Capture a partner

Today, Aug 2002

data capture

Alliances Seen as Fastest Way to

Vertical Expertise

THE DATA CAPTURE MARKET IS (ONCE AGAIN) IN ITS OWN STATE OF CONVERSION.

VENDORS ARE QUICKLY ADAPTING TO THE CHANGING NEEDS OF THE INDUSTRY

The document capture industry has seen constant transformation. From the earliest Xerox copy machine (which, after all, is a kind of capture device) through the high volume grayscale document capture systems (many still effectively in use today) to the current high-volume color capture systems, capture hardware has seen remarkable evolution. Likewise the software systems-- accurate recognition engines, integrated enterprise applications and sophisticated data extraction tools-have been steadily improved.

But capture's transformation goes beyond the nuts and bolts (and bits and bytes). The market itself has changed relentlessly. Centralized scanning has become distributed capture (except where distributed capture has become centralized). Meanwhile sharing captured data has become network-based, which has become Web-based. It's been a tumultuous period for data capture; and none of that seems likely to change.

Data capture vendors can be praised for their ability to adapt and respond to those changing markets. It's not easy to re-tool products for such dramatic transitions. One way these vendors have chosen to respond is to find partners, especially partners with expertise within the vertical markets they hope to serve. Over the past several months, numerous capture partnerships have been announced.

Hyland Software (216-898-3000 / wwv.onbase.com) developer of OnBase integrated document management software has formed a partnership with the government unit of CGI (514-841-3200 / www.cgi.com) to offer Hyland software to federal, state and local agencies. The partnership combines Hyland's Document Imaging, COLD processing, Workflow and Web technology with CGI's electronic records information management system (BRIMS). The technology was designed specifically for health and human services, public housing, and courts and justice agencies.

It's expected that technology from the Hyland-CGI partnership will help agencies improve data accuracy, automate data entry into legacy systems, automate case routing, and increase accountability.

Hyland has also tied its software to more traditional storage technology, recently announcing an agreement with Kodak's Document Imaging business (800-944-6171 / www.Kodak. com/go/docimaging). Kodak's Document Archive Writer (DAy now interfaces with Hyland's OnBase. The DAW converts digital documents to analog format and writes the digitally enhanced images to microfilm.

This provides integration between digital and analog records systems, managing the export of documents from OnBase directly to the Kodak's Document Archive Writer (DAW), Model 4800. Previously, integration between digital and analog records systems required running the two systems independently and maintaining separate indexes. Using the new interface, documents can be routed automatically or manually from OnBase to the DAW The DAW then outputs the data to microfilm and returns the exact roll and frame number to the OnBase repository. Up to 200 images may be stored per minute, and up to 17,000 per film roll.

"Until now, this marriage of digital and analog simply wasn't possible," said Tom Simpson, VP with Hyland Reseller Results Engineering (www.reeng.com).

In another example of a capture vendor partnering for vertical market expertise, dakota imaging (800-833-3137 / www.dakotaimaging.com) has allied with Plexis Healthcare Systems (877-- 475-3947 / www.plexisweb.com) to offer claims processing to the healthcare market. The agreement makes dakota's automated claim product Transform available to Plexis customers.

Under this outsourcing arrangement, a payer/claim processor can scan their incoming paper documents right in their mailroom using dakota-provided scanners and scanning software. dakota's Transform software automatically routes all electronic images securely via the dakota VPN (Virtual Private Network) to its 24x7 managed data center. Here, all images are processed and converted to clean, ready-to-process transaction data that is then seamlessly processed by Plexis' claim adjudication software. According to the companies, the partnership offers outsourced automation of the entire claim life cycle: from mail room to data capture to claim adjudication to provider service and long term transaction archival. The participants expect a reduction in health claims processing costs, while increasing customer satisfaction because of faster turnaround and fewer processing errors.

"This alliance provides customers a turn-key claims processing system with seamless interface," commented dakota's CEO Sandeep Goel. "It also strengthens our position in the marketplace by combining best-of-breed technologies and expanding our outsourcing presence."

"It's extremely important to (partner), in order to provide our clients with a complete array of products and services," said President and Plexis* CEO, Jorge Pant.