Ottawa County, Michigan Selects Document Management Software To Reduce Costs Associated With Paper Files, Meet Retention Requirements
Hyland Software, Inc., developer of the OnBase® enterprise content management (ECM) software suite, has been named by Ottawa County, Michigan as the organization's provider of document management software and services. With OnBase, Ottawa estimates a savings of approximately $400,000 per year due to the reduction of the usage and management of paper based files, as well as the redirection of man-hours to more pressing issues.
OnBase, which includes core capabilities in document imaging, workflow and records management, will ultimately be used by more than 450 users across multiple departments, including: Friend of the Court, Clerk of the Court, Circuit Court, Sheriff's Office, District Court, Juvenile Services, Probate Court, Family Court and the Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Nearly 14 million existing paper and microfilm documents will be converted and indexed into a digital format and placed in an off-site document repository, and the County estimates that an additional five million pages will be scanned, indexed and uploaded into the OnBase system in 2006.
"This system will help the County reduce costs associated with how we deliver services to the taxpayers, thus allowing for the redirection of these funds to other areas that will better benefit the residents of Ottawa County," said Al Vanderberg, County administrator.
Located in the southwestern section of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, Ottawa County awarded the contract to ImageSoft, Inc., of Southfield, Michigan, a provider of ECM solutions to counties, cities and townships in Michigan and a Hyland Software authorized OnBase solution provider.
Over the past several years, the County's Justice Imaging committee evaluated the number of documents they created, their legal retention period and how these documents flow between several departments.
"Ottawa County recognized the need to automate processes and reduce the creation, storage and movement of paper as the number of documents created and stored, both on-site and off-site, was staggering," said County Clerk Dan Krueger. "We had three people in our office who were constantly moving files from my office to other departments to a number of other departments. With OnBase, we have one database, one source of information that all departments can access via a simple computer point-and-click, thus deleting the time, effort and cost of constantly transferring files."
"Ottawa's preparation was extremely apparent as we have rarely seen a prospective customer with such a highly refined understanding of the technology and the vision of their ultimate goals," said ImageSoft Account Manager Chuck Rondinone. "Such preparation will make the implementation process much easier while providing a quicker ROI and much higher user acceptance."
Documents from three legacy imaging systems will be converted and uploaded into OnBase as well, and the system will be up and running in the initial departments in a few months with a goal of achieving full integration by the end of 2006. Future plans include offering the OnBase system to cities and townships within the County.
About Ottawa County, Michigan
Located on the coast of southwestern Michigan, Ottawa County is comprised of nearly 270,000 people. With two state parks, 10 county parks, 24 lakes and a beautiful coastline on Lake Michigan, the county draws over one million visitors per year. Agriculture, furniture, office equipment and automotive related manufacturing are among Ottawa's industries. The county has experienced a population growth rate of over 12.5% over the past five years.
About ImageSoft, Inc.
ImageSoft, Inc. delivers complete enterprise document imaging and workflow solutions to a variety of paper or process-intensive industries, including government, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing and education. ImageSoft, Inc., founded in 1996, is based in Southfield, Michigan and serves customers throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada. ImageSoft was honored in 2004 and 2005 with Hyland Software's "Platinum Partner" and "Diamond Support" Awards, the highest designation provided by Hyland to their integration partners. The company's Web site is www.imagesoftinc.com. For additional information, contact Scott Bade at (248) 948-8100, extension 200.
About Hyland Software, Inc.
Hyland Software, Inc., established in 1991, is a leading provider of rapidly deployable enterprise content management software. Hyland develops OnBase, enterprise-class software that combines integrated document management, business process management and records management in a single application. OnBase allows organizations to manage digital content, including scanned paper documents, faxes, print streams, application files, electronic forms, Web content, multimedia files and e-mails. OnBase is used by businesses and government agencies to reduce the time and cost of performing important business functions and address the need for regulatory compliance through the management, control and sharing of digital content with employees, business partners, customers and other constituencies. For more information about OnBase and its 80+ modules, please visit www.onbase.com or contact an authorized OnBase reseller.