @DMMagAndAwards July/August 2022 www.document-manager.com

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Dm MANAGEMENT: DIGITAL MAILROOM 

Keeping the heart of your organisation healthy 

Jim Close of Kofax explains how to evolve your digital mailroom to become the 'beating 

heart' of your organisation 

Businesses thrive on data. Just as 

humans need their circulatory 

system running smoothly to remain 

healthy, every successful organisation 

depends on the unfettered flow of 

information throughout their operations 

and lines of business. 

Whether it's a new contract, customer 

contact details or the latest inventory 

report, getting data to the right people 

at the right time fuels business growth. 

In fact, it's so important that without a 

fast and efficient flow of information, 

you may even put normal business 

operations at risk. 

That's even more true today, as remote 

and hybrid work transforms the workplace 

and the risk of missing or misplacing key 

documents increases. To survive and thrive 

in the current hybrid-working customer 

experience-obsessed digital economy, you 

need your digital mailroom to be the 

beating heart of your business. 

After all, when information doesn't get to 

your digital mailroom - or can't seem to 

get out of it - your organisational arteries 

become clogged, slowing down the steady 

stream of data to places where it adds the 

most value. 

Although organisations digitised their 

mailrooms over the last few decades, 

scanning incoming documents and 

communications to reduce the amount of 

paper circulating, they may fall short of 

what's required today. 

An evolved digital mailroom leverages 

innovative intelligent automation 

technologies to digitise documents, extract 

key data and automatically route it to the 

people and applications needing it. With 

embedded artificial intelligence capabilities 

like natural language processing and 

machine learning, your mailroom can 

handle both structured and unstructured 

data more effectively. 

Cloud and artificial intelligence 

technologies can get information flowing 

to your hybrid workforce a lot more 

efficiently and securely than a paper-based 

or simple digital mailroom. You can both 

unlock the value of all the data your 

organisation receives and scale the benefits 

easily across the enterprise. 

POTENTIAL BLOCKAGES 

Evolving your digital mailroom will also 

bolster your organisation's defences 

against two major challenges. The 'Great 

Resignation' shows no signs of letting 

up, with one in five workers saying they 

are planning to quit in 2022. With 

work-life balance a higher priority, 

employees are opting for jobs that offer 

remote and hybrid work. Meanwhile, 

staying in compliance with a growing 

number of regulations is more difficult 

when the workplace expands to 

numerous virtual locations. 

To attract and retain employees, 89 

percent of leaders say they plan to invest 

in technology in the next 12 to 18 

months to support the hybrid workforce, 

according to the Hybrid Work Global 

Survey 2021. However, that technology 

had better include improved document 

security and compliance. 

Evolving your digital mailroom for a 

hybrid workforce will keep both employees 

and regulators happy. Digital documents 

can be delivered faster and more securely 

to employees, whether they're in the 

workplace or working remotely. You don't 

have to worry about losing a piece of 

paper, and you can control who has access 

to specific content. 

Intelligent automation also makes 

compliance easier. Companies can apply 

6 



www.document-manager.com

MANAGEMENT: DIGITAL MAILROOM Dm 

"AN EVOLVED DIGITAL MAILROOM LEVERAGES INNOVATIVE INTELLIGENT AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGIES TO 

DIGITISE DOCUMENTS, EXTRACT KEY DATA AND AUTOMATICALLY ROUTE IT TO THE PEOPLE AND APPLICATIONS 

NEEDING IT. WITH EMBEDDED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE CAPABILITIES LIKE NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING 

AND MACHINE LEARNING, YOUR MAILROOM CAN HANDLE BOTH STRUCTURED AND UNSTRUCTURED DATA 

MORE EFFECTIVELY." 

business rules for applicable industry 

regulations, and an electronic audit trail 

serves as a record of proof. Improved 

compliance has an added benefit of cost 

savings, as it helps your company avoid 

hefty penalties. 

REAP THE REWARDS 

Organisations that leverage intelligent 

automation and the cloud see quick 

and substantial gains. ROI is typically 

realised in the first year, thanks to the 

following benefits: 

1. More accurate data: Re-keying data is 

an unhealthy habit. When wrong data is 

entered into your systems, operations 

slow down. With automation, you can 

rest assured all incoming data is extracted, 

validated and routed accurately. 

2. Faster response times: As your business 

grows, so will the number of requests 

you'll receive. Slow, manual processes 

simply don't fit in the modern hybrid 

workplace. Digital mailroom automation 

processes documents and converts 

unstructured data so it's ready for your 

line of business systems. 

3. Improved insight and control: A datahealthy 

organisation can't run unattended. 

Intelligent automation improves 

performance by allowing companies to 

analyse and monitor critical applications. 

Actionable data improves visibility into 

which business processes are running 

smoothly and which ones need 

improvement. 

4. Happier customers and suppliers: As 

more companies digitally transform their 

own operations, they'll have higher 

expectations for interactions with your 

organisation. A digital mailroom will help 

you check the status of customer and 

supplier queries more quickly and create a 

more positive experience. 

HOW EVOLVED IS YOUR DIGITAL 

MAILROOM? 

How do you know if your digital mailroom 

is up to modern day tasks? These four 

questions can help you assess the quality 

of your current digital mailroom. 

1. Are you able to process all documents 

in any format or channel? For faster and 

more accurate document processing 

across the entire enterprise, your digital 

mailroom should be using artificial 

intelligence technologies like natural 

language processing, machine learning 

and mobile capture. Document 

intelligence capabilities can extract key 

information, categorize various document 

types and optimise data for processing. 

2. Can you automatically route data to the 

right person, every time? Much of the 

data your organisation receives supports 

multiple teams and processes. A 

connected system approach ensures 

information flows smoothly to various 

applications, software and databases. 

Your digital mailroom should be able to 

deliver details of a newly signed contract 

to sales, finance and customer support 

simultaneously. 

3. How optimised are your digital 

mailroom workflows? Digital mailroom 

automation software equipped with 

process orchestration makes it possible 

to get more work done without hiring 

more human workers. In fact, human 

employees can spend less time manually 

sorting through incoming mail and 

routing it to the right workflows and 

more time on higher value tasks that 

make your customers and suppliers 

happy. 

4. Have you automated manual, timeconsuming 

tasks? Digital 'robot' workers 

are ideal candidates for processing, 

extracting and validating incoming 

information.The work is done faster and 

without errors. RPA streamlines mailroom 

workflows, saving time and money. RPA 

bots can also keep up with the increased 

flow of information coming into the 

organisation, so you don't need to worry 

about how you'll handle the growing 

volume of mail over time. 

The evolved digital mailroom can 

efficiently process any content arriving in 

any channel and integrate the resulting 

context-sensitive data into the 

appropriate downstream business 

applications. This new powerhouse of 

business efficiency is no longer just a 

mailroom - it's the strong and healthy 

beating heart of your organisation that 

keeps information pumping and 

accelerates digital workflow 

transformation. 

More info: www.kofax.com 




7

Dm STRATEGY: DATA COMPLIANCE 

Compliance: is IDP the answer? 

Stephen Boals, SVP Strategy and Evangelism at Ephesoft, examines the potential 

uses of intelligent document processing (IDP) for data compliance 

Data compliance ensures that 

sensitive digital assets or 

data is organised and 

managed in a way to help 

companies meet business 

rules, workflows and policies 

along with legal and 

governmental regulations. It 

is also critical to the privacy 

of people's personal 

information and how 

organisations store and 

secure that sensitive data. An 

organisation's data fuels 

business processes, 

workflows, 

applications 

and 

ultimately decision-making and 

insights. 

Regulations around data compliance 

spell out what data needs to be 

protected, what processes are 

acceptable and what the penalties will 

be for failure to follow the rules. Data 

compliance ensures your business 

meets the minimum legal 

requirements. 

This often can be confused with data 

security, which covers all the processes 

and technologies of securing sensitive 

data, including firewalls, authentication 

and password protection protocols. 

Therefore, businesses must be data 

compliant per regulations, but that 

doesn't guarantee their data is secure - 

although the goal should be to have 

both data compliance and data 

security. To achieve security and privacy, 

8 July/August 2022 www.document-manager.com 

@DMMagAndAwards

STRATEGY: DATA COMPLIANCE Dm 

"ENABLING ACCESSIBLE DATA IS THE CRUX OF DATA COMPLIANCE. A SIMPLE EXAMPLE IS A PERSON WHO NO 

LONGER WANTS YOU TO HAVE THEIR DATA, WHICH COULD BE IN MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS AND FILES. IDP 

OFFERS AN AUTOMATED SOLUTION TO MAKE THE DATA SEARCHABLE SO IT CAN BE DELETED QUICKLY AND 

MEET PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS. OR, IN ONE CASE STUDY WITH VOPAK, THE WORLD'S LEADING INDEPENDENT 

TANK STORAGE COMPANY, THEY USED IDP AND WERE ABLE TO REDUCE THEIR AUDITS FROM 2-3 WEEKS TO 

ONLY A FEW HOURS BY ELIMINATING MANUAL DATA ENTRY AND SEARCHING." 

enterprises need data governance, 

which includes organisational policies 

and processes that control how data is 

managed in the organisation. 

THE COMPLIANCE LANDSCAPE 

With GDPR, California Consumer Privacy 

Act (CCPA), HIPAA, PCI DSS, PII, antimoney 

laundering (AML) and know your 

customer (KYC) regulations - and many 

more globally, businesses must find a 

way to become and stay data compliant. 

The results can be crippling. 

Organisations lose an average of 

US$4 million in revenue due to a 

single non-compliance event. 

(GlobalScape's The True Cost of 

Compliance with Data Protection 

Regulations) 

The leading risk among 

organisations for 2022 so far is cyber 

incidents (e.g. cyber crime, IT 

failure/outage, data breaches, fines 

and penalties) followed by business 

interruption (42%), including supply 

chain disruptions. (Statista) 

70% of risk and compliance experts 

said the pandemic has increased 

their reliance on technology to 

improve decision-making, 

performance monitoring and risk 

management. (Thomson Reuter's 

Fintech, Regtech and the Role of 

Compliance Report 2021) 

In a data compliance survey, 62.4% 

of survey respondents said that their 

company isn't "completely 

compliant" with the data regulations 

that apply to them, including GDPR, 

CCPA and CDPA. (Business 2 

Community Survey) 

WHERE DOES IDP FIT IN? 

