Document Management OverviewA guide to the benefits, technology and implementation essentials of digital document management solutions

Originally published as Document Imaging in the New Millenium©2000 Compulink Management Center, Inc.

Copyright ©2000, 2003, 2004 by Compulink Management Center, Inc.All rights reserved.

Laserfiche is a registered trademark of Compulink Management Center, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective companies. No part of this publication may be reproduced, photocopied, stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

ISBN 0-9726861-0-X

LaserficheA Division of Compulink Management Center, Inc.3545 Long Beach Blvd.Long Beach, CA 90807USA

Fifth edition published September 2004Printed in the United States of America

Contents

I. Introduction: Streamlining Business Processes through Document Management ........Benefits of Document and Records Management...........................................................................

II. Document and Records Management Defined.......................................................................Document Management...................................................................................................................

1. Capture, or the Ability to Import Different Types of Documents..........................................2. Storage and Archiving That Allow for Growth and Change..................................................3. Indexing and Retrieval, or the Ability to Find What You Want When You Want It................4. Distribution, or Putting Information in the Hands of the Right People...............................5. Security, or the Ability to Protect Your Documents from Loss and Tampering...................

Records Management, or Documenting Business Activity.............................................................

III. Essential Components of Document Management Solutions.............................................Usability............................................................................................................................................Capture.............................................................................................................................................Annotations......................................................................................................................................Storage and Archiving......................................................................................................................Distribution.......................................................................................................................................Security.............................................................................................................................................Integration........................................................................................................................................Technical Considerations.................................................................................................................Records Management Applications.................................................................................................

IV. Implementation: Addressing Your Business Needs..............................................................Records Management Considerations.............................................................................................Scaling from Pilot Project to an Organization-wide Solution.........................................................Training.............................................................................................................................................Support and Maintenance................................................................................................................Outsourcing Scanning......................................................................................................................Compliance and Legal Issues..........................................................................................................

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V. Frequently asked Questions.......................................................................................................General.............................................................................................................................................Capture.............................................................................................................................................Indexing............................................................................................................................................Viewing/Printing/Exporting..............................................................................................................Records Management......................................................................................................................COLD (Computer Output to Laser Disc)..........................................................................................

VI. Glossary of Terms........................................................................................................................

About Laserfiche.................................................................................................................................

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I. Introduction: Streamlining Business Processes through

Document Management

Streamlining business processes and increas-ing productivity are fundamental concernsfor any organization – private, public andnon-profit alike. In an increasingly strict reg-ulatory environment, managing documentsand records diverts significant time from anorganization's mission-critical objectives.

Document and records management softwarehas many benefits that can appreciablyimprove organizational efficiency. Sincethese applications are complex systems thatrepresent a solid investment, organizationsshould carefully evaluate their current andfuture needs beforehand.

Laserfiche created this guide to give organiza-tions perspective on document and recordsmanagement systems and on the demands ofimplementation. Laserfiche provides thiswork as an educational resource. It resultsfrom our nearly twenty years of experience

helping customers solve their business problemsand represents our commitment to educatingorganizations and individual users about thetechnology of document management.

This guide is divided into parts that clarifydifferent aspects of document management.The introduction outlines the broad businessbenefits of document and records manage-ment systems. Explanations of the basics ofdocument and records management systemsfollow. Specific system components crucialfor improving business processes are thendetailed. The key elements for successfulimplementation of a document managementsystem are discussed in the next chapter.Frequently asked questions and a glossary ofterms related to document imaging, docu-ment management and records managementare located at the end of the guide.

“I’ve done searches that would have taken me probably three or four working days, and I foundthe information in about 10 minutes. Our archives are historical treasures – which is one of thereasons we did this, because people use them for research and the records were wearing out. Sowe wanted to store the original materials away and not risk damaging them anymore.”

Linda Butler, City Clerk,Flagstaff, AZ

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Benefits of Document andRecords Management

Document management systems are softwareapplications that capture paper and electron-ic documents and provide the storage,retrieval, security and archiving of those doc-uments. Records management is a specializeddiscipline. In particular, it is a set of recog-nized practices related to the life cycle ofrecords – information that serves as evidenceof the business activities of an organization.

The document management process beginswith the conversion of paper documents andrecords to electronic files. Digitizing elimi-nates the many obstacles created by paper –labor-intensive duplication procedures, slowdistribution, misplaced originals and theinconvenience of retrieving files from remotelocations. Because paper files are also costlyto process, duplicate, distribute and store,digitizing reduces operating expenses andoverhead.

Document management applications enablemore efficient distribution of and control overinformation, files and records throughout theorganization. These software programs sim-plify business processes by automating repet-itive procedures, document routing and e-mail notification. Document management sys-tems expedite business processes by allowinginstant access to information; greater collabo-ration within and among departments andoffices; enhanced security for files andrecords; and the application of proceduresthat facilitate compliance with record-keep-ing requirements imposed by the SEC, NASD,HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley and others.

Document management makes it possible to:

• Manage millions of documents and retrieve the right one in seconds.

• Share documents with colleagues while protecting confidential information.

• E-mail and fax files instantly.

• Access documents while traveling.

• Publish documents to CD, DVD or the Web, as appropriate.

• Back up files and records for disaster recovery.

Records management systems simplify thelife-cycle management of business records. Arecords management system supports theautomatic enforcement of consistent, organi-zation-wide records policies and reduces thecost of regulatory compliance.

Records management software provides:

• Improved efficiency in the storage, retentionand disposition of records and record series.

• Detailed reports of which records are eligible for transfer, accession or destruction.

• Audit trails to track all system activity andthe entire life cycle of records.

The Department of Defense 5015.2-STD hasbecome the de facto standard for records man-agement software across a wide spectrum ofindustries. DoD 5015.2-STD outlines thebaseline functionality required for recordsmanagement applications used by the U.S.Department of Defense and has beenendorsed by the National Archives andRecords Administration (NARA). Recordsmanagement applications that have been cer-tified as DoD 5015.2 compliant provide thepeace of mind that comes from objective,third-party evaluation.

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II. Document and Records Management Defined

Document Management

Document management begins with the con-version of paper or other documents into dig-itized images. These images can be easilyorganized and quickly retrieved, indexed andarchived. When files are scanned or electron-ically converted, a high-resolution digitalcopy is stored on a hard drive or optical disc.Templates, or electronic index cards, canattach information, such as author, referencenumber, date created, or key words to a docu-ment. Files can still be viewed, printed,shared and stored. Which documents peoplecan read and what actions they can performon these documents depend on the level ofsecurity that the system administrator hasassigned to the user.

All document management systems shouldhave five basic components:

• Capture for bringing documents into the system

• Methods for storing and archiving documents

• Indexing and retrieval tools to locate documents

• Distribution for exporting documents from the system

• Security to protect documents from unauthorized access

Digital document management represents asignificant advance over storing informationon paper. No longer just ink on a page, the

document becomes active content after beingprocessed by Optical Character Recognition(OCR) technology. A document managementsystem should offer effective search tools fordocument retrieval, including full-text search,index field searches and a visual filing schemethat permits users to browse for documents.

Following is a description of the five basiccomponents to look for when choosing yoursystem.

1. Capture, or the Ability toImport Different Types ofDocuments

There are three primary methods of bringingfiles into a document management system:

• Scanning or imaging, for paper files

• Importing, for archiving electronic documents such as word processing files, spreadsheets, faxes, audio and video

• Conversion, for creating unalterable imagesof electronic documents

Scanning

Scanning a document produces a raster (pic-ture) image that can be stored on a computer.When you choose a scanner, it is important toconsider the size and volume of paper to bescanned, along with price and overall budget.The ability to support a wide range of scan-ners is one of the defining characteristics of aversatile document management system.

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A scanner should have an AutomaticDocument Feeder (ADF). The ADF speeds upthe scanning process by allowing stacks ofpaper to be placed into a tray and automati-cally fed one page at a time into the scanner.Scanners without an ADF require each pageto be manually placed in the scanner; they aredesigned primarily for imaging graphics.

Scanners can handle a variety of paper sizes,from business cards to engineering drawings.Most departments only need to scan docu-ments up to legal-size paper (81/2-inch x 14-inch). For organizations or departments thatuse blueprints, building plans and architec-tural drawings, there are large-format scan-ners that support E-size (34-inch x 44-inch)documents. In general, the larger the papersize the scanner can handle, the more expen-sive it is. Other options, such as color orgrayscale, also increase the scanner's price.

The speed of the scanner is another consider-ation. Document imaging scanners can han-dle between 10 and 200 pages per minute.These are available in both simplex mode andduplex mode. Duplex scanners allow bothsides of a two-sided document to be scannedin a single pass. High-speed scanning andduplex scanning can increase the price of thescanner. In some instances, it is more eco-nomical to purchase two 20-page-per-minutescanners than one 40-page-per-minute scan-ner. However, the two-scanner option is onlysupported by document management systemsthat support multiple scan stations.

Importing

Document importing is the process of bring-ing electronic files, such as Microsoft® Officesuite documents, graphics, audio clips orvideo files, into a document management sys-tem. Files can be dragged into a documentmanagement system and remain in theirnative formats. These files can be viewed intheir original format by either launching theoriginating application or by using an embed-ded file viewer from within the documentmanagement system.

Conversion

Converting documents is the process of trans-forming electronic files, such as word proces-sor or spreadsheet documents, into perma-nent, raster-image format for storage within adocument management system. Windowsapplications, such as Microsoft Word, Excelor Autodesk AutoCAD, can print existing filesinto an unalterable image of the document.These images are usually stored as archival-quality TIFF (Tagged Image File Format). Fordocuments, the conversion process also pullsa clean stream of text directly from the docu-ment, eliminating the need for OCR. This textfile can then be used for full-text indexing ofthe document to assist with later retrieval.Converting electronic documents bypassesscanning, saves paper and printer ink andproduces a cleaner image than scanned paperfiles. The document management systemshould be integrated with Microsoft Office orother applications to permit users to convertdocuments with maximum ease. This methodof imaging electronic documents is best suit-ed for permanent archives.

