Information technology has made banking and finance one of the most automated industries in the world. But it has not eliminated the need for paper documents, with all the handling, archiving, storage and retrieval issues they create. If anything, the volume of paper produced by information technology has gone up rather than down. And when reconciliation problems arise in the data, the volume of paperwork becomes an obstacle to resolving them. Digital imaging completes the productivity revolution that information technology started. Every key document needed to back up a transaction--from account and loan applications to corporate resolutions and letters of credit--can be scanned and indexed to the key identifiers of that transaction, whether account number, customer name or tax ID number. With the images and index up on a server, finding the right piece of paper takes seconds rather than hours. The impact on productivity is enormous. And the business continuity protection provided by server-based storage significantly reduces risks to your operations in the event of a disaster. The highest level of business continuity protection is offered by applications service providers. They scan, index and store digital images at offsite locations--with full back-up and redundant systems--and provide authorized users anywhere in your organization with secure access via the Internet. |
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