Document Management

With loss of data by organisations featuring in the news more and more frequently, it begs the question … how do you manage your data?

It was recently announced that 132 local authorities have admitted to losing sensitive data in the past three years.

Buckinghamshire County Council and Kent County Council were the worst offenders, each acknowledging that 72 data loss incidents took place between August 2008 and August 2011.

Some incidents were more serious than others and at least 35 councils lost information about children in their care. (http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2127193/loss-epidemic-uk-local-authorities)

Using ProcessFlows’ document management solutions, you could help to make sure that your data is much more secure. Our OpenText Alchemy and OnBase solutions have secure document repositories and information stores with Credential Management Systems, meaning that staff are only given access to what they’re allowed to see.

Please click here to see how Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council used our document management solutions to not only improve the security of their documents but also;

• Import approximately 500,000 planning & building control files containing letters, maps and photographs into the system – meaning they were safe from damage or loss
• Reclaim prime office space previously used for more than 30 cabinets of planning files, taking up two entire rooms
• Gained a Return on Investment within the first 12 months
• Achieved Government ‘best value service targets’, aided by access times to documents being reduced from 30 minutes to less than five seconds per document

If you would like any more information on how ProcessFlows could help your organisation become more efficient at managing your data, please contact us on 01962 835053 or email enquiries@processflows.co.uk.

Due to the technological advancements of recent years, we have dramatically changed the way in which we work. Mobile devices have swamped the market and have established increased productivity and flexibility outside of the workplace. At last, work is starting to be seen as an activity, not a location and greater number of employees are being moved to the mobile working model.

It is not just remote email access that makes us more efficient –  Being able to connect to key systems and company data on the go undoubtedly revolutionises the way we engage and the way we are engaged with. In many cases, employees are no longer obliged to stay in the office if they have a mobile device that can easily allow them to do their work wherever they are. We are now seeing much more streamlined integration of business applications into the mobile world, enabling a deeper level of functionality and security in mobile platforms, the benefits being:

• Full access to all business critical systems and data wherever you are, resulting in better and quicker decision making
• Enhanced productivity as employees can work wherever they are, eg whilst travelling to and from meetings
• Flexibility of working hours and the capability to work from home, during bad weather for example

This new pattern of work has established portable devices as indispensable business accessories. Moreover, businesses are welcoming such changes as they bring significant benefits in terms of costs, growth and improved customer service.

But are there any downsides to working remotely? Opponents may argue that carrying your office around may leave employees disconnected. Everyone would also probably agree that working from home, for example, requires a very disciplined approach. The multiple distractions surrounding us outside the office environment may be difficult to ignore, thus affecting one’s productivity. In addition, work functions may begin to intrude on our private lives, effecting our relationships and our health.

When the Cloud and Mobile working was first introduced, there were many sceptics but amongst its proponents; there was a Field of Dreams – ‘build it and they will come’ attitude which is beginning to be proven correct. However, what is becoming clear is that along with these new working environments, we will increasingly feel the need for new working practices and guidelines to safeguard both employer and employee.

To find out more on Mobile Working and the latest technological developments that can assist your mobile working life, please join us on our Moving to Mobile Working Webinar - Click here to register your interest.

MiFID l (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) has recently been upgraded to MiFID ll

MiFID ll sets out to improve the way financial organisations manage, store and report their information, thereby enhancing investor protection and strengthening market confidence.

The implications are that anyone in the financial industry already operating under MiFID l, will need to review their existing technology infrastructure and process flows to make sure they comply with the ‘tightened’ new directive on the handling of data.

For those who previously fell outside MiFID l (such as commodities traders), it’s time to start thinking about setting up the necessary infrastructure to support the new compliance initiatives, as you are now included under MiFID ll.

How much money and time you need to spend getting ‘up to speed’ will depend on how your firm is currently structured and if you have the expertise to implement and run the infrastructure changes in-house.

If you don’t, we can help you make sense of the compliance implications.  ProcessFlows understand business process change.  We have extensive experience and expertise in improving back office functions.

After finding out how your business ‘ticks’, we will come up with a solution – based around your existing information/IT systems – which secures your transactional and sensitive data whilst it is being processed, shared and finally stored.

Our technology maintains meticulous records and audit trails.  It provides administrators with a clear view of who accessed what documents and when so you can prove that records either were or were not, destroyed.

We will help you optimise your workflow and increase efficiencies.

The final result could be that you end up working so much more efficiently and effectively – as well as being compliant – that any costs incurred overhauling your system are clawed back within a few months.

For more information please contact us on 01962 835053 or email enquiries@processflows.co.uk

The Director of Public Prosecutions has committed to making the Crown Prosecution Service entirely digital by April 2012.

Keir Starmer QC has said that the criminal justice system needs to move away from paper-based systems and transform the way criminal cases are handled. By April 2012, information will be passed digitally from the police to the CPS and sent over secure email to the defence.