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2. Storage and Archiving ThatAllow for Growth and Change

Once brought into the system, documentsmust be reliably stored. Document manage-ment storage systems must be able to accom-modate changing technologies and an organi-zation's future growth. Hardware independ-ence is critical to assuring that a documentmanagement system will meet all of your cur-rent and future needs. A versatile documentmanagement system should be compatiblewith all storage devices currently available –as well as those on the horizon – to providelong-term document storage or archival.

To ensure the future readability of docu-ments, a document management systemshould store files in a non-proprietary format,such as TIFF or ASCII. Storing documentimages or text files in a proprietary formatmay leave your organization dependent onthe future success or failure of another com-pany.

Currently, there are five primary storageoptions:

• Magnetic Media (Hard Drives)

• Magneto-Optical Storage

• Compact Discs

• DVDs

• WORM

The advantages and drawbacks of each aredescribed below.

Magnetic Media (Hard Drives)

Increasingly fast response times to store andretrieve a document, along with dramaticreductions in storage prices, make magnetic

media a popular choice. These systemsinclude Redundant Array of IndependentDisks (RAID), Network Attached Storage(NAS) and Storage Area Networks (SAN).These devices are relatively inexpensive, canbe linked together to store large numbers ofdocuments and provide fast response times.

The main drawback of magnetic media is that,while inexpensive, they still contain movingparts, which are subject to mechanical failure.Data files can also be completely erased.Computer personnel should perform regularbackups of hard drives so that if data is erasedor damaged, it can be restored.

Magneto-Optical Storage

In the past, the magneto-optical (MO)diskette/disk drive was a popular way to backup files on a personal computer. As the termimplies, an MO device employs both magnet-ic and optical technologies to obtain ultra-high data density. A typical MO cartridge isslightly larger than a conventional 3.5-inchmagnetic diskette and looks similar. But,while the older type of magnetic diskette canstore 1.44 megabytes (MB) of data, an MOdiskette can store many times that amount,ranging from 100 MB up to several gigabytes(GB).

The chief assets of MO drives include con-venience, modest cost, reliability and, forsome models, widespread availabilityapproaching industry standardization. MOdisks can be placed in jukeboxes that holdhundreds of disks. The chief limitation of MOdrives is that they are slower than hard diskdrives and still subject to mechanical failure.Data files can also be completely erased. Withthe drop in the price of hard drives, the pop-ularity of magneto-optical storage has faded.

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Compact Discs

Compact discs (CDs) are small discs used tostore digital information. Since nothingtouches the encoded portion of the disc, theCD is not worn out by the playing process.Standard CD formats include CD-ROM(Compact Disc-Read Only Memory), apreprinted media format; CD-R (CDRecordable), a single-use recordable disc; andCD-RW (CD Rewritable), a multi-use record-able disc.

CDs offer a safe and reliable medium that canprovide long-term storage for images.Moreover, CD-ROMs do not require special-ized hardware or software to retrieve informa-tion. CDs use ISO-9600 specifications; thismeans the data can be read on many comput-er platforms. The primary drawback of thismedium is its limited storage capacity, 650MB. CD-ROMs can be accessed through CD-ROM drives, CD towers and jukeboxes of upto 500 discs, making it a convenient methodof storing large numbers of imaged documents.

DVDs

DVD, which stands for Digital Video Disc orDigital Versatile Disc, is another form of opti-cal disc storage technology. It is essentially afaster CD that can hold more information,including video, audio and computer data.DVD aims to encompass home entertainment,computers and business information within asingle digital format, eventually replacingaudio CD, videotape, laser disc, CD-ROM andeven video game cartridges. DVD hasunprecedented, widespread support from allmajor electronics companies, all major com-puter hardware companies and about half ofthe major movie and music studios.

Since the disc is read by a beam of laser light,there is no wear and tear, even if it keepsrereading the same data. The tough plasticsurface is forgiving of fingerprints, dust anddirt. This means DVDs can be played thou-sands of times and continue to represent thebest long-term option for reliable documentmanagement storage. The drawbacks of thismedium are its high costs and an ongoingstandards battle at time of publication, as dif-ferent manufacturers are using different for-mats for rewritable DVDs.

WORM

WORM, which stands for Write Once, ReadMany, is an optical disc technology thatallows you to write data onto a disk just once.The data is permanent and can be read anynumber of times. This format is not readilyavailable and requires specialized hardwareand software to operate. Unlike CD-ROM,there is no single standard for WORM disks,which means that they can only be read bythe same type of drive that wrote them. Thishas hampered their acceptance, although theyhave found a niche market as an archivalmedium.

While this standard definition of WORMrefers to a specific type of storage technology,WORM has taken on a broader meaning inother contexts, such as financial services, toinclude any optical disc that is, in practice, awrite-once-read-many medium. In this gener-al sense, WORM includes more common stor-age media such as CDs and DVDs.

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3. Indexing and Retrieval, or theAbility to Find What You WantWhen You Want It

A full-featured document management sys-tem makes retrieval of relevant documentsfast, easy and efficient, and offers multiplemethods of indexing, or categorizing, infor-mation. Indexing allows users to quickly sortlarge volumes of data to find the right docu-ment. Whatever the combination of indexingmethodologies, search methods need to beeasily used and understood by the peoplewho retrieve the documents, as well as thosewho file them.

There are three primary ways of indexing filesin a document management system:

• Full-text indexing, or indexing every word contained within a document

• Index fields, or indexing through keyword categories of documents

• Folder/file structure, or indexing by associated document groups

Retrieval is where the quality of the indexingsystem is most evident. Some document man-agement systems let users search only byindexed keywords, which requires a person toknow how the document was categorized andwhat index fields were assigned to it. A pow-erful indexing system will make it possiblefor users to find any document based on whatthey know, even if that amounts to no morethan a word or phrase within the document.The more a document management systemadapts to an organization's existing proce-dures, the less upheaval and training areinvolved for users of the system and thegreater the likelihood the system will be usedon a regular basis.

Full-Text Indexing

Full-text indexing allows users to locate anyword or phrase that appears in the document.By providing full-text indexing, documentmanagement systems can eliminate the needto read and manually index documents usingkeywords.

To enable full-text indexing, the softwaremust have the capability to perform OpticalCharacter Recognition (OCR). The OCRprocess translates printed words intoalphanumeric characters with near-perfectaccuracy, enabling each occurrence of a wordto be tracked by the application. OCR dra-matically reduces the cost of manual index-ing while providing improved search capabil-ities.

However, OCR cannot process handwriting orimages. Moreover, when a computer performsOCR on a document, it typically uses Englishas the default alphabet. If multiple languagesare required, the document management sys-tem should support OCR and full-text search-es in these languages. To avoid creating extrawork, a well-designed document manage-ment system should provide the ability toautomate the OCR and full-text index pro-cessing of documents.

Index Fields

Index field searches enable users to combthrough millions of records in seconds to findnecessary documents. The ability to useindex field information to locate documentsis important in cases where a topic search ismore expedient than finding every occur-rence of a particular word or where the data-base contains images without printed text (asin the example of photographs or maps). Afull-featured document management systemwill have user-definable template fields. In

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situations where the person who selected thekeywords is not the one searching for files,this method has obvious limits.

A document management system shouldallow users to customize index templates, cre-ate multiple templates and support differenttypes of index field data within each tem-plate, such as date, number and alphanumer-ic characters. Index fields can be used to cat-egorize documents, track creation or retentiondates, or record subject matter, among otherinformation. A document management sys-tem should enable pull-down boxes of com-mon key words to speed index field entry andhave tools available to help automate enteringindex information.

Folder/File Structure

Along with enabling full-text and index fieldsearches, a document management systemshould enable users to locate documents bybrowsing. A full-featured document manage-ment system lets an organization electronical-ly recreate its existing filing system through anested folder structure. A flexible folderstructure eases the transition from paper fil-ing to electronic filing, which makes the tran-sition to document management systemssmoother.

4. Distribution, or PuttingInformation in the Hands of theRight People

A document management system shouldmake it possible for multiple users to accessthe same files at the same time and for docu-ments to be distributed to authorized individ-uals within and outside of an organization-over an intranet, by e-mail, or through publi-

cation to the Web, CD or DVD. A full-featureddocument management system safeguards anunalterable copy of the original while allow-ing you to enhance collaboration and serviceby circulating copies in the format that bestserves your business needs.

When system administrators decide to deploya document management system across theirentire network through an intranet, or even tothe public over the Internet, they shouldmake it possible for users to search, retrieveand view documents with any Web browser.Browser-based document access removes thelogistical problems associated with computerplatform (Windows, Macintosh, Unix, etc.)

5. Security, or the Ability toProtect Your Documents fromLoss and Tampering

System security is an absolute necessity forany document management system. A rigor-ous security system should permit everyauthorized person to perform required duties– whether from desktop, laptop, the office, aremote location or over the Web – withoutcompromising the integrity of the database,system or network.

A full-featured document management sys-tem gives the system administrator the toolsto balance access and security through con-trol over both access rights and feature rights.Access rights determine who can log on to thesystem and which folders or files individualscan open. Feature rights determine theactions that individuals can perform on doc-uments to which they have access. A compre-hensive security system also allows high-level users to redact or black out confidentialinformation within files.