In our current business world, 

documents are just a form of data 

that needs to be managed and 

governed. Most organisations have 

massive document repositories that 

sit as dark data, and can be a massive 

compliance headache. 

Intelligent document processing 

(IDP) is a solution that uses AI-based 

technology to capture, classify, 

extract, validate and export data from 

documents into another system. 

Modern IDP platforms transform 

documents with unstructured or 

semi-structured data into actionable, 

structured data that can be fed into 

other systems to automate 

workflows, centralise information, 

perform data analysis and business 

intelligence, as well as simply make a 

large volume of data easily 

searchable. 

Enabling accessible data is the crux 

of data compliance. A simple example 

is a person who no longer wants you 

to have their data, which could be in 

multiple applications and files. IDP 

offers an automated solution to make 

the data searchable so it can be 

deleted quickly and meet privacy 

requirements. Or, in one case study 

with Vopak, the world's leading 

independent tank storage company, 

they used IDP and were able to 

reduce their audits from 2-3 weeks to 

only a few hours by eliminating 

manual data entry and searching. 

Alliance Bank used IDP to not only 

speed up the loan application process 

but also to increase fraud prevention 

and detection. 

A RAFT OF BENEFITS 

There are hundreds of use cases for 

intelligent document processing, 

depending on industry and business 

needs, from accounts payable, human 

resources, mailroom and applications to 

loans, insurance claims, financial 

documents, records and transcripts. 

Here's how IDP can help as it relates to 

data compliance: 

Can process large volumes of 

documents fast 

Streamlines regulatory reporting 

Connects with any RPA, analytics 

applications or any other system of 

record for more complete 

information 

Eliminates human errors from manual 

data entry 

Enables searchable data for easy 

removal of customer information if 

requested 

Decreases audit times from weeks to 

hours 

Can find documents in seconds 

Drives employee productivity, 

accuracy and efficiency 

Improves customer experience and 

satisfaction 

Can be used for KYC or AML 

initiatives to reduce fraud and 

suspicious activity 

The consequence of non-compliance 

can risk financial losses and fines, security 

breaches, license revocations, business 

disruptions, poor patient care, trust, 

brand perception and reputation. It's 

easier than you think to add IDP into your 

tech stack and avoid the consequences. 

More info: www.ephesoft.com 




9

Dm CASE STUDY: TESCO BANK 

Cheques and balances 

Parseq has provided a successful lockbox cheque processing solution to Tesco Bank 

for over 3 years, including throughout the challenging pandemic period 

with associated cheques provided to 

the nominated clearing provider to 

enter clearing. The Tesco Bank 

deployment has been a success in 

numerous ways: 

Tesco Bank is one of the most 

recognisable retail brands in the 

UK providing customers with a 

wide range of banking products, 

linking loyalty products with the parent 

retail group. Tesco's activity as a key 

supplier and key service provider 

through the pandemic increased 

substantially. Through the dramatic 

change in the marketplace, their 

primary focus was to continue to 

provide critical banking services to all 

customers. The key driver for this was 

to ensure a continuation of service 

through a challenging time. 

Like many large organisations, Tesco 

Bank opted to outsource services to 

optimise efficiency, reduce operational 

costs and enable internal resources to 

focus on key elements within the 

organisation. The nature of the 

contract originally involved Parseq 

being on-boarded as a supplier change 

(with HSBC) and followed with a full 

contract transition to Parseq as a direct 

service provider. Partnering with Parseq 

enabled reliable management of the 

service for the customer base. 

RELIABILITY OF SERVICE 

The priority for Tesco Bank was to have 

reliability of service which Parseq 

provided seamlessly and promptly 

without error. A driving desire for Tesco 

was efficient responsiveness to their 

requirements to enable an effective 

process that benefited the entire 

customer experience. 

The transition to Parseq sought to 

achieve the following: 

Providing one standard service 

option 

Partnering with a reliable service 

Continuous investment strategy, 

strengthening key services Value for 

money 

Insightful, real time MI & data 

intelligence 

Responsiveness to changes in service 

or requirements 

A PEDIGREE SOLUTION 

Through strategic collaboration and 

end-to-end communication between 

Tesco and Parseq, the proposed 

solution was to offer a lockbox service 

to Tesco Bank products. Parseq has an 

extensive history and pedigree in 

delivering UK and international lockbox 

services to leading banks and financial 

institutions with many clients 

benefiting from the service for in excess 

of 45 years. 

The lockbox service consists of: receipt 

of cheques and remittances, opening, 

validating, scanning, data capture, 

supplying required data to the client, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seamless service from deposit to 

the point of clearing: over 75K 

cheques processed. 

Providing optimum service delivery 

through challenging times and 

exceeding service levels. 

Collaborative partnership with Tesco 

Bank has open and clear 

communication, with real time 

processing information. 

Tesco Bank have had no escalations 

over the term of the partnership and 

provide regular positive feedback for 

the services and future plans. 

Client visibility with detailed reports 

and status updates on cheque 

processing. 

ADIR solution to provide visibility on 

images for cheques and remittances 

24/7. 

Following the smooth transition & 

implementation of the initial service, 

Parseq have continued to provide Tesco 

Bank a robust, reliable and responsive 

service with no incidents or issues over 

the last 3 years. 

"Transitioning to Parseq as our lockbox 

cheque processing partner was 

completely seamless and pain free," 

commented Paul Galletta, commercial 

manager, Tesco Bank. "From the initial 

engagement and implementation to 

the robust service delivery, we have 

been highly impressed throughout. 

Parseq's support and sheer 

responsiveness has meant that our 

customers have continued to receive 

our critical services and exceptional 

levels of customer experience through 

such a challenging pandemic." 

More info: www.parseq.com 


Dm OPINION: CLOUD-BASED DM 

Cloud covered 

There are numerous benefits to a cloud-based 

approach to document management, argues Grace 

Schneider of Storetec 

Many businesses are moving away 

from network installed 

document management systems 

and are moving toward cloud-based 

systems instead. This is due to many 

factors such as the lack of versatility, the 

cost and resources associated with 

hosting and managing it, and 

security/compliance. 

What do we mean by 'cloud' in this 

context? The cloud refers to servers that 

are available on-demand over the 

internet, without direct management by 

the user. The cloud enables users to 

access files from any location or device 

because the hosting takes place on servers 

in a data centre, rather than locally on the 

users' device or server - making it 

incredibly versatile and the perfect 

solution for remote/hybrid working. 

BENEFITS OF A CLOUD BASED DMS 

Hosted by a third-party supplier - Having 

a dedicated in-house IT team to manage 

the network is at a premium and not the 

case for most SME's. By transferring the 

responsibility to a third-party supplier 

whose primary job and expertise is to 

host and maintain the system, you can 

ensure your data is in the best possible 

hands. In addition, many suppliers are 

very easily accessible if any issues do 

occur, perhaps even more than your 

internal IT team who will have other day 

to day priorities. 

Advanced search capabilities - A DMS 

like FreeDocs has vast search capabilities 

which means employees can access 

documents quicker than ever before. 

FreeDocs has the capability of searching 

through 238 million records in just 4 

seconds, ensuring that employees are 

using their time more efficiently. Such 

capability is far greater on a cloudbased 

system with computing power 

that can be upscaled seamlessly 

compared to an internal system with 

hardware limitations. 

Support remote/hybrid working - The 

cloud offers versatility and accessibility as 

users do not need to log in through a 

virtual private network (VPN) to 

collaborate. Operating on the Amazon 

AWS cloud infrastructure, FreeDocs 

facilitates secure access from any 

location, at any time. This gives workers 

instant access to information that could 

otherwise take valuable time and 

resources to locate and access. 

Furthermore, FreeDocs' concurrent 

licensing structure facilitates effective 

collaboration, allowing teams to access 

the same information simultaneously 

from their individual remote locations. 

Security - Cyber threats are always 

evolving. Many SME's do not have the 

time or expertise to ensure network safety 

on their own. With a cloud based DMS, 

12 




OPINION: CLOUD-BASED DM Dm 

your data is protected by numerous 

layers of security. FreeDocs is hosted on 

the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud 

via an online portal, secured using 

password authentication and SHA256 

encryption via a HTTPS connection. 

Additional security features are available 

such as IP locking, Multi-Factor 

Authentication and Single Sign-on 

(SSO) to facilitate compliance with all of 

your own internal security protocols. 

Scalability - The cloud is not limited to a 

certain amount of usage, unlike 

network installed DMS' which may 

require additional hardware to provide 

sufficient storage and processing 

power. No matter if you are a small 

business with limited documents or an 

international corporation with massive 

amounts, you can benefit from a cloud 

based DMS. FreeDocs is instantly 

scalable to businesses of any size. You 

can instantly upscale or downscale your 

usage and storage space seamlessly, to 

keep up with fluctuations in demand. 

Your FreeDocs database can grow with 

your business. 

Flexibility - With a cloud based DMS, 

licenses can be added as needed by 

contacting your provider. Users can 

easily be given access to the system and 

new databases can be created and 

removed with minimal effort from you. 

A network installed system does not 

allow this type of flexibility. 

Integration from MS Office applications 

- With FreeDocs' new MS Office 

Uploader tool, you can add documents 

you are working on directly into 

FreeDocs. Just download the free add-in 

from the Microsoft Office add-ins store, 

log in to FreeDocs and click upload. A 

copy of the selected file will be added 

to the database of your choice - 

allowing all the accessibility, security, 

and other benefits of FreeDocs for your 

file immediately, all from your chosen 

Office product. 

Integration with line-of-business 

systems - Storetec's in-house software 

development team is constantly 

working on FreeDocs to create custom 

solutions to interface with client's own 

systems to improve their business 

operations. 

No upfront costs - FreeDocs has no 

upfront fees. We will even offer you a 

3-month free trial to ensure you love 

the system before you commit. 

