Paper Based QA Data Capture - Comparing Alternatives

Alternatives to paper based QA data capture do exist and they come in 5 main flavours. These include fully bespoke systems, off the shelf systems, in-house user developed systems based on database or spreadsheets, in-house expert developed systems & externally developed database or spreadsheet based systems. This article discusses the pros and cons of each to allow Technical and Quality Managers, involved in changing from paper-based QA data capture, to make a more informed decision.

BESPOKE QA DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS

In most cases, a fully bespoke data capture system will provide a business with exactly the right system features and benefits it needs. The development stage of the process could be quite a drain on management resources though and deep pockets will be needed.

When you look at a bespoke data capture system, nine times out of ten it will be a dedicated database system. It will probably include one or more forms for inputting data. It will also probably include some complex and some not so complex data manipulation capability. Finally it will include some kind of reporting system which outputs to the screen, the local e-mail system, the local printer or all three. In short, it will most likely do the same things a well designed Microsoft® Access database will do but at a premium price. The more cynical amongst us might ask "Why pay for someone to build a form, table, report or other user interface element from scratch when Access already has 90% of what we need already?"

Data capture systems tend to evolve over time. Our customers may require different form or report formats. We may even have to pull disparate data from any source into our system. With bespoke systems, adding such incremental refinements could prove expensive too.

Timing may also be a factor. Developing bespoke software requires some time commitment from management. The development cycle from concept to rollout can be long and arduous. Many meetings will be needed in order to make sure the developer has a clear brief and development milestones are met. If the developer misinterprets the brief, even slightly, the difference could drastically increase change-management overhead. Also a unique system with few users has the potential to be more buggy which could cause some disruption to your business.

OFF THE SHELF QA DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS

Of course, off the shelf data capture systems are invariably less expensive to buy than fully bespoke alternatives. However, what is gained in a lower purchase price is often lost in a substantial increase in administration costs. To increase marketing potential, off the shelf data capture systems are built to have wide appeal. In so doing it is incumbent on the buying organisation to add their own product-specific details to the system. That data may not be fully compatible with the system so it may need to be manually transposed leading to transcription error.

Clearly, a general software developer wouldn't be expected to know everything about each and every one of its customer's products. Yes they would be expected to provide some form templates to enable their customers to enter their data. They would also be expected to provide a raft of plug-in formulae to number-crunch that data and standard reporting templates to enable the customer to produce formatted output. In reality, the customer would probably have to decide which form templates to use and which fields to include, to input all field headings, to set expected data types, tolerances and other data. Moreover, some businesses produce a large portfolio of products and each individual product would have to be covered. High end systems may also include mobile hand-held device support. This will incur extra cost as network infrastructure may need changes to allow wi-fi access to the hand-held devices used.

On the plus side though there is less chance of off the shelf systems being buggy, especially if the system is well established, because user numbers will be high and most bugs will have already been ironed out. Also, while some systems are modular and allow the buying organisation some choice in which features they can have, they often include features that inflate the cost while being of little use to the majority of users.

IN-HOUSE, USER DEVELOPED, DATABASE OR SPREADSHEET- BASED, QA DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS

On the other hand, in-house user developed data capture systems using proprietary spreadsheet or database programs may seem the cheapest method and deliver the best solution. After all, if the system is built by the actual user, should it not deliver everything the user requires of it? Well this doesn't always follow.

Consider a system developed by an in-house "talented amateur". Most businesses have at least one. Imagine a scenario where some critical feature doesn't quite work properly and requires a substantial rewrite to fix it properly. With unfettered code access, a hard-pressed developer could devise what to him is a simple a workaround choosing to live with the shortcoming rather than hold up the development further. This is fine while the developer remains with the organisation. What happens when the he or she leaves the organisation? What was simply an annoying, easily overcome shortcoming to a developer could become an insurmountable task to a user with no access to the workaround. In reality the system could become so compromised it could be untenable to continue with it. In extreme cases it could cost the business thousands to replace such a system. System development time may also be quite high due to the part-time nature of the development effort. Also, if more than one "expert" exists in the same business a piecemeal approach to systems development could lead to the business having many disparate and difficult to manage systems.

There are some potential benefits to consider though. Systems that have been devised in-house are more likely to fit in with current working practices so change-management requirements will probably be lower than that of bespoke or off the shelf alternatives. Having an in-house "expert" will ensure terminal coding issues get ironed out more quickly reducing down time. Systems built around existing data also tend to overcome problems of data compatibility early on in the development process.