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Records Management, orDocumenting Business Activity

Records management is a specialized branchof document management that deals withinformation serving as evidence of an organi-zation's business activities. In particular, it isa set of recognized practices related to the lifecycle of that information. Most often, recordsrefer to documents, but they can includeother forms of information, such as photo-graphs, blueprints, or even books. Recordsmanagement requires the application of sys-tematic controls to the creation, maintenanceand destruction of an organization's records.

The fundamental concept behind recordsmanagement is the idea of the life cycle of therecord. Life cycle refers to the stages thatevery official business record must undergo.After a record has been created, it must befiled according to a defined, logical schemeinto a managed repository where it will beavailable for retrieval by authorized users.When the information contained in recordsno longer has any immediate value, therecord is removed from active accessibility.Depending on the nature of the record, it iseither retained, transferred, archived, ordestroyed.

Records management applications shouldfacilitate the inventory of records and theapplication of consistent records policies.Records management applications must pro-tect records from loss and tampering, whileallowing the records manager and other deci-sion makers access to necessary information.

DoD 5015.2 Standard

The Department of Defense (DoD) 5015.2standard represents the mandatory minimumfunctional requirements for records manage-ment applications used by the Department ofDefense agency. While records managementapplications that have been certified as DoD5015.2 compliant represent an objective,third-party evaluation, they do not guaranteeregulatory compliance or records security.Details regarding this standard are furtherdescribed in the next section, under recordsmanagement systems.

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Although all document management systemsprovide the basics of scanning, retrieval anddisplay, when it comes to implementing adocument management solution in the real-world, system essentials extend far beyondthe minimum basics. Document managementsystems designed for multiple users, a highvolume of documents, or multiple office loca-tions must meet more stringent requirements.This section explains what to look for whenselecting a document management system foryour organization.

Usability

One of the most important factors in how suc-cessful a document management system willbe is its ease of use. Usability is critical inencouraging fast staff acceptance. A systemwill only be widely used if it is simple to cap-ture documents, organize and find them. Thebest systems are user-friendly and flexibleenough to adapt to the way people alreadywork within an organization, rather than forc-ing them to change preferred procedures.

Interface design

To guarantee that a document managementsystem is readily adapted by users throughoutan organization, it is important that the graph-ic interfaces for common operations, such assearch and retrieval, be clear easy to use.User-friendly interfaces not only assure rapidadaptation of a document management sys-tem by staff, they reduce training expensesassociated with implementation.

Capture

For a document management system toenhance business operations, it must accom-modate all the types of documents – paper,electronic, fax, audio, video, etc. – that arepart of an organization's processes and proce-dures. It should also enable the batch pro-cessing of documents and forms in instanceswhere high-volume processing is part of busi-ness operations.

Batch Processing

Organizations that image a significant num-ber of files a day will quickly realize theimportance of batch processing. When largenumbers of documents need to be broughtinto the document management system daily,it is inefficient to process each one individu-ally. A full-featured document managementsystem allows files and records to be broughtinto the system in one batch to speed up theprocess.

Once all the pages have been captured, thesystem should let users easily group theminto appropriate documents before assigningindex fields and moving them to their appro-priate folder location. The system shouldmake it possible for pages to be rearranged,removed or added to a document to correctany mistakes that may have occurred in theorganization of a file. Similarly, it should besimple to update or add index fields at a latertime.

III. Essential Components of Document Management Solutions

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Bar Codes

In high-volume scanning operations, auto-matically separating and indexing documentsusing bar codes saves time and money. Barcodes index documents by extracting fieldsfrom an external database, by filling in fieldswith preassigned values, or by associatingcertain documents with a particular indextemplate. Bar codes can act as markers toindicate the beginning of a new document,automating document separation. While barcodes require some preparation, their benefitscan be enormous. For example, if 2000 voterregistrations, 500 inquiries and 2500 pages oflegislative minutes were to be scanned, barcode stickers could be placed on each docu-ment. The system would then automaticallyread the stickers, determine the start of eachnew document, assign the correct type ofindex template for each and fill in templateinformation.

Zone OCR

Organizations that repeatedly process thesame forms may want to use Zone OCR(Optical Character Recognition) to reducedata entry time and demands on system mem-ory. Zone OCR saves time through automateddocument indexing that reads certain regions(zones) of a document and then places infor-mation into the appropriate index templatefields. The amount of required storage spaceis also reduced because OCR and indexing areapplied only to responses that have beenentered.

To minimize errors, the system should allowthe user to set a minimum percent accuracylevel for OCR. If any portion of the form doesnot meet this standard, the system shouldnotify the user so that a staff member can readthe form and manually enter the correct fieldinformation.

Distributed Capture

For organizations with multiple offices, it isimportant to ensure that a document manage-ment system permit users at both central andbranch offices to capture and access docu-ments as necessary. Full-featured systemsallow for documents to be scanned into thesystem and transferred into the database atdifferent times so as to minimize trafficdemands on the network during peak busi-ness hours.

Annotations

Annotations permit users to append orremove information about a document thathas been captured without permanentlychanging the original image. Highlighting,stamps, redactions (black-outs or whiteouts)and sticky notes are among the most commonannotations. A document management sys-tem's security should give the system admin-istrator control over who can view annota-tions and see through redactions.

In order for the document to maintain itsintegrity, all annotations should be overlaysthat do not change the actual image. This way,a document can be printed with or withoutthe annotations. Although the legal standingof imaged documents varies from state tostate, for a document stored in the system tostand up as the best copy of a record, usersmust not be able to modify the original image.

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Storage and Archiving

Non-Proprietary File Formats

Concerns about future readability of docu-ments and records make many organizationshesitant to implement a document manage-ment system. With rapid changes in the tech-nology sector, it is hard to predict what appli-cations and hardware will be current five orten years from now. However, the need forfaster retrieval and improved records manage-ment means that most organizations cannotwait to implement solutions.

To address these concerns, document man-agement systems should use non-proprietaryimage and text formats. As the example ofword processing makes clear, documents cre-ated and saved with obsolete versions of aprogram can be difficult or even impossible toread. Since each word processing softwarecompany uses proprietary formats for its doc-uments, converting files from old versionscan be a frustrating or expensive task. Similarcompatibility issues apply to the documentmanagement world.

The non-proprietary formats available forstoring document information are few, butstable. ASCII has been a standard for textinformation since 1963 and is a basic buildingblock for practically every text-based pro-gram. TIFF has been used as a standard, non-proprietary graphics format since 1981. It iswidely used to transmit document informa-tion by document management systems, faxmachines and other software. Given theprevalence of ASCII and TIFF, system pur-chasers can feel confident that no matter whatnew paradigm arises in the future, the devel-opers of the new format will have a vestedinterest in providing a conversion for thesestandards. With proprietary document for-mats, there is no such assurance.

Portability and CDs/DVDs

Document management systems shouldenable users to carry important documentsanywhere for convenient viewing on othercomputers. When people go on business trips,they often need to bring key documents withthem. Carrying paper documents is oftenimpractical, and copying an entire database toa laptop can be impossible. With a documentmanagement system that supports briefcasesor portable volumes, documents can bedetached or copied and moved to other data-bases in other locations. Document manage-ment folders containing relevant documentscan be transferred to other databases quicklyand easily using searchable CDs that hold upto 650 MBs of data – the equivalent of approx-imately 12,000 pages – or read-only DVDs,whose capacity ranges from 4.7 to 17.1 GBs.

If a document management system does notprovide this level of document portability,users of the system will find it difficult tobring their documents on the road and totransfer files between different offices.Briefcases and portable volumes help users totransfer their documents to other offices, lap-tops or customers quickly and easily. Opticaldiscs also weigh much less than paper files.

Briefcases

A full-featured document management sys-tem allows users to simply drag and drop theappropriate document management systemfolders into a briefcase and transfer the brief-case to a laptop computer or a computer in aremote office.

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Portable Volumes

Portable volumes are high-volume briefcasesthat allow for constant updates to shared doc-ument management databases in differentlocations. This ability is useful for organiza-tions that use a scanning bureau on an ongo-ing basis or for organizations with multipleoffices. On many large-scale document man-agement systems, the document files arestored on multiple drives or network vol-umes. Portable volumes allow entire volumescontaining document images and text to betransferred en masse to another database.

Indexing and Retrieval

For a document management system to sup-port multiple users with different job func-tions, it is essential that it enable multiplemeans of searching for information.

Types of Searches

There are several helpful options to maximizethe effectiveness of full-text searches.

Fuzzy Logic

Most searches assume that the search wordshave been spelled correctly and perfectlyindexed by the OCR process or during themanual entry of index fields. Unfortunately,people frequently misspell words, and noOCR process is 100% perfect. Fuzzy logiccompensates for these errors by searching forspelling variations. A document managementsystem should allow the user to control thesearch by setting how many letters can bewrong or what percentage of a word can bewrong. For example, a fuzzy logic search for“goat” would find “goat,” “gout” and “coat.”

Wildcards

Wildcards are characters, like the asterisk (*)and the question mark, which can be used insearches to compensate for misspellings orunknown spelling. The asterisk stands for anycharacter or characters, while the questionmark stands for any single character. Forexample, searching for “c*t” would find thewords “cat,” “cot,” “coat,” “cut” and “chest.”Searching for “c?t” would only find the words“cat,” “cot” and “cut.”

Boolean Operators

Whenever full-text searches are performed,there are usually several documents that meetthe search criteria. Boolean operators (AND,OR and NOT) help fine-tune searches andreduce the number of unrelated documentson the results page. For example, to find doc-uments relating to the former governor ofCalifornia and not to the University ofCalifornia at Davis, users could search for“Davis AND governor.”

Proximity Searches

Proximity searches can also be used to narrowthe search results. They are used to findwords that occur within a certain number ofwords, sentences or paragraphs of each other.For example, to find documents relating totobacco lawsuits, but not smoking ordinancesor tobacco growing, users could search for“tobacco” within one sentence of the word“lawsuit.”

