Digital Landfill

Eliminating Paper from Processes Improves Customer Response Times by 300%

Today we released a new industry watch research paper, titled “The Paper Free Office - Dream or Reality.” The research finds that removing paper from business continues to be challenging, despite data that shows significant responsiveness and productivity gains in customer service when paper-based bottlenecks are eliminated from business processes.

Speed of response times are also realized by employees working remotely in the field or home offices when the ability to share and search is improved by using digitized content. According to Doug Miles, director of market intelligence at AIIM, “The earlier in the process that capture takes place, the better the transparency and availability the content will have. The data is available to the process faster, and paper forms handling is eliminated.”

Key findings of the research conducted between November 2011 and January 2012 show:

• Paper is beginning to disappear, with 35 percent of respondents confirmed less paper consumption and photocopying.
• 42 percent of scanning and capture projects achieved a payback period of 12 months or less, while 57 percent of projects achieved payback in 18 months or less.
• Mobile and cloud services for scanning and capture are finding early adopters in the enterprise.
• 38 percent of respondents are equipping employees with portable capture devices when not in the office, including portable scanners, smart phones and tablets.
• 20 percent of the largest organizations are committed to a cloud deployment strategy for capture.
• Scanning and capture can seriously improve customer response times - typically between 2 and 3 times faster, but in many cases 5 and 10 times faster.

Despite significant benefits realized by paper-free organizations, some poor habits persist:

• 77 percent of invoices that arrive as PDF attachments are printed, while 31percent of fax invoices are printed and then re-scanned.
• 45 percent of documents that are scanned were completely “born digital”.
• 32 percent of organizations reported an increase in the level of paper consumption and copying.

The full report, “The Paper Free Office - Dream or Reality” can be downloaded from the AIIM web site at http://www.aiim.org/Research/Industry-Watch/Paper-Free-Capture-2012.  If you need more detail, please contact Doug or me or our press contact, Laurinda Hoffman and McKenzie Worldwide (laurindah@mckenzieworldwide.com or 503-475-8815).

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This research has been underwritten by: ABBYY, EMC, IBM, Kofax, and Swiss Post. Here is a bit of background on AIIM and on the sponsors of the report...

About AIIM 
AIIM has been an advocate and supporter of information professionals for nearly 70 years. The association’s mission is to ensure that information professionals understand the current and future challenges of managing information assets in an era of social, mobile, cloud and big data. Founded in 1943, AIIM builds on a strong heritage of research and member service. Today, AIIM is a global, non-profit organization that provides independent research, education and certification programs to information professionals. AIIM represents the entire information management community, with programs and content for practitioners, technology suppliers, integrators and consultants.

About ABBYY 
ABBYY ® is a leading provider of document recognition, document capture, and linguistic technologies. The key areas of ABBYY's research and development include document recognition technologies and applied linguistics. Paper-intensive organizations from all over the world use ABBYY solutions to automate time- and labor-consuming tasks and to streamline business processes. www.abbyy.com. 

About EMC 
EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect, and analyze their most valuable asset—information—in a more agile, trusted, and cost-efficient way. www.EMC.com.

About IBM Enterprise Content Management 
IBM Enterprise Content Management solutions enable the world’s top companies to make better decisions, faster. As a market leader in content, process and compliance software, IBM ECM delivers a broad set of mission-critical solutions that help solve today’s most difficult business challenges: managing unstructured content, optimizing business processes and helping satisfy complex compliance requirements through an integrated information infrastructure. www.ibm.com/software/data/ecm.

About Kofax 
Kofax plc is the leading provider of capture driven process automation solutions. Kofax solutions provide a rapid return on investment by automating information intensive processes and by managing the capture of information in a more accurate, timely and cost-effective manner. Visit www.kofax.com.

About Swiss Post
Swiss Post Solutions (SPS), a division of Swiss Post, offers a comprehensive range of document and business process outsourcing services. With 7000 people working across Europe, North America and Asia and with access to an extensive partner network, SPS is able to provide its clients with on, near or off-shore document capture and processing options for automating business processes. Visit www.swisspostsolutions.com.

 

 

What they are saying about #AIIM Certified Information Professionals (#CIP)

"There will always be a role in organizations for those with pure technical knowledge. But the real value add in the world of Systems of Engagement comes from those who can place these skills in a broader context — in the context of the business. That's what AIIM's Certified Information Professional program is all about."