Ongoing training - Your supplier should 

want you to get the most out of your 

system. At Storetec we don't want to 

see you struggle, we offer on-going 

training for your team whenever 

needed, to ensure you have on-going 

support and are using your system to its 

greatest potential. 

Are you interested in seeing these 

benefits for yourself or just want to 

explore your options? Contact our team 

today to get a 3-month free trial of 

FreeDocs. Our software development 

team can work alongside you to create a 

bespoke solution which meets your 

business's requirements. We are available 

for Teams/Zoom calls at your request. We 

are confident that you'll love it. 

More info: www.storetec.net 




13

Dm MANAGEMENT: FILING 

Back to basics: the A-Z of filing systems 

Laura Bell of Virtual 

Cabinet breaks down the 

basics of filing, arguing 

that an understanding of 

what you need to file and 

why is every bit as 

important as how you 

choose to do it 

Whether it's pesky piles of paper 

that are getting you down or 

you're facing a digital 

document disaster at work, efficient 

filing is the only way to truly tame the 

chaos. Our world is full of data and 

that data has to go somewhere. 

Spreadsheets, notes, reports, records, 

meeting minutes, and legal documents 

all become one thing: documents. 

Documents become files and files (as 

their name suggests) need filing or else 

chaos and anarchy will reign! Well, 

that may be a little over-dramatic, but 

misfiling and inconsistent arranging of 

files can certainly result in a whole lot 

of inconvenience and stress. 

With a view to being helpful, here is 

our guide on how to file, manage, and 

organise your documents so you never 

struggle to find a file again. Whether 

you're wading through physical or 

digital documents, we can help you 

make your system efficient and 

minimise the time wasted on filing and 

finding documents. 

WHY DOES EFFICIENT FILING 

MATTER? 

When you're dealing with paper 

documents, inadequate filing systems 

can cause irreparable damage that can 

lead to serious awkwardness when the 

audit officer comes a-knocking. In terms 

of GDPR and data compliance, 

businesses are now solely responsible for 

the protection and timely destruction of 

their internal and external data. Laws 

govern which types of information you 

can and cannot store and for how long 

it is ethical to keep. 

Paper filing sure has its drawbacks 

which is why most companies have at 

least started the process of going 


MANAGEMENT: FILING Dm 

paperless and switching to digital 

files. However, if you're struggling to 

find workarounds for physical 

paperwork and want to keep those 

document files in an orderly fashion 

for ease of work, then fear not. We're 

here to help. Similarly, if your 

company has fully embraced the age 

of digital transformation and you're 

looking for ways to make your virtual 

filing cabinet a well-ordered TARDIS 

of data and information, then great! 

We've got the goods to ensure your 

digital filing system is squeaky clean 

and easy to navigate for everyone. 

FIVE WAYS TO FILE 

There are generally considered to be 

five main ways of organising files, 

regardless of whether they are virtual 

documents or hard copies. Any of 

these should be a good place to start 

when implementing a company-wide 

filing system for paper files and 

electronic files alike. 

By subject - categorise files 

according to the subject of the 

contents of the document. This is 

a logical way of organising files 

because it groups documents that 

are similar in topic or structure. 

Alphabetically - even within larger 

categories, filing things 

alphabetically can make more 

sense for the next person who 

wants to find something. Many 

electronic filing systems already do 

this within digital folders. 

Numerically - depending on what 

the majority of your documents 

contain, filing by number can 

make a lot of sense. 

By place - This won't apply to 

every industry sector or business, 

but for files that are to do with a 

specific location or place, it can 

make sense to order them by 

location. 

By date - This is a pretty common 

method of filing documents. For 

example, filing financial 

documents by year will reduce the 

time wasted scrolling through 

records from past years. 

THE FILING HIERARCHY 

Most companies will choose to 

combine two or more of the above 

options to organise documents and 

groups of documents. This is fine, but 

it's important to set a standard that 

works across the whole company so 

that everyone can understand and use 

the same set of rules. 

This will be vital when it comes to 

retrieving files at a later date, 

especially if the person trying to find 

the document wasn't the one who 

initially filed it. The order you choose 

has to be logical for the types of 

documents you typically use and the 

most important filing criterion should 

start the file title so that it's easy to 

identify later. 

For example, if you had an estate 

agency or property business, you 

might decide that the most important 

way to divide files is by location 

(location, location). You could create 

folders for each country, city, or 

individual address where properties 

associated with your company are. 

You may then want to further subdivide 

files within these folders again 

by date or more specific location to 

help distinguish between types of 

documents. 

Typically, you wouldn't want to use 

more than three filing methods in 

your hierarchy, or it will get too 

confusing for everyone to remember. 

As with many things in life, simplicity 

is often better, and this will certainly 

help avoid misfiling which can be 

extremely frustrating for those trying 

to find the file later. In short, you 

need to balance having a descriptive 

file name with having a simple system. 

The diagram on the next page shows 

two examples of filing formulas that 

use three filing criteria to file 

documents for their business. The 

bottom of the pyramid is the first 

priority and the first part of the file 

name. Then you work up the pyramid. 

A file name using filing hierarchy A 

might look like this: 'Susan Jones tax 

return 2022' OR 'CJ Construction 

employee handbook 2016'. 

A file name using Hierarchy B with 

index numbers as the priority criteria 

might look like this: 'SJ12001 2022 tax 

return' OR 'CJC4503 Jan 2016 

employee handbook'. You can either 

assign index numbers to each case, 

task, or client or perhaps you use 

software that generates this field for 

you. In any case, the index code 

should feature in the file title. 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY 

Whichever order your filing hierarchy 

is in and whichever fields it uses to file 

information correctly, the most 

important thing is to make sure all 

employees are indexing, and 

formatting the file titles in a 

consistent way. If you do choose to 

use client or case reference numbers, 

as in filing hierarchy B, you must make 

sure that these indexing numbers are 

available for all people in the company 

to view. A spreadsheet with each 

client's name next to its relevant index 

code would suffice, as long as that, 

too is filed correctly. 

If you take nothing else away from 

this article then hark at this: 

inconsistency in filing = data chaos. 

Therefore, it matters less what your 

filing hierarchy is than making sure 

everyone is using the same filing 

method. 

PRINCIPLES OF PAPER FILING 

While many industries are well on 

their way to becoming fully paperless, 

others have struggled to make the 

switch. Paper prescriptions, legal 

contracts, and financial documents 

are amongst the worst offenders that 

stubbornly resist digitalisation. If 

you're in one of those industries 

where the paperless office is but a 

distant dream then the following is 

for you. 

GET A SYSTEM 

As we said earlier, you can choose any 

method of filing, as long as it's simple 

enough for everyone to adopt and 

general enough to be used for all 

documents company-wide. Implement 




15

Dm MANAGEMENT: FILING 

a system and make sure people stick 

to it. 

BE RUTHLESS 

Statistics say that once a document is 

filed, there is a 95% chance of it never 

being retrieved. That's not because 

admin staff are daft or that they're 

shoving it all in the filing cabinets 

without a recognised order. We love 

you, filing wizards! No, the reason 

why only 5% of filed documents will 

ever feel the sunlight on their ink 

again, is that we only need to retrieve 

those few files again. 

There are some types of files you are 

obliged to keep for data protection 

and audit purposes, but before you 

file six copies of meeting minutes 

from an internal meeting, think 

logically. Don't file what you don't 

need to. It only becomes someone's 

job to shred it at the end of the 

retention period, maybe even yours. 

GET THE RIGHT TOOLS 

A poor workman blames his/her tools, 

or so we've heard, but without the 

proper tools in place, your filing 

system could result in an audit 

disaster with no one to blame but 

you. Some of the items you'll need to 

invest in to keep a well-ordered paper 

filing system are: 

Plastic wallets, folders, dividers, 

and paper - a lot of it 

Industrial scanners, printers, and 

printer ink - a lot of that too 

Stationery, including (but by no 

means limited to) pens, pencils, 

paper-clips, file ties, hole punchers, 

and the tiniest of tweezers to pick 

up all the tiny paper doughnut 

holes off the carpet when you're 

done with it 

Giant, metal filing cabinets to 

protect your critical documents 

from typhoons and other disasters 

And of course, you'll need some 

sort of mild sedative on hand for 

when the paper tray in the printer 

starts jamming every third use 

With a steady supply of all these 

items, plasters on hand for paper 

cuts, and a lot of patience, you can 

continue to run a paper-full office for 

some time to come. But then again, 

why would you? 

PAPER VS. DIGITAL DOCUMENT 

MANAGEMENT 

Alternatively, for a paperless office to 

work you will need the following 

items: 

A quality document management 

system - such as Virtual Cabinet 

A small reliable scanner to convert 

paper documents to digital files to 

put in it 

You get the point. Just because you 

can archive paper files efficiently with 

collective, consistent filing techniques, 

it doesn't mean you should continue 

to do so. Although we don't deal 

solely with accounting professionals 

Virtual Cabinet has a very real 

presence in the accounting world - 

one profession that is widely 

recognised to be one of the hardest 

to turn paperless, but we help 

businesses go paperless every day. It 

not only benefits the environment and 

reduces your costs, but a great 

document management system can 

and will save you more time than 

you'll know what to do with in your 

work day. Who doesn't like the sound 

of that? 

FINAL THOUGHTS 

If you're reading this, then we dare 

say we're preaching to the converted 

regarding paperless offices, but it's 

never a bad idea to take stock of what 

paper is being produced by your 

business or coming into your office 

from external sources. Can outgoing 

and incoming post be reduced, or 

client documents sent electronically 

through a portal? 

Whatever stage your paperless 

journey is at right now, you can use 

our filing tips to create a companywide, 

consistent file naming hierarchy 

that will ensure you can always find 

what you're looking for. Alternatively, 

of course, you could just let Virtual 

Cabinet index and automatically file 

your incoming documents without 

any fuss. Virtual Cabinet has powerful 

integrations with dozens of other 

software systems, automatic email 

capture, and everything you need to 

keep your audit trail squeaky clean. 

More info: www.virtualcabinet.com 


Dm CASE STUDY: DOCUMENT LOGISTIX 

No room for errors 

Fujitsu scanners enable Document Logistix to deliver secure and cost-effective outsourced 

document capture for millions of documents each year 

benefits such as the ability to quickly 

find and analyse data at scale. 