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Result Display

The way in which the results of searches aredisplayed has considerable impact on theusability of a document management system.

Lines of Context

Even the most specific full-text searches canproduce several hits when large documentdatabases are involved. In addition to provid-ing users with a list of documents that meettheir search criteria, some document manage-ment systems reveal lines of context that dis-play each occurrence of the search word ineach document. Lines of context help userspinpoint the appropriate document withouthaving to view every document in the searchresults.

Highlighted Search Words

Once a document is identified, the searchword needs to be located within the docu-ment. To help with this, some document man-agement systems display the appropriate pageof the document and highlight the searchword in both the text and on the documentimage. This makes it easy for the user toimmediately zoom in on the relevant sectioninstead of having to look through multiplepages of a document. The importance of thisbecomes obvious when the needed wordoccurs on page 97 in a 200-page document.

Distribution

Document management systems must provideefficient ways of getting information out ofthe system on the level of the individual doc-ument. Printing, faxing and e-mailing docu-ments are several ways of doing this.Document management systems should pro-mote the rapid copying of files to a CD orDVD. To be most effective, the documentmanagement system should support royalty-free CD or DVD duplication and contain view-ers that enable people without a documentmanagement system to search for and viewdocuments on the disc.

Print/Fax/E-mail

To maximize their usefulness, documentmanagement systems should support themost common printer and fax drivers and beable to print images, text and annotations.

E-mail has become the default mode ofcommunication in many organizations.Organizations obtain significant gains in effi-ciency and save considerable expense bytransmitting documents via e-mail instead ofusing faxes, courier services or the postalservice. Document management systemsshould have options that make it possible forimages to be easily sent with any MAPI (MailApplication Program Interface)-compliant e-mail system and read by recipients who donot have document management systems.

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Internet/intranet

A document management system should pro-vide a simple way to publish information tothe Internet or an intranet. This allows organ-izations to share information with otherdepartments, remote offices, clients or thepublic. Web systems should be fully search-able and must support the same security pro-tocols as network systems. Ideally, a docu-ment management system will require noHTML or complex coding to post files to theWeb.

Workflow

Workflow can increase the benefits of a docu-ment management system by automating therouting of documents to various people,which eliminates bottlenecks and streamlinesbusiness processes. This added functionalityis more important for large offices, for organi-zations with central and branch offices andfor organizations that plant to expand theirsystem.

Workflow should automatically notify specif-ic users of specific document-management-related system events, based on rules createdby the system administrator. Workflowshould generate return receipts and timedresponses. If a recipient does not act within aspecific time frame, the program should sendeither a reminder message or a second mes-sage to an alternate recipient. An essentialcomponent in any procedural workflow sys-tem is document automation. Workflowshould be able to automatically move, copy ordelete documents within the document man-agement database based on a predeterminedset of rules. However, the success of anyworkflow system is not its ability to followthe strict routing and reporting features of a

fully automated system, but its ability to han-dle exceptions to the rules as they arise. Aneffective workflow system provides the sys-tem administrator complete access to on-the-fly routing of documents and informationthrough the system's folder structure and sys-tem security.

Workflow systems should offer administra-tors drag and drop simplicity, an intuitivegraphical interface and an easily understoodfolder structure. Workflow applicationsshould be ODBC-compliant (see Integration,below) to facilitate integration and customizedapplications. As a final component, workflowmust provide for comprehensive securityreporting through an audit trail function.

Security

Security is critical to the successful imple-mentation and ongoing protection of a docu-ment management system. While securitymay not be the primary concern for a singledepartment installation, it becomes moreimportant as the system is expanded to allowdifferent departments, and even the public,access to files. A document management sys-tem should provide multiple levels of securi-ty including authentication, authorization,audit trails, and disaster planning. The sys-tem's security should parallel that of the net-work and be simple to administer.

Authentication

Authentication is the level of security thatrequires users to present credentials, normal-ly a user name and password, in order toaccess the system.

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Authorization

Authorization is the level of security that con-trols access to objects (files, folders, etc.).Authorization encompasses two primaryareas: access rights, which determine theobjects users can open, and feature rights,which determine the actions that users canperform on the objects to which they haveaccess.

Access Rights

A document management system should letorganizations assign access to specific fold-ers, as well as specific documents, at both thegroup and individual level. The use of groupswith inherited, or predefined, rights allowssystem administrators to quickly assign view-ing privileges, while individual-level securityallows specific users such as managers to alsoview documents that the rest of the groupcannot. For example, access rights wouldallow the system administrator to deny mostemployees in an organization access to HRfiles, while allowing human resource staffmembers to view the personnel files of every-one in the organization except other HR per-sonnel and the HR director to view all per-sonnel files.

A full-featured document management sys-tem will not allow users to see objects forwhich they do not have viewing privileges.This protective feature is especially impor-tant for organizations whose systems containconfidential files and folders.

Feature Rights

A document management system should alsolet system administrators limit the actionsthat users are entitled to perform on folders

and documents at both the individual andgroup level. Feature rights determine a rangeof actions, including adding pages, annotat-ing, copying, or deleting records. For exam-ple, a system administrator could allow vari-ous departments to have viewing privileges tocity council minutes, but allow only the CityClerk to have annotation rights to those files.

Redaction

Redaction (blackout or whiteout) is a securityfeature applied within documents to makecertain portions of the document inaccessi-ble, except to authorized users. A documentmanagement system should offer the abilityto redact portions of a document's imageand/or text. Users' ability to view redactedtext would depend on their security rights.For example, a system administrator couldmake crime reports available to various citydepartments, but allow only the PoliceDepartment to see sensitive information suchas the victim's name and address.

Audit Trails and Reporting

As an additional level of security, a documentmanagement system should offer the abilityto generate audit trails and reports that detailsystem activity. A document managementsystem should be able to log all users, docu-ments viewed, actions performed and thetime at which the actions were performed. Afull-featured document management systemwill log unsuccessful attempts to performactions and provide electronic watermarks toauthenticate printed documents. Audit trailabilities are especially important when anorganization has many different users andconfidential documents. Audit trails also playsignificant roles in demonstrating regulatorycompliance.

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Disaster Recovery

Digital archiving with a document manage-ment system simplifies disaster recoveryplanning by allowing backups of entire docu-ment repositories to be stored on durable CDs,DVDs or other media. In the event of docu-ment loss or damage, archives can be recon-structed from digital backups. The solutionshould also provide built-in viewers on pub-lished CDs and DVDs. This allows immediatedocument access from any PC with a CD orDVD drive even if the network remains off-line for an extended period.

Integration

The introduction of new software and data-bases often creates logistical challenges forthe computer support staff of an organization.Document management programs shouldoffer packaged integration tools for simpleimage enabling in order to minimize the bur-den on computer support staff. To minimizedisruptions to business operations, it is essen-tial that a document management system inte-grate smoothly with other software applica-tions, such as PeopleSoft, GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) and StudentInformation Systems (SIS), and databases inuse by the organization.

Back-end characteristics that facilitateintegration include:

• Open architecture – the use of hardware and software whose specifications aredesigned for easy integration. This enables anyone to create add-on products to con-nect the hardware or software to other devices.

• UDA (Universal Data Access) compliance –conformity to a single application programinterface designed by Microsoft that allowsusers to combine data from different data-bases made by various manufacturers.

See also System Compatibility below.

Technical Considerations

System Compatibility

Compatibility is the capacity of a documentmanagement system to work with existinghardware and software systems. To maximizecompatibility with your existing systems, adocument management system should:

• Work with standard operating systems andsupport standard database platforms.

• Communicate using popular network protocols such as IPX/SPX or TCP/IP.

• Have the capability to deploy over the Web.

• Use n-tier architecture with client-side image compression/decompression and server-side searching and indexing to minimize network traffic.

• Store text and image files in non-proprietarindustry-standard formats.

Networked Systems

In any office, documents are used to transmitinformation between people. For documentmanagement to be truly useful in an officeenvironment, documents must be accessibleto all authorized users. It is important for doc-ument management systems to have a centralrepository of records, accessible from any PC.Storing documents on individual PCs, how-ever, impairs the flow of information between

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coworkers and wastes valuable time andresources. Networked systems are vital to fos-ter collaboration. Networked systems carryout certain document management functionsmore efficiently than individual PCs can. Forexample, Optical Character Recognition(OCR) of an image requires a great deal ofcomputing power.

Scalability

The scalability of a system determines howmuch it can grow with your organization'sneeds. For full scalability, a system should:

• Support the entire group of users within an organization concurrently.

• Store all documents in the organization.

• Be designed to accommodate a high volume of users and documents.

• Store information across multiple drives orservers.

• Support multiple databases.

• Accommodate high-volume usage.

• Integrate with other applications.

n-Tier Architecture

Document management solutions, like anyother network application, consume comput-er resources. Image files are large, and data-bases must track large numbers of records.Functions such as OCR, image display andsearching require extensive computingpower. It is important to have n-tier architec-ture when more than a few people needaccess to imaged documents. Even when aninstallation begins with a single-user pilotproject, it remains important that the docu-ment management system be able to accom-modate future growth.

An n-tier system delivers maximum scalabili-ty in departmental solutions and across theorganization with distinct client, businesslogic, data and document layers. Any net-work-connected storage media, includingStorage Area Networks (SANs), can be usedfor physical storage, while multiple SQLservers handle the distributed database layer.

Tasks such as indexing, OCR and searchingare distributed between the client (PC work-station) and the document management serv-er for optimal performance. Some tasks areperformed more efficiently on the client,while others are better handled by the centralserver. Where the specific tasks are performedmay vary among different document manage-ment systems.

