DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT
aspects of business – and this is set to grow in the coming months and years. Nicola says there are numerous scanning solutions where AI can and is already playing a role, and development shows no signs of slowing. “For example, AI-powered optimal character recognition can be adopted to convert scanned documents into editable and searchable text,” she says. “AI algorithms can be trained to automatically classify scanning documents into different categories based in their content, layout, or other features to help companies organise and sort large volumes of documents differently. “AI can also be used to extract specific data fields such as names, dates and numbers from scanned documents to automate data entry and processing or to analyse scanned documents for quality issues such as blurriness, skewness, or missing pages to help control quality. Finally, AI can be used to automatically summarise key information from scanned documents to make information sharing quicker and easier. “Many of these AI benefits are already being utilised by our ISV partners paving the way for a more intelligent way of working using scan, and a greater relationship between scan and the digitalisation journey of businesses.” Automation should be the first step in digitising document management, Antony adds. “But AI can help to take its abilities even further,” he says. “With features such as natural language processing, SMBs can also input prompts in everyday language to classify and delve deeper into documents with remarkable accuracy. This means that SMBs can use AI to not only digitise their records, but also spot trends in customer behaviours and predict cashflow, directly impacting business strategy.”
service processes and the overall customer journey. “We’ve also seen a trend of SMBs migrating from legacy on-premise capture technologies to the cloud. We fully expect this migration to SaaS technology to accelerate through 2024 and into 2025.” Another trend is for smaller and more intelligent devices. “Epson’s manufacturing philosophy of Sho Sho Sei – translating from Japanese as ‘compact, precise, and efficient’ – has physically reflected in our new product development over the years with smaller, more intelligent, and more energy efficient technologies,” says Nicola. “For Epson, this will only continue. We also have new updates around our document scanners coming later this year, and while we can’t divulge anything about this now, we can confirm it will mean exciting new opportunities for our resellers and ISVs.” Reseller opportunities With these developments and trends in document management, it means that there are a range of opportunities to resellers. “The challenge – and opportunity – for resellers is understanding how their targeted customer base is working, what stage of their digitalisation journey they’re at and stocking the appropriate equipment to put them front and centre when discussing technology solutions with them,” says Nicola. “Technology has developed so much over the years to the point where businesses aren’t asking ‘what solution is there’, but they’re demanding from resellers a solution specific to their needs. This shift means resellers need to have diverse understandings of hardware and software solutions. “The same can be said of scan, and while Epson’s proprietary Document Capture software suite can meet a great deal of digitalisation demands, our ISV partners offer a plethora of solutions that are tailored around very specific needs from across different industries and can be personalised to meet new requirements as well. Having the right network of ISV partners, the right stock of scanning equipment to facilitate these softwares and being fluent in changing business models and digitalisation processes is a great set of standards for resellers to succeed in this space.”
Nicola Williams manager for document scanning solutions
epson.co.uk
Technology has developed so much over the years to the point where businesses aren’t asking “ ‘what solution is there’, but they’re demanding from resellers a solution specific to their needs.
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Trends But AI isn’t the only thing impacting on document management currently.
“Smartphones are a powerful data-gathering tool, and over the next year we’ll see SMBs take more advantage of what is in their pocket,” says Antony. “Smartphone document capture and digitisation combines ease of use with reduced costs. It allows employees and customers to process documents on the go – accelerating processing times and conversion rates. As a result, SMBs can improve customer
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