  --Geoffrey Moore, noted author (Crossing the Chasm and Escape Velocity, among many others)

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“There is hardly any person I know who would not benefit from the content of the AIIM Information Professional certification program. Whether on the job or in our personal lives, we all need core skills in managing, and perhaps even mastering, the information and technology that surrounds us every day.”

  --Tim Elmore, CIO, Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union

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“Over the last decade, we have witnessed an emerging need for Information professionals to expand their knowledge and develop expertise beyond a single core discipline. Changes in technology, business rules and legislation have mandated that Information Professionals adapt and grow. It is because of this changing dynamic that I strongly recommend the AIIM Information Professional Certification. This unique certification recognizes your expansive knowledge of multiple disciplines, will enhance your marketability and will clearly identify you as a multi-dimensional Leader for ECM within your organization. Whether your background is in records, IT or business operations, I encourage you to Sign up today and get the recognition you’ve earned.”

   --Tom Talamendez, Sales Director, DSSI, An Act-1 Company

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"If you work with your organization’s information or collaboration resources and technologies, you’ll surely find AIIM a treasure trove of resources."

    --Andrew McAfee, Professor and author, Enterprise 2.0 and Race Against the Machine

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"The technology and processes used to manage business information are in a state of rapid change. It is not a trivial change. It is not an evolutionary change. It is a revolutionary change. It is driven by the need to expand our 'systems of record' to harness the unstructured digital and social content that has become the foundation of our businesses. Our systems must become 'systems of engagement'...and soon!

 Those who attempt to use the same knowledge and tools to get there will fail. It's going to require that we embrace a new body of knowledge and awareness. We will need to learn to operate within much vaguer boundaries.  I'm thrilled to have found the knowledge-base to support this change in AIIM's Information Management Professional Certification program. 

I encourage all information management and records management professionals to seek this certification. It's a great way to become a player in this technology overhaul."

    --Paul Engel, President, VeBridge

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"Anyone in IT or in an information related discipline today should be thinking about it." 

   --Ken Bisconti, Vice President, ECM Products and Strategy, IBM Software Group

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"Growing information is placing huge pressures on businesses today – impacting productivity, increasing legal risks, making compliance more difficult, and costing organisations time and money. The AIIM Information Certification clearly connects all aspects of content, people, data and processes; which are behind or should be considered to solve these problems. I very highly recommend it."

 --Vikram SetiaManaging Partner, infoMENTUM Limited

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"Every information management professional and information architect should become a Certified Information Professional. Experienced pros can quickly identify and fill knowledge gaps, while newcomers have a solid learning path to become an information subject matter expert. Earning the CIP designation demonstrates to your organization and clients that you are a valuable resource for their enterprise information initiatives."

  --J. Kevin Parker, Enterprise Information Architect, Web Engineer

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"The experience validated my knowledge and experience in the field of information management, and introduced many different avenues to study and learn about that I may not have otherwise considered."

  --Denise Harry, Supervisor, Records Management, Saskatchewan Government Insurance

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AIIM's Certified Information Professional designation was developed by a team of subject matter experts in conjunction with AIIM, in accordance with ISO 17024 methodologies. The purpose of the certification is to establish a core body of knowledge relevant to the needs of content and information professionals. The certification exams are independently administered by the global Prometric testing centers. Free certification prep kits and sample exam questions are available now from AIIM.

Get certified now.

 

Imperative Number 1 of 6 Facing Information Professionals - Make Everything Mobile

Imperative Number 1 of 6 Facing Information Professionals

Make everything mobile: Redefine content delivery and process automation to take advantage of mobile devices and mobile workforces.

Ubiquitous mobile computing is one of the core underlying drivers for Systems of Engagement and continues to shape the future of these systems. 

• In the span of a decade, cell phones have spread to essentially every person and location on the planet.
• Less than half the devices accessing the Internet run on Windows, and the shipments of smartphones and tablets are now larger than the shipments of laptops and PCs. 
• Mobile technologies have been the "steroid" accelerating the push to social technologies, and this push is now spreading to the business. 
• We are only just beginning to understand the full impact of what it means to have location services attached to the actual device we use to deliver content and initiate processes.
• The spread of ubiquitous connectivity on consumer-centric devices has changed the nature of work and workplaces and what it means to collaborate in a business setting.

