Xerox Thinks Vertical For Automated Document Management

Paving the way to the paperless office, Xerox unveils new industry-specific workflow automation services, cloud document management offerings and apps

Document management specialist Xerox today unveiled a wide range of technology offerings and services aimed at helping organizations automate their workflows.

Whether it stems from an old-fashioned clipboard, fax machine or an email server, enterprises are struggling with efficiently managing the information that courses throughout their environments, said Mike Kortan, vice president of Workflow Automation Solutions for Xerox’s Large Enterprise Operations unit. First, his company is assisting businesses with kicking their paper habit.

“Most want to go to some form of paperless [system],” particularly health care companies, Kortan told eWEEK. Digitized and electronic documents are a major step toward streamlining and automating work processes.

Value of data

Also, businesses are seeking to capitalize on the value of their data, which typically sits idly locked away once it is ingested and processed. Xerox, in recent years, has been focused on “providing structure and organization to what is unstructured content,” along with delivering “contextual detail around that content,” he added.

Conforming to that strategy, the company announced new vertical industry offerings for retailers, banks and health care firms.

As its name suggests, the new Workflow Automation Solution for Supply Chain Optimization enables retail store operators to digitize and automate the otherwise manual steps of a product lifecycle. Powered by Xerox’s own Datawatch Managed Analytics Platform, the service reduces labor and print costs while simplifying inventory-related tasks, according to the company.

For banks and hospitals, Xerox teamed with Hyland Software, makers of the OnBase enterprise content management (ECM) and process management software platform.

XeroxThe new Loan Application Processing workflow automation solution provides financial firms with a tailored workflow that accepts and intelligently routes loan application data inputs to loan officers. Loan application data can originate from a variety of sources, including multifunction printers, mobile devices or a Web application. Xerox’s Health Records Information Management offering provides a comprehensive view of electronic health records, including data stored in clinical repositories and medical imaging archives.

Xerox also enlisted Hyland’s technology to speed up the employee on-boarding process for human resources departments in a more “horizontal offering” that is suitable for all types of businesses, said Kortan. It includes a self-service employee portal that provides online access to electronic forms and documentation.

New cloud services were introduced, including Digital Alternatives for Xerox private cloud customers, that allows users to read, sign, annotate and share business documents from a single interface. DocuShare Private Cloud Service enables organizations to deploy a secure, mobile-enabled enterprise content management and collaboration platform.

To help businesses improve print setups, Xerox debuted Secure Print Manager Suite with User Analytics. The product is powered by the CompleteView managed print services business intelligent offering from the company’s NewField IT subsidiary.

On the mobile front, the company released the Xerox Print Service Plug-in for Android, allowing users to process print jobs on Xerox office printers. Xerox Mobile Print Cloud 3.0 allows for the secure transfer of print jobs to an email address; they are unlocked with a PIN code. Finally, the Sagemcom XMediusCLOUD Fax App enables users to send faxes from a multifunction printer or via email.

Originally published on eWeek.