Doculabs MarketFocus White Paper:

Capabilities Assessment of KYOcapture

In most organizations, paper is everywhere, and administrative office processes based on paper are extremely inefficient and error prone. It is extremely inefficient and costly to manually route or ship paper documents, and manual filing processes can result in lost or misfiled documents as well as wasted office space. In addition, using paper makes it difficult for organizations to ensure proper control over their documents, which has become more important due to new regulations and records management concerns. And while most organizations have an abundance of office equipment that can be used to copy, print, or capture documents, such devices typically do little to alleviate the types of problems described above. Kyocera Mita America recently introduced a new solution, KYOcapture, that is specifically designed to address such problems. The software solution is based on technology from NSi and works with KM-3035, KM-4035, KM-5035, KM-6030 and KM-8030 multi-function devices. The solution makes it simple for users to capture documents and automatically route them to the appropriate destination which may be a document management system, an e-mail address, or a directory on a file server. Kyocera Mita America commissioned Doculabs, an independent consulting and research firm, to review the KYOcapture solution. Overall, Doculabs finds KYOcapture provides a straightforward way for workgroups to capture and digitize their documents, quickly bringing them under organizational control while also accelerating their business processes. The solution is intuitive for users, taking advantage of user familiarity with printers and copiers to ensure broader acceptance and adoption.

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Doculabs Market Focus Report

Whats Inside
At a Glance
Provides a snapshot of background information on Kyocera Mita America.

Challenges of Administrative Document Applications

Highlights the challenges that most workgroups face in managing documents in their administrative applications, and Kyocera Mita Americas approach to addressing them.

Review of Kyocera Mita Americas KYOcapture

Provides Doculabs review of KYOcaptures capabilities.

Example Scenario
Provides an example of how KYOcapture can be used to streamline administrative applications while also facilitating good document management practices.

Business Benefits
Highlights a number of key business benefits that KYOcapture can deliver to organizations and their workgroups.

Final Word
Provides Doculabs overall opinion of KYOcapture.

Capabilities Assessment of KYOcapture

Kyocera Mita America at a Glance

Kyocera Mita America, Inc. Fairfield, New Jersey www.kyoceramita.com
Founded:
Kyocera Mita America is part of Kyocera Corporation, founded in 1959

2003 Revenues Employees:

$11 billion for Kyocera Corporation (fiscal year 2004)

Approximately 50,000 employees worldwide (Kyocera Corporation)

Office Locations:

Kyocera Mita America is headquartered in Fairfield, New Jersey, with manufacturing facility in Greenville, South Carolina, and a training and parts distribution center in Dallas, Texas. Kyocera Mita America products are available from a network of over 400 dealers.

Overview:

Table 1: Kyocera Mita America at a Glance

Kyocera Mita America is part of Kyocera Corporation, the worlds leading developer and manufacturer of advanced ceramics and associated products. Kyocera Mita America produces computer-connected peripherals including printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, multi-function printers (MFPs), and software solutions. For distributed capture in office environments, Kyocera Mita America provides KYOcapture, a software solution based on technology from NSi and designed to work with KM3035, KM-4035, KM-5035, KM-6030 and KM-8030 multifunction devices. The solution makes it simple for users to capture documents and automatically route them to the appropriate destination which may be a document management system, an e-mail address, or a directory on a file server. This approach greatly reduces paper handling, streamlines processes, and facilitates organizational control and security over its documents.

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Challenges of Administrative Document

Applications
In most office environments, paper handling is still a major part of day-today business processes. This is especially true of administrative applications, such as those that involve accounting, legal, or human resources operations. Such applications involve heavy volumes of forms and supporting documentation that must be routed manually, resulting in time-consuming and error-prone processes. Document imaging can help address many of the major inefficiencies and costs associated with paper-based processes. Imaging and digital routing can streamline processes, minimize the risk of lost documents, and reduce the mail, shipping and courier costs involved in transporting documents between offices. Digital images can be stored in a searchable repository, making it much easier for users to find and retrieve the documents they need to do their jobs. Document imaging also reduces paper storage requirements, saving space while reducing filing time. Document imaging can also help address other business risks associated with handling paper. For example, digitizing documents can ensure that documents get under organizational control as quickly as possible, which helps facilitate sound records management practices and regulatory compliance. In addition, this allows organizations to secure their documents. While many organizations have implemented centralized capture operations for line-of-business applications such as claims processing, few have extended document capture to the workgroup level which is often the major point of receipt of origination of administrative documents. Historically, capture solutions have been too complex or expensive to be justifiable at the workgroup level. Whats required is an intuitive solution that enables to accurately capture and route documents to specific users, processes, or repositories and that fits well into existing office environments in order to minimize IT impact and deliver a low cost of ownership.

