Document Automation
OCR for AnyDoc named Best Channel Product by Business Solutions
AnyDoc Software's flagship product OCR for AnyDoc has been named a Best Channel Product for 2010 by Business Solutions magazine.
OCR for AnyDoc automatically captures and processes data from any form or document, alleviating the burden of manual document processing for clients across a wide array of industries. Accurate, validated data and indexed images are then delivered to any ECM, ERP, accounting, document management, or other back-end system. By eliminating tedious manual sorting and manual data entry, accurate data is available much faster and at a lower cost than manual processing. This allows organizations to respond more quickly to information and make better business decisions, AnyDoc says.
"This recognition demonstrates our commitment to provide our valued resellers and customers with the most advanced document and data capture solutions that maximize their investment and optimize business processes," said David Talarico, Vice President of channel sales for AnyDoc Software. "Our continual efforts to improve our industry-leading technologies for the growing needs of the marketplace reflect in this award. We aim to solve business issues and do not shy from difficult documents or business challenges."
AnyDoc is recognized as a 2010 winner in the Richness of Features/Functionality and Product Reliability/Durability categories.
"Best Channel Products" were selected from an industry survey conducted between April and May of 2010. More than 16,000 votes were received, and the survey results were calculated by Penn State University and the Business Solutions' editorial staff to ensure accuracy.
Document Automation
Jeetu Patel named CTO of EMC's Information Intelligence Group
Jeetu Patel is the new Chief Technology Officer of EMC's Information Intelligence Group. Patel is a 17-year information management veteran and partner of Doculabs, a strategic consultancy for enterprise social collaboration and content management. Patel will report to Mark Lewis, President of EMC's Information Intelligence Group and will be responsible for orchestrating and driving the group's product vision and innovation, growth strategy and cloud computing initiatives.
"Building great products requires that we understand our customers' key needs, the competitive landscape and the industry trends that impact our business," said Lewis. "Jeetu has extensive industry experience and strategic insight as well as intimate knowledge of EMC products and customers. His leadership in applying technology will help us continue to deliver transformative solutions for our customers' complex and ever-evolving business needs."
As a partner and a recognized authority on enterprise content management and business process management, Patel was a driving force behind Doculabs' ascent into one of the world's premier global consultancies. In the last few years, he has been closely involved in ongoing engagements with several EMC customers. Through his leadership and knowledge of the industry's leading infrastructure providers, Patel advised and spearheaded the development of a variety of analytic tools for quantifying and accelerating the strategic use of technology to help hundreds of Fortune 1000 enterprises achieve measurable business benefits. Additionally, he was instrumental in advancing major innovations in enterprise content management, electronic bill presentment and payment, web application infrastructure, customer communications management and enterprise social computing.
Patel also led the initiative to codify, define and deliver a comprehensive framework for content- and process-related shared services, which is being successfully utilized by several organizations throughout a wide variety of industries. He earned a bachelor's of science degree in information systems from University of Illinois at Chicago.
"Over the years, I've seen firsthand the strength of EMC's market-leading information management solutions and how it has helped customers drive better business efficiencies," said Patel. "I'm delighted to join EMC's Information Intelligence Group and I look forward to working with the team to further drive its innovation in solving today's information governance challenges as well as in helping our customers on their journey into cloud computing."
The EMC Information Intelligence Group provides solutions for case management, information governance, enterprise capture, information access and customer communications enabling companies to leverage information for business advantage by connecting information with people and processes. These solutions include EMC Documentum, EMC SourceOne, EMC Captiva, My Documentum and EMC Document Sciences.
Payments Automation
Skyline's DirectFED Payment Solutions partners with EZCheck
Skyline's DirectFED Payment Solutions has teamed up with EZCheck, an information and payment services company. EZCheck will use Skyline's DirectFED as a Check 21 solution for their clients and will give EZCheck the ability to do RDC with guarantee.
"This is an important partnership in the electronic payments industry since it strengthens Skyline's DirectFED's and EZCheck's offerings," stated Shai Z. Stern, Co-Chairman of Skyline's DirectFED Payment Solutions. "This partnership will help enhance our financial products and services, our customer experience, and our customer acquisition and retention."
While EZCheck also provides electronic check conversion, RDC and the Fed's Automated Clearing House (ACH), by partnering with Skyline's DirectFED, EZCheck will be able to provide clients with a Check 21 solution that includes check guarantee. This allows other organizations to provide real-time authorization at the point of sale while incorporating Check21 services instead of paper checks or using the ACH.