With many of its customers 

Document Logistix manages the 

transport and storage of physical 

documents itself, delivering them to be 

processed at their headquarters in 

Milton Keynes. A dedicated team is 

responsible for the scanning of physical 

documents, so that they can be 

automatically processed and managed 

in Document Manager. 

Document Logistix is a global 

document management provider 

- often featured in the pages of 

this magazine - helping SME's and 

blue-chip customers navigate their 

digital transformations by digitising 

archived paper-based documents. 

Delivered through its Document 

Manager (no relation!) Platform, 

Document Logistix extracts information 

to help businesses manage their 

internal document workflows and 

capture archived data more effectively. 

Compliance with data protection 

regulations requires organisations to 

introduce digital infrastructures for 

storing and documents. This is 

particularly important within business 

functions dealing with sensitive 

information governed by strict rules 

such as in HR. However, digitising large 

scale information can also deliver other 

MINIMISING ERRORS & DELAYS 

In the UK, Document Logistix has 

managed this process from collection 

to digitisation for businesses such as 

DHL, Huddersfield University and 

Queens University Belfast. Working 

through millions of documents per 

year, it is imperative that capture is 

efficient and issues such as feed errors 

or any other delays are kept to a 

minimum. 

To maintain the highest quality, 

Document Logistix has twelve Fujitsu 

devices (made up of six fi-6800 and six 

fi-7800 devices) in its bureau. The 

robust fi Series production scanner 

range offers reliable, high-speed results 

and minimises downtime, while 

maintenance features allow users such 

as Document Logistix to reduce time 

spent on scheduled servicing. State of 

the art document feeding technology 

handles even mixed batches of paper 

types, formats, thicknesses, materials, 

sizes and volumes, boosting the 

efficiency of employees and the 

scanning process by saving time sorting 

and separating batches. 

18 




CASE STUDY: DOCUMENT LOGISTIX Dm 

"CONTINUED MOVES TO DIGITALLY TRANSFORM ARCHIVES IN COMPLIANCE WITH REGULATIONS SUCH AS GDPR 

HAS LED TO AN INCREASE IN BUSINESSES LOOKING TO MANAGE THEIR DOCUMENTS AND INFORMATION IN A 

DIGITAL PLATFORM. OUR DOCUMENT MANAGER HUB OFFERS AN OUTSOURCED SERVICE FOR DOCUMENT 

CAPTURE, WHICH TODAY PROCESSES MILLIONS OF PAPER DOCUMENTS EACH YEAR. FUJITSU'S SCANNERS 

ENSURE THAT THE CAPTURE OF DOCUMENTS CAN BE COMPLETED QUICKLY AND EASILY WITH NO ISSUES SUCH 

AS FEED ERRORS, WHICH CAN TAKE UP TIME AND AFFECT OTHER PROCESSES WITHIN THE CHAIN." 

The devices also benefit from Fujitsu's 

PaperStream software solution to help 

deliver the highest quality scans. The 

high speed and accuracy with which 

documents are captured enables the 

Document Logistix team to work 

through documents quickly, resulting in 

effective OCR processing and input into 

Document Manager software as well. 

CLARITY IS CRUCIAL 

The Document Manager solution relies 

on OCR technology to accurately lift 

information from the scanned 

documents and feed it into the 

system, where it can be stored and 

filed digitally and accessed through 

search functions. For example, in an 

HR function, documents can be stored 

and sorted by type such as CVs, 

Passports or invoices. This process is 

reliant on high quality and clear scans. 

Every user access and action within 

Document Manager is time-stamped 

and recorded, so internal quality 

audits or external compliance audits 

are no longer the time-consuming 

worry they once were. Evidence of 

compliant processes can be produced 

instantly. To prevent information being 

viewed by unauthorised personnel - or 

hacked - standard folders and files are 

assigned only to authorised 

population groups. 

Further measures can be introduced 

so that personal data cannot be seen 

at all in common procedures such a 

subject access request (SAR). Personal 

data and information can be redacted 

(masked) to comply with a range of 

strictures, including GDPR. 

The Document Logistix offering also 

provides the means not only to ensure 

that there is only one up-to-date 

digital version of a document, but also 

to prevent loss or mischief as 

documents do not have to be 

duplicated, copied or moved to 

different locations. 

A CLEAR QUALITY DIFFERENCE 

The high quality delivered by the 

Fujitsu devices is imperative to 

ensuring information is correct. If 

information lifted through OCR 

contains any errors, keyword searches 

within the platform may fail to flag a 

key document resulting in a 

compliance issue, or lost revenue from 

a missing contract or invoice. The 

clarity of scanning from the Fujitsu 

devices has allowed Document Logistix 

to be assured of the quality of 

information entering the Document 

Manager platform. 

Fujitsu's Paperstream driver plays a 

key role in maintaining the highest 

quality. The software is specifically 

designed to automatically produce 

clear image data that is optimised for 

post-processing routines such as OCR. 

By intelligently adjusting to a range of 

different types of documents and 

accurately distinguishing characters 

from background noise, PaperStream 

has enabled Document Logistix to 

enhance image accuracy to a level 

where scans of older, unreadable, 

typewritten documents are noticeably 

clearer and easily read. 

"Continued moves to digitally 

transform archives in compliance with 

regulations such as GDPR has led to 

an increase in businesses looking to 

manage their documents and 

information in a digital platform," 

commented Jason Field at Document 

Logistix. "Our Document Manager 

Hub offers an outsourced service for 

document capture, which today 

processes millions of paper 

documents each year. Fujitsu's 

scanners ensure that the capture of 

documents can be completed quickly 

and easily with no issues such as feed 

errors, which can take up time and 

affect other processes within the 

chain." 

"Alongside the devices, using 

Fujitsu's PaperStream software has 

provided peace of mind for our staff, 

who are confident in the quality and 

clarity of each scan as it reaches the 

next stage in digitisation. The devices 

and software are user friendly which 

saves time for the team who do not 

need to deal with over complicated 

user interfaces to get the best result." 

"Any delays in scanning impacts 

numerous processes for Document 

Logistix which can cost time and 

money," explains Matt Smith, Channel 

Development Manager at PFU EMEA 

Fujitsu. "It's vital in an increasingly 

competitive landscape, that 

everything runs smoothly meaning 

there's no room for feed errors or 

incompatibility with documents. Our 

close relationship with the team at 

Document Logistix means that the 

high standard of service is never 

compromised. 

More info: www.pfu.fujitsu.com/emea/ 




19

Dm STRATEGY: ARCHIVAL 

Data management: one size does not fit all 

Nick Parkin of Proceed Group explains how to close the 

gap between business and I.T., and reap the rewards of 

data archiving 

As the world of business changes 

and evolves, so too must the way 

that we approach IT. For too long, 

there has been a disconnect between the 

two fields, with each side often working in 

isolation from the other. However, as 

businesses move towards cloud-based 

systems and away from traditional internal 

data centres, it is becoming increasingly 

important for IT and business to work 

together in order to maintain a 

competitive edge. 

The gap between business and IT is 

growing wider, according to PwC's 6th 

Annual Digital IQ survey of nearly 1,500 

business and technology executives. When 

asked if business and IT share an 

understanding of the corporate strategy, 

only 54% of respondents agreed, down 

from 60% last year. In fact, nearly onequarter 

(24%) said there is little or no 

alignment between the two groups. There 

are a number of reasons for this 

disconnect, but one of the most important 

is the way that businesses have 

traditionally approached data. For many 

years, data has been seen as something 

that needs to be managed and controlled 

by IT, often in silos. This has led to a 

situation where business users don't 

always have access to the data they need, 

when they need it. 

However, as the world of business 

changes and data becomes more 

important, it is becoming increasingly clear 

that this approach is no longer sustainable. 

In order to remain competitive, businesses 

need to be able to make use of all their 

data, not just the small fraction that IT has 

deemed important. 

ARCHIVING TO STAY COMPETITIVE 

This is where data archiving comes in. Data 

archiving is the process of storing data in a 

format that can be accessed and used by 

business users, while still maintaining 

control over it. This allows businesses to 

keep all their data, regardless of its age or 

importance, while still being able to make 

use of it when necessary. 

There are many benefits of data archiving, 

but one of the most important is that it 

allows businesses to close the gap between 

IT and the business. By giving business 

users access to all of their data, regardless 

of where it is stored, businesses can reap 

the rewards of data archiving. In order to 

fully take advantage of data archiving, 

businesses need to ensure that their data is 

well managed. This means having a clear 

understanding of what data is important 

and where it is stored. It also means 

making sure that data is easily accessible by 

the people who need it. 

By storing data in an accessible format, 

businesses can give users the ability to self- 

20 




STRATEGY: ARCHIVAL Dm 

"FOR MANY YEARS, DATA HAS BEEN SEEN AS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS 

TO BE MANAGED AND CONTROLLED BY I.T., OFTEN IN SILOS. THIS HAS 

LED TO A SITUATION WHERE BUSINESS USERS DON'T ALWAYS HAVE 

ACCESS TO THE DATA THEY NEED, WHEN THEY NEED IT. HOWEVER, AS 

THE WORLD OF BUSINESS CHANGES AND DATA BECOMES MORE 

IMPORTANT, IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT THIS 

APPROACH IS NO LONGER SUSTAINABLE. IN ORDER TO REMAIN 

COMPETITIVE, BUSINESSES NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE USE OF ALL 

THEIR DATA, NOT JUST THE SMALL FRACTION THAT I.T. HAS DEEMED 

IMPORTANT." 

serve, meaning they can access the data 

they need without having to go through IT. 

This can help to improve communication 

and collaboration between the two 

groups, as well as reducing the workload 

for IT. But concerns around IT data 

archiving are common, with IT feeling the 

pressure of a business that has a reluctance 

to reduce their data footprint. 

As businesses move towards cloud-based 

systems, they often want to 

decommission their legacy systems and 

data centres. However, IT may be reluctant 

to do so, as these systems may be needed 

for compliance or audit purposes. This can 

lead to a stalemate between the two 

sides, with each unwilling to budge on 

their position. 

