Top 10 Takeaways from AIIM 2014

The Association for Information and Image Management—otherwise known as AIIM—held its 2014 conference April 1-3 in Orlando. The theme of the event, Information Opportunity vs. Information Chaos, was intriguing, and the event itself didn’t disappoint.

My perspective when visiting an event like AIIM, which is dedicated to “information professionals,” is an interesting one, since my background is solidly in the print industry—supplies, copiers, managed print … you know how the evolution goes. And that’s the key word: evolution. The imaging channel is evolving, the information management channel is evolving, and somehow they’re crashing into each other in all kinds of ways. So with that said, here are some of my top impressions of AIIM.

1. The software guys want to play with the hardware guys, and vice versa. This isn’t new, of course, but it hit home when, in the span of a few hours, three separate providers of ECM and/or workflow software told me they were in talks with copier OEMs to have their products incorporated into the devices.
2. Convergence, convergence, convergence. It’s just more variation on the same theme but it bears repeating. Worlds are colliding. Records management guys and copier dealers 20 years ago might never have thought they’d be playing in the same ecosystem, but they are. The same network, and often the same device, is responsible for tying the input and the output together. It’s imperative that they not only want to work together, but that they can. An understanding of the “other side” is critical.
3. The cloud is scary. And it’s scary to everyone, including the people whose work centers around it. Fortunately, there are also a lot of people with answers—and they’re the ones who can guide us. People like Sean Nathaniel, VP, Technology, Upland Software, and GM, FileBound by Upland. (It’s a long title, but he really does do a lot). He hosted a roundtable discussion called “Head in the Clouds? Know What You’re Getting Into,” that addressed questions like: Are cloud-based solutions just hype? What does it mean when a vendor says a solution is “cloud-native”? Why should you care? What are the potential “gotchas”? How can you tell if a cloud solution is secure and reliable? Cloud presents a lot of questions for a lot of people.
4. But cloud is here and it’s not going away, so we might as well embrace it. Another one of the conference’s myriad sessions surrounding cloud issues was one by Doug Miles, AIIM’s Director of Market Intelligence. He presented “Content Sharing and Processing in a Cloud and Mobile World,” and if that’s the world we live in, he’d be the one to know. Mobile access, collaboration, and sharing is driving content to the cloud. Using results from a recent AIIM survey, he looked at collaboration, file sync, and secure mobile access. (He also thanked everyone who actually takes the time to fill out AIIM’s surveys—so the next time you get one, fill it out! It made for a great presentation).
5. Also great was “From Hoarders to Pickers and Pawn Stars.” I have to admit, I went to this session based on the title alone, and I wasn’t the only one—the other people at my table admitted the same. But we scored, because not only was the title fantastic, so was the content, as well as the presenter, Dan Antion, VP Information Services, American Nuclear Insurers. You have to admire someone who can cash in on reality TV titles to give a presentation about ECM and make it work. Antion did.
6. The potential for the paperless office exists. I mean—I know. I fell off my dinosaur laughing at the line about the paperless office. But the technology is there. The workflow, the software–it all exists. I feel pretty safe in saying that during my time at AIIM I saw at least one piece of software or hardware that could complete every single step necessary to create the paperless office. If we stopped printing today and got all the existing paperwork scanned in, that would be it. Oh, except for the regulations, and the fear of the non-tangible, and security concerns, and the fact that people just aren’t ready to get rid of paper.
7. People just aren’t ready to get rid of paper. I’m wrapping up a visit to what is ostensibly one of the higher-tech conferences out there. The whole point of this conference is information management. And I’m sitting here surrounded by paper. Flyers, sell sheets, brochures – I have printed press packs, for Pete’s sake! (say that five times fast). Paper. It’s alive and well. Go ahead and breathe easy, but only while you’re considering what other solutions you sell or are planning to add.
8. The AIIM Service Provider Executive Forum was held at the same time as the AIIM conference. This is a forum for leaders in advanced document services and solutions, including MFP providers, service companies, and VARs.  From what I understand, this is the first time the two have been held concurrently, and it comes back to that evolution and convergence I mentioned earlier. Scott spoke to Bob Zagimi, Chair of the executive forum, before the event, and you can read that interview here.
9. Guy Kawasaki was the event keynote. My former-event-planner heart burned with jealousy. To quote from his bio, not only is Kawasaki the former chief evangelist of Apple, he’s a bestselling author of 12 books. He spoke on “The Art of Enchantment,” focusing on the goal of bringing about voluntary, enduring, and delightful change within your organization. Unfortunately, I was not able to personally attend the presentation, so my organization will be somewhat lacking in delightful change for the time being.
10. The people designing, marketing, integrating and selling workflow software, products, and solutions are every bit as passionate about their offerings as any office imaging products provider I’ve encountered. I crammed in a huge number of meetings during my time at AIIM and I came away impressed with everyone I spoke to. From IBM to RSD, from Workshare to VirtualWorks, I learned a lot, and I continue to learn about the numerous and intricate processes that are essential to information management. Forgive me for using this word one more time, but the convergence is there. The office of the 21^st century is a dynamic environment that requires top-of-the-line hardware and software to keep it running. So be there, be on top of things, and keep your customers on the cutting edge.