Kyocera Mita Americas Approach

Kyocera Mita Americas approach to addressing these challenges is KYOcapture, which is designed to work with the companys KM-3035, KM4035, KM-5035, KM-6030 and KM-8030 multi-function devices. The solution provides an intuitive device-based approach to distributed capture, leveraging users comfort level with copiers to ensure high adoption. KYOcapture is designed to be simple for users to learn, using a touch screen interface to make the process nearly as simple as making a copy. The software is also designed to be straightforward to configure, providing graphical tools for setting up capture applications and defining menu options for MFPs within the KYOcapture environment. Finally, the Windows-based software works well in most IT environments and leverages existing technology investments (including directory services, e-mail systems, and content management systems), delivering a low cost of ownership.

Capabilities Assessment of KYOcapture

Review of KYOcapture
This section provides Doculabs review of KYOcapture and its components.

Capabilities
KYOcapture is a server-based software package that provides a common framework or middleware layer to capture documents using Kyocera MFPs, and to route the images and data to nearly any third-party document management or groupware repository. The software, developed by Notable Solutions, Inc. (NSi), is currently available for KM-3035, KM-4035, KM5035, KM-6030 and KM-8030 multi-function devices, which makes the combined solution ideal for workgroup environments. KYOcapture converts documents to standard image types such as TIF and PDF, and provides with a wide variety of document routing options. For example, documents can be scanned and sent to e-mail addresses, fax numbers, or shared directories on file servers. In addition, the system can extract metadata in a standard format that can be imported into relational databases including Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. KYOcapture also allows documents to be sent directly into document or content management systems. KYOcapture is certified with a large number of leading content management systems, including Documentum D5, Documentum ApplicationXtender, Lotus Domino.Doc, Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server, Hummingbird, Interwoven WorkSpace (iManage), and OpenText LiveLink. A key benefit of KYOcaptures approach is its usability. Users can log in (authenticating to the network directory service) and access the systems functionality directly from the touch screen interface on the KM-5035, KM4035, and KM-3035 multi-function devices the same interface used across all Kyocera devices.
Document Management Job Queue Repeat Copy Job Build

Figure 1: Kyoceras intuitive common platform touch screen interface is used across all Kyocera workgroup devices

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KYOcaptures approach makes scanning and distributing documents nearly as easy as operating a copier. To specify recipients or destination points for a scanned document, users simply navigate way through a series of menus. The touch screen panel makes it easy for users to select the right location and to enter basic index information about a document ensuring that it is categorized or routed accurately the first time. While KYOcapture allows users to enter basic profile or index information at the touch screen, it also provides a number of automated recognition options. For example, the software includes proven components from ABBYY and ScanSoft to deliver forms recognition and optical character recognition (OCR) capabilities. Linear and 2D barcode recognition is also provided. Metadata extracted through such approaches can be mapped directly into content management system profiles. A unique feature of KYOcapture is its bi-directional ability to interact with underlying databases or content management systems to make the indexing or profiling process easier for users. For example, if a user in a law office wishes to scan and profile a document related to a particular case assigned to a particular lawyer, the bi-directional integration allows the device to present a series of menus that allow the document to be profiled by selecting from lists, rather than manually entering data. In this case, the user could select from a list of lawyers, and then select from a list of cases that apply to that lawyer in order to associate the new document with a specific case. This approach improved profiling accuracy. KYOcapture also includes image processing and enhancement features that can be configured into a document process or capture application, including deskew, despeckle, text smoothing, and removal of dots, lines, borders, and empty pages. Such image enhancement features can make the digital images more readable when accessed online as part of downstream business processes, and can also improve the accuracy of automated recognition processes.

Capabilities Assessment of KYOcapture

Configuration and Administration

The main tool for designing KYOcapture applications is the KYOcapture Process Designer. This tool provides a point-and-click environment for specifying the steps in a process flow, and it includes a palette of reusable icons that represent various steps or processes that can be included in an application. For example, an administrator can configure a process in which a document is scanned, routed to image processing stations for cleanup, sent through an OCR process for text recognition and data extraction, sent to a quality assurance workstation for validation, and released to a document management system.