In order to break this impasse, it is 

important for businesses to have a clear 

understanding of their data needs and 

requirements. This will help to ensure that 

the right data is being archived, and that IT 

are not being asked to archive data that is 

no longer needed. It is also important to 

consider the costs and benefits of data 

archiving, as this can help to justify the 

investment to both IT and business. 

COMPLEX, BUT ESSENTIAL 

Data archiving can also be a complex and 

technical process, but it is an essential part 

of any organisation's data management 

strategy. By closing the gap between 

business and IT, organisations can reap the 

rewards that data archiving can provide, 

including improved communication and 

collaboration, reduced storage costs, and 

easier access to data. 

The value of archiving is clear. Archiving 

provides a way to decommission legacy 

systems and data centres while still 

maintaining compliance. Archiving can also 

help businesses save money on storage 

and maintenance costs, as well as reducing 

the risk of data loss. It can also help 

organisations keep their data safe and 

secure, making it less likely to be 

compromised in the event of a breach. 

SECURITY IS KEY 

Keeping data secure and compliant after 

being archived is a key concern for 

businesses. There are a number of steps 

that businesses can take to ensure that 

their data is secure, including encrypting 

data at rest and in transit, as well as 

ensuring that only authorised users have 

access to the data. 

Businesses should also consider 

implementing security controls such as 

two-factor authentication and intrusion 

detection. Data archiving can also help 

businesses to meet their GDPR obligations. 

By storing data in an accessible format, 

businesses can give individuals the ability to 

access their data, as well as the right to 

have that data erased. 

BESPOKE IS BEST 

When it comes to data management, one 

size does not fit all. The type of data you 

have, how much data you have, and 

where it is stored will all dictate the best 

archiving solution for your business. 

There are a number of factors to consider 

when choosing an archiving solution, 

including cost, performance, and security. 

The most important thing is to choose a 

solution that meets your specific needs. If 

you are unsure of what those needs are, 

talk to a data management expert who can 

help you to assess your requirements and 

find the right solution for your business. 

More info: www.proceedgroup.com 




21

Dm CASE STUDY: KEYSTONE LAW 

A single point of truth 

Innovative UK law firm Keystone Law is enjoying continued accelerated growth with its 

'lawyer-first strategy', supported by NetDocuments 

Established in 2002, Keystone Law is 

an award-winning UK law firm that 

operates a consultancy business 

model wherein lawyers use technology 

and modern working practices to drive 

productivity and deliver results. It 

provides clients with high-quality legal 

advice from lawyers who are of an 

exceptional calibre. In 2017, it became 

the third firm in the UK to be listed on 

the London Stock Exchange. Today, 

Keystone Law has over 400 lawyers, 47 

support staff and many thousands of 

clients. The firm was also named Law 

Firm of the Year at The Lawyer Awards 

2020 and recognised as one of the best 

law firms in the UK by the Times. 

Unlike traditional law firms, Keystone 

Law puts the lawyer first, giving them 

the tools and flexibility to run their 

practice from any location. The lawyers 

are self-employed consultants, who 

retain up to 75 per cent of their billing. 

This business model provides Keystone 

Law with several competitive advantages 

over traditional law firms including 

reduced overhead costs, attractive 

remuneration and the ability to provide a 

high-quality service from wherever the 

lawyer feels comfortable. 

Despite the challenges presented by 

the global pandemic, Keystone Law has 

continued to grow as the consultancy 

model has been truly validated. It has 

shone a light on the importance of 

flexibility, agility and having a 'lawyerfirst' 

approach, something that has 

been at the heart of Keystone Law since 

it was founded. 

In 2020, Keystone Law achieved revenue 

growth of 10.9 per cent to £55.0 million. 

It also welcomed 58 new senior level 

lawyers to the firm, increasing the total 

number of senior lawyers by 16% to 369. 

New lawyers joined from top UK firms 

such as Charles Russell Speechlys, Clifford 

Chance and Fieldfisher. 

At the same time investors have 

recognised the potential of the 

consultancy model with Keystone Law's 

share price increasing over 300 per cent 

since its listing on AIM - now valued at a 

significant premium to its listed peers. 

IMPROVED PRODUCTIVITY 

In 2015, Keystone Law implemented 

NetDocuments as its document 

management system (DMS) which 

became an integral part of its suite of 

technology tools to enable its lawyers to 

work flexibly, from anywhere and on any 

device. Now supporting around 450 

users, the cloud-based NetDocuments 

platform ensures files and documents can 

be easily and securely stored, and 

accessed from any location. Having this 

22 




CASE STUDY: KEYSTONE LAW Dm 

"OUR I.T. INFRASTRUCTURE REFLECTS THE FIRM'S ETHOS BY ENSURING THAT, FROM THE MOMENT A LAWYER 

JOINS, THEY ARE FULLY EQUIPPED TO WORK SECURELY - FROM ANY LOCATION AND WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS ON 

CONNECTIVITY. NETDOCUMENTS IS CORE TO ENABLING THIS, PROVIDING A CENTRAL LOCATION FOR LAWYERS 

TO WORK ON AND SAVE FILES ANYWHERE, WHILE ALSO IMPROVING THEIR PRODUCTIVITY." 

central storage and the collaboration it 

enables is core to supporting the 

business consultancy model. 

NetDocuments provides a 'single point 

of truth', enabling lawyers to collaborate 

with each other, ensuring documents 

can be easily accessed. NetDocuments' 

predictive filing capabilities also improve 

productivity, reducing the time spent 

searching for documents. The advanced 

versioning feature also ensures the latest 

document can be found and there is no 

confusion when reviewing and editing 

documents. The firm uses a full set of 

NetDocuments products including: 

ndMail integrates with Outlook, 

providing an improved user 

experience ensuring files are never 

lost and can be easily accessed 

whenever they are needed. It uses 

predictive filing - powered by 

artificial intelligence - to make 

inboxes more organised, 

collaborative, and efficient for users. 

ndOffice integrates with Microsoft 

Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, 

Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat and 

Reader to help manage documents 

and emails without leaving the Office 

application, providing a seamless 

user experience. 

ndLink links to the time and billing 

software ensuring client matters lists 

are easily and quickly updated. 

ndSync is a robust, reliable two-way 

file syncing solution for Macs and 

PCs that supports remote users' 

productivity by giving them secure, 

local access to every file and 

document they need, regardless of 

internet connection. 

ndMirror backs up data and 

metadata to a local server or network 

drive. Its primary purposes are for 

disaster recovery and to facilitate 

external searching. Metadata is 

stored in SQL databases, which offer 

access to metadata for queries. 

Maurice Tunney, Director of Technology 

and Innovation at Keystone Law says, 

"Our IT infrastructure reflects the firm's 

ethos by ensuring that, from the 

moment a lawyer joins, they are fully 

equipped to work securely - from any 

location and without restrictions on 

connectivity. NetDocuments is core to 

enabling this, providing a central 

location for lawyers to work on and save 

files anywhere, while also improving 

their productivity." 

A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN 

NetDocuments integrates perfectly with 

Keystone Law's own platform, Keyed-In. 

Keyed-In is a collaboration hub that is 

used every day, bringing the benefits of 

NetDocuments while also providing a 

central workspace to improve 

productivity and collaboration. 

NetDocuments integration with the 

Keyed-In platform provides all the tools 

required for lawyers to deliver a seamless 

service to clients from anywhere they 

choose, ultimately letting them work in a 

way that is best suited to them. 

The combination of both platforms 

provides a central workspace that helps 

to reduce processes and makes the 

lawyers' lives easier. By automating 

mundane tasks, lawyers save time and 

effort, giving them more time to spend 

on higher value tasks such as client 

management. 

"NetDocuments integration with our 

own platform Keyed-In provides the 

perfect foundation for lawyers to work 

together seamlessly, helping to provide a 

collaborative team-based environment," 

Tunney continued. "We designed the 

platform with the lawyers in mind, 

constantly evolving it to meet their 

needs. It gives them the power to run 

the business from wherever they are, 

enabling them to control their own 

destiny when it comes to working." 

INCREASED SECURITY & 

COMPLIANCE 

NetDocuments also ensures the firm's 

document management is as compliant 

and secure as possible. The advanced 

security capabilities provide the firm with 

added confidence that sensitive 

documents and files are safe from 

improper and unauthorised use. Only 

lawyers working on a particular matter 

are authorised to access it. The 

platform's advanced security features 

ensure data is always backed up, 

secured, and properly regulated to 

maintain compliance. 

"One of the biggest benefits of the 

NetDocuments platform is ensuring 

compliance," says Tunney. "As our teams 

continue to grow and there is much 

more information to manage, it really 

comes into its own by helping to see 

who is working on each matter while 

making sure data does not fall into the 

wrong hands." 

As the global pandemic has shifted 

working practices, demand for the 

consultancy model is only set to increase. 

It has broken down traditional barriers 

and promoted better flexibility, giving 

even more validation to move to the 

consultancy model. NetDocuments' 

integration with Keyed-In will support 

Keystone Law's flexible business model as 

it continues on its upward trajectory - 

ultimately, providing lawyers with the 

best possible technology tools to make 

their lives easier and give the ability to 

run and a build a practice the way they 

want to. 

More info: www.netdocuments.com 




23

Dm TECHNOLOGY: MICROFILM 

Readability & richness 

Kaycee Jaeger of e-ImageData explains why low 

magnification is essential in microfilm scanning 

What do we mean by low 

magnification, and why does 

it matter? Low magnification 

describes a type of image enlargement 

that preserves the resolution of the 

image without blurring or pixelation. 

This process is also referred to as 

'optical zoom'. By contrast, 'digital 

zoom' uses high magnification to 

expand an image by reducing the 

number of pixels, leading to a drastic 

loss of image clarity. 

ENHANCING POSSIBILITIES 

Why then is low magnification 

important for digitised microfilm 

archives? Microfilm collections that are 

commonly digitised include historical 

newspapers, statistical records, 

photographs, and 

genealogical 

documents, notably birth, death, and 

marriage certificates. Low 

magnification allows users to 

appreciate the entire richness of these 

archives. The smallest fonts, for 

example in newspaper collections, can 

be enlarged while maintaining a razorsharp 

quality. Fine details of images can 

be thoroughly inspected too, 

strengthening the role of multimedia in 

research. 