IN-HOUSE, EXPERT DEVELOPED DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS

Only the largest multi-site organisations will be able to afford to retain an in-house expert dedicated to systems development. Even so, because coding style varies from one coder to another, there could still be code maintenance issues if the developer leaves the business. Even for a seasoned coder, picking up someone else's coding style is notoriously difficult. Even if that code is self documenting or extensively commented.

EXTERNALLY DEVELOPED, DATABASE OR SPREADSHEET- BASED, DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS

Finally this last alternative falls some way between fully bespoke systems and off the shelf systems. Such systems are developed to run on existing platforms such as Microsoft® Access, Microsoft® Excel and other widely available software.

This type of QA data capture system may be built with a general user in mind to give the program wide appeal or it may be made more specific to give a more niche appeal. If developed for the latter, little effort will be wasted on coding features the user neither wants nor needs. Basing the system on the format of an existing paper system will cut down the need for management to developer interaction and reduce change management requirements. All this will reduce cost especially when compared to feature loaded, off the shelf stand-alone and fully bespoke systems. Being industry specific should also allow the developer to produce standard base formats enabling new systems, with bespoke elements, to be built quickly reducing lead time and cost.

If built to run on the Microsoft® platform these systems will invariably be coded in the Visual Basic® for Applications (VBA) language. This language is very literal and syntactically similar to English so it is generally easier to read than most. That said, developer companies usually employ a team of coders so code maintenance, unlike that of user developed systems, is less dependent on one coder. VBA also gives developers a quick and easy way to propagate system updates and code fixes across multiple files automatically. This also saves development time, down time and reduces cost.

Using a VBA coded system also allows for the removal of standard application furniture such as menus, toolbars, column and row headings, status bars and other distracting user interface elements. This makes it easy to simplify the user interface making end-user navigation errors difficult. In this way a powerful data capture application can be built which is industry and user specific, requires minimal administrative support, is easy to use, error free and relatively inexpensive when compared to a full bespoke system.

Clearly, the final choice of which alternative to use to reduce a businesses reliance on paper systems is a difficult one. Apart from the array of different systems available many other things will need to be taken into consideration. These include whether the system is compatible with existing hardware and network infrastructure, the level of computer skills already in place within the business and whether existing stock control or other data management software can be easily extended to provide the functionality required. Given the high cost of installing, running and managing paper based systems (see my article 'Paper Based QA Data Capture - The Real Cost') it is crucial the right system is chosen from the outset.

The next article in this series will compare the features of an ideal computerised QA data capture system against those of a standard paper based system.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Paper-Based-QA-Data-Capture---Comparing-Alternatives-&id=7351798

Use Document Scanning Services for More Secure Digital Files

The hype of the information age has expanded the spectrum of the economy. Information and communication technology played an integral part as a tool used in business. The digital epoch paved the way for 'faster operations', and even opened the doors to a wide range of business opportunities. It has also created a new class of entrepreneurs which are more focused on information than on the labor and the capital.

Joining the drift of the new era, even small-scale businesses saw the need to intensify information management and dissemination to increase their sales and productivity. With the help of the latest technology of computers and the internet, almost everything can be obtained at a fast rate -faster operations, transactions, sales. Information can be accessed everywhere through the internet as paper documents start to diminish. Most businesses like newspapers rely on their website for archiving purposes.

Studies suggest that sooner or later, the newspaper industry will start to diminish, and will be replaced by online news websites. It could also be concluded that sooner or later, the use of paper will be outdated by the use of computers and the internet, and the utilization of digital files and documents. Most businesses consider acquiring document scanning services as a good form of investment in the long run. With the help of this new technology, the bulk of paper documents can easily be compiled in a digital format.

One of the few benefits of document scanning services is its high quality. Old documents, though it is safely kept, can be easily torn and also age with time. Converting it to a digital format may improve its quality, and retain it for a long period of time for future reference.

Another advantage of acquiring document scanning services is a cost-efficient administration. The company can save time and effort of its laborers in managing documents. Finding a single paper out of stacks of documents may consume a worker's time, instead of focusing on doing his job. Neatly organized files which can be accessed in just a few clicks are far superior to their hard copy predecessors.