It is important to distinguish between thismore robust design approach and simple file-sharing applications. In file-sharing applica-tions, file integrity can be compromised whena workstation program is interrupted in themiddle of a transaction. With computingfunctions distributed across multiple tiers,however, the client does not open data filesdirectly. Therefore client interruptions do notthreaten data integrity.

An n-tier system can perform searches muchfaster, since the server machine is typicallymore powerful than individual workstations.File-sharing systems send a copy of the entiredatabase over the network to the workstation,which then performs the search. This methodleads to: a) increased network traffic if, forexample, the database is 800 MB in size; andb) search response times that are dependentupon the speed of the PC workstation. File-sharing systems may be easier to develop andtherefore less expensive initially, but theirdesign ultimately restricts flexibility and scal-ability, limiting their long-term usefulness.

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Thin Client

A thin client is an infrastructure-friendlysolution that minimizes the burden of appli-cation installation, maintenance and softwareupgrades. The benefits of thin clients extendbeyond conserving IT resources to expeditingthe search and retrieval of information overthe organization's intranet or the Web. A Web-browser-based thin client must effectivelydeliver essential features to end users withoutcompromising system security.

Records ManagementApplications

Records management systems enable theapplication of systematic controls and poli-cies concerning the life cycle of those recordsthat detail an organization's business transac-tions. Records management applications (RMAs)should allow organizations to file recordsaccording to a determined scheme, to controlthe life cycle of records, to retrieve recordsbased on partial information and to identifyrecords that are due for final disposition.

Records Series and Metadata

A records management application mustallow records to be refiled in different foldersor series after their initial filing in order tomeet DoD 5015.2 criteria. A records manage-ment application must also have a way tocontrol the metadata fields associated withevery record, record series and record folder.It must limit the entering of metadata to thetime of filing, yet allow authorized users toedit and correct filing errors.

Linking and Versioning

The records management application mustallow users to indicate related recordsthrough linking, a form of metadata thatdefines and establishes relationships betweendocuments. Examples include supportingdocuments, superceded/successor records,multiple renditions and incremented version-ing. A records management applicationshould allow document links to be estab-lished by all users at the time of filing, butonly authorized users should be able to cre-ate, modify or remove links post-filing.

Versioning is a special document relation-ship, used to indicate an auto-incrementedsequence of revisions to a particular record.The records management application mustallow users to establish record versioning.Versions must be retrievable as if they wereindependent documents and contained theirown metadata. A records management appli-cation must clearly indicate if a record hasmultiple versions and which version is themost recent.

Security Tags and Audits

Security tags represent a metadata fieldintended to define and restrict access torecords, as well as aid in their classificationand retrieval. A records management applica-tion must allow the records manager to definesecurity tags and to allow users to assign tagsto records upon filing. Only authorized usersshould be able to modify or remove securitytags post-filing. The records managementapplication must also support the audit of allfiling, handling and disposition of records.

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Vital Records

Vital records – those records deemed essen-tial in order for an organization to resumebusiness operations immediately after a dis-aster – are subject to periodic review andupdate. A records management applicationmust provide a way to assign a review cycleto vital records and detail when they were lastreviewed. Examples of vital records includeemergency operating records or legal andfinancial rights records. The records manage-ment application must also offer a way toretrieve all vital records, identify when theywere last reviewed and indicate vital recordsdue for review at any given moment.

Disposition and Freezing

The records management application musthandle two types of disposition action: inter-im transfers and final disposition. The avail-able actions for final disposition are accessionand destruction. The records managementapplication must allow for the exportation ofentire record folders and their metadata val-ues for transfer and accession events.Following the confirmation of successfultransfer, the records management applicationshould be able to maintain the records, main-tain only the metadata or completely deletethe records. The records management appli-cation should be able to freeze a folder. Whena folder is frozen, no record may be removedfrom the folder, and no record in the foldermay be modified.

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When you consider document managementsystems, there are a number of factors to keepin mind.

• How many documents must the system store? Consider both the number of existingdocuments and the number of documents added annually. This information detemineshow much storage space is needed, the hardware configuration and the cost of the system.

• How many users will be using the system concurrently? This determines preliminarysoftware costs, required licenses and serversize.

• What departments will be using the systemand will it be necessary to provide public access? This determines what specific features and levels of security will be needed.

• What business problems need to be solved to reduce costs and improve productivity? This determines which functions of a document management system will be requirements and which will be optional. It also helps determine whether plug-ins orcustomizations will be needed.

• Are there regulatory compliance issues governing your organization? If so the document management system should have functions that support compliance.

• Do you need to integrate your document management program with other software applications, such as human resource or GIS (Geographic Information Systems) programs? Because integration issues oftenincrease the time required for implementa-tion of document and records managementsystems, these concerns should be resolvedbefore investing in a particular system.

• Do you want a turnkey solution or a customized one? This determines the amount of consulting, installation, train-ing, configuration and support that will be needed.

• What type of network is currently used and will it continue to stay in place, or will it be upgraded? This determines network constraints, system configuration and workstation upgrades.

IV. Implementation: Addressing Your Business Needs

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Records ManagementConsiderations

Records management systems necessitatespecial considerations in addition to thoselisted above.

• The records management application should support custom searches based on record properties, retention or disposition properties, full-text content, template fields, folder location, sticky-notecontents and more. It should be possible tosave search results in a usable format, suchas an Excel spreadsheet.

• The records management application should manage the full life cycle of the record, from document creation through declaration as a record to final disposition.

Scaling from Pilot Project to anOrganization-wide Solution

Large organizations sometimes prefer to beginwith a pilot project involving one or twodepartments before expanding their docu-ment management system to the entire organ-ization. Whether or not an organizationbegins with a pilot project, a document man-agement system should be scalable, meaningthat it should allow an organization to easilyexpand the size of the system to accommo-date organizational growth, at the level ofeither users or documents.

Installation

The first step of an installation should be asite evaluation by the software vendor todetermine proper equipment placement and

to identify any network connectivity prob-lems. Hardware installation consists of con-necting and setting up all components,including installation of the necessary operat-ing systems and drivers. It requires the testingof equipment to ensure proper hardwarefunctionality and network connectivity.

After tests of the hardware have been con-ducted, the document management softwareis installed on the document managementserver and the necessary workstations. It mustbe tested to ensure operability. Generally, thesoftware vendor will perform these tasks withthe collaboration of the organization's IT per-sonnel.

Training

Training programs should be tailored to thespecific needs of different levels of users andtheir concerns.

End User

End-user training involves a focus on thebasics of daily system use. This trainingshould take place on-site. Each group shouldreceive all instruction necessary to ensurecomfort with the new document managementsystem. The amount of training necessary willdepend on the users' level of familiarity withWindows applications, the document man-agement system's ease of use and the degreeof change from existing procedures. Becauseof the need to bring new employees up tospeed as quickly as possible, a well-designeddocument management system should beeasy to use.

Given a user-friendly system and minimalchange in procedures, most users will becomeproficient in a short time period. Effectiveness

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is improved when the class size is limited tono more than 10 people and participants arefree from interruption. Training shouldinclude supervised, hands-on use of the docu-ment management system during actual opera-tion. This allows users to ask questions thatmight not occur to them until they are usingthe system for business procedures.

System Administration

It is important to train select individuals onhow to administer and maintain the system.On-site training is recommended because itincreases familiarity with specific details ofthe document management system.

Implementation Consulting

Implementation consulting assists thoseresponsible for the document and recordsmanagement functions to develop strategiesfor translating the organization's current filingand indexing structures into electronic sys-tems. Electronic filing is different from paperfiling, and records managers face the chal-lenge of these differences when setting uptheir systems. Considerations regarding reten-tion schedules, storage and filing methodolo-gies need to be evaluated before the system isfully implemented. The length of the trainingdepends on the complexity of the filing sys-tem and should take place on-site.

Support and Maintenance

Document management systems, like anymechanical tool, require maintenance.Organizations should evaluate the softwarevendor's support structure. Vendors shouldoffer various levels of support from softwareupgrades to regular, on-site maintenance visits.

Factors that affect the level of support that anorganization needs are:

• Size of the system purchased

• Amount of time demands on the system

• IT personnel's level of experience with document management

• Internet access

• Concurrent changes that have to be made to the organization's computer network or infrastructure

• Rate of personnel turnover

Support can entail any or all of the following:

• Software upgrades

• Telephone hotline support

• Online forums

• Remote dial-in access to your system

• Software patches available through an FTPsite

• Regularly published technical bulletins or newsletters

• On-site maintenance visits

• Additional and/or advanced training sessions

• Hardware support

When purchasing hardware, such as servers,storage devices and workstations, organiza-tions should choose vendors with good repu-tations for service and support. While the ini-tial cost may be higher, the benefits includeless downtime and more consistent, reliablefunctioning.

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Outsourcing Scanning

Organizations sometimes find it faster ormore cost effective to have a service bureauperform their back-file document conversionor ongoing document scanning. Generally, inthese cases, the document management sys-tem is maintained by the organization, whilethe service bureau is responsible for deliveryof the scanned documents on CDs or anothermedium. In addition to storing images andtext information, these CDs must also carrydata describing the document names, indexfields, folders, etc.

If the organization has been modifying exist-ing documents and creating new ones duringthis time, overwriting the organization's data-base with the new one provided by the serv-ice bureau is not an option. The documentmanagement system must be able to mergenew and existing data seamlessly. A portablevolumes feature will handle this automatically.

Compliance and Legal Issues

A document management system can helplimit exposure to civil and criminal liabilitystemming from non-compliance with regula-tory statutes by ensuring the consistent appli-cation of policies organization-wide and byproviding audit reports.