"Skylines DirectFED offers Check 21 software that supports our dedication to maximizing customers' efficiency and helping improve their bottom line," said Don Singer, senior vice president of EZCheck. "We had several candidates to choose from but selected Skyline's DirectFED from a host of competitors due to its extremely customizable and flexible features, as well as its easy and fast installation, that no one else was able to provide."
Payments Automation
RDM certifies SmartSource scanner from Burroughs Payment Systems
RDM Corporation certified the SmartSource Adaptive scanner from Burroughs Payment Systems, Inc., for use with its ITMS WebClient remote deposit capture application. The SmartSource Adaptive is a tabletop MICR-enabled solution capable of scanning a wide variety of intermixed document types including full page documents.
"We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with Burroughs by certifying their exciting new product," said Douglas Newman, President and CEO of RDM Corporation. "The full-page scanning capability of the SmartSource Adaptive including a MICR reader combined with our ITMS WebClient Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) software product fulfills an unmet need in today's marketplace."
The certification of the SmartSource Adaptive scanner from Burroughs will further enhance RDM's solution which can be tailored to address the specific processing needs of banks, utilities, insurance, healthcare, financial services and government entities where multiple document types such as checks, remittance stubs and full-page documents can be scanned by a single device.
"We've maintained a strong partnership with RDM for many years and have found them to be an extremely competent and forward-thinking organization. Their certification of our SmartSource Adaptive further strengthens our relationship and both companies foresee positive results from this development effort," said Alan Howard, president and CEO, Burroughs Payment Systems, Inc. "We design products based on real customer feedback and align ourselves with the most prominent application providers in the market to ensure our devices work in every environment."
Document Automation
Major ECM players focusing on integration
Organizations now have greater choices to integrate Enterprise Content Management (ECM) technology platforms with diverse environments and repositories to deliver enterprise-wide benefits, but cost and complexity remain serious barriers, according to new research evaluating ECM products from independent advisory firm Real Story Group (formerly CMS Watch).
Most larger organizations now utilize ECM systems for business-critical documents, but the profusion of documents stored in disparate silos remains a challenge. Major ECM vendors such as Autonomy, EMC|Documentum, IBM, and Open Text, have traditionally taken very proprietary routes, hoping that enterprises will consolidate all their content in one system, within a single repository.
That approach proved unrealistic, and vendors are now focusing more heavily on practical integration points with other systems. Several ECM vendors have recently released:
o Support for emerging repository integration standard, CMIS
o Connectors to Microsoft SharePoint and Office
o Improved integration with major business applications such as those from SAP and Oracle
o Support for the next generation BPM standard, BPMN 2.0
With an ever-widening array of integration tools and approaches at their disposal, organizations therefore have more choices for applying management services like search, re-use, and retention to documents stuck in remote repositories.
Nevertheless, buyers should not assume that these integration efforts will automatically bring relief.
"Buyers should validate and test any integration points, demand proof of concepts, and not just take the vendors' word that they can in fact integrate at the level required," notes Principal Analyst Alan Pelz-Sharpe.
Meanwhile, the old challenges of cost and complexity remain serious hurdles. "Integration is never simple," added Analyst Apoorv Durga. "Any buyer should understand the implications and cost of integration work before moving forward with one of these systems, especially since many 'connectors' are less proven, and come at extra cost."
Document Automation
U.S Census Bureau uses ADI and Parascript to determine data quality
Advanced Document Imaging, LLC and Parascript, LLC announced that their integrated technologies were successfully used to perform quality assurance testing for the U.S. Census Bureau for electronic data capture in the 2010 Census. The ADI andParascript partnership helps the Census Bureau to ensure the highest level of accuracy of important data gleaned from census forms. In particular, the solution delivers a cost-effective and high-quality assurance program that validates the accuracy of the census data capture process.
ADI developed the Production Data Quality (PDQ) test system that was used to independently evaluate data capture production output quality from the prime contractor by sampling almost a million forms and reporting the results to the Census Bureau. This test system uses Parascript's FormXtra and ADI's special patent-pending algorithms to cost-effectively determine the truth of production data, which is then used for scoring.
"Working with the U.S. Census Bureau for over 16 years, we have developed a powerful software tool to quickly accomplish the difficult, costly, and time-consuming task of testing the quality of production data with very high precision and at a low cost," said K. Bradley Paxton, Ph.D., CEO for ADI. "Our partnership with Parascript has proven invaluable in completing this task."
"We are honored to work with ADI to make our recognition technology available to all those who benefit from reduced processing times and cost savings, especially in such important applications as the 2010 Census," said Brian Ball, vice president for Parascript.