The CPS is already moving forward using technology to prosecute. For example; the early guilty plea pilot in Liverpool, in which files are presented digitally; Winchester Crown court, where evidence is presented on laptops in court; and Dyfed Powys, where advanced information is served electronically. (http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/cps-go-paperless-april-says-starmer)

Alex Marshall, Chief Constable of Hampshire Police also highlighted that courts becoming paperless would save police time, as Police Officers could take evidence electronically using iPads or Blackberrys and those files could be sent straight to the court.

An Inquest, at Winchester Crown Court is currently relying on a photocopy with some pages missing. The inquest heard the document was given to the Independent Police Complaints Commission on the day of the crime, but the police watchdog has been unable to find it.

This substantial change in methods is going to involve considerable process change in the submission of evidence; from hand written statements, forms, emails, word processed documents, photographic evidence and police incident notes. However the benefits easily out-weigh the cost of change.

Where documents were previously photocopied many times for the distribution and sharing of evidence and case notes, this will be replaced by converting paper files – e.g. written and signed statements- to image. Similarly the addition of native files such as MS Word documents, XML based electronic forms and photographs and videos (in many formats) all need to be captured and stored.

But conversion is not enough, since each item has to be suitably and accurately classified and identified and easily retrievable in court. Not only does the Judge, Defence and Prosecution need to be able to find, view and identify key documents and phrases, but the jurors may also need to simultaneously be able to access the same information. So this requires new ways to present evidence and reports for analysis and assessment.

Furthermore, it may be necessary to ‘flag’ key documents for the jury to assess in their deliberations. But, on the contrary, there is no physical limit to the amount of information that can be accessed by both parties.

So, there is much to consider in this desire to migrate to digital working. All the above is deliverable with suitable process analysis and change management. This is already happening in the USA using our premier product OnBase – http://www.hyland.com/news/newsitemdetails/11-11-01/cobb_county_georgia_chooses_onbase.aspx. Here digitally collected evidence is directly up loaded to the case files.

This is the core business of ProcessFlows, where we continually take paper out of processes, making them far more efficient at the same time.

For more information please contact us on 01962 835053 or email enquiries@processflows.co.uk

Today is World Paper Free Day.

Research shows that we will have close to 10x more information in 2011 compared to 2006, which means that organisations with paper-based processes and archiving will drown in paper. (AIIM – http://www.aiim.org/events/paper-free-day)

Last year over 57,000 people participated in AIIM’s Paper Free Day – Are you taking part today?

How to take part:

1. Conscientiously make a point to not print
2. Investigate a business process or technology that can cut the paper waste in your office
3. Participate in or produce a local Paper Free Day event

We can help you investigate a business process or technology for any sector, as we have several solutions that can not only cut the amount of paper going around your organisation, they can simplify processes, reduce manual data entry and provide increased control.

Please click here to see our range of solutions or here to read a selection of our case studies across the many different sectors we have helped.

If you would like any further information, please contact us on 01962 835053 or email enquiries@processflows.co.uk.

Probation Service officers are reported to be so “bogged down by paperwork” that they spend up to  75% of their time ticking-boxes and processing forms, rather than supervising offenders.

The Justice Select Committee points out that it would not be acceptable in a school if teachers only spent 25% of their time teaching.

So why is the Probation Service wasting all this time?

The problem appears to be with the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).  NOMS was set up with the good intention of balancing the needs of prisoners with the resources of the correctional services.

Implementing an ‘end-to-end management’ process for each offender, as specified by NOMS, so that an individuals’ progress is traceable from their first contact with the correctional services to full completion of the sentence, should have improved efficiency.

Instead, it has created piles of ‘paperwork’ which has actually made the process it was designed to improve worse!   But this inefficiency is not confined to the Probation Service, since we hear that the Police are similarly bogged down and no doubt other services are suffering too.

With today’s technology the use of physical paper should be the exception as opposed to the rule

Look at how many electronic transactions and activities we perform today as consumers, with virtually no paper in sight – apart from the obligatory boarding card in some cases!

It is easy to capture information electronically at source

By removing the paper, or by converting it into electronic format, it can be more easily analysed and moved throughout the organisation.  For the Probation Service, this saves officer time, freeing them up to focus more on what they should and want to be doing; working closely with released prisoners to re-establish them in the community.

The end-to-end management process set up to match prisoner needs with correctional resources is retained, but documents are now easy to find from the desktop and workflow can be added to automatically route the ‘paperwork’ throughout the organisation and to the correct person at every stage of the process.

Improving process flows so you can save time is what we do

Click one of the buttons on the right to get in touch or visit the case study section of our website.

For over 25 years, Price Brothers (UK) Ltd has been part of the Great Man-Made River water supply project in Libya, a project set up to bring fresh water from deep under the Sahara Desert to coastal towns and cities. They were responsible for the original design of this 1600km underground network of pipes and aqueducts, which is recognised as being the largest of its type in the world.