Figure 2: The KYOcapture Process Designer provides a graphical interface for configuring capture applications (source: Kyocera Mita America Inc.)

KYOcapture also enables administrators to define document types and valid profile values or index fields. This process generates menu options that are loaded onto the specified MFPs, providing users with access to the menu options they need to accurately profile, scan, and route documents using the touch screen interface at the MFP. Via scripting, administrators can map these menus to specific database or content management systems, exposing fields and valid values as menu options or lists for bi-directional operation.

Figure 3: KYOcapture allows administrators to configure menu options for the MFPs, which simplifies the process for users to accurately profile and route documents using the touch screen interface (source: Kyocera Mita America Inc.)

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Once a capture application has been designed and configured, all relevant information is stored in a configuration file (.CFG). KYOcapture includes a Service Manager module that allows administrators to start and stop the capture processes. KYOcapture supports custom VB or Java scripting for customization (such as validating index data against an external database). KYOcapture includes a Status Monitor interface that allows administrators to ensure that the system is running properly and to monitor activity. Event notifications can be configured to inform users of errors during processing. KYOcapture is also available with the following optional modules that provide more advanced administration and configuration capabilities, extending the value of the solution: The KYOcapture Authentication Server allows users to log in to MFPs configured with KYOcapture, authenticating over the network. The software can authenticate users to Microsoft Windows or Novell environments, ensuring network protection and document security. The software is licensed on a per-device basis. The KYOcapture ABMSync tool is designed to facilitate address book management and synchronization of KYOcapture with existing address books such as those in Microsoft Outlook, Lotus Notes, and Windows NT. The tool allows user profiles to be created directly on the KYOcapture devices, installing the user information directly from the directory of choice. KYOcapture ABMSync allows global address books as well as individual address books to be propagated across multiple Kyocera devices. The software is licensed on a per-device basis. The Kyocera Device Manager allows administrators to centrally manage the KYOcapture environment for all devices used, and to create groups of devices and configure them all in the same way. The Device Manager also centralizes the management of KYOcapture Authentication Server and ABMSynch settings. Overall, this approach simplifies the process of configuring KYOcapture across larger deployments that involve multiple distributed MFPs.

Figure 4: The KYOcapture device manager simplifies the process of configuring and administering KYOcapture across multiple networked MFPs (source: Kyocera Mita America Inc.)

Capabilities Assessment of KYOcapture

Example Scenario
A large organization has multiple distributed offices and departments, including remote field sales offices and a customer service center located in a different city than the headquarters. Employees in these distributed offices rely on paper for administrative functions such as time and expense reporting, administering their employee benefits, and other HR-related functions. Such processes require employees to fill out forms and assemble supporting documentation, and to send documents to the appropriate corporate administrative office via mail, courier, or fax. Many employees also retain paper copies of these documents at their desks or in file cabinets. Back at headquarters, incoming documents are received in the mail center, where they must be appropriately sorted and routed to the correct administrative office. Upon receipt, manual processes are initiated, which include physical routing of the documents for review and approval as well as follow-up with the employee if any documentation is missing. Some administrative offices eventually scan their documents into a document management system, while other offices retain paper documents only. The organization realized that its administrative processes were rampant with inefficiencies, costs, and risk to the organization. In an effort to improve efficiencies while reducing costs and risks, the organization deployed a series of Kyocera multi-function products and KYOcapture software across all its distributed offices. These offices started using the devices to scan and submit their time and expense reports via e-mail to the accounting and payroll office at headquarters. This provided immediate reduction of document transport costs and helped employees get their expenses reimbursed faster (which encouraged them to use the system). The next step was to expand the use of KYOcapture to HR forms capture. Applications were configured that allowed users to index their HR forms based on their employee number, and to send the forms into a specific directory within the HR departments document management system. The MFPs touch screen control panels and intuitive menu options made it easy for users to scan, profile, and submit their documents right from the devices. This HR forms capture process used OCR functionality to extract data from the forms, adding it to the document index information. Not only did this process reduce paper handling within HR, but it made it easier for the department to upload the extracted data into its HR system without manual re-keying from the forms. Finally, the process ensured that the documents were archived and controlled from a records management perspective, with appropriate security in place to protect sensitive employee information. Overall, the use of KYOcapture and Kyocera MFPs allowed the organization to greatly improve the efficiency of its administrative processes, get better control over its administrative documents, and reduce costs associated with paper transportation and storage. In addition, the solution was straightforward for IT, who centrally manages the KYOcapture software configurations for all distributed devices in the environment.