Document Automation
ibml forms strategic partnership with Kofax in EMEA
ibml signed a hardware reseller relationship with Kofax plc. The partnership gives Kofax and its channel access to ibml's line of high-speed document scanning systems in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).
With the ImageTrac Scanning Platform, Kofax will now have a complementary high-volume intelligent scanning offering to meet market needs for applications requiring in-line functionality and sorting. The partnership will provide Kofax with a best-in-class scanning solution for applications requiring superior paper handling, in-line recognition, sophisticated sorting, and a reduction in the manual handling of documents.
"ibml's document scanning solutions have achieved tremendous growth in EMEA over the past five years. Our strategic partnership with Kofax will enable us to build on this momentum, particularly in the developing Eastern European and Middle Eastern markets," said Robert Sbrissa, ibml's Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Business Development. "Our combined offering will provide end-users and partners in EMEA with extraordinary performance and value for their most demanding document scanning applications."
"As a leader in the professional scanner market, I am pleased that ibml has added Kofax as a distribution partner for sales and services of its products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa," said Alan Kerr, Kofax's Executive Vice President of Field Operations. "Leveraging Kofax and ibml products and services to automate the capture and processing of documents quickly, efficiently and securely will help customers see immediate productivity gains and a rapid return on their investments. The partnership is an ideal fit for all customers who want to benefit from our expertise and many years of experience in high-volume information capture. We look forward to further expanding our footprint in the high-volume capture arena together with a partner who is known for its innovative and quality products."
Payments Automation
3Delta Systems appoints Kirt Chronister product manager
3Delta Systems, Inc. (3DSI) appointed Kirt Chronister as product manager.
Chronister will focus on identifying new opportunities for 3Delta Systems' suite of business-to-business (B2B) payment processing and tokenization products, enhancing the company's sales channels and managing relationships with Value Added Resellers (VARs). He will also be responsible for expanding the company's product suite and user base as well as delivering increased value to customers.
"Kirt has a proven track record in product management, business development and strategic relationship management across global and regional sales markets - all critical skills that contribute to building awareness of 3Delta Systems' already-strong brand of highly secure payment processing and tokenization services," said Aaron Bills, founder and chief operating officer of 3Delta Systems. "His Six Sigma experience will also be very useful in our work with enterprises and government agencies that seek to improve their card payment processes, performance and value."
Before joining 3DSI, Chronister held increasingly responsible positions with Fifth Third Processing Solutions and Fifth Third Bancorp in relationship management, merchant conversion and VAR/channel management. Earlier, he specialized in financial sales for National City Bank and in B2B merchant sales for NPC Corporation.
A native of Ohio, Chronister holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Wright State University in Dayton.
Payments Automation
Compass Plus rolls out Internet banking gateway
Compass Plus released TranzWare Internet Banking as a gateway for consumers to conduct banking operations in a fully customizable, interactive online framework.
The TranzWare Internet Banking interface features movable modules that enable users to customize the way they view their accounts, resulting in an application appearance and functionality controlled entirely by the user. With individuals' preferences being hosted by the financial institution, users have the same layout from wherever they access the account. Through TranzWare Internet Banking, a customer or credit union member can move an active account to the top of the screen while downplaying less frequently used functions, the company says.
The customizable nature of the technology extends to the financial institution, where a bank or credit union can build an Internet banking home page that suits its specific needs, modifying the functionalities provided with the software or developing and implementing their own widgets, or tools. The system includes an extensive list of capabilities, such as banking and card account management, online payments, transfers between accounts, correspondence with the bank and applications for products and services, among many others. Features such as currency calculators and news feeds can also be implemented.
"For the first time, banks and credit unions have the ability to design their own unique Internet banking system," said Doug Varble, North American vice president of Compass Plus. "TranzWare Internet Banking enables financial institutions to enhance the user experience by allowing account information to be displayed based on what is most important to the consumer. Customers and members have the opportunity to create a truly tailored banking experience, and with the growth of online financial management, the Internet banking portal has become an integral service tool."
Payments Automation
Employers using an arsenal of tools to combat workplace stress
Employers understand the detrimental effects stress is having on their organizations, and are responding with multiple strategies to help workers cope, a recent survey by Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company, indicates.
"Most employers realize that a stressed-out workforce drives up health care costs," said Barry Hall, principal at Buck Consultants. "Employers are responding by introducing numerous methods to combat the impact of work-related stress."
Hall noted that workplace issues highly affected by stress are:
... Health care costs - 82 percent of respondents indicate that their health care costs are significantly or moderately impacted by worker stress;
... Absenteeism - 79 percent report significant or moderate impact;
... Workplace safety - 77 percent cite significant or moderate impact.