While laws and auditing authorities vary byindustry and state or region, most regulationsshare two common principles: the informa-tion must be set in time, meaning that thedate and the time of the creation of the digitalimages must be recorded in an unalterablefashion, and the storage media used by the

system must be unalterable. In some areas,such as financial planning, a copy of therecords must be maintained by an independ-ent third-party and be readily available toauditors, when requested.

In order to meet general compliance demands,a document management system must:

• Allow documents and records to be retrieved on demand.

• Store digital images on acceptable media.

• Maintain records in an unalterable format.

• Permit a complete and accurate transfer of records.

• Possess reasonable controls to ensure integrity, accuracy and reliability.

• Have reasonable controls to prevent and detect the unauthorized creation, alterationor deletion of records, as well as record deterioration.

• Contain an indexing system that facilitates document retrieval.

• Be able to print copies of records, when required.

• Make cross-referencing with other record-keeping systems and software possible.

• Have documentation on how the software works and how it is set up.

Many government agencies now acceptimaged documents as legal records, meaningthat the paper originals can be destroyed,given certain conditions.

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In general, for an imaged document to qualifyas a legal record, the following must be true:

• Records must be stored in an unalterable format, such as CD, DVD or WORM.

• The system must have controls to ensure integrity, accuracy and reliability.

• The system must provide some type of audit trail to prevent and detect unautho-rized creation of, addition to, alteration of or deletion of records.

• A complete and accurate transfer of records must be possible.

• The system must have reasonable controls to prevent and detect deterioration of records.

• There must be an indexing system to assistwith finding records.

• The system must have the ability to print copies of records.

• The system must be able to cross-referenceother record-keeping systems and software.

• The system must have documentation on how the software works and how it has been set up.

The legality of imaged documents variesdepending upon the federal agency, state,county, municipality and departmentinvolved. Organizations should consult withan attorney on the specific statutes governingtheir area.

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General

Q. What is a document?

A. A document consists of information storedon anywhere from one to several thousandpages. It can include images and/or text, plusannotations, and one template (index card).

Q. Can I edit or alter images?

A. A document management system shouldnot allow the original image to be altered oredited. Annotations should be overlays thatdo not alter the original document. It isimportant to protect the original image inorder to maintain both the legal status of thedocument and the integrity of the system.

Q. Do document management systems support audit trails?

A. Yes. A document management system'saudit trail should record username, date,time, document name and action for everyinstance in which a user accesses a databaseor document. Various levels of audit trail log-ging detail and activity tracking should beavailable. The system should include a view-er to sort and filter these logs. Audit trails areespecially important for regulatory compliance.

Q. What is the standard format used to storeimages?

A. Black and white images are most common-ly stored as standard TIFF files using CCITTGroup IV (two-dimensional) compression.Grayscale and color images are frequentlystored as TIFF files with JPEG compression.

Q. What is the standard format used to storetext?

A. ASCII, which stands for the AmericanStandard Code for Information Interchange,has been the standard, non-proprietary textformat since 1963.

Q. How much disk space does a documentmanagement system typically require?

A. A single page typically occupies around50KB of disk space, if the image is stored inTIFF Group IV. Each gigabyte (GB) of storagespace, which amounts to only a few dollars,holds approximately 20,000 pages. With thesignificant drop in prices for hard drives andoptical media, it costs much less to store doc-uments in a document management systemthan on paper.

V. Frequently Asked Questions

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Q. What if my database is too big to fit in onedata volume?

A. A document management system shouldallow data and images to be stored acrossmultiple volumes, with each volume residingin a different directory or on a different drive,disk array, CD or MO disk.

Capture

Q. What are the most common hardware andsoftware scanner interfaces?

A. Many scanners attach to an Adaptec SCSIcard or to a Kofax Image processing board.Most scanners use either TWAIN or ISIS scan-ner drivers to communicate with the computer.

Q. How can I scan forms?

A. Forms processing components often usemultiple OCR engines and elaborate data val-idation routines to extract hand-written orpoor-quality print from forms that go into adatabase. Because many forms that arescanned were never designed for imaging orOCR, it is essential to have good quality assur-ance mechanisms in place when scanningforms to correct errors that might occur.

Q. Can I capture information from multi-func-tion peripherals (MFPs)?

A. A full-featured document management sys-tem allows you to capture documents fromdifferent network locations, including MFPs,or devices that perform any combination ofscanning, printing, faxing or copying.

Q. How can I scan large format documents?

A. Several manufacturers make scannersspecifically designed for large format docu-ments up to E-size (34 inches x 44 inches) andA-0 size (33 inches x 46.8 iches). If you do nothave one of these, the document can bereduced in size using a photocopier and thenscanned with a normal scanner, or sent to aservice bureau that has large format scanners.

Q. What image resolution should I use?

A. Most imaging systems can support docu-ments scanned at various resolutions, from 50dpi to 600 dpi (or more) depending on yourscanner. Depending on the purpose and thecontents of the page, most documents arescanned in black and white at 300 dpi.

Q. What about color files or photographs?

A. Imaging systems should support black andwhite, grayscale and color images. Color filescan be scanned with a color scanner orimported into a document management sys-tem. There are a wide range of color scannerson the market. Many document managementscanners support color and grayscale.

Q. How can I scan double-sided documents?

A. An imaging system should provide two dif-ferent ways to do this. It should supportduplex scanners, which simultaneously scanboth sides of a page, and simplex scanners,which require the user to scan all the frontsides, place the documents in upside downand then scan all the back sides, before thesystem collates the pages into the correctorder.

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Q. Can I scan landscape and portrait pagestogether?

A. An imaging system should allow you tochange the orientation of pages during or afterscanning. A well-designed system will alsoinclude an option to automatically check andcorrect the orientation of pages.

Q. How are skewed images handled?

A. Skewed (crooked or tilted) images canadversely affect the accuracy of the OCRprocess, so an imaging system should includesoftware that recognizes skewed images andcompensates for them. This is particularlyimportant when scanning press cuttings on aflat bed scanner or when scanning documentsthrough a worn-out or poorly designed auto-matic document feeder (ADF).

Q. How can I scan checks?

A. Several manufacturers make scannersspecifically designed for checks, which readthe magnetically encoded MICR (MagneticInk Character Recognition) numbers at thebottom of the check. If you do not have one ofthese scanners, most checks can be scannedwith regular document imaging scanners andOCR-processed as usual, though the MICRnumbers will not be read. To integrate MICRinformation into the document managementdatabase, the document management systemmust support check scanning hardware.

Q. What file formats can a versatile systemimport?

A. A versatile system should be able to importthe files you encounter in your office. Thisincludes word processing files, spreadsheetsand presentations as well as common imageformats such as TIFF Group IV, TIFF GroupIII, TIFF Raw, TIFF LZW, PCX, BMP, CALS,JPEG, GIF, PICT, PNG and EPS Previewimages. A document management system pro-viding long-term archival of documentsshould allow the images of each page to bestored in a non-proprietary format. For exam-ple, electronic document pages would beprinted to the document management system,black and white graphical files would be con-verted to TIFF Group IV format andcolor/grayscale images would be converted toTIFF or JPEG.

Indexing

Q. How do I index scanned documents?

A. There are three primary ways to index doc-uments: folder structure, index or templatefields, and full-text indexing. Folder structureessentially functions as a visual indexingmethod that allows users to browse for docu-ments by categories. Index or template fieldscategorize documents according to keywords,which can be either manually entered or auto-matically assigned by the document manage-ment program. Full-text indexing is the auto-mated process of entering every word in adocument into the index.

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Q. What is OCR?

A. OCR stands for Optical CharacterRecognition and refers to the way a computerconverts words from an unsearchablescanned image to searchable text. OCR is usu-ally necessary in order to use full-text index-ing and searches, so it should be included inan imaging and document management sys-tem. OCR engines can generally only recognizetyped or laser-printed text, not handwriting.

Q. What is the difference between OCR andindexing?

A. OCR is the process of converting scannedimages to text files. Full-text indexing is theprocess of adding each word from a text file toan index that specifies the location of everyword on every document. Well-designed doc-ument management software can make this afast and easy procedure, providing rapidaccess to any word in any document.

Q: What is the difference between index fieldsearches and full-text searches?

A: Index field or template searches enable youto retrieve preestablished categories of docu-ments, whereas full-text searches turn upevery occurrence of designated words in thedatabase. When the database contains a largenumber of documents, the difference betweensorting documents by topic and listing everyoccurrence of a word in the database – includ-ing passing references – is significant in termsof the time required to analyze the searchresults and locate the desired document(s).

Q. How accurate is OCR?

A. Accuracy on a freshly laser-printed page istypically better than 99.6%. Accuracy onfaxed, dirty or degraded documents will belower, so it is essential that an imaging systemhave image clean-up technology to improveOCR accuracy.

Q. Do I have to go through text to correct OCRmistakes manually?

A. Well-designed systems allow users to cor-rect OCR errors from within the system.However, when hundreds or thousands ofpages are scanned every day, it is usually notpractical to clean up the text. Because theOCR process does not have perfect accuracy,it is important that the document manage-ment system support fuzzy logic searches.Fuzzy logic searches allow for misspellingand will find words even if the OCR enginemakes occasional mistakes.

Q. How fast is the OCR process?

A. The performance of the OCR and indexingprocesses is entirely dependent on factorssuch as the speed and configuration of thehost system as well as the contents of theimage.

Q. What is ICR (Intelligent CharacterRecognition)?

A. ICR is pattern-based character recognitionand is also known as Hand-Print Recognition.Handwritten text is more difficult for com-puters to recognize and results in higher error

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rates than printed text. ICR engines usuallydo best at recognizing constrained printing,which means block printed letters with oneletter in each box. Accurate recognition ofunconstrained handwriting, especially cur-sive handwriting, typically requires that theICR engine be trained to recognize each user'sstyle of writing.