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Business Benefits
Doculabs finds that KYOcapture can provide a number of key business benefits to organizations. For example, KYOcapture: Allows organizations to start document management right at the copier (MFP). KYOcapture is designed for workgroups, enabling users to accurately capture, profile and route documents with little training. This approach extends the capture function down to the workgroup users who likely understand the documents the best. Improves operational efficiency by getting documents into downstream business processes quickly. By capturing documents at the distributed locations where documents are received, organizations can get them into their business processes as fast as possible, without having to first deliver physical documents to a central scanning center or mail room. This time savings can have a direct impact on revenue and profit, and makes clear sense for distributed capture environments such as bank branches, agencies, or field offices. Allows organizations to get critical documents under organizational control. By capturing documents at their source, KYOcapture can help organizations ensure that the documents are brought under corporate control facilitating regulatory compliance and records management practices. In addition, KYOcapture minimizes risk by providing document security and audit trails while reducing the manual touch points involved in subsequent information use. Reduces costs. With KYOcapture, organizations can reduce their costs associated with document filing, document storage space, and document transport (including fax, mail, shipping, and courier costs). KYOcapture can also help minimize re-work that results from lost documents. Improves accuracy. KYOcapture provides intuitive interfaces that allow users to select menu options when profiling or indexing a document. With KYOcaptures bi-directional capabilities, the user menus on the devices can display a restricted set of selections based on an underlying database guiding users through a series of menus and lists to profile documents, rather than entering data. The result is improved indexing accuracy. Provides a low total cost of ownership. KYOcapture is a Windowsbased server solution that is straightforward to manage, making life simple for IT. In addition, the system can leverage existing network and security standards, e-mail systems, and document management systems. Finally, since the solution integrates with Kyocera multi-function devices and provides an intuitive solution for users, training requirements are reduced.

Capabilities Assessment of KYOcapture

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Final Word
As organizations continually look for ways to improve their operational efficiency and reduce their risk, it makes sense for them to consider digital imaging solutions. Such solution can help organizations streamline their processes, reduce errors, get their documents under organizational control and security, and reduce their paper processing and storage costs. Few organizations have successfully extended imaging and document management down to the workgroup level, given the historic complexity and cost of most capture solutions. Kyocera Mita America provides a solution that addresses these challenges. Overall, Doculabs finds that KYOcapture delivers on the value proposition of distributed capture, and is worthy of consideration for the following reasons: KYOcapture delivers a straightforward and highly intuitive solution that makes distributed capture nearly as simple for users as copying a document. With KYOcapture, true document management can start right at the device ensuring that documents get into downstream business processes (and under organizational control) as quickly as possible. KYOcapture can help organizations get more value out of their document management investments. For example, KYOcapture allows users to capture documents directly into corporate document management systems without first routing the documents to a centralized scanning center. In addition, KYOcaptures simplicity enables workgroups to find new opportunities to digitize documents and minimize paper in ways they may not have thought of without such an intuitive solution available to them. KYOcapture delivers on the promise of low total cost of ownership. KYOcaptures straightforward menu-driven approach means that minimal user training is required. The Windows-based solution uses existing network directory services and security standards, and it provides tools for centralized management of KYOcapture software across multiple MFPs making life easier for IT. KYOcapture also integrates with existing file servers, e-mail systems, and content management systems, helping organizations get more value out of those investments.

About Doculabs
Doculabs, Inc. is a technology consulting firm backed by research and extensive client experience. Our services lower the business risk of technology decisions through client specific recommendations, objective analysis, and in-depth research. Founded in 1993, Chicago-based Doculabs provides consulting services that are based on our fundamental belief that in order to protect a clients long-term interest, technology advisors should not be implementers. Doculabs helps clients deliver on their business objectives through customized services that address technology initiatives related to business challenges in areas such as strategy development, technology acquisition, and go-to-market initiatives. Doculabs consulting services are completely objective because the firm does not sell software or integration services. For more than 10 years, our research methodology has provided customers facing mission-critical challenges with the information and advice they need to make confident and well informed decisions. Hundreds of leading organizations within the Fortune 1000 from financial services companies to major technology software providers have turned to Doculabs for assistance with their technology strategies. For more information about Doculabs, visit the web site at www.doculabs.com or call (312) 433-7793.

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