Survey results show 66 percent of employers have implemented at least four programs intended to reduce stress. Twenty-two percent have established eight or more programs, and some make more than 10 programs available to their workers. Only seven percent of survey respondents do not have any stress-reduction strategies in place.
The resource most commonly used to address stress is an employee assistance program (EAP), implemented by 78 percent of survey respondents. EAPs help employees deal with personal problems that may negatively affect their work performance and overall well-being.
Flexible work schedules are the next most cited strategy, offered by 63 percent of respondents.
Rounding out the top 10 strategies are:
... Work/life balance support programs (46%),
... Leadership training on worker stress (45%),
... Online healthy lifestyle programs (45%),
... Onsite fitness centers (43%),
... Physical activity programs (38%),
... Stress awareness campaigns (35%),
... Financial management classes (30%),
... Personal health/lifestyle management coaching (29%).
"Employers increasingly realize they must address the rising tide of employee stress, and not just to improve employees' well-being," said Hall. "Those who ignore stress will take a hit to their bottom line, in higher costs and lower productivity."
Document Automation
ACS helps Michigan lower costs, improve services
The State of Michigan's program that provides Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits is saving more than 25 percent in processing costs by moving from paper-based food vouchers to an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system provided by Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), A Xerox Company.
Michigan's WIC program provides nutritious foods and nutrition education for approximately half the infants born in the state. Moving to EBT, the state went from issuing more than 10 million paper food vouchers annually to providing recipients with an EBT magnetic stripe card for use at point-of-service terminals at retailers.
An independent study from Burger, Carroll & Associates found the WIC EBT solution managed by ACS decreased Michigan's processing costs by 27 percent compared to costs under the paper voucher system. These savings were realized despite a WIC caseload that increased by 15 percent over the past several years.
Michigan is the first in the nation to implement a statewide WIC EBT solution that processes transactions real-time. Because the system immediately validates purchases, recipients have added flexibility, convenience and security over traditional WIC paper vouchers. The study also cites retailers who noted that WIC EBT is "more efficient than paper in both the (grocery) lanes and back office."
"Maximizing program efficiency helps to ensure that the state can help as many people as possible," said Joseph Doherty, executive vice president and group president, ACS Government Solutions. "This study shows that the EBT program can have a significant impact on a state's operations."
Nearly 2,000 vendors statewide equipped to accept the card. An ACS customer care center located in Michigan provides 24/7 support in three languages for vendors and participants.
Document Automation
eGistics and Peladon win contract to deliver information management system
eGistics and Peladon Software won a multi-year contract to jointly deliver an information management solution to a national healthcare services organization.
eGistics will implement Peladon's data capture and conversion technology along with the eGistics hosted information management platform that provides an information archive with real-time retrieval functionality. Peladon will enable the healthcare services organization to quickly and accurately convert captured documents to electronic transactions, validate the information, balance to batch totals, and reconcile transactions automatically. eGistics will store images of the original documents and the converted data along with other customer data and computer reports in a highly secure, online archive. The combination of eGistics' hosted framework and Peladon's technology provides the healthcare organization with unique benefits for automating document-driven business processes, including reduced costs, increased efficiency, and enhanced customer service -- all while maintaining regulatory compliance, the companies say.
"This major contract win validates our efforts in continuing to expand our business in the healthcare market place and demonstrates our value as a hosted solution," said Noel Flynn, chief executive officer at Peladon Software. "We are excited at having such a strong business relationship with a company like eGistics, and look forward to continued success."
"Despite the push towards electronification, most organizations are still overrun with paper. Together, eGistics and Peladon deliver solutions that digitize paper workflows to support business processes, enable collaboration, and streamline compliance and continuity planning," said eGistics Executive Vice President Gary Provo. "These solutions eliminate the costly and error-prone keying of large volumes of critical information, providing a compelling return on investment at a time when companies are more cost conscious than ever."
Document Automation
British Airways takes off with document scanning
British Airways (BA) selected BancTec for a major engineering record management effort, expected to last initially for three years. In total, BancTec's business process outsourcing (BPO) division will scan approximately 65 million engineering records for BA, providing the airline with significant added business value and cost savings.
"This is crucial to the ongoing success of our business, as it allows us to manage our data much more efficiently," said Adrian Hassell, Aircraft Documentation Manager, British Airways. "Because of the scale and scope of its existing BPO operations in the UK, BancTec was the ideal choice for this venture. We look forward to forming a successful partnership with them."