Q. What is OMR (Optical Mark Recognition)?

A. OMR, also called Mark-Sense Recognition,is the recognition of marks commonly usedon forms, such as check marks, circled choic-es and filled-in bubbles. OMR can be animportant part of a document managementsystem for organizations that process manystandard forms. Exam forms and customersurvey cards are perhaps the best-knownexamples of OMR.

Q. Can OCR-processed text be exported andreused in a word processor?

A. Yes, you can usually cut and paste textbetween the document management systemand another Windows application, or you canexport complete text files (all text pages in adocument) to a directory and open it withyour preferred word processing program.

Viewing/Printing/Exporting

Q. Can I open and display more than one doc-ument at a time?

A. Some document management systems willallow you to display multiple documents,with the number of documents that you canhave open simultaneously limited only by theamount of memory available.

Q. How can I resequence pages of a documentbefore printing or exporting?

A. If pages are out of order and need to be re-sequenced, a well-designed document man-agement system will allow you to dragthumbnail views of pages to the requiredposition. In the same way, individual pagescan be selected and deleted, subject to appro-priate security access control and privileges.

Q. What is the advantage of a large monitor?

A. For people who use an imaging system fre-quently, screen size can be a critical factor. Ifusers are to flip between pages with the easeof real paper, they must be able to view thewhole page at once in a way that allows thetext to be readable. If 81/2-inch x 11-inchpages are the dominant paper size, then a 21-inch monitor capable of displaying 1600 x1200 is optimal. Using a 15-inch VGA moni-tor will require scrolling and panning if theimage is viewed at normal size.

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Q. What other display considerations areimportant?

A. Screen resolution and the refresh rate ofthe monitor are also important. Generally, thelarger a monitor is and the higher resolution ithas, the harder it is to get the high refresh ratethat is required for sustained viewing withoutscreen flicker. The optimum threshold forminimum flicker is generally considered to bea horizontal refresh rate of 72 MHz on a 21-inch monitor. The maximum refresh rate is afunction of the monitor and the graphics con-troller.

Q. Will I need a specialized printer for imagesor OCR-processed text?

A. Generally no. Most imaging systems sup-port a wide variety of Windows-compatibleprinters, but an optimal configurationincludes a laser printer with at least 4 MB ofRAM. If you are using a networked systemand printing high volumes of pages to a net-work printer, you might consider installing aseparate laser printer either locally or on itsown network segment to minimize networktraffic.

Q. In which formats can I export documents?

A. It depends on the document managementsystem. Common graphical formats includeTIFF Group III, TIFF Group IV, TIFF Raw,BMP, PCX, PNG and JPEG.

Q. What happens when a user without redac-tion viewing rights prints a document that hasbeen redacted?

A. A document management system shouldprotect the integrity of the document by print-ing with the redactions intact.

Records Management

Q. Are all documents records?

A. No. Records management is a specializeddiscipline that deals with information servingas evidence of an organization's businessactivities. In particular, it is a set of recog-nized practices related to the life cycle of thatinformation. Often, records refer to docu-ments, but they can include other forms ofinformation, such as photographs, blueprintsor even books.

Q. What does records management softwaredo?

A. Records management software supports theapplication of systematic controls to the cre-ation, maintenance and destruction of anorganization's records.

Q: Does DoD 5015.2 certification guaranteecompliance with other regulations likeHIPAA?

A. No. It is important to distinguish betweenregulatory compliance and the DoD 5015.2standard. The DoD standard represents base-line functionality for records managementapplications (RMAs) used within theDepartment of Defense. It serves as the defacto standard for records management appli-cations across government and industry.However, it is a records management standardand not a broad regulatory compliance stan-dard. DoD-5015.2 certification facilitatescompliance by supporting the application ofsystematic records policies; it cannot guaranteecompliance. Compliance is a process depend-ent on the application of records policies.

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Q: How do records management applicationshelp enforce proper polcies?

A: Records management applications can sup-port the application of consistent policies andprocedures through a series of mechanisms,including: mandatory metadata acquisitionand automated extraction of e-mail metadata;support for time, event and time-event dispo-sitions; automated notification for review ofvital records; freezing of records; and com-prehensive audit trail reporting.

COLD (Computer Output to LaserDisc)

Q. What is the difference between COLD andimaging?

A. COLD is specifically for archiving, index-ing, searching and printing reports from high-volume text files generated by mainframes,mini-computers and other computer applica-tions. COLD stores large report files andextracted index fields on hard disk, opticalcartridge or CD-ROM instead of printing allthe information out on paper or storing it tomicrofilm.

Q. How many index fields can the COLD serverextract from each report?

A. The number of index fields is usuallyunlimited. However, the more fields extractedfrom each report, the more slowly the extrac-tion process will run and the larger the indexfiles will be.

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VI. Glossary of Terms

Access RightsA security mechanism that lets the systemadministrator determine which objects (fold-ers, documents, etc.) users can open. It shouldbe possible to set access rights should forgroups and individuals.

ADFAutomatic Document Feeder. This is themeans by which a scanner feeds the paperdocument.

AnnotationsThe changes or additions made to a documentusing sticky notes, a highlighter or other elec-tronic tools. Document images or text can behighlighted in different colors, redacted(blacked-out or whited-out) or stamped (e.g.,FAXED or CONFIDENTIAL), or have elec-tronic sticky notes attached. Annotationsshould be overlaid and not alter the originaldocument.

ASCIIAmerican Standard Code for InformationInterchange. Used to define computer textthat was built on a set of 255 alphanumericand control characters. ASCII has been a stan-dard, non-proprietary text format since 1963.

ASP (Active Server Pages )A technology that simplifies customizationand integration of Web applications. ASPsreside on a Web server and contain a mixtureof HTML code and server-side scripts. Anexample of ASP usage includes having a serv-er accept a request from a client, perform aquery on a database and then return theresults of the query in HTML format for view-ing by a Web browser.

Audit TrailAn electronic means of tracking all access toa system, document or record, including themodification, deletion and addition of docu-ments and records.

Bar CodeA small pattern of lines read by a laser or anoptical scanner, which correspond to a recordin a database. An add-on component to docu-ment management software, bar-code recogni-tion is designed to increase the speed withwhich documents can be stored or archived.

Batch ProcessingThe name of the technique used to input alarge amount of information in a single step,as opposed to individual processes.

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Bitmap/BitmappedSee Raster/Rasterized.

BMPThe abbreviation for a native file format ofWindows for storing images called bitmaps.

Boolean LogicThe use of the terms AND, OR and NOT inconducting searches. Used to widen or nar-row the scope of a search.

BriefcaseA method to simplify the transport of a groupof documents from one computer to another.

Burn (CDs or DVDs)To record or write data on a CD or DVD.

Caching (of Images)The temporary storage of image files on ahard disk for later migration to permanentstorage, like an optical or CD jukebox.

CD or DVD PublishingAn alternative to photocopying large volumesof paper documents. This method involvescoupling image and text documents withviewer software on CDs or DVDs. It is essen-tial that search software be included on theCDs or DVDs to provide immediate retrievalabilities.

CD-RShort for CD-Recordable. A CD that can bewritten (or burned) only once. It can becopied as a means to distribute a large amountof data. CD-Rs can be read on any CD-ROMdrive whether on a standalone computer ornetwork system. This makes interchangebetween systems easier.

CD-ROMCompact Disc-Read Only Memory. Written ona large scale and not on a standard computerCD burner (CD writer). An optical disc storagemedium popular for storing computer files aswell as digitally recorded music.

Client-Server Architecture vs. File-SharingTwo common application software architec-tures found on computer networks. With file-sharing applications, all searches occur onthe workstation, while the document data-base resides on the server. With client-serverarchitecture, CPU-intensive processes (suchas searching and indexing) are completed onthe server, while image viewing occurs on theclient. File-sharing applications are easier todevelop, but they tend to generate tremen-dous network data traffic in document man-agement applications. They also expose thedatabase to corruption through workstationinterruptions. Client-server applications aremore difficult to develop, but dramaticallyreduce network data traffic and insulate thedatabase from workstation interruptions. Seealso n-Tier Architecture.

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COLDComputer Output to Laser Disc. A processthat outputs electronic records and printedreports to laser disc instead of a printer. Canbe used to replace COM (Computer Output toMicrofilm) or printed reports such as green-bar.

COMComputer Output to Microfilm. A processthat outputs electronic records and computergenerated reports to microfilm.

Compression RatioThe ratio of the file sizes of a compressed fileto an uncompressed file. With a 20-to-1 com-pression ratio, an uncompressed file of 1 MBis compressed to 50 KB.

DeshadingRemoving shaded areas to render imagesmore easily recognizable by OCR.

DeskewingThe process of straightening skewed (off-cen-ter) images. Documents can become skewedwhen they are scanned or faxed. Deskewing isone of the image enhancements that canimprove OCR accuracy.

DespecklingRemoving isolated speckles from an imagefile. Speckles can develop when a documentis scanned or faxed.

DispositionActions taken regarding records after they areno longer required to conduct current busi-ness. Possible actions include transfer,archiving and destruction.

DitheringThe process of converting grays to differentdensities of black dots, usually for the pur-poses of printing or storing color or grayscaleimages as black and white images.

Document ManagementSoftware used to store, manage, retrieve anddistribute digital and electronic documents,as well as scanned paper documents.

DoD 5015.2-STDThe Department of Defense (DoD) 5015.2standard. Represents the standard for evaluat-ing electronic records management applica-tions (RMAs) used within the DoD. The stan-dard has been endorsed by the NationalArchives and Records Administration (NARA).

