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RSSNext Generation Of Automated Forms Processing
May 7, 2008
Click Here To Download:•Contributed Editorial: Next Generation Of Automated Forms Processing
By Bill Galusha, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, EMC Corporation
By now, we have all come to realize and concede that the thought of a "paperless office" will indeed remain a myth. The main reason being that paper is still a vital part of many critical business processes and is still leveraged as a means for communicating and capturing information. This is true for many processes that involve the receipt of documents from outside an organization and in many cases where paper remains a critical part to an online electronic process.
While it is true many forms have made their way into an online electronic form, such as a 1040 tax form or new account application given their fixed format and ease of converting to an online form, questions still remain. How do organizations handle the processing of less structured forms? How do we handle the paper documents that support electronic processes?
Traditional forms processing solutions have been template-based - a template is defined for each form that the software will encounter during processing. A template contains the business logic for identifying a form, and performing data capture and validations based on the defined business rules. But this approach has always been limiting, and takes a fair amount of time to setup and support given the requirement that for each form you have, a template has to be defined.
One of the most complex steps in processing a paper document is identifying what type of document it is. Advances in capture technology over the recent years have breathed new life into automating forms processing by giving organizations the tools and capabilities to tackle many of the more complex forms. These complex forms typically have less structure and are often referred to as semi-structured and unstructured forms. This pertains to forms like invoices, Explanation of Benefits (EOB), bill of ladings, purchase orders, and more. Forms that enter an organization from outside the company where they have very little control over them also pose a significant challenge as well.
Click Here To Download:•Contributed Editorial: Next Generation Of Automated Forms Processing