Lastly, digital files can be better secured. They will be flood and fireproof, and would not cause a disruption in business operations. While paper files would be destroyed by such incidents, the digitized copies of your files will remain protected on a server no matter what physical or technological disasters might occur.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Use-Document-Scanning-Services-for-More-Secure-Digital-Files&id=6624546

Practical Tips for Data Capture

Data capture is a simple procedure where in paper documents of texts or images are scanned and converted into files of digital nature. Paper management is a tedious job and so more and more people opt for capturing digital data. Paper files are difficult to deal with. Just on storage itself it can prove to be a burden to a person or a company. In the office setting, if a paper document is highly confidential there is no other way to protect it than physically. Putting it in a cabinet with probably a number combination lock is as far as security can go. Admit it; it's not a very practical thing to do. Going digital means there is no way to physically steal confidential information. With a password and firewalls to protect the file, it is fool proof and effective.

Basically, data capture is merely turning a paper document into an image file. Now from that single image file you get the liberty to further turn it into any type of file. You can turn it into text or have it as is. Having the digital copy now gives you the freedom to make changes in it. You can change the font, the color, which parts to highlight or underline and pretty much anything you want to do. You can make it fit the function where you intend to use it.

You can ask around and countless people will tell you how much data capture can save a person or a company in a day a month or even a year. Turning digital is highly cost effective and here's why; it lowers any cost involved in duplicating or printing. It also does not call for storage. No need for cabinets, locks or pedestals. If you are also wise enough to build a database, you also limit the time wasted in searching for a specific file. Type the file name in the database and it gets retrieved in a few seconds. Going digital reduces the need for folders, staplers and staple wires and other office supplies.

Of course for data capture to be truly efficient a lot of people live by these tips;

-Be weary of the scanning process. If error occurs in the scanning process, it is likely that you'll get a bad digital copy. Common mistakes include not aligning the paper document to the scanner's edges.

-If the file is for personal use, opting for a black and white copy speeds up the process. This is because your scanner needs less time to process and convert the plain image.

-If the file is for official use, it may take longer but always opt for the highest resolution. This will show great detail when reproduced, printed or distributed. The key for this type of usage is quality.

If these tips are followed, there's a great chance that you'll be one of those who will truly benefit in capturing data.

These tips are simple yet they can greatly influence the quality of your scan jobs. And if you take care of your scanner, you can make sure that you can enjoy its benefits for more years to come.

If you are looking for information on Document Scanning and Data Capture, click on the links.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Practical-Tips-for-Data-Capture&id=7298896

Invoice Scanning and Data Capture Explained

There are in existence a wide range of data capture and invoice scanning equipment that nowadays are commonplace to a number of commercial sectors. These may rely on differing devices depending on the type and use of the information that needs to be collected.

Automatic Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) is the identifying of predetermined data and recording it without the need for human involvement. These AIDC devices can include bar code machines, radio frequency identification devices RFID, OCR optical recognisers, magnetic strip readers, smart cards and biometric readers, which can identify iris patterns on the eye and facial features.

The markets for which such data capture devices are used is wide ranging. Scanning processes from livestock identification, digitising scanning documents and files, passport control and retail processing all include AIDC systems. These sectors regularly employ data capture machines that ensure a company's smooth and efficient operations, speed up customer processing and save space.

The main areas in which these machines are used are office environments where data from paper documents is processed onto databases or saved as files. There are a number of data capture devices that are used to manipulate different data sources.

OCR - print recognition systems
ICR - hand written recognition systems
OMR - optical mark recognition, such as surveys and exam questions
OBR - optical bar code recognition
BCR - business card recognition

The data that is acquired can be categorised into three sectors, structured documents such as insurance forms, tax documentation, questionnaires and test. Semi structured which comprises information such as invoices and purchase orders, and unstructured information in the form of letters, articles and contracts. Through these recognition systems all of these types of data and documentation can be converted to an electronic format, saved, transferred and interpreted as required.

The technology exists to make many dreaded clerical and administrative tasks easier and obsolete. The profusion of machines that once data has been captured will banish dreaded jobs like filing and archiving making office work a lot simpler.

Before you spend money on invoice scanning, make sure you have a look at Alex Hunt excellent free resource on Invoice Scanning, and Invoice Data Capture

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Invoice-Scanning-and-Data-Capture-Explained&id=4351760

Implementing a Data Capture System - Thin Or Thick Client?

