Strategies for Successful Scanning

Are you considering the purchase of a document scanner or scanners to help your business get its arms around critical information residing on paper?

Converting paper-based information into digital files through document scanning will get your business on the road to true information management. Doing so will reap a host of benefits, including increased operational efficiency, enhanced staff productivity, quick access to information, and reduction in costly storage of paper files—all helping your business drive its bottom line profitability.

First, realize that scanning documents with today’s technically advanced scanners is not a daunting task.

Second, integrating a document scanner or a number of scanners into your workflow requires little or no drama. For example, all of Ambir’s scanner products and solutions have interfaces providing plug-and-play operation with commercially available operating systems and computers. All come with easy-to-use software, enabling you to begin scanning right after installation. All are compact and sit right on desktops for efficient information management.

Sitting on a desktop provides great space utilization but do you need a scanning solution to take on the road? Yes, there are mobile scanners that can work with laptops, tablets and smart phones. Check out the Ambir MobileScan Pro 500i, a wireless-ready portable document scanner providing full-featured functionality, communication smarts and mobility for information management.

Okay, we’ve sold you on getting a scanner or more…so where do you start?

Ask yourself what you need to do: Handle substantial numbers of documents daily? Scan in high resolution? Convert documents to JPEG or PDF formats? Capture both sides simultaneously (duplex)? Have WI-FI or USB connectivity?

There are a lot of scanning solutions on the market today but all pretty much fall into three category types. Workgroup Scanners are desktop devices designed to handle in-office workflow. They can do a lot of information management at high speeds, high resolutions, and handle a large number of documents daily. Mobile Scanners are designed to go with you, with some featuring WI-FI connectivity. ID Card Scanners capture a variety of cards—insurance cards, business cards, checks, credit cards and licenses, routing information management into relevant applications, including healthcare-specific apps.

Strategies for Successful Scanning
After deciding what you need to do and now having ideas about which types of scanners will get the job done (you may need all three scanner types for your business), Ambir recommends the following strategies for successful information management:
• Focus on the mission of your organization, not the gee whiz of scanning technology—ask how you use document scanning to drive efficiency, productivity and profits. Sexy technology is great but if it doesn’t support your mission, it has little value.
• Match the scanner to the task—personnel in a central location require high-capacity workgroup scanners, while traveling professionals require mobile document and/or card scanners. Determine scanning requirements, identifying the best scanner to meet the needs of each employee.
• Create a plan—incorporate scanner needs of each employee into your strategic or marketing plan. If this is not possible or inconvenient, ask a scanner vendor to assist you in creating an analysis and plan to identify scanner deployments.
• Identify a hero—you or someone in your organization acts as champion in doing research, assisting in purchasing decisions, and helping train employees. The champion should be an enthusiastic advocate for scanning technology, identifying new opportunities to use it to grow your business.
• Keep the technology current—technological evolution provides new opportunities for added efficiency and productivity, but you must balance the cost of updates with return on investment. Maintain healthy balance by working closely with your hardware and software vendors so you will have the best technology to meet current and future needs.
• Keep abreast of security and communication–hackers, viruses and phishing sites threaten your business. Be sure your scanning, communication and information storage technologies are up-to-date, and that scanning vendors you choose know how to mitigate security issues in information management.

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To learn more about scanning technology and information management, visit our blog on our website at www.ambir.com and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.