The fact is the King

In the information age, data capture is of vital importance for the successful management of companies. Until a few years ago, human intervention was necessary to carry out this task because there are no tools capable of identifying and discriminating different types and formats of data (text, images, audio, video) and, even less, classifying them. Today, technology makes it possible to carry out this work automatically, quickly and precisely.

The process of scanning of documentation provides many benefits to companies: reduces time spent loading data, reduces errors and stores information in digital media, allowing it to be classified and organized for easy access and consultation.

Automation improves productivity, customer service, reduces labor and resource costs, provides meaningful information and supports decision-making. All this without forgetting the positive impact on the environment because of the decline in the use of paper.

Basically, it involves collect structured or unstructured information from digital or paper documents and convert the captured data into electronic files So that they can store, edit and process.

Imagine that the smallest details of documents, invoices or contracts could “magically” find their way, automatically being placed in their place for form a cohesive structure. Automated data capture is about fulfilling that desire.

Data Capture Technologies You Need to Know

Of the variety of data capture technologies available today, these are the most relevant:

1. Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

OCR extracts text from documents, images or files and scans them. The collected information is converted into a computer-readable format so that it can be used later.

Basically, technology Identifies text and characters within images (for example, the image of a scanned document) and Translate them into a digital format.

It is, therefore, a form of data entry automation in which information is extracted directly from scanned images that are stored on a computer with the help of an OCR device and no manual data entry involved.

Another common example would be to scan a paper document and convert it to a PDF document or a Microsoft Word file and store it on a digital device for later editing or viewing.

2. Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR)

Intelligent character recognition is a subset of OCR that specifically scans documents with handwritten text, identifies data from complex handwriting styles and translates them into a digital format.

Although ICRes is essentially a branch of OCR, it is considered to be more advanced, since it deals with the handwriting recognition, much more complex and detailed since no two scriptures are the same. The ICR software therefore needs to scan, read, interpret and memorize a large number of handwriting patterns.

ICR technology is constantly evolving, as there are always new patterns to learn and more precision to achieve.

3. Intelligent Document Processing (IDP)

The “intelligence” of this system goes beyond the automation of data capture. IDP technologies they also extract unstructured or semi-structured information and categorize it to facilitate analysis. They can retrieve organized information in minutes and focus on the next step in their workflow.

The technology ICR contains a self-learning system based on AI (Artificial Intelligence) called a neural network. When you introduce this system into a new document, you automatically learn the unique font, style, and pattern of writing that document, updating your database with new knowledge. This helps the software to predict new types of handwriting patterns with greater accuracy.

The Benefits of OCR Solutions

Why should your company invest in OCR technology?

Let's take a look at some of the key benefits offered by this technology:

1. Time savings

One of the biggest benefits of automated data capture solutions is saving time so you can focus on other tasks. With OCR technology, you don't need to waste time manually copying a document. Instead, all you need to do is scan the document with OCR technology and you're good to go.

2. Saving money (alternative: Cost reduction, better than “money”)

These solutions help save time and money. With them, you don't need to spend money on copying, printing, maintaining office equipment or recovering lost documents. In addition, since you don't use paper, you won't have to dedicate resources to the expenses that come with using it. While an OCR system is an initial investment, in the long term, this solution can help your company save a lot of money.

3. Easy-to-edit documents

Most of the time, scanned documents need to be edited in some way, especially when there is a need to update the information. The best thing about this technology is that it converts your documents into files that can be easily edited through Microsoft Word or some other program.

4. Simple location

It allows you to quickly search for addresses, names, numbers and other information that differentiates the document being searched for.

5. Improved customer service

Data capture technology reduces customer wait times by allowing service agents to Call centers quickly access the information in the document. Even when they receive incoming calls, they can use the search function in the OCR software to instantly search for customer information, which can lead to higher retention rates.

6. Increased productivity

This technology can help improve your company's productivity levels. By moving to a less paper-based business model, your company will be able to carry out operations more quickly and efficiently and save time wasted on unnecessary paperwork.

7. Disaster recovery

OCR documents are stored electronically on secure servers and distributed systems. The data will remain secure, even in emergency situations. If a fire or natural disaster of any kind occurs, you can quickly recover your digitized data once the emergency is over and continue with your business.

8. Data security improvements

Data security breaches can occur in companies of all sizes. In fact, SMEs are the target of 70% of these attacks, according to different organizations such as Google or the Guardia Civil. By switching to automated capture technology, you won't have to worry about your paper documents falling into the wrong hands. When data is stored in digital format, you'll never have to worry about losing it. It's always just a click away.

9. Positive environmental impact

Sustainability is a demand that customers increasingly make to the brands and suppliers they work with. A great benefit of this technology is respect for the environment due to the consequent reduction in the use of paper in companies.

10. Error reduction

Typographical errors, lost files and misplaced documents can end up costing your company thousands of euros. In addition, for certain industries, these errors can cause significant security problems that are considerably reduced with automated capture systems.

AI and Machine Learning

With capture systems entering their fourth decade, the most significant advance in their entire history is the recent introduction of Artificial Intelligence and the techniques of Machine Learning.

The biggest challenge for a capture system is locate the necessary data in a document. The second is identify what type of document it is.The new generation of “cognitive capture” does both much more effectively than previous systems. This is why: today's intelligent capture solutions were designed based on a template creation strategy.

Over the years, capture systems added a wide variety of capabilities, such as multiple optical character recognition (OCR) engines, location rules, database searches, and cross-field validations to increase capture accuracy.