"British Airways is one of the most prestigious airlines in the world, and we are honored to be their selection for this critical project," said Steve Downey, General Manager, BancTec Ltd. "We look forward to working with BA over the next few years and delivering the value and cost savings for which our enterprise-class BPO capabilities are recognized."
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulations require all airlines to preserve their engineering records for at least 24 months after the aircraft or component is permanently withdrawn from service. At British Airways (with a fleet of 250 aircraft in service and on order) the majority of this documentation is in hard copy, which creates a significant bank of records to manage over the life cycle of each aircraft.
The new solution enables engineers to perform 'free text' searches, improving both the research facility and the ability to recover records when transferring aircraft or components to future operators. The introduction of this service will also enable BA to move to a fully electronic record database, meeting the requirements of BS 10008.
In addition to solving these issues, BancTec's solution for BA will also help the company reduce hard copy paper storage costs and consolidate supplier contracts. To gain maximum efficiency, the BancTec offering will be built around existing systems and infrastructure within its Heathrow BPO operation-thus conforming to EASA and Eu.Ops regulations within the airline industry.
Specifically, BancTec's enterprise-class scanning solutions will be utilized to image the high-value documents within customer-specified timeframes, with other technology being employed to enable free text searching of scanned documents. This search capability is essential for locating documents related to spare parts.
BancTec will also deploy a secure, three-tier storage archive, which will help reduce business risk from lost data and ensure better compliance with industry regulations.
Payments Automation
WAUSAU Financial Systems and Mitek Systems partner on mobile deposit
WAUSAU Financial Systems and Mitek Systems, Inc., entered an OEM agreement enabling WAUSAU to offer Mitek's mobile Remote Deposit Capture (RDC) capabilities to financial institutions nationwide.
With the integrated capabilities of Mitek's Check 21-compliant Mobile Deposit application and WAUSAU's mobile RDC offering, financial institutions soon can provide their customers the ability to deposit either personal or business checks via camera-equipped smartphones, including iPhone, BlackBerry and devices on the Windows Mobile and Android platforms. Deployment of the application begins in September.
"With Mitek's technology, we're expanding our best-in-class RDC technology, making the solution more sophisticated and attractive for consumers and businesses alike," said Kathy Strasser, executive vice president, Solution Management for WAUSAU Financial Systems. "Further, financial institutions will see the benefits as well, from the ability to offer cutting-edge services to customers and enhanced customer loyalty, to increased profits and significant cost savings."
A highly secure, accurate and easy-to-use application, Mobile Deposit allows users to initiate mobile-deposit sessions, key in deposit amounts and simply snap photos of both sides of the checks with smartphone cameras. The Mitek software captures the check images and prepares them for transmission to the business's receiving RDC solution.
Before transmitting, Mitek's IMagePROVE technology formats the check images, automatically corrects any image distortions or skewing, and confirms that the images meet accepted image-quality standards. After the checks are submitted successfully, users receive instant communications back from their banks, resulting in rapid access to funds or timely payments.
"Having an industry leader in remittance, RDC and image-capture technology like WAUSAU Financial Systems sign on to use our Mobile Deposit technology is tremendously important for us," said Mitek CEO James DeBello. "We have worked very hard and invested a lot to develop an application that is easy to use, so it's very satisfying to see that hard work appreciated by a leader the caliber of WAUSAU."
Payments Automation
Mobile banking sees increase in usage
Mobile banking has seen an increase in usage and in institutions offering the service in the last year, according to the results of a survey from IDC Financial Insights. In fact, reported mobile banking usage has almost doubled since last year's survey. However, according to the survey, while mobile banking may have finally turned the corner with customer acceptance, it is not a mainstream channel and in order to be successful, financial institutions need to be strategic about their mobile offerings. In addition, realistic expectations, an understanding that there are few to no revenue opportunities around mobile currently, and the backing of senior management, are all key to mobile success.
According to the IDC Financial Insights report, the challenge with mobile banking continues to be that it introduces a new cost structure without providing opportunities for revenue. Consumers have become accustomed to having more for free, and the convenience of mobile banking so far does not appear to be something that people are willing to pay for. However, enhancements to mobile platforms - including the addition of adding deposit capture and payment solutions - will provide more opportunities for financial institutions to potentially gain some revenue opportunities. IDC Financial Insights recommends that financial institutions begin expanding what they offer, marketing these offerings as easier to use, and providing more opportunities around payments and fund movement. Financial institutions that can capitalize on this will be better positioned to both obtain and retain customers.
Key findings of the research include:
... Usage was up across all channels, requiring bankers to manage more transactions across an ever-expanding portfolio of delivery options.