Consider a rare manuscript: a lowresolution 

scan of this manuscript may 

render the words on the page perfectly 

readable, yet the full value of this 

artefact lies in so much more than the 

text itself. By consistently protecting 

image clarity, low magnification optical 

zoom enables a close and multifaceted 

exploration of 

elements such as 

illustrations, binding, 

scribal 

practices, and provenance marks. 

The possibilities for image digitisation 

have empowered researchers to widely 

disseminate knowledge of topics as 

diverse as New York historical 

newspapers and the Antarctic 

Bibliography polar research records! 

This extensive access to scholarly 

knowledge and resources would not be 

feasible if the images remained in the 

unwieldy form of microfilm. 

However, equally important to 

remember is that the digital scans must 

be of sufficient quality. Otherwise, a 

difficult trade-off can arise between the 

digital availability of materials and their 

actual research benefits. High-quality 

digital images facilitate convenient 

access to resources whilst offering a 

level of readability and detail that 

sustains, even enhances, the 'feel' of 

immersive research in physical or 

microfilm archives. 

24 




TECHNOLOGY: MICROFILM Dm 

"ACHIEVING HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES WITH LOW-MAGNIFICATION OPTICAL ZOOM TECHNOLOGY STARTS 

WITH YOUR CHOICE OF A MICROFILM SCANNER. KEY FACTORS TO LOOK FOR INCLUDE THE OPTICAL ZOOM 

RANGE, WHICH IMPACTS THE CLARITY OF FINE DETAILS WITHIN DIGITISED MICROFILM IMAGES. FURTHERMORE, 

A HIGH OPTICAL ZOOM RANGE MAKES A MICROFILM SCANNER VERSATILE; THE SCANNER WILL BE ABLE TO 

HANDLE BOTH DIFFERENT TYPES OF MICROFILM AND THE HETEROGENEITY OF MANY MICROFILM IMAGE 

COLLECTIONS." 

QUALITY FIRST 

It is essential to commit to image 

quality at the very beginning of 

microfilm digitisation projects, in 

order to preserve the research value 

and usefulness of collections. 

Digitising microfilm images at the 

highest possible resolution is always 

advisable. This is because highresolution 

files can be compressed, 

but reversing this process and 

attempting to increase resolution after 

image scanning will produce poorquality 

images. 

Failing to collect quality, highresolution 

images may restrict the 

future application of software and 

research tools to archival collections. 

For instance, optical character 

recognition (OCR) software requires a 

minimum resolution standard of 300 

dpi, or higher if the text size is 

unusually small. Text scanned at lower 

resolutions will have limited findability 

in OCR-operated search functions. 

Technologies for optimising the 

research value of archival collections 

are constantly evolving. As just one 

illustration, there is currently an 

exciting effort to develop OCR 

software that will recognise 

handwritten manuscripts as opposed 

to only printed text. Ensuring image 

clarity and quality in digitisation 

projects will future-proof collections 

so they are ready and waiting for 

these technological advancements. 

HOW TO MAXIMISE QUALITY 

Achieving high-resolution images with 

low-magnification optical zoom 

technology starts with your choice of a 

microfilm scanner. Key factors to look 

for include the optical zoom range, 

which impacts the clarity of fine 

details within digitised microfilm 

images. Furthermore, a high optical 

zoom range makes a microfilm 

scanner versatile; the scanner will be 

able to handle both different types of 

microfilm and the heterogeneity of 

many microfilm image collections. 

e-ImageData's newest 500 series 

ScanPro 3500 and i9500 feature an 

optical zoom range of 5x-105x, the 

highest of any microfilm scanner on 

the market. This impressive zoom 

capability is combined with a 26- 

megapixel camera to produce 

stunning image clarity and archivalquality 

scans. The ScanPro 2500 model 

comes with an optical zoom range of 

5x-32x as standard that can be 

increased to 5x-105x simply by adding 

a ScanPro Advantage Membership. 

As well as the resolution of individual 

images, uniformity of image quality 

and presentation throughout 

collections is also vital, particularly in 

large-scale digitisation projects. 

SCANPRO ADVANTAGE MEMBERSHIP 

Uniform images will harmonise the 

archive, giving the impression of a 

holistic collection rather than merely a 

series of disparate materials. With 

ScanPro, quality and consistency can 

be delivered with minimal user 

intervention, using the much-loved 

'magic button' AUTO-Adjust tool that 

will automatically straighten images 

and optimise the brightness and 

contrast. 

Numerous other innovative ScanPro 

features make it intuitive to generate 

and use high-resolution, readable 

digitised microfilm images. The 

FOCUS-Lock maintains image focus 

even during optical zoom, which 

facilitates fast look-ups and efficient 

research. Moreover, the software 

creates high-resolution images 

without the awkward compromise of 

unwieldy file sizes that slow down 

systems - file sizes remain small and 

easy to manipulate. Download a 

brochure from the URL below to see 

how ScanPro can maximise the quality 

of your digital microfilm archives. 

More info: www.e-imagedata.com 

Get the most out of the ScanPro microfilm scanner range with access to the 

ScanPro Advantage Membership. Alongside the 'No Fine Print Warranty', 

members receive additional cutting-edge features to make working with 

microfilm an effortless and enjoyable process. 

AUTO-Scan Pro offers high-speed automated scanning of up to 100 images per 

minute, resulting in super-efficient digitisation. Meanwhile, AUTO-Scan Quality 

Assurance ensures total image capture and eliminates the need for timeconsuming 

quality control and checking procedures. 

Visit our website for details on how to register for membership today and 

streamline your microfilm digitisation projects. 




25

Dm OPINION: PRINT MANAGEMENT 

Solving print problems with 

the cloud 

Managing print and fixing printer problems has long 

featured high on the list of bugbears for CTOs. David 

Jenkins, CEO at directprint.io says that migrating print to 

the cloud is the easiest way to solve print-related pain 

points, and save money to boot 

Speak to any CTO and nine times 

out of ten, they'll cite print as one 

of the biggest drains on IT budget 

and resources within their 

organisations. Yet, that's a status quo 

that can be easily turned around. 

Migrating print to the cloud removes 

dependence on expensive on-premise 

hardware, lessens the load on IT and, as 

it's consumed as-a-service, frees up 

Capex budgets to be allocated 

elsewhere. 

Despite the well-documented benefits 

of entering the print age of cloud, it's 

fair to say that for some 'late adopters' 

there is a level of inertia - a mind-set of 

'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. But more 

importantly, for many firms, it's because 

they have concerns around whether a 

cloud-based print management 

platform compares like-for-like to their 

legacy on-premise solution. By that I 

mean is there parity in terms of the 

feature-set and functionality? How 

difficult will the adoption cycle and 

migration path be? And will the printing 

experience be the same for end-users? 

In short, the answer to all of the above 

is 'yes'. We have built directprint.io from 

the ground up to ensure a smooth, slick 

and quick roll-out and to make printing 

as easy as possible. Our platform 

combines the power of cloud 

administration and local network 

printing and offers true feature and 

functionality parity to legacy solutions. 

COMPATIBLE & CONSISTENT 

One common misconception is that by 

adopting a cloud print management 

platform, companies will have to invest in 

new hardware - upgrading users' laptops 

and PCs, and even the printers themselves. 

The beauty of a vendor-agnostic cloud 

solution is that it supports all major 

manufacturers' printer makes and 

models. directprint.io's universal print 

driver's 'hybrid-cloud' architecture enables 

basic printing across all major 

manufacturers' devices, from the latest 

models to printers dating back 10+ years 

and it delivers a consistent look and feel 

across users' devices. 

Vendor-neutrality empowers IT leads to 

deploy the best hardware and software to 

support their organisation's long-term 

goals, rather than having to compromise 

on cost or functionality, because of 

compatibility issues with legacy technology. 

LESSEN THE LOAD ON I.T. 

Managing print via an on-premise serverbased 

infrastructure has long been a drain 

on IT leads' time and on the bottom line. 

Fixing print-related issues - whether it's 

juggling high availability or load balancing 

to lessen the burden of heavy print data 

traffic on the network; finding a 

workaround when offline printing isn't 

possible due to network failures; or 

handling a constant stream of security 

updates to fix vulnerabilities - is both 

inefficient and complex. 

Compare that with a cloud-based 

platform and the difference is night and 

day. Our adoption cycle is easy and painfree, 

and it goes without saying that we 

provide full support during that process. 

directprint.io's unique universal print driver 

simplifies roll-out and maintenance, 

resulting in zero-touch deployment at 

scale. The architecturally clever driver was 

built to solve deployment complexity and 

enable future innovation. It supports an 

array of printer languages and protocols, 

meaning it works across virtually all printer 

makes and models, and importantly, brings 

feature parity with OEM drivers, including 

secure print and native account coding. 

We provide a well-defined migration path 

from legacy systems and we avoid big 

bang deployments. directprint.io supports 

even the most complex environments and 

provides a consistent experience across 

Chrome, Chromebook, Windows, and 

macOS (or an amalgamation of the three). 

Moreover, print management in the cloud 

automates time-intensive tasks, enables the 

entire print infrastructure to be centrally 

managed, enables end-users to self-serve, 

reduces the time IT spend troubleshooting 

printer issues, provides the ability to scale, 

improves an organisation's security 

posture, and saves money - which leads 

nicely into my next point. 

COST IS KING 

Now more than ever, cost is king. 

Companies who have already moved core 

26 




OPINION: PRINT MANAGEMENT Dm 

"COMPANIES WHO HAVE ALREADY MOVED CORE INFRASTRUCTURE TO THE CLOUD TO SUPPORT A DISTRIBUTED 

WORKFORCE ARE REALISING THE LONG-TERM SAVINGS THAT CLOUD CAN BRING, SO THE DECISION TO ADD 

PRINT TO THEIR CLOUD-FIRST STRATEGIES WILL BE AN EASY ONE TO MAKE - BUT THOSE THAT HAVEN'T WILL 

NEED TO SEE THEY WILL REALISE A RETURN ON INVESTMENT… CLOUD SERVICES ARE BILLED AND CONSUMED 

AS-A-SERVICE, A SUBSCRIPTION-BASED PRICING MODEL IS PREDICTABLE AND FLEXIBLE, ALLOWING 

ORGANISATIONS TO SCALE UP OR DOWN IN LINE WITH THEIR BUSINESS NEEDS." 

infrastructure to the cloud to support a 

distributed workforce are realising the 

long-term savings that cloud can bring, 

so the decision to add print to their 

cloud-first strategies will be an easy one 

to make - but those that haven't will 

need to see they will realise a return on 

investment. 