These techniques proved to be very effective at capturing data from structured designs such as tax returns, medical claims, and even bills. But when it comes to a contract or a stack of 200 different types of documents to apply for a mortgage, efficiency drops dramatically.

Cognitive capture also uses natural language understanding to recognize phrases and determine the “emotion” of the document. It then compares all of that information with a library of previously processed documents, and makes a determination.

When business information is trapped in unstructured documents, it remains essentially invisible. Until now, most companies simply scanned these documents, indexed them with a date and document number, and stored them in a warehouse.

If specific data are needed from these documents, employees would have to dedicate a lot of valuable employee time to manually entering information. Most importantly, opportunities to improve response times and increase operational efficiency are completely missed.

Thanks to With the new cognitive systems, it is possible to capture all documents, not just structured designs, so that the data is processable with a minimum of human intervention.

Organizations can thus use information to have more evidence when making both immediate and long-term strategic decisions.

The most effective data capture solution is one that can help, detect, classify and extract valuable information based on its source, context, form and content, placing them in optimized data repositories for easy search and retrieval.

Based on information from these unstructured data sources transformed into coherent, consistent and accessible information, business processes are accelerated, improving the customer experience.

Unlike template-based systems, cognitive capture “reads” the entire document in the same way that a human being would and take note of the headers and footers, data labels, tables, text formats (such as bold, italics, and larger fonts), and other document features that provide context.

Combination with other technologies

To achieve optimized data integration, document processing must talk to different layers and platforms that configure a company's IT system architecture: ERP, CRM, database, among others.

It's critical to ensure that the chosen automation and data capture solution can be integrated with existing and future applications. Systems must be able to take the captured data and send it to all relevant applications in a usable format. That's the key to automation that will save time, increase productivity, accelerate decisions and boost efficiency, all while reducing costs.

La robotic process automation, a separate chapter in data capture

Robotic process automation (RPA) employs software robots (the acquaintances Bots) that use data, analysis and artificial intelligence to automate the most common processes. Many companies carry out a first test of using Bots In their contact centers to, from there, and if the results are positive, to do it throughout the organization.

According to the report “Why data capture and automation are key to digital transformation” from the consultancy firm Frost and Sullivan, these are its strengths:

• Speed.RPA accelerates business processes, improving productivity and customer experience.

• Customization.RPA, especially in combination with other automation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), allows companies to personalize each and every interaction with the customer, which translates into better results and increased sales.

•Efficiency. By allowing robots to take charge of regular and predictable tasks, human beings can focus on functions that bring real value to the organization.

• Quality. Robots reduce error rates associated with manual data entry.

• Security. By automating data capture, businesses ensure that all information is protected against a variety of cyber and human threats.

•Scalability. In the right use cases, processes are easy to scale, pushing the limits of what people can do manually.

How to Select a Document Capture Solution

Of all the elements to consider when choosing a document capture solution, prioritize the following and decide on a solution that fits your needs:

1. Intuitive interface

The chosen solution should not have a steep learning curve. Of course, working with document capture solutions needs some kind of help from the vendor to train and train on their features, but it should be so smooth that even a person with non-technical expertise can easily handle it.

2. Accuracy Level

Be cautious with claims that an automated data capture system is 100% error-free. These technologies are constantly evolving, learning from new patterns or from past processing errors. A solution that promises a level of accuracy between 95 and 98% is considered to be up to industry standards.

3. Automatic data validation

The success of a document capture solution focuses not only on its accuracy rate, but also on its ability to automatically validate data. If all fields must be evaluated manually for discrepancies, then most of the basic objectives of acquiring data entry automation software are negated: ease of use, time savings, and minimal human intervention.

4. Prices

Cheap rates don't necessarily mean that the services offered are unsatisfactory, and high prices don't guarantee top-notch experiences either. Keep this in mind when choosing your document capture solution and measure its cost by relating its value to the features offered.

5. Data protection and security

Valuable and sensitive data is always vulnerable to cyberattacks. The chosen solution must follow all prescribed protocols, such as compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), OWASP (OpenWeb Application Security Project) practices, end-to-end encryption, and limited administrator access. In addition, look for data storage policies that allow you to delete old data that, although sensitive, is no longer useful.

Quick Test

When considering how data capture might be more useful and more seamlessly integrated into your organization, consider whether the options you're considering meet these characteristics:

· A proven history of maturity in use

· Unified user interface across all applications

· Full integration with digital automation tools such as workflows, case management, content management and robotics

· Data Warehouse Provisioning

· Fast valuation

· Single supplier

· Cognitive abilities for data classification and location

· Capture capabilities from a managed services cloud environment

· Capturing images from Smartphones and Tablets

· Flexible licensing and deployment options on premises, in the cloud and on mobile devices

· References that confirm business results

Sectors that benefit most from automated data capture

· BANK

· LEGAL SECTOR

· HEALTH

· TOURISM

· PUBLIC SECTOR

· FOOD INDUSTRY

· TAX AND ACCOUNTING ADVISORS

· INSURANCE

· HUMAN RESOURCES

About ADEA

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Since 1999, Adea has been designing document management and process optimization strategies tailored to each organization. Throughout all these years, our commitment to innovation and continuous commitment to the most advanced technology has allowed us to accompany our clients in their digital transformation, also helping them to comply with regulations related to data processing and making it easier for them to manage their internal processes in the most agile, efficient and personalized way. Our experience in document management, facilities and state-of-the-art technology allows us to offer a completely fluid service along the entire value chain: from the design of automated processes and their technological implementation to the custody, management and destruction of the physical documents involved.