One of the questions that we get periodically is why do we carry the products that we do.

It’s a good question. In my role as Director of Advanced Technology, I am responsible for insuring that Fisher’s product offerings are appropriate for our customer’s varied needs in the greater Boise area. 

At its core level, Electronic Document Management is software which allows for the storage and management of documents regardless of type, and usually this is located on an organization’s internal server. So scans, electronic files, e-mails, and scans all need to be able to be housed and classified easily for storage and retrieval. 

We can utilize technologies to streamline the capture. Most software packages have some level of automation available. For more advance requirements, we might consider implementing ABBYY Flexicapture, which has a robust OCR engine that intelligently sorts, indexes, and stores documents based on predetermined rules.

Workflow can be structured to replace paper based processes. Both Docuware and Laserfiche have excellent platforms, complete with the ability to set time limits for task completion, and e-mail notifications. Retention schedules can be set by document type as required.

Integration with primary business applications can be important to pick up the desired improvement in productivity. Again, we look for products with a strong history of integration over multiple platforms, and the flexibility to write custom integration if needed. It doesn’t do Fisher’s or our customers any good if we can’t easily and affordably tie into their primary business applications if needed.

Finally we had to consider our customers that could benefit from EDM, but lack the resources for a local implementation. Implementations take time, cost money, and require some level of in house support. Many companies in Boise don’t have staff IT professionals. This is where we looked to provide software as a service or SAAS, as we call it.

SAAS is a web based service that allows for companies to enjoy the benefits of EDM with a low cost entry point, and the responsibility to maintain the system is placed on the company which hosts their data. This web based system works on a monthly rent, if you will, for your electronic storage space. The product that we have chosen to fill this need is a product called Document Mall. 

Document Mall is a full blown EDM system, capable of working with ABBYY or other forms processing software. Documents and data are stored at secure facilities and backed up regularly. We have seen a great response to this product from many organizations that want to get started, but for a variety of reasons, aren’t ready to shoulder the workload internally. I have been familiar with Document Mall for a number of years, and in my opinion it is one of the easiest to use, and most secure. I would encourage anyone who is interested in SAAS to visit products page to learn more.

All the best-

Jason