Not Choosing Wisely When Deciding on a Thick or Thin Client Solution

Whenever I hear the phrase "Not choosing wisely" or some variation of that I am always reminded of the third Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail movie and the scene when the Knight that is guarding the Holy Grail in the cave says "He chose poorly". This was after the German colonel died when drinking the water from the wrong cup. In the world of client/server architecture, it is important to 'choose wisely' when you are determining if it will be the client or the server that handles the bulk of the workload. By client, we mean the application that runs on a personal computer or workstation and relies on a server to perform operations. While they share similarities, there are many differences between thick and thin clients. By the way, we refer to thick and thin as the hardware (e.g., how a PC communicates with the server), but the terms are also used to describe applications. In a nut shell, a thick client application is run from a central location or server while a thin client application can be run remotely from various locations like branch offices or military depots. And while the marketplace provides both thick and thin client data capture applications in various shapes and sizes knowing how to choose which one is right for your business and budget is critical.

Thin Clients

A thin client is designed to be especially small so that the bulk of the data processing occurs on the server. Although the term thin client often refers to software, it is increasingly used for the computers, such as network computers and Net PCs, which are designed to serve as the clients for client/server architectures. A thin client is a network computer which operates without the need for a hard disk drive. They act as a simple terminal to the server and require constant communication with the server as well. With a data capture system the actual capture of the document initially lives on the computer of the thin client, but is saved to the server. The thin client (web page) application can then instruct the server what to do to the document or what indexes to save. In areas of slow network response, the thin client software can be scheduled to send the captured documents to the server at certain times of the day or night when network traffic is light.

A thin client data capture solution may be right for you if you have branch offices or distributed remote locations and you want to be able to capture and process data at those locations rather than shipping the paperwork to a central processing center. In this case you can lower your costs and enhance your security (no lost papers in the mail) by scanning and capturing remotely. Additionally, by accessing the capture application through a Web browser, there is no software to install and configure at each user's computer, leading to easier scalability and a lower initial and ongoing technology investment. Both named user seat licenses and concurrent user licenses are available in the thin client marketplace but our advice is to find a concurrent user model, especially if you have several remote locations or branches.

Thick Clients

In contrast, a thick client (also called a fat client) is one that will perform the bulk of the processing in client/server applications. With data capture thick clients, there is no need for continuous server communications as mainly you are communicating archival storage information to the server. As in the case of a thin client, the term is often used to refer to software, but it is also used to describe the networked computer itself.

If your operations do not involve branches or distributed locations or you don't have the need for a lot of seats and want named user licenses then you would probably want to consider using a thick client data capture solution. Additionally, if your applications require multimedia components or are bandwidth intensive, you'll want to consider going with a thick client solution as well. One of the biggest advantages of thick clients rests in the nature of some operating systems and software being unable to run on thin clients effectively due to resource issues. Thick clients can handle these issues as they have their own resources.

At the end of the day, when choosing either a thin client or thick client data capture solution, you will need to consider if your business will capture and process documents remotely or centrally and where you want the bulk of your processing to take place. Like the knight in the Indiana Jones movie, we caution you to 'choose wisely'.

Look for our next article on Fourth of Five Key Data Capture Implementation Mistakes: Choosing Size over Flexibility.

UFC, Inc. is a Data Capture and Content Management Integration and Consulting company that is passionate about helping companies with their Data Capture and Content Management needs.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Implementing-a-Data-Capture-System---Thin-Or-Thick-Client?&id=3868415

Can Cheaply Outsourced Data Capture Still Be Of High Quality?

Data Capture, like any other process, is a necessary evil that just needs to be done. The reason it's necessary is because it helps your company to better understand statistics, surveys, feedback forms and many other kinds of documents. The reason it's evil is, if done by hand, data capture is extremely time consuming and extremely tedious.

So the next thought on the process is to outsource it. However, you may have some doubt about this which is perfectly natural, after all you are passing on data that could potentially be valuable and private, but also perhaps because you're unsure about the reliability of the partcular data capture service you are going to use.

The majority of professional data capture companies that are out there will have gone through safety and security regulations and / or will have excellent security on and around their buildings. After all, they have to as they will lose everything if the clients files have been stolen or destroyed. So if you have a lot of files to have captured then it might be a good suggestion to go and visit the company that you eventually choose to do the work and take a look around before you sign off on anything.

Then there is the matter of outsourcing. A lot of people wonder how professional data capture service providers can offer data capture at such a low price. This can be for a number of reasons. The first one is that the company may use highly sophisticated software to scan for data or to look for boxes that have been ticked or crossed etc. This of course speeds up the process and requires little manual labour so the costs for the company drop and so should the costs to you. The other reason could be that the company will outsource the work to a country where they can get the work done for a cheaper rate such as India or China. This is a very common practice in the data capture world and perhaps some of you will have already suspected that this is the way it is done.

