By Jim Thumma, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Optical Image Technology
Whether you work in underwriting, claims, or another area of the business, service, profitability, and compliance demand that you manage information in structured, efficient, auditable ways. Providing seamless and appropriate access to content so you can make smart decisions and initiate action quickly ― and cost effectively ― is where ECM software excels.
Yet ECM can only meet its potential if it’s designed with seamless access in mind; it’s tightly integrated with core business systems; and processes are automated maximizing meaningful use of data enterprise wide. Like any web-based product, a browser-based platform makes it significantly easier by ensuring accessibility, flexibility, timeliness, and continuity in managing content.
Why efficiency gaps remain
Marketplace expectations of data accuracy, transactional insights, and immediate service have steadily increased as information delivery tools have improved. Vendors have responded with a constant stream of features and functionality to improve access to data that drives business decisions and addresses shifting regulatory and business demands. Still, disjointed, cumbersome, and unwieldy ECM systems have emerged as a result of:
- Vendor acquisitions designed to broaden product suites. Incongruous technologies and inconsistent interfaces too often hinder end user productivity. In contrast, a unified approach and uniform interface streamline information review, validation, updates, and more. Interface consistency across an entire product suite ends costly user trial and error and other time wasters. It makes better use of employee skills and time while helping to satisfy and retain agents and customers with better and faster service.
- Thick client integration and cumbersome screen scraping to facilitate data transfer. Working with data frequently involves processes that are clumsy, time-consuming, and error prone. In contrast, Web services integration enables thorough, flexible, and elegant integration that lets your business rules push and pull data wherever you need it. Web services help you to create a navigable infrastructure so data is pushed and pulled automatically into the routine paths where it is required, rather than counting on people to do it efficiently and correctly.
- Increasing demands for business mobility, met by ECM systems that are challenging to configure, administer, and support. In contrast, an adaptable, re-usable browser-based architecture makes it easier and faster for IT administrators to create and manage the systems managers, staff, and customers need. This shortens the wait between great efficiency ideas and end users being able to benefit from them.
Bridging the gaps
Maximizing productivity requires a holistic approach to managing content. This means enabling meaningful use (and re-use) of data everywhere it has value, and restricting human involvement to decisions that require personal judgment. Only when information can be accessed and processed in a way that is logical, unified, consistent and replicable is ECM’s potential as an efficiency platform reached. Harvesting that potential requires seamless integration of ECM, BPM, and core business systems to create a logical, navigable infrastructure so data is pushed into business processes at the right time to drive routine decisions forward automatically, following business rules.
Real-life application
Let’s assume a homeowner submits an application for a second property. The application is digitally captured, and meaningful data thoroughly indexed (insured, type/amount of coverage, agent, etc.). The form’s receipt automatically launches a new job in the Pending New Business queue, throwing data (such as property value and claim history) against your underwriting business rules. Seamless virtual integration via industry-standard Web services lets your business rules propel the underwriting process forward, pulling in appropriate data where it’s needed, unless the application fails to meet company standards.
Incomplete information, data contradicted by previous reports, and other issues that require investigation drop questionable applications out of the process and into exception queues, where they are routed to appropriate staff. Missing information generates follow-up messages to the customers; denials generate letters that extract data to explain denied coverage. Throughout, digital tracking gives underwriters and customer service staff insight to satisfy inquiries. Limited human involvement lets staff concentrate on underwriting more business and giving superior service.
What makes seamless communication possible?
- Web services integration that fully leverages the value of data stored in your business systems.
- A holistic approach to content, reflected by business rules that maximize meaningful use of data for core business processes.
- A unified, browser-accessible interface that presents appropriate information in meaningful and consistent ways to IT administrators, employees, and customers alike.
Creating value quickly with browser-based access
Unlike conventional systems, browser-based access lets administrators configure, administer, test, and support the software securely via a designated logon and any standard internet browser. This enables:
- Zero footprint ECM rollouts. Browser-based ECM means quick, inexpensive installation, upgrades, and configuration. Industry-standard Web services offer a powerful, inexpensive alternative to standard desktop integration, which typically is cumbersome and time consuming to install and support.
- Quick and cost-effective administration. Browser-based administration gives IT administrators a simple, adaptable and re-usable framework for administering and supporting ECM securely from any network-enabled machine. No longer reliant on their PCs to enact changes, administrators can address needs as soon as they occur.
- Greater mobility. Web-based ECM puts you on the path to truly mobile content management. Workers benefit from the convenience and flexibility of accessing files and processing work using their preferred hardware, including smart phones, PDAs, laptops, and other devices. Ditto for administrators.
Making work easier with a single web interface
Centralized access means IT administrators only need to go to one place to add users or importers, establish or change user security, add or change metadata or search options, change a repository location, adjust software licensing, and more. Rather than repeating each action with multiple repositories, products, and machines, changes are made quickly, simultaneously benefiting everyone who uses the software and enabling them to be productive and compliant with new rules immediately.
It also:
- Shortens the learning curve. All features and functionality are accessed the same way, using familiar dialogue boxes and instructions, via a contiguous layout.
- Eliminates the need to log into multiple systems to translate or copy changes and test that they will work for each system component. This accelerates turnaround from configuration and setup to implementation.
- Raises the comfort level for IT administrators so they can proceed confidently.
For end users, the benefits are quickly evident: workers focus on efficiently completing the work for which they were hired instead of meandering through disparate systems to figure out how to get it done.
Just remember that successful enterprise ECM has to be planned from the start. As the proverb goes, it doesn't work to leap a twenty-foot chasm in two ten-foot jumps.
Establishing an enterprise approach
To take efficiency from mantra to reality, insurers must take a holistic approach to ECM. This means demanding and implementing a seamless, accessible platform to access and manage all of their work, using business rules to use data logically wherever it’s useful and minimize human involvement. To make it happen, business vision, ECM, BPM, core business systems, and integration must work together as a team and toe the same line.
As you strive to boost productivity, profitability, and service, examine your content management strategy and systems carefully. Smart ECM deployment should let you exact a great deal more from your limited human resources, boosting your competitiveness and profitability. Now is the time to enhance your existing applications by integrating them with browser-based ECM and BPM. Choosing tools that are underwritten in Web services will ensure thorough and flexible integration that adapts to your unique needs. Rules-based processing that supports the meaningful use and reuse of data throughout your enterprise will position you to greet and embrace opportunities for new efficiencies as they arise.
Staying ahead of competitors is never easy. In today’s market it’s more challenging then ever. By taking a holistic approach to ECM and deploying a well-conceived and thoroughly integrated solution, you can reap substantial savings to pass on to your customers. It’s a great way to outshine the competition as you struggle to differentiate your company from the pack.
For information about Optical Image Technology and the DocFinity suite of document imaging, document management, and business process management software, call 800-678-3241, email us at info@docfinity.com, or visit www.docfinity.com.