Over this time, they amassed a huge library of documents. Current project documentation alone is estimated to be three quarters of a million paper documents – a mixture of drawings, plans and critical correspondence.

Using an Alchemy document management solution, ProcessFlows partner Castle Document Management has been able to provide an electronic filing cabinet for Price Brothers which exactly replicates and retains their manual filing system.

Searching for information and drawings is now a quick and easy desktop function. Documents can be retrieved and viewed from the CDs at the click of a button and office space taken up by large filing cabinets has been reclaimed, as there is no longer a need to retain the paper documents.

Having dealt with current project documentation, Castle Document Management is continuing to work with Price Brothers to electronically archive older information. Once the process has been completed and everything is in electronic format, backed-up and secure, the paper will be securely destroyed, in line with compliance regulations. There is also the option for Castle Document Management to host the Alchemy repository. Users would then be able to access their documents from any web enabled device. Either way, there is no need for a dedicated document storage server.

Please click here to read the full case study.

If you would like any further information, please contact us on 01962 835053 or email enquiries@processflows.co.uk.

Platinum partner status is awarded to partners demonstrating steady sales growth.

We have been an OnBase partner since 2002, so we are honoured to reach this milestone in our relationship with Hyland and receive this award.

Graham Robinson, our OnBase Solution Sales Consultant accepted the award at the recent Hyland annual Team OnBase partner conference in Tampa, Florida.

Graham said:

The award is the result of our confidence in OnBase to deliver what it promises combined, with the perseverance, focus and commercial astuteness of our sales team to convey solutions that organisations really need and want.

OnBase can really make a difference by helping organisations save money through increased efficiencies.

Utilising the OnBase platform, we are able to build cost-effective applications for our customers which complement and leverage further functionality from their existing line of business systems.

Resulting in:

• Increased productivity
• Improved customer service
• Reduced operating costs

Further information about OnBase can be found in the technology section of our website at http://www.processflows.co.uk/technology/document-management/onbase/

Or you can contact us on 01962 835053 or email enquiries@processflows.co.uk.

Data protection and business continuity doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming

Keith Taber, Solutions Sales Consultant:

One of our customers managed to cut £40,000 from his business continuity budget when he started talking to us about a ProcessFlows Electronic Content Management (ECM) solution. His boss was very happy.

The customer concerned was working on an ECM project, which included a spec for data protection and business continuity.

He had added an additional £60,000 to the total ECM budget, to cover the anticipated cost of the business continuity element of the project, making provision for new hardware, hardware installation, hardware support and power usage (over a period).

With our ECM solution, he didn’t need all the hardware and associated services.
He was able to change his business continuity spec to include a ProcessFlows Remote Copy Service (RCS), which costs less than £20,000 and instantly shaved £40,000 off his projected costs, making the project far more viable and cost justifiable.

RCS integrates with the ProcessFlows on-premise ECM solution. The solution is built on a SAS 70 II compliant infrastructure which replicates data as it is processed; giving you peace of mind that your data is protected and you are compliant.

If you want further ‘insurance’ should disaster strike, you can subscribe to gain access and retrieval of your replicated data via the web – so you can carry on with business as usual, whilst the IT staff focus on getting your on-premises system up and running.

Just another reason to choose ProcessFlows for your document and process management project!

If you need any further information, please give me a call on 01962 835174/07766145270 or email ktaber@processflows.co.uk

Plantech ACOLLATE, the document repository which supports Plantech ACOLAID LPG land and property information management system is being de-supported in April 2011

Keith Taber, Solutions Sales Consultant, ProcessFlows

Plantech ACOLAID has been adopted by many council Planning Departments to manage their planning information.

Following the acquisition of Plantech by IDOX, the ACCOLATE document repository systems won’t be supported by IDOX for much longer.

There are 3 options:

1. You can continue using ACCOLLATE without support, but this is risky
2. Upgrade to the solution IDOX will be offering and retrain your staff
3. Review your document storage needs with a futuristic ‘big picture’ view in mind – which means having greater control and visibility of all enterprise data, including full reporting and audit functionality

Our scalable EDM for Planning solution provides seamless non-intrusive integration to Plantech ACOLAID LPG and the Plantech suite

• It is low risk, independent, and modular
• Documents are instantly and directly delivered to users’ desktops
• Integration costs and training are minimal
• EDM for Planning is web enabled, so documents can be accessed by staff and customers via any web enabled device
• EDM for Planning manages in-bound web forms -  forms are captured within EDM for Planning and automatically exported into the Plantech ACOLAID LPG front end management system

Please contact ProcessFlows if you would like to discuss EDM for Planning further, or to arrange a free planning analysis consultation.  Call us on 01962 835053 or email sales@processflows.co.uk