At the end of the day, when you buy a piece of clothing it will inevitably say something like 'Made in India' and toys will often say 'Made in China' on them somewhere, so we live with this kind of outsourcing in our every aspect. But when it comes to data capture and the gathering of information in a language that may not seem familiar to someone from another country this may also become a concern to you. Most good data capture companies will check where they outsource their work to, but it is always best to double check. Talk to them candidly about it and they will be honest with you about it and tell you about the process.

But, as someone who has worked within the document scanning and data capture industry for quite a while, the results that come back from our outsourcing are always of the highest quality. The companies that data capture agencies outsource to convert the files as their bread and butter, their livelihood, so therefore know the industry inside out and could, arguably, do a better job than if it wasn't outsourced outside the country, purely because they're very experienced.

The only real way to see about reliability is to actively contact the companies and talk to them, ask for a sample of work to be done so you can see just how effective the work will be. When you do send the samples out to be converted, make them somewhat differing from one another so you can see how the company deal with different types of documents and text.

So in conclusion data capture can be done at a good price and still done well whether by the use of professional industry software or by outsourcing cheaply, but make sure to do a little research on the company yourself, find out as much information as you can about their outsourcing and software, even visit them, but most importantly have some samples mocked up for you. A physical render of what you can expect is the best way to tell quality so you don't get any nasty surprises.

Steve Wright is marketing manager for Pearl Scan Solutions, a UK based document scanning company offering a comprehensive data capture service for our clients throughout the UK. We use different methods for your data capture needs and always use the best resources possible to produce the best results.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Can-Cheaply-Outsourced-Data-Capture-Still-Be-Of-High-Quality?&id=5903524

Form Data Capture - Making Your Research Easier

A lot of you that read this article will without doubt be interested in data capture, perhaps how it works, how it can help and where the best places are to seek out the service. Well you've come to the right place.

In this article I'll be talking about form data capture, a type of data capture that allows the fields, check boxes and text areas to be captured and the data rendered digitally enabling you to see the results easily, without having to go through each individual form making a tally for yourself. This kind of service is often used by market researchers, employers and people and companies in general who issue surveys, feedback forms and other typed of general research data.

For a long time in the past form capture was done manually. These days, thankfully, it is a standard process to hand your forms over to a professional document scanning and data capture company for them to extract the data and send it back to you when completed. This is a fairly simple and inexpensive process which can save you a lot of time, money and resources.

The form capture company will usually set out a template for their industry quality software to look at and assess each field to look for data such as check boxes and written areas. Unfortunately areas that have been filled out by hand can not usually be scanned using data capture as technology right now can only read printed fonts, but it is still pretty inexpensive to outsource this to a document scanning and data capture company to input the data manually. It will obviously take a little longer, but the information could be very valuable to you. Often clients will also call to ask for our opinion and general tips on how to set out a survey or feedback form so it is easier for us to scan and quicker to process. However this doesn't mean that you have to stick to our guidelines, as I say the document scanning company can set up a template for the scanners and software to look at and assess.

Once the scanning is complete, the data that has been captured will then usually be produced into some sort of presentation for you, usually with statistics and graphs so you can look through the information gathered in a simple and unconfusing way.

Data capture of forms has been known to help thousands of companies every year to gather their data with the greatest of ease to them, saving time, money and manpower, and the results are usually highly accurate. However make sure to choose a good company and ask if you can send them some samples before you commit to them. The samples will give you a good suggestion of how good the company's technology and staff are and ultimately that's what matters.

Form capture is a great tool if used correctly and done by a reputable scanning company. It could help your business save potentially thousands of pounds per year.

Steve Wright is marketing manager at Pearl Scan Solutions, a UK based document scanning and document management company offering services throughout the UK. We also data capture forms and offer a wide variety of data capture services.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Form-Data-Capture---Making-Your-Research-Easier&id=5919714

Can A Data Capture Service Recognise Handwriting?

One of the most commonly asked questions in a document scanning bureau is if it's possible to use data capture to scan and digitise hand-written documents. With the likes of Ancestry.com and other online services which offer the ability to look at older hand-written documents from a time before computers and even typewriters were around offering text-searchable PDF files, a lot of people tend to assume that data capture software, even high quality industry developed wares, can capture handwriting with ease.

Sadly the answer is inevitably no, at least not yet. The trouble is people have different styles of handwriting, different sizes, different stroke lengths and different ways of joining letters together, especially on older documents where people either wrote caligraphically or wrote very messily, neither of which is readable by even the top data capture software.