Duplex Scanners vs. Double-SidedScanningDuplex scanners automatically scan bothsides of a double-sided page, producing twoimages at once. Double-sided scanning uses asingle-sided scanner to scan both pages, scan-ning one collated stack of paper, then flippingit over and scanning the other side.

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DVD

Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc. Adisc similar to a CD, on which data can bewritten and read. DVDs are faster, hold moreinformation and support more data formatsthan CDs.

Feature RightsA security mechanism that allows systemadministrators to determine the actions thatusers can perform on the objects to whichthey have access.

Flatbed ScannerA flat-surface scanner that allows users tocapture pages of bound books and other non-standard-format documents.

Folder BrowserA system of on-screen folders (usually repre-sented as hierarchical, or stacked) used toorganize documents. For example, theWindows Explorer program in Microsoft®

Windows is a type of folder browser that dis-plays the directories on your disk.

Forms ProcessingA specialized document management appli-cation designed for handling preprintedforms. Forms processing systems often usemultiple OCR engines and elaborate data val-idation routines to extract hand-written orpoor quality print from forms to go into adatabase. With this type of application, it isessential to have good quality assurancemechanisms in place, since many of the formsthat are commonly scanned were neverdesigned for imaging or OCR.

Full-Text Indexing and SearchEnables the retrieval of documents by eitherword or phrase content. Every word in thedocument is indexed into a master word listwith pointers to the documents and pageswhere each occurrence of the word appears.

Fuzzy LogicA full-text search procedure that looks forexact matches as well as similarities to thesearch criteria, in order to compensate forspelling or OCR errors.

GIFGraphics Interchange Format. CompuServe® 'snative file format for storing images.

Gigabyte (GB)230 (approximately one billion) bytes, or 1024megabytes. In terms of image-storage capacity,one gigabyte equals approximately 17,00081/2-inch x 12-inch pages scanned at 300 dpi,stored as TIFF Group IV images.

GrayscaleAn option to display a black-and-white imagefile in an enhanced mode, making it easier toview. A grayscale display uses gray shading tofill in gaps or jumps (known as aliasing) thatoccur when displaying an image file on acomputer screen.

ICRIntelligent Character Recognition. A softwareprocess that recognizes handwritten andprinted text as alphanumeric characters.

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Image EnablingAllows for fast, straightforward manipulationof an imaging application through third-partysoftware. For example, image enabling allowsfor launching the imaging client interface,displaying search results in the client andbringing up the scan dialogue box, all fromwithin a third-party application.

Image Processing Card (IPC)A board mounted in the computer, scanner orprinter that facilitates the acquisition and dis-play of images. The primary function of mostIPCs is the rapid compression and decom-pression of image files.

Index FieldsDatabase fields used to categorize and organ-ize documents. Often user-defined, thesefields can be used for searches.

Internet PublishingSpecialized document management softwarethat allows large volumes of paper docu-ments to be published on the Internet orintranet. These files can be made available toother departments, offsite colleagues or thepublic for searching, viewing and printing.

ISIS and TWAIN Scanner DriversSpecialized applications used for communi-cation between scanners and computers.

ISO 9660 CD FormatThe International Standards Organization for-mat for creating CD-ROMs that can be readworldwide.

JPEGJoint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG orJPG). An image-compression format used forstoring color photographs and images.

Key FieldDatabase fields used for document searchesand retrieval. Synonymous with index field.

MFPMultifunction Printer or MultifunctionalPeripheral. A device that performs any com-bination of scanning, printing, faxing, orcopying.

Multipage TIFFSee TIFF.

Near-LineDocuments stored on optical discs or compactdiscs that are housed in the jukebox or CDchanger and can be retrieved without humanintervention.

n-Tier ArchitectureWhen applied to the physical or logical archi-tecture of computing, refers to a method ofdistributed computing in which the process-ing of a specific application occurs over nnumber of machines across a network.Typical tiers include a data tier, businesslogic tier and a presentation tier, wherein agiven machine will perform the individual-ized tasks of a tier. Scalability is among theadvantages of n-tier architecture.

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OCROptical Character Recognition (OCR). A soft-ware process that recognizes printed text asalphanumeric characters. OCR enables full-text searches of documents and records.

Off-LineArchival documents stored on optical discs orcompact discs that are not connected orinstalled in the computer, but instead requirehuman intervention to be accessed.

Online

Documents stored on the hard drive or mag-netic disk of a computer that are availableimmediately.

Open Architecture

Applied to hardware or software whosedesign allows for a system to be easily inte-grated with third-party devices and applica-tions.

Optical DiscsComputer media similar to a compact discthat cannot be rewritten. An optical driveuses a laser to read the stored data.

PixelPicture Element. A single dot in an image. Itcan be black and white, grayscale or color.

Portable VolumesA feature that facilitates the transfer of largevolumes of documents without the need tocopy multiple files. Portable volumes enableindividual CDs to be easily regrouped,detached and reattached to different databas-es for a broader information exchange.

Raster/Rasterized (Raster or BitmapDrawing)A method of representing an image with agrid (or map) of dots or pixels. Typical rasterfile formats are GIF, JPEG, TIFF, PCX, BMP,etc.

RecordInformation, regardless of medium, that con-stitutes evidence of an organization's businesstransactions.

Record SeriesA record series is a group of records subject tothe same set of life-cycle instructions.

RedactionA type of document annotation that providesadditional security by concealing from viewspecific portions of sensitive documents,such as particular words or phrases. Like allannotations in a document management sys-tem, redactions should be image overlays thatprotect information but do not alter originaldocument images.

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Region (of an image)An area of an image file that is selected forspecialized processing. Also called a zone.

Retention PeriodThe length of time that a record must be keptbefore it can be destroyed. Records notauthorized for destruction are designated forpermanent retention.

Scale-to-GraySee Grayscale.

ScalabilityThe capacity of a system to scale up, orexpand, in terms of document capacity ornumber of users without requiring majorreconfiguration or re-entry of data. For a doc-ument management system to be scalable, itmust be easy to configure multiple servers oradd storage.

ScannerAn input device commonly used to convertpaper documents into computer images.Scanner devices are also available to scanmicrofilm and microfiche.

Security Markings or TagsWithin records management applications, asecurity-based metadata field intended todefine and restrict access, as well as facilitateclassification and retrieval.

SCSI Scanner InterfaceThe device used to connect a scanner with acomputer.

Single-Page TIFFSee TIFF.

SQLStructured Query Language. The popularstandard for running database searches(queries) and reports.

Templates, DocumentSets of index fields for documents.

ThumbnailsSmall versions of an image used for quickoverviews that give a general idea of what animage looks like.

TIFFTagged Image File Format. A non-proprietaryraster image format, in wide use since 1981,which allows for several different types ofcompression. TIFFs may be either single ormultipage files. A single-page TIFF is a singleimage of one page of a document. A multi-page TIFF is a large, single file consisting ofmultiple document pages. Document manage-ment systems that store documents as single-page TIFFs offer significant benefits in net-work performance over multipage TIFF systems.

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TIFF Group III (compression)A one-dimensional compression format forstoring black and white images that is utilizedby most fax machines.

TIFF Group IV (compression)A two-dimensional compression format forstoring black-and-white images. Typicallycompresses at a 20-to-1 ratio for standardbusiness documents.

VersioningIn document or records management applica-tions, the ability to track new versions of doc-uments after changes have been made.

Workflow, Ad HocA simple manual process by which docu-ments can be moved around a multi-user doc-ument management system on an as-neededbasis.

Workflow, Rules-BasedA programmed series of automated steps thatroutes documents to various users on a multi-user document management system.

WORM DisksWrite-Once-Read-Many Disks. A populararchival storage medium during the 1980s.Acknowledged as the first optical discs, theyare primarily used to store archives of datathat cannot be altered. WORM disks are creat-ed by standalone PCs and cannot be used onthe network, unlike CD-Rs. In some indus-tries, such as financial services, the definitionof WORM has broadened to include othermedia, such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, whichprovide accessible but unalterable documentstorage.

Zone OCRAn add-on feature of document managementsoftware that populates document templatesby reading certain regions or zones of a docu-ment and then placing information into a doc-ument index field.

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About Laserfiche

Since 1987, Laserfiche has created simple andelegant document management solutions thathelp organizations run smarter. Laserfichesolutions manage mission-critical informationand records in over 21,000 local, state andfederal agencies; educational institutions;healthcare organizations; financial servicesfirms; and other public- and private-sectororganizations around the world.

The Laserfiche development team is a skilledand experienced group of professionals whoare well rounded in both the theoretical andpractical aspects of programming and docu-ment management. Laserfiche strives to bringa far-reaching business perspective to eachnew project, helping solve customer prob-lems through:

• Objectivity

• Experience

• Understanding the various business processes at work in different industries and organizations

Laserfiche combines knowledge of real-worldworking systems with technological expertisein order to create solutions that lead to betterworking environments.

Laserfiche welcomes the opportunity toanswer further questions about documentmanagement and to arrange Web or on-sitedemonstrations of Laserfiche document man-agement solutions.

For more information, contact:info@laserfiche.com

Laserfiche3545 Long Beach Blvd.Long Beach, CA 90807United States

Phone: 562-988-1688Toll-free: 800-985-8533 (within the U.S.)Fax: 562-988-1886www.laserfiche.com

Laserfiche3545 Long Beach Blvd.Long Beach, CA 90807 USA www.laserfiche.com

© 2004 Compulink Management Center, Inc. All rights reserved. Laserfiche is a division of CompulinkManagement Center, Inc. Laserfiche is a registered trademark of Compulink Management Center, Inc. All othertrademarks are properties of their respective companies. Due to continuing product development, product speci-fications and capabilities are subject to change without notice. Printed in the USA. Item no. 7106

$14.99 US

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