‘With Increased Focus on Digitisation there is Enormous Potential for DCIM in India’

We spoke to Cassio Vaquero, Regional Director - Information Management, Kodak Alaris-APAC, to understand the DCIM technology and how it’s different from traditional methods of document capture, the opportunities in India, and his predictions for the future.

1.Tell us about the challenges faced by enterprises of all sizes in managing the ‘data deluge’?
Organisations are flooded with information coming in from different sources. Paper-based forms still form the bulk of information input but they have been topped up information coming in from digital sources, such as popular social media channels, smartphones, etc. Dealing with large volumes of unstructured data that is received from new digital devices and channels is a logistical nightmare. So, it is important that there is real time access available to process this data to gain both agility and speed to remain competitive. For instance, look at the insurance industry. They need to disburse numerous claims on a daily basis. And all of them require processing of phenomenal information saved across different forms. If files and documents are not managed in an organised manner, it could result in data being lost and therefore an unhappy customer. Hence, the need for information management solutions that can help streamline critical processes and assist in ensuring compliance.

Cassio Vaquero Regional Director - Information Management, Kodak Alaris-APAC

2. What kind of solutions do you offer to address these challenges?
To address these challenges you need to practise Document Capture and Information Management rigorously within you organisation. The basic step to implement this system is to have a device to digitise information coming from hard copies. We have solutions that start as low as Rs 20k that digitise information from paper forms. The bigger variants also combine business analytics capabilities along with basic digitisation of information. These provides document scanning speeds as high as 210 ppm. The solutions are OS agnostic and let you capture information from multiple sources: paper, social media channels, etc, and feed them into the right process as part of the document management system within an organisation. The beauty of these products is that they work as well with old IT infrastructure as they do with new IT infrastructure as bulk of the processing is done by the CPU and image processor inside the scanner box. Information can be ingested from different types and sizes of paper and the digitised data fed into the DMS or ERP system deployed within the organisation. The software tools that form part of the combo solution have the intelligence to differentiate the non-homogeneity of data. This is an important feature as even in a developed country like the US more than 50% of data still comes from paper. This data is OCRed and validated before being sent to fill the relevant fields within the DMS of an enterprise.
3. How do you ensure security of data that’s coming in from various sources and also the meeting of regulatory compliance requirements that are so stringent in some of the industries?
Our systems can work with any hardware and OS and even core-banking solutions. They also neatly integrate with all ERP and document management solutions. In the imaging industry, there are certain global standards to be followed and we ensure our solutions can work even within a ‘non-Kodak’ environment. The output
is saved in all popular file formats such as .jpeg, .tiff, and .pdf. All this ensures tight integration amongst different business processes and ensure maximum security of information.
The financial services industry faces unprecedented challenges on a daily basis due to changing regulations, economic issues and high customer expectations. By putting a stringent DCIM policy in place, organisations can distinguish themselves through consistent and reliable customer service, and maintain a competitive edge while remaining within tight regulatory standards. Insurance companies encounter difficulties like high operational costs, service levels, claims management, etc, which can significantly damage an organisation’s budget sheets. All this calls for information management solutions that can help streamline critical processes and assist in ensuring regulatory compliance.
4. What are the opportunities in India and where do you think digitisation can drive growth for
such solutions?
Indian companies are already using similar technologies since the early 1980s. We already have solutions for global shared service centers, aeronautical service centers, etc in India. Now, with the government’s push towards digitisation there is enormous potential for the DCIM industry. For instance, in the digitisation of land records, making automated maps available where ownership details are visible, and more. The National Land Records project started in 2006 and is slated to conclude in 2020. Less than 20% of the records have been digitised till now, so you can imagine the scale of digitisation of information still required to give it the required thrust. We are upbeat about the size of the Indian market and growth potential here. We do face challenges in the form of educating customers about the need for such solutions but we are confident of the outcome.
5. What are your predictions about the DCIM industry in the near future?
This industry is witnessing 10% growth globally but in India we’ve witnessed 20% annual growth since the last three years. Increased growth shall push more innovation and we’re already seeing scanners that can share multiple PCs. Apart from this, network scanners are coming in early 2016. Then you have mobile apps that let you connect to DCIM software and feed information into the DMS. You shall also be able to scan docs to mobile devices and capture and, send the information to the relevant business software.