Some handwriting however can be recognised by computer software but only if it is exceptionally clear, written boldly and printed ie. no connection from letter to letter. However this is very rarely the case and even then the chances of all the wording being accurately recognised is relatively low.

The likes of Ancestry.com will have had each individual file captured by the human eye and written in with the human hand rather than any kind of software or automation process purely because in this instance it adds a better accuracy for the project. This of course would have cost significantly more and you're using a human's labour which of course also makes the process more extended than if it was done by automation. If you have the funding and the need for the documents to be professionally captured, then it is a good choice.

All other types of data capture coming from early typewriters right up to the latest computer fonts of today are easily recognised by industry specialised software used by specialist data capture companies but this is unfortunately as far as it can go.

In the document scanning community there's nothing we'd love more than to be able to accurately produce handwritten documents into a digital format by way of automation or software but, at least in the meantime, this is just not plausible. Give it a couple more years and ask me then and I might just have a different answer for you.

Steve Wright is marketing manager at Pearl Scan Solutions, a UK based document scanning and document management company offering services throughout the UK. Pearl Scan also offer thorough and professional data capture services which we have constantly improved and offered for nearly a decade.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Can-A-Data-Capture-Service-Recognise-Handwriting?&id=5891139

Data Capture Software

Data capture software has, in the past, been something of a niche area and was developed primarily by document scanning and management companies in order that the client would send them the documents and capture what is on the page from there. However, although this continues to be a very valuable service that is easy on the pocket, it can still prove to be a pain for a lot of companies which have to continuously send off their documents to be captured which could take any length of time, depending on the company used.

However data capture software for the somewhat more mainstream market is a relatively new invention because of the complexities of what a software that effectively looks at an image and does it's best to read fields etc. comes with. However there's now a number of software on the market of which PSI:Capture is amongst the best.

PSI:Capture, like some of the other data capture software out there, offers companies the ability to scan and capture documents, surveys, feedback forms and much more with the flexibility of a user-friendly piece of software.

You don't need me to tell you that this can save a great deal of time, but it can also save greatly in the expenses department, especially at a time where money isn't exactly flowing pretty much anywhere. Data capture software offers pretty much what a company that offers a data capture service does, but at your own convenience within your own offices. This usually means that you would no longer need to outsource your data capture and therefore save a lot of money, particularly if you're a company that does this on a regular basis.

Capture software effectively offers a single platform for scanning in files and capturing them at the same time rather than having to use two pieces of software to do one job. This saves considerable time and also offers top quality results in terms of accuracy which are akin to that you would expect from a professional service.

A number of capture software, like the previously mentioned PSI:Capture, can also plug into popular document management systems and online systems such as Microsoft's Sharepoint system. This makes for an even higher convenience in cutting out another time consuming task.

But of course, the main pull of data capture software is the fact that you can scan and save all of your data that you've gathered, whether this be via surveys and questionnaires, employment forms, legal forms or medical forms, data capture software is made to make the dull experience of piecing together your gathered data that little bit more simple and considerably easier. Data capture software is already being used widely in hospitals and other medical practices, law firms and of course, data research companies. It has all manner of uses, some of which you might not even have thought of but through using the software you can finally cut out the middleman and the costs that come with that, and start to gather your data yourself quickly and easily.

If you'd like to learn more about data capture software, please visit out website and take a look at what it can offer you and your business.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Data-Capture-Software&id=6892040

5 Reasons For OCR Software Errors When Extracting Data From Scanned Documents to Editable Format

Optical character recognition programs generally work best with images from print media books and computer generated copies from laser and inkjet printers. Some documents are not suitable for conversion to editable format. Images with poor quality or other issues should be identified to determine whether OCR is right for your project. Some of them are:

# 1 - Hand-written or hand-stamped sheets are not suitable for automated processing. Pages containing annotations and cross-outs produce a high rate of error. In addition, originals with mixed text, pictures and graphics tend to have recognition problems, but usually can be corrected with some manual adjustment.

# 2 - Scans of old documents that have lost contrast, color definition and clarity will not have optimal results. In addition, pages generated from fax machines and dot matrix printers generally provide poor results.

# 3 - Hard copies typed on a typewriter with a worn ribbon, carbon copies and sheets with light characters do not produce good results with optical character recognition. By the end of the 1980s, computer word processor applications had replaced typewriters. However, many archives contain a high number of typewritten pages.

# 4 - Lightweight paper stocks that crease or crumple, jamming the scanner are another