... The financial services industry should leverage its branch network to compete against potential nontraditional entrants that lack the brick-and-mortar infrastructure.
... SMS is the most popular form of mobile banking.
... Customized alerts and payments outside of network are gaining in popularity, while check image view and getting rate information on the mobile device appear to be fading.
... Demographics for mobile banking customers were skewed toward a younger male audience, but all demographics are showing usage.
"Consumers are transaction and information happy, and the branch continues to be as popular as ever," said Marc DeCastro, Research Manager, Consumer Banking and Credit, IDC Financial Insights. "The financial services industry recognizes the importance and advantage it has with its brick-and-mortar branch networks, evidenced by continued branch investment. Our survey, however, shows that consumers are getting more and more comfortable opening accounts outside of the branch. While many financial institutions have jumped into the mobile banking space and are offering solutions, some are still pondering their entrance. Those that have already installed a solution may also be looking at modifications or enhancements to their first-generation rollouts."
Payments Automation
Cautious continued investment in enterprise risk management solutions
More than 40 percent of senior risk managers at tier 1 and tier 2 banks indicated their bank will materially increase spending on risk in 2010, according to research from IDC Financial Insights. While positive, this number suggests that risk is paramount, but overall capital is still precious. As a result, senior risk managers will struggle to fulfill the need to improve processes that include data, analytics, and reporting to meet increased regulatory requirements while dealing with limited investment capital, says IDC Financial Insights.
"In the aftermath of the financial crisis and recession of 2008 and 2009, risk managers are facing a new reality of issues, ranging from disparate databases to new regulatory demands in a tighter credit market," said Dana Wiklund , research director, IDC Financial Insights' Global Risk Management practice. "There is now a universal focus on enterprise risk management because of higher levels of business model oversight by regulators and investors. There is also increased stress on operational processes that deal with technology, compliance, and data security. Over the next couple of years, banks will need financial technology tools that widen their view of risk and risk interdependencies."
Key findings from this study include the following:
... Enterprise risk management is now getting more attention from internal (boards) and external (regulators) parties than ever before.
... The overall economy still has question marks, which is increasing the pressure on consumers and commercial customers to make payments - stress on delinquency is still front and center.
... With the focus on speed, accuracy, and efficiency, cloud or hosted risk management solutions are gaining more and more consideration by financial institutions. When asked about whether the institution is looking to replace in-house solutions with hosted solutions over the next 12 months, 25 percent of respondents gave a positive answer.
... According to the survey results, 58 percent of respondents are concerned about increased levels of systematic risks over the next 12 months.
"There is still an air of risk apprehension among risk professionals that is driven by a global economy that is struggling out of recession," stated Wiklund. "While regulatory pressure is increasing and the overall risk environment is still tenuous, this survey shows that financial institutions will proceed cautiously with investment in FinTech solutions through 2010 into 2011."
Payments Automation
TASQ partners with Epson America
TASQ Technology, Inc., a First Data company, and one of the largest providers of point-of-sale (POS) equipment and services in North America, joined Epson America's Envision partner program.
Epson will provide TASQ with an extensive line of Epson printers and scanners, including the Epson TM-T88V, which the company says offers a four-year warranty and the lowest energy consumption in its class, as well as the CaptureOnecheck scanner. With daily deployments exceeding 9,000 packages, TASQ provides inventory management services which enable clients to purchase hardware in a just-in-time environment.
"Epson is the gold standard in printing and scanning solutions worldwide, and TASQ is one of the largest providers of payments related POS solutions and services in North America," commented Mike Helm, director of sales and marketing, Epson System Device Group. "We expect it to be a mutually beneficial relationship."
In addition to reselling Epson's printers and scanners, TASQ will offer its full line of services, such as repair and service fulfillment, which includes advance exchange support, where TASQ overnights replacement hardware directly to the client to reduce down time.
Document Automation
Kodak teams with 5280 Solutions to enhance Microsoft SharePoint integration
Kodak and 5280 Solutions LLC, a member of Kodak's Independent Software Vendor (ISV) program, announced a new co-branding agreement that enhances document management integration with Microsoft SharePoint Server. 5280's channel will market and sell a special version of Kodak Capture Pro Software with 5280's Dynamic Filer Software for batch scanning into SharePoint Server.
The co-branded product enables both government organizations and private businesses to automate the digitization of paper-based records for use across larger applications. Recent installations include the Government of Bermuda's Ministry of Finance Accountant General's Office and CountryMark, an Indiana oil exploration, production, refining and marketing company.