Managing print in the cloud removes 

the requirement to purchase and manage 

on-premise print servers. Cloud services 

are billed and consumed as-a-service, a 

subscription-based pricing model is 

predictable and flexible, allowing 

organisations to scale up or down in line 

with their business needs. Plus, our 

solution includes an array of paper and 

toner reduction features designed to save 

more money along the way. 

PREDICTABLE PRINTING 

As with any IT change project, one of 

the biggest barriers is end-user 

resistance. Print is after all, one of the 

most widely-used IT solutions and 

people are used to being able to print 

to the device of their choice by simply 

pressing CTRL/Print - creating a situation 

where they need to learn a new process 

is highly likely to be challenged. 

The good news is that moving print to 

the cloud won't change a thing and 

end-users will simply continue as if 

nothing had changed. What will change 

however is that they won't be so reliant 

on the helpdesk to fix printer-related 

issues. Directory sync capabilities with 

Google Workspace and Microsoft Azure 

AD ensures simple printer deployment. 

Users are allocated printers based on 

their log in, so as soon as they turn 

their machine on, they automatically 

get the correct list of available printers. 

They will have access to advanced 

finishing options such as staple, fold 

etc. across all printers, ensuring a 

seamless, consistent print experience, 

regardless of the printer brand or 

brands in place, and any updates or 

security fixes will be automatically 

managed in the cloud. 

With directprint.io, end-users can also 

mix edge and local network printing 

from the personal or professional device 

of their choice with the ease and 

flexibility they desire. Edge Print enables 

end-users to securely print when they 

are not on the same network as the 

printer. With Edge Print, they can print 

from their Windows PC, Chromebook, 

or Mac device - whether they're at 

home, on a guest network, or even 

between different office locations. 

Printers remain on a secure network 

and cannot be exposed to vulnerabilities 

that are common with personal devices 

and home networks and remote print 

jobs remain within an organisation's 

already approved Google Workspace or 

Microsoft Azure infrastructure, ensuring 

that business information remains 

confidential. 

Plus, Edge Print gives IT admins finegrained 

control over which printers are 

available for remote printing, they can 

control which users can print remotely 

and even grant granular privileges that 

determine which groups or individual 

users can use which devices. 

SHORE UP SECURITY 

Cloud print management solutions 

include features that offer greater 

control, compliance, traceability and 

transparency, enabling smart and 

secure serverless printing. 

IT admins retain complete control 

and total visibility - inside and outside 

of the corporate network. 

directprint.io ensures security and 

compliance by keeping print jobs 

securely on the local network. PIN 

protected printing release features put 

an end to unwanted data exposure, 

and traceable insights into print 

behaviour enable customers to spot 

and deal with anomalies before they 

become a business-halting event. 

In summary, migrating to the cloud 

makes printing less complex for endusers 

and reduces the burden on IT. 

There's also an additional value-add to 

the bottom line. Organisations benefit 

from cost savings associated with 

allocating expensive IT resources for 

administration and ongoing support 

for the print infrastructure. 

More info: www.directprint.io 




27

Dm EVENT: DM AWARDS 2022 

Make your voice heard! 

Nominations are now open for this year’s DM Awards - read on for all the 

categories, as well as the all-important dates for your diary 

Nominations are now open for the 

2022 DM Awards - head to the 

website now to have your say 

about who should be among this year’s 

big winners - you only have until the end 

of August to get your nominations in. 

As ever, the intention is to reward the 

technologies, tools and solutions that 

showcase the very best in the document 

and content management indus-tries. 

Like you, we had hoped that the world 

would be much further down the 'back to 

normal' road after a couple of very 

challenging years, but of course there are 

still big issues out there - which makes us 

all the more determined to make this 

year's awards an event to remember for all 

the right reasons. 

The DM Awards is, as always, an 

opportunity to think anew about the 

players in the industry who you feel have 

supported or assisted you most and who 

have upheld the traditions of the industry, 

and in times like these we believe this is 

more important than ever before. 

Building on the success of previous years, 

we will again be inviting project 

applications to be considered by our panel 

of independent judges (NB: If you wish to 

submit an entry for the Project of the Year 

categories, please send them direct to 

Abby at the email address at the end of 

this article). 

Most categories of course will still be 

decided by the most important people of 

all: you, the readers of Document 

Manager magazine and the clients of 

those companies big and small who will 

be competing for the top honours. 

Featuring 29 categories, this year's DM 

Awards allow companies from every sector 

of the industry to seek recognition for 

their efforts over the past 12 months. See 

the next page for the full list of categories. 

The DM Awards 2022 timeline is as 

follows: 

31st August, nominations close 

6th September, finalists announced 

and voting opens 

4th November, voting closes 

17th November, DM Awards ceremony 

DM editor David Tyler comments: "It can 

seem like a cliché to suggest that an 

awards ceremony can mean very much 

outside of a mutual back-slapping 

opportunity for industry insiders, but I 

genuinely believe that the DM Awards 

helps us bring together a sector that is 

already one of the most mutually 

supportive and positive industries I cover 

as a technology journalist. We know that 

the solutions being talked about at the 

DM Awards are bringing real world 

benefits not just to business bottom 

lines, but to how people all over the 

world are working and indeed living their 

lives. This is a truly revolutionary industry 

to work in, and this night is a reminder of 

that for all of us." 

If your organisation would like to be 

involved in sponsoring or otherwise 

supporting this leading industry event then 

please contact Abby Penn at the office on 

07861 682 066 or abby.penn@btc.co.uk. 

Be sure to get in soon, as these 

sponsorship slots always sell out fast! 

More info: www.dmawards.com 

28 




EVENT: DM AWARDS 2022 Dm 

DM AWARDS 2022 CATEGORIES 

One to Watch - Company of the Year 

One to Watch - Product of the Year 

Accounts Payable/Invoicing Product of the Year 

Workflow/BPM Product of the Year 

Enterprise CMS Product of the Year 

Open Source Document Management Software of the Year 

Low-Code/No-Code Product of the Year 

Print Fleet Management Solution of the Year 

BPO/Outsourcing/Bureau Business of the Year 

Data Capture/Recognition Product of the Year 

Records Management Product of the Year 

AI Product of the Year 

RPA Product of the Year 

Service/Support Company of the Year 

Storage Product of the Year 

Compliance Product of the Year 

Channel Partner of the Year 

Imaging Product of the Year: High Volume 

Imaging Product of the Year: Desktop/Portable/Other 

Imaging Product of the Year: Workgroup/Departmental 

Mobile Capture Product of the Year 

Software Product of the Year 

Hardware Product of the Year 

Editor's Choice 

Marketing Team of the Year 

Project of the Year - Private Sector 

Project of the Year - Public Sector 

Product of the Year 

Company of the Year 

MORE INFO: WWW.DMAWARDS.COM 




29

Dm TECHNOLOGY: HYPERAUTOMATION 

Hyperautomation - bringing 

cohesion to automation 

Tim Hood of Hyland explains how hyperautomation can 

create "an interconnected, super-efficient network of 

technologies" 

Most organisations have 'islands' of 

technological efficiency that 

perform well independently, but 

not seamlessly with other systems. So, 

while each may be powerful, the leaks and 

frictions between them result in a loss of 

operational efficiency. 

This presents opportunities if you can 

build bridges between these islands of 

technology, but how do you join up the 

dots to harness their collective power? 

Well, this takes us into the realm of 

hyperautomation, which research firm 

Gartner describes as being "the 

orchestrated use of multiple 

technologies, tools or platforms" to 

automate as many business and IT 

processes as possible and enable the 

creation of end-to-end workflows that 

override internal business boundaries. In 

other words, hyperautomation is quite 

literally the automation of everything that 

can be automated. 

So, by using hyperautomation, it's 

possible to link often siloed technologies, 

such as robotic process automation (RPA), 

machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence 

(AI), natural language processing, optical 

character recognition and enterprise 

content services to create an 

interconnected, super-efficient network of 

technologies. 

HYPERAUTOMATION IN ACTION 

Take this example: at the moment, many 

organisations use RPA to extract specific 

customer information from invoices and 

enter them into the payments system. 

While this improves the accuracy and 

efficiency of the task, it's simply 

automating a single sub-process rather 

than everything to do with invoice 

handling. 

On the other hand, by using a 

hyperautomation model, you can create a 

tool-chain of different technologies that 

together could take on the whole job. This 

might consist of a process mining tool (to 

better understand how things are done 

within the organisation), a process model 

(to visualise workflows), a machine 

learning component (to review the invoice 

for compliance), and decision software (to 

automate checks that would previously 

have been carried out by managers). 

When you connect what were 

previously unrelated technologies 

through hyperautomation, you induce a 

multiplier effect that extends beyond 

mere automation, which is something 

that happens at a smaller scale and 

revolves around solutions that address 

individual tasks but don't offer crossfunctional 

benefits. 

The potential transformational nature of 

hyperautomation has made it one of 

Gartner's top 10 strategic technology 

trends, with its significance regarded as 

"rapidly shifting from an option to a 

condition of survival". 

THE HUMAN FACTOR 

As it stands, when front-end and back-end 

systems don't speak the same language, 

humans have to provide the manual 

connectivity, by taking on the disparate 

left-over tasks that fall into the cracks 

between systems. 

However, hyperautomation enables 

organisations to significantly reduce this 

'work detritus'. As a result, employees 

have more time to focus on strategic 

priorities, creative and collaborative 

tasks, or those activities where a 'human 

touch' is advantageous. This brings 

added value to their day and helps 

create a superior working environment 

and greater job satisfaction. 