Data points:

• 94% of organizations have deployed mobile access to email, but < 30% have mobile access to enterprise systems -- ECM, CRM, ERP [AIIM -- Making the Most of Mobile:  Content on the Move]
• 37% of organizations have no mobile ECM access; a further 30% rely on conventional web interface. [AIIM -- Making the Most of Mobile:  Content on the Move]
• Only 47% allow personal devices to access company data, and most do so in a policy void. [AIIM -- Making the Most of Mobile:  Content on the Move]
• 68% of installed ECM systems have no browser or mobile access option. [AIIM – State of the ECM Industry]

Photo source = http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottvanderchijs/4912947547

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AIIM's Certified Information Professional designation was developed by a team of subject matter experts in conjunction with AIIM, in accordance with ISO 17024 methodologies. The purpose of the certification is to establish a core body of knowledge relevant to the needs of content and information professionals. The certification exams are independently administered by the global Prometric testing centers. Free certification prep kits and sample exam questions are available now from AIIM.

Get certified now.

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Get these new research papers by Andrew McAfee:

• When Social Meets Business Real Work Gets Done - Enterprise Q&A
• When Social Meets Business Real Work Gets Done - Fostering Innovation
• When Social Meets Business Real Work Gets Done - Connecting Sales and Marketing

 

76 percent of business executives would pay a salary premium for Certified Information Professionals

We just released the results of an independent market survey of more than 200 business executives, attesting to the value of certification for information professionals.

The net-net:  Executives are willing to pay a premium for both internal staff and external consultants with the Certified Information Professional (CIP) designation.

Conducted in January 2012, four months after AIIM launched the Certified Information Professional program, the survey shows that:

• 64 percent of business executives would prefer to hire a Certified Information Professional (CIP) versus a non-certified candidate.
• 76 percent of business executives would pay a CIP a salary premium. Of these, 45 percent indicated that they would pay more than a 10 percent salary premium.
• 61 percent of business executives would prefer consultants that hold the CIP designation over those who do not.
• 62 percent of business executives think having CIP-certified staff would enhance the perception of their organization in the industry
• 60 percent of business executives would prefer CIP-certified IT staff.
• 66 percent of business executives think having CIP-certified staff would improve their ability to find, manage and exploit their information assets across the enterprise.

Debra Logan , vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner Research, and Regina Casonato, managing vice president at Gartner Research, confirmed the need for a professional designation for the emerging information professional, a role distinct from current IT skill sets. “An 'information professional' will not be one type of role or skill set, but will in fact have a number of specializations,” wrote Logan and Casonato in the 2011 Gartner “CIO Alert: You Need Information Professionals .”

The Certified Information Professional designation was developed by a team of subject matter experts in conjunction with AIIM, in accordance with ISO 17024 methodologies. The purpose of the certification is to establish a core body of knowledge relevant to the needs of content and information professionals. The certification exams are independently administered by the global Prometric testing centers. Free certification prep kits and sample exam questions are available now from AIIM.

Get certified now.

 

A few notes on Email Architecture, Backup and Archiving

"There is hardly any person I know who would not benefit from the content of the AIIM Certified Information Professional certification. Whether on the job or in our personal lives, we all need core skills in managing, and perhaps even mastering, the information and technology that surrounds us every day."  (Tim Elmore, CIO, Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union)

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A few notes on Email Architecture, Backup and Archiving

The way messages are stored, backups are made, and archives are kept is important because they all have an impact on how findable and shareable the information they contain ends up being.

It's not that long ago that emails were simply “out there” and not thought of as things that needed to be managed in the same way as other information resources. After all, the thinking went, storage is cheap, so we can just keep everything. And if we need to find it, well, Outlook and Exchange have search functions!

But what about emails that have been archived elsewhere, or simply saved to someone’s desktop? And what about the people searching from within other applications? And what of the attachments? 

Here's a little review of some of the basics...

Email Architecture, Backup and Archiving

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Looking to demonstrate that you have the ability to solve an organization's information-related problems and plan for the future? Check out the new Certified Information Professional (CIP) certification. This is not a training program, but a certification exam available from Prometric tests centers across the world. Learn more >

 

A short primer on email management - some core concepts

Here's a short primer on Email Management from our Information Certification educational videos (they're free! -- and feel free to embed them on your own web site!)

Key Concepts and Issues -- Part 1

Key Concepts and Issues -- Part 2

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From a conversation with Ken Bisconti from IBM on the Future of Social Content.  Ken on the AIIM CIP -- "Anyone in IT or in an information related discipline today should be thinking about it." 