"We selected the solution with 5280 and Kodak for several reasons," said Joe Patterson, IT Director, CountryMark. "The solution provides an accounts payable and invoice automation solution built on SharePoint Server that easily integrates with our enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The solution meets all of our business and technology requirements at a very competitive price and return on investment."
Dynamic Filer, named a KM World 'Trend-Setting Product of 2009' is frequently used with common business applications including accounts payable, expense reporting, human resources and government processing. The co-branded product connects Kodak's technology to 5280's application, using Capture Pro Software's advanced imaging features, including outside database integration and one-touch scanning destination shortcuts to help customers quickly and accurately scan records and index information. The solution is ideal for settings that require a simple, flexible system that offers broad compatibility with existing database systems including SharePoint Server.
"As government organizations and businesses increasingly adopt digital practices to strengthen business processes, integrating traditional paper-based records into SharePoint Server becomes a key factor for maintaining organization and efficiency," said Troy Kloberdanz, Vice President of Business Development, 5280 Solutions LLC. "The ability to connect workers to information quickly and easily provides businesses and organizations with a competitive advantage that drives down costs and delivers better services for their customers."
Kodak's portfolio of capture platform software options enables users to have greater opportunities to develop their document management experience with Microsoft SharePoint Server. Capture tools like Kodak Capture Pro Software offers both distributed and departmental users with easy-to-use options for manual indexing and retrieval of metadata from barcodes and OCR. The software provides compatibility with both SharePoint 2007 and 2010 editions. The newly co-branded product with Dynamic Filer Software delivers a customized solution for all types of organizations in need of better business process automation.
"Kodak helps customers to obtain greater value from their paper-based documents by developing strategic solutions for SharePoint Server with ISV partners like 5280 Solutions," said Brian Bagan, Director, Business Development, United States and Canada, Document Imaging, Kodak's Business Solutions and Services Group. "These agreements help customers unleash the full potential of SharePoint Server by expanding the capabilities of an organization's existing software to include options for document capture and information management."
Document Automation
Kodak and MedCo Data launch patient chart scanning solution
A new solution from Kodak and MedCo Data will help physician groups and other ambulatory practices automate conversion of paper-based patient charts to digital files for secure storage and seamless export into electronic medical record (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR) systems, the companies say. Unveiled in late June at the TechData Technology Solutions Tour, the Patient Chart Scanning Solution uses KODAK Capture Pro Software and KODAK Scanners to capture data from patient charts and transfer it automatically into the Health Insurance Portablity and Accountability Act (or HIPAA)-compliant MedCo Data Vault, where it can be stored and retrieved as needed.
Because scanned files are automatically formatted using industry-accepted health data standards, including HL7, NCPDP and CCD, the Patient Chart Scanning Solution facilitates easy and accurate export from the MedCo Data Vault into the practice's existing or future EMR/EHR system, the companies say.
"The amount of critical information contained within paper-based patient charts makes this conversion process an essential benchmark of success as more physicians move to adopt EMR and EHR systems," said Jody Miller, Business Development Director, Worldwide Healthcare Solutions, KODAK Solutions for Business. "Our patient chart scanning solution with MedCo Data provides an easy-to-use, efficient platform that can deliver time and cost savings across an entire medical practice."
Conversion of paper-based patient charts represents a critical consideration for practices implementing EMR/EHR systems. Scanning charts prior to the installation of an electronic records system can significantly improve the chance of a successful adoption. Charts include a diverse range of documents that can contain information relevant to immunization records, allergies, well checks, physician notes, lab reports and insurance history. The 2009 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that only 6.3 percent of physicians possess a fully functional EMR/EHR system. About 21 percent of physicians currently use a basic EMR/EHR system.
"We're working with Kodak to establish a standard for scanning paper-based patient charts," said Rob Cash, COO, MedCo Data. "Unlike outsourced conversion services, this solution allows physician offices and other ambulatory practices to utilize their existing staff to manage the entire process, providing a high level of control over access to valuable patient records and to ensure that the newly converted digital files meet current and future needs."
[anchor="skyline"]Payments Automation
Skyline's DirectFED to be the remote deposit capture provider for PayYourRent.com
PayYourRent.com selected Skyline's DirectFED as its official remote deposit capture provider.
Now, PayYourRent.com users can scan paper checks and have them quickly deposited without the hassle of going to a bank. The fusion will link the leading provider in online rent payments with the leading provider in remote deposit capture solutions, a collaboration that property managers can bank on.
With online payments still at 25 percent, the majority of payments (75 percent) still rely on paper checks. Skyline's DirectFED offers a streamlined system that allows businesses to effectively scan paper checks and have them directly processed by PayYourRent.com, the company says. Boundaries are broken, as managers can consolidate their banking and supervise their business with a few clicks of a mouse.