And being able to offer potential and 

existing employees higher-value work and 

strategic thinking roles is a powerful 

recruiting and retention tool, at a time 

when finding and keeping quality 

personnel is a particular challenge. 

COMMUNICATION MATTERS 

However, the word 'automation' tends to 

ring alarm bells around the workplace 

because of fears over job security. 

Therefore, when planning any 

hyperautomation initiative, wise employers 

will make sure they don't sideline staff 

during the discovery, planning and 

implementation process. Your staff need to 

know how hyperautomation will impact 

them and the way they do their jobs, so 

early buy-in is key to a motivated workforce 

and efficient implementation. 

This makes effective communication 

about what is happening a priority. For 

instance, if your staff appreciate that 

30 




TECHNOLOGY: HYPERAUTOMATION Dm 

"SOME SURVEYS SUGGEST THAT OVER HALF OF ORGANISATIONS NOW HAVE AT LEAST FOUR 

HYPERAUTOMATION INITIATIVES RUNNING AT ANY ONE TIME, WITH THOSE AT THE LEADING EDGE HAVING 

MORE THAN TEN. BUT INTRODUCING HYPERAUTOMATION CAN BE A CHALLENGE THAT SOME ORGANISATIONS 

UNDERSTANDABLY HESITATE TO TACKLE BECAUSE THEY FEEL THEY LACK THE DATA, RESOURCES, KNOWLEDGE 

AND SKILLS TO DO SO." 

hyperautomation means they won't have 

to endure the tedium of doing low-level 

processing work, or that they will be able 

to find what they are looking for much 

faster and easier, then their work can 

become more enjoyable. 

And if such communication takes place 

as part of an ongoing programme of 

improving data literacy, then so much the 

better, because automation-driven change 

in the workplace is here to stay. In turn, 

this is going to need the development of 

skilled, high-performance teams with the 

ability to operate effectively across 

different functions. 

FIRST STEPS 

Given that it can enable the automation of 

almost any repetitive business task and is 

agnostic in terms of technology or 

supplier, there is increasing interest in 

hyperautomation. Some surveys suggest 

that over half of organisations now have 

at least four hyperautomation initiatives 

running at any one time, with those at the 

leading edge having more than ten. 

But introducing hyperautomation can be 

a challenge that some organisations 

understandably hesitate to tackle because 

they feel they lack the data, resources, 

knowledge and skills to do so. 

For those who understand that at some 

point they're going to have to embrace a 

greater degree of automation, what is the 

first step to take? The most obvious start 

point is to carry out an evaluation of your 

current "reality". After all, if you don't know 

where you are, you won't know where to 

go next. 

This requires an organisation-wide 

mapping and analysis of processes and 

back-office operations, to fully understand 

current workflows and where the gaps, 

latencies and bottlenecks might exist 

within and between them. 

Once this is done, you'll know where 

improvements need to be made and will 

have a better idea of which automation 

technologies and platforms you might 

need, to connect and leverage your legacy 

processes and any new applications. 

Given that any business process 

transformation is complex, this is likely to 

involve multiple technologies, which 

means identifying and assessing a list of 

possible vendors. With a plethora of 

providers in the market, it's important to 

identify partners committed to driving 

customers' digital transformation, coupled 

with a long-standing track record and 

commitment to enhancing its product 

suite and investing in developing new 

solutions. These are factors that have 

contributed to Hyland's recognition as a 

Gartner content services industry leader for 

12 consecutive years. 

Along with comprehensive internal 

communication, well-thought-through 

functionality and skilful roll-out, user 

experience needs to be at the top of your 

consideration list, as this is a key element 

to the success of hyperautomation 

implementation. A one-size-fits-all 

interface, for instance, is no longer an 

option. And given the shortage of skilled 

developers, organisations may need to 

consider choosing no- or low-code 

software solutions that allow individual 

departments to tailor applications to their 

particular requirements. 

AUTOMATING EVERYTHING 

Quite unexpectedly, the pandemic has 

become a forceful catalyst for digital 

transformation. Suddenly, the need to 

streamline business processes, eliminate 

repetitive tasks and automate as many 

manual activities as possible has become 

an even more pressing priority. 

While that may have created some initial 

disruption, it has also become an 

opportunity to automate further and 

faster than would otherwise have been the 

case, with organisations forced into 

committing more of their budget on 

technology but also a whole new 

evolution of the workplace, where a 

hybrid approach to home and office 

working is now the preferred option for a 

large percentage of working adults. 

Hyperautomation is one of those 

technologies that really delivers in terms of 

cost reduction and increased efficiency, 

benefiting the business and its customers, 

whose interactions with you become 

faster and smoother. In fact, it is a key 

component not only in bringing about 

digital transformation, but also building 

more agile organisations, with the 

capacity to adapt rapidly to change. 

More info: www.hyland.com 




31

Dm ANALYSIS: AS-A-SERVICE 

Value as a priority 

Canon's Tony Wills describes the next step forward for the 'as-a-service' model 

The as-a-service model existed long 

before it became mainstream and 

even before it was branded 'as-aservice'. 

Initially, it was mainly used by 

SMBs and start-ups so they could access 

software and infrastructure that they 

would otherwise not be able to afford 

upfront. SaaS (Software-as-a-service) 

has been around as early as the 1960s, 

where smaller businesses started a 

time-sharing system so they could 

access modern computer systems in a 

cost-effective way 

(https://bebusinessed.com/history/thehistory-of-saas). 

Fast forward to the present day and 

the as-a-service model has moved on 

significantly. Now companies of all 

shapes and sizes are capitalising on the 

benefits that it can provide. The rise 

of cloud technology 

revolutionised purchasing 

models as it enabled 

organisations to use services 

with no commitment, 

instantly, and buy based 

on demand. The cloud 

added value by enabling 

immediate and flexible 

consumption, ultimately 

enhancing business 

agility. 

CLOUD DEFINES 

CAPABILITIES 

Cloud technology, as 

well as enabling 

increased agility, 

underpins the three 

main modern 

characteristics of 

as-a-service that 

could not exist 

without it: 

 

 

 

Standardisation - whereby the 

service is not bespoke, but instead 

provides the same level of value to 

all customers. Standardised 

platforms enable businesses to scale 

quickly, with ease, and leverage the 

capabilities of the cloud to roll out 

any necessary updates overnight 

Flexibility of consumption - going 

beyond the ability to just pay as you 

consume. Unlike a flat fee where 

companies are locked in for a set 

period, as-a-service is on demand 

and cloud backed so customers pay 

based on the duration the service is 

needed for 

Termination - on the other side of 

the same coin, as there is no 

commitment required for 

consumption, customers can switch 

off when they wish. This places 

increased importance on value that 

consistently needs to be reasserted. 

PRIORITISING VALUE 

So just how does the new 'as-a-service' 

model prioritise value? As more 

businesses are seeing the benefits of - 

and investing in - as-a-service models, 

and more vendors are providing them, 

the level of service required to meet 

needs has changed. Customers are 

increasingly looking for added value, 

whether that's saving money, 

outsourcing business functions, or 

improving software capabilities. And 

this is where cloud really comes into 

its own. 

FLEXIBLE AND NON-DISRUPTIVE 

The pandemic has taught businesses 

the hard way that IT infrastructure must 

be resilient in the face of disruption. In 

the interest of not only adapting to the 

new normal, but also future proofing 

32 




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Dm ANALYSIS: AS-A-SERVICE 

"AS-A-SERVICE IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT, BUT IT WAS THE CLOUD THAT ENABLED ITS MODERN CHARACTERISTICS 

AND MADE IT AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION FOR LARGE AND SMALL BUSINESS ALIKE. STANDARDISED, ON-DEMAND 

AND NO COMMITMENT SOLUTIONS NOT ONLY BRING OBVIOUS BUSINESS BENEFITS, BUT ALSO HEIGHTEN 

CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS FOR SUSTAINED VALUE." 

operations, flexibility increasingly 

becomes a priority. 

Outsourcing implementation shifts 

ownership from IT departments to 

specialised vendors. Without the need 

for skills and expertise from internal 

talent pools, services can be installed 

more quickly and with minimal 

disruption to infrastructure. 

VISIBILITY OF EXPENDITURE 

Value for money has always been 

important, but now customers are 

expressing a need to have more 

visibility and control over their 

expenditure. The as-a-service model can 

help facilitate this by eliminating 

substantial upfront payment, allowing 

businesses to spread the bill across 

multiple months of service. 

Maintenance and upgrades incur no 

extra cost and if something goes 

wrong, the provider, not the customer, 

is financially liable. The ability to 

switch off the service if it does not 

deliver the value that was originally 

intended also means wasted 

expenditure can be avoided. 

INCREASED SECURITY 

Data security breaches incur high 

financial costs and long-term 

reputational damage. With the stakes 

so high, it may seem counter-intuitive 

to outsource security infrastructure and 

potentially 'lose control'. However, as 

service providers have a vested interest 

in identifying potential weaknesses in 

your security infrastructure, it can make 

your business more resilient as a result. 

The more people monitoring a 

private network, the better, as it 

ensures a quick response to any 

vulnerabilities that arise. General IT 

companies that don't specialise in 

security can struggle to follow new 

threats and lack the personnel to 

support any action needed. 

With as-a-service, you can costeffectively 

gain access to a dedicated 

team of experts who not only follow the 

market closely (so are aware of 

emerging threats), but are focused 24/7 

on securing the network. Shifting to 

service-based models that increase 

resilience is a valuable preventative 

investment. 

AN UPGRADED 'AS A SERVICE' 

MODEL 

As-a-service is not a new concept, but 

it was the cloud that enabled its 

modern characteristics and made it an 

attractive option for large and small 

business alike. 

Standardised, on-demand and no 

commitment solutions not only bring 

obvious business benefits, but also 

heighten customer expectations for 

sustained value. 

Cloud technology has certainly 

revolutionised the value of as-a-service, 

but in such a saturated market it is no 

longer enough to remain competitive. 

Customer needs are changing all the 

time, and to keep up with the 

evolution of as-a-service, businesses 

must prioritise value in every decision 

they make. 

More info: www.canon.co.uk 

34 July/August 2022 www.document-manager.com 

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