In theory, the digital transformation is a finite evolution, although technology keeps moving the goalpost in what constitutes a complete transformation. But whatever the shade of digital, escaping the clutches of paper documentation and converting it to a digital state represents, at the very least, the beginning if not the end of the transformation.
Philosophical nuances aside, for the practical purpose of viewing commercial imaging and the pool of clients who are still beholden to paper-based records, the pool of unenlightened (or non-converted) business opportunities remains ample.
“Beholden to paper” is not exactly accurate or fair, either. With many businesses experiencing employee shortages—and the employment landscape was a buyer’s market prior to the pandemic, anyway—pulling the trigger on such an initiative generally gets relegated to the back burner of priorities. Dwindling resources has a deleterious impact on decision-making functions, among others. But fewer resources to tackle long-range projects such as converting paper to digital assets represents a bona fide opportunity for commercial imaging specialists to provide relief to resource-strapped clients, not to mention efficiencies and a more viable workflow alteration.
Thus, while we can’t speak to how the digital transformation landscape will look in 10 years, the opportunity to generate ancillary revenue in the foreseeable future remains extremely viable. Our State of the Industry dealer panel provides some perspective in its assessment of commercial imaging opportunities in the coming year.
With the ongoing need for end-users to access information remotely, Dawn Abbuhl—president of Albany, New York-based Repeat Business Systems—is bullish on the current landscape. The key, she said, is to facilitate recurring revenue opportunities post-conversion.
“We are starting to bundle scanning and document management projects along with other services to provide a simple cost structure to make it even easier for businesses to gain productivity and increase security while improving access to information,” Abbuhl said. “But clearly, this isn’t long term as once a workflow is set up and the paper docs scanned, the party is over. At that point, the best strategy is to offer a subscription service for go-forward workflows that we can modify as the organization’s needs change.”
Abbuhl sees an opportunity to cultivate a document imaging workflow-as-a-service proposition. “If you have software, it’s going to have to be updated over time and you might need some support with it,” she said. “The going-forward solution needs to be some type of workflow that we can then charge for support, license and upgrades on a monthly basis, that can help us build. We’re moving in that direction.”
Spreading the Word
Mari Martin, ECM and backfile specialist for Applied Imaging of Grand Rapids, Michigan, believes continuous marketing efforts through email promotions, social media, events, radio and referrals to promote their services, in addition to educating existing clients, will go a long way toward stoking future conversion projects.
“This past year and a half have taught organizations that when they were working remotely, critical information stored as paper and other types of records did not work well in that environment,” Martin noted. “It was a major obstacle in some cases. It forced them to consider new options for creating digital images of those records that could be shared across the organization.
“In addition, those organizations with critical historical records realized they needed to do something to protect those records and that converting them to digital ensured they would be available for future generations. Finally, office space is expensive and organizations are looking to take back that space used by records that can be digitized.”
Chad Lagrone, vice president of technical services for RJ Young, notes that as the dealer continues to fine-tune its processes and SLAs, the dealer can replicate its centers across its geographical footprint. That will enable RJ Young to offer in-person demos that can often be the tipping point to forging an agreement.
“There is real value in bringing a potential customer onsite to see our process in action,” he said. “It sells itself in most cases. This is something we are looking to replicate across our footprint as the demand increases.”
Gradual Conversion
As businesses continue to rely heavily on printing, it will further the growth of paper-intensive environments. Robert Woodhull, marketing director for Woodhull LLC of Springboro, Ohio, believes the practice will lend itself to exponential growth opportunities from a commercial imaging standpoint.
“As software becomes more intensive and as our processes become more efficient, the need grows,” he said. “Our future is to continue to drive commercial imaging and continue with it as part of our portfolio because we think it helps tie in the complete picture of print and software process. It’s a connector and an introduction to full digital transformation. If the future was to hold anything, it would be to enhance our scope of scanning services.”
David Mielnicki, director of conversion services for IMR Digital, a division of KDI Office Technology in Aston, Pennsylvania, notes that the pandemic has significantly changed business models by highlighting the need for remote document access capabilities. Thus, educating the masses on commercial imaging represents both the greatest challenge and opportunity for IMR and KDI Office Technology.
“As we move forward in a post-COVID landscape and move closer to whatever normal will resemble, I think the benefit and the value is us getting face-to-face with our client through our KDI sales organization,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of upside opportunity there. We’re also looking to acquire outside organizations who may make sense for us, along with continuing organic growth with our client base. We’re also looking to expand geographically. We see significant opportunity.”