"No matter how popular online payments become, there will inevitably be a large percentage of paper checks coming in each month," says Kevin Eberly, CEO of PayYourRent.com. "In our efforts to continue to provide the best possible solution to our managers, it was inevitable that we partner with a remote deposit capture company to facilitate the paper check processing side of the business. Skyline's DirectFED was the obvious choice. Their software is second to none and their emphasis on customer service and timely payment processing is directly in line with PayYourRent."
"Both PayYourRent.com and Skyline's DirectFED have the common goal of helping businesses to run smoothly and more efficiently," says CEO and founder of Skyline's DirectFED, Shai Stern. "The partnership seemed inevitable. We are so happy to provide an added option to PayYourRent.com users in an effort to complete their modernized approach to business management."
Payments Automation
Rabobank nabs Celent Model Bank Recognition
Rabobank, N.A. has been recognized as a Celent Model Bank for its integration of online banking and bill payment through Corillian Online from Fiserv. Celent, an international research and consulting firm, names a select group of financial institutions as Model Banks each year based on the institutions' effective use of technology. Rabobank, N.A. is part of Rabobank Group, which is headquartered in the Netherlands and is one of the largest banks in the world.
"We have found that when users have a positive online banking experience, they are more likely to use the service regularly, and we're more likely to attract new online banking users," said Erwin Martinez, Chief Information Officer, Rabobank. "We chose Corillian Online to create an online banking experience that would not only meet our customers' needs but exceed them. We have now dramatically improved functionality, and have seen substantial increases in online banking and bill payment enrollment and use."
Since Rabobank implemented Corillian Online in September 2009 the average number of weekly online banking enrollments has increased by 33 percent, and the number of customers actively using online banking has increased by more than 64 percent.
In addition, the average number of weekly online bill payment enrollments has increased by 125 percent, which can be attributed to the integration of bill payment functionality into the online banking home page. First-time online bill payments by existing users are also up 33 percent. This increase in first-time payments among existing users is particularly significant, as research has shown that moving customers deeper into an online relationship is key to building customer loyalty and profitability. Rabobank also promoted adoption of the new online banking service with marketing efforts including in-branch merchandising, website promotion and a sweepstakes.
Corillian Online features a user interface that combines common online banking functionalities - account balances, statements, transfers, notifications, alerts, electronic bills and payments -- onto a single screen for easy access. Users can also see a graphical display of recent spending behavior on the same screen. This consolidation of relevant, actionable information makes management of day-to-day financial tasks easier for consumers.
"Rabobank understands that the future of banking will play out online, and Corillian Online provides a flexible foundation for a wide range of financial management activities," said Erich Litch, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Services, Fiserv. "Not only has the implementation allowed Rabobank to enhance the user experience, Rabobank now has the ability to expand their online services as new technologies emerge."
In addition to Corillian Online, Rabobank uses Personal Money Manager from Fiserv, which provides customers with access to transaction reporting and analysis capabilities within the online user interface, as well as Campaign Manager, Voyager Family Banking and Mobile Money from Fiserv.
Payments Automation
RDM Corporation launches new tools for FFIEC Compliance
RDM Corporation introduced new FFIEC compliance tools in its ITMS suite of RDC software products. Responding to the new FFIEC Guidance regarding RDC, RDM enhanced existing capabilities and created new functionality to assist customers with compliance. This new offering provides financial institutions with a set of tools specifically designed to help them comply with the FFIEC guidelines with respect to RDC. These improvements to security and risk mitigation include enhanced security authentication, a comprehensive reporting suite, an easy to use limits and monitoring module as well as check endorsement capability.
"We understand the increasing pressure which financial institutions are facing to adhere to the guidance," said Douglas Newman, President & CEO, RDM Corporation. "RDM's ITMS suite of RDC products makes it easy for banks to better understand customers, monitor their activity and identify exceptions."
RDM has developed a suite of remote deposit capture software products which includes the ITMS WebClient for medium to large check volume customers, Simply Deposit for small check volume customers, Synergy Deposit for all-in-one RDC and card-based payments in retail applications, and Simply Deposit Mobile intended for mobile deposit applications. RDM also manufactures a wide range of industry leading single-feed digital imaging check scanners including the single-sided EC6000i scanner series, the dual-sided EC7000i series, the dual-sided EC7500i series of value scanners, the RDM SYNERGY II all-in-one payment terminal able to handle all non-cash payments and the recently introduced RDM Connect duplex, auto-feed scanner. |