Looking to demonstrate that you have the ability to solve an organization's information-related problems and plan for the future? Check out the new Certified Information Professional (CIP) certification. This is not a training program, but a certification exam available from Prometric tests centers across the world. Learn more >

 

Why we need Information Professionals

Per IDC's Digital Universe report, "Although the amount of information in the Digital Universe will grow by a factor of 44, and the number of containers or files will grow by a factor of 67 from 2009 to 2020, the number of IT professionals in the world will grow only by a factor of 1.4."

That's why we need Information Professionals.

 

 

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New Information Certification

View more presentations from Atle Skjekkeland

What do you need to know about Information Capture?

Here's a short primer on Information Capture from our Information Certification educational videos (they're free! -- and feel free to embed them on your own web site!)

• Information Capture Types of Capture -- http://youtu.be/FzKEOggpSPk
• Indexing Strategies -- http://youtu.be/K-li0U3diEg
• Capture Planning and Preparation -- http://youtu.be/cK_M1rf4798
• Interoperability and Integration Techniques 1 -- http://youtu.be/rDKr1tW4k4E
• Interoperability and Integration Techniques 2 -- http://youtu.be/sUtHH7XHbgk
• Compression Techniques and Formats -- http://youtu.be/6f8r_ZCeETM
• Capture Process Mapping and Shared Drive Cleanup -- http://youtu.be/agXTXpBLCDE

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Are you interested in becoming a Certified Information Professional?  Here's how...

Have you made your plans to attend the AIIM Conference?

 

What the heck is AIIM is up to re Information Certification?

The following is a good presentation by my colleague Atle re what we are up to with our information certification program.

I took the test before Thanksgiving secretly without telling my staff -- In case I failed.  (Note: Given that the development process has been ISO consistent, I have not been privy to the development process.)  

I won't say I got an "A" but I did pass!

So get in on the ground floor.  The educational videos are great and can walk you through the content. 

A few quotes to illustrate why this certification is so needed...

• The vast majority of organizations see the need to manage information as an enterprise resource rather than in separate "silos," departments or systems, but they don't know how to begin to address the challenge, as it is so large...Professional roles focused on information management will be different to that of established IT roles...An "information professional" will not be one type of role or skill set, but will in fact have a number of specializations.  (Deb Logan and Regina Casonata, Gartner)
• The IT worker needed by businesses … for the future needs to be multi-skilled – with a mixture of technical skills combined with strong business and communication skills. (World of Work, 2011)
• …most executives perceive it [RM] as an administrative cost center…the strategic relevancy of the records management function has taken a slight dip… (ARMA/Forrester, 2011)
• There are not enough people with the necessary skills to help companies capitalize on the opportunities that data provides (2011 EMC Study)
• IT is not providing a sustainable competitive advantage, just as having electricity does not provide a sustainable advantage when everyone has it. (Coldstreams.com 2011, reporting on IEEE seminar)
• 44% of records managers are not included in the IT strategic planning process, including requirements definitions and vendor selection – up from 35% in 2009 (ARMA/Forrester, 2011)
• The inability of our profession to come to grips with the explosion of electronic records will spell the doom of the profession. In many organizations, that omission has made us irrelevant. (Patrick Cunningham, CRM, 2010)
• The problem is that not enough people know how to use the new tools of the Internet, mobile, and cloud computing. The workforce as a whole does not have the right mix of skills. (Maurice Mugambe, 2011)

25 years ago, people would have viewed the idea of professional certification in project management as a lunatic idea.  Hundreds of thousands or certifications later, it is clear that there is a definable body of knowledge associated with project management.  The profession of project management is recognized as key to the success of organizations. We believe that the concept of an "information professional" is a concept whose time has come.  Yes, it is in its early stages.  But it is coming.  Join us.

New Information Certification

View more presentations from Atle Skjekkeland

What do you need to know about Master Data Management and Text Analytics?

Here's a short primer on MDM and Text Analytics from our Information Certification educational videos (they're free! -- and feel free to embed them on your own web site!)

• Tools and Tasks - http://youtu.be/nAswoGOq5x4
• Data and Information Types -- http://youtu.be/DhBflxO6GZY
• Data Quality and Information Governance -- http://youtu.be/C2pa7VM6uW0
• Text Analytics -- http://youtu.be/5r4-wrkfNLc

 

 

 

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Are you interested in becoming a Certified Information Professional?  Here's how...

 

 

Have you made your plans to attend the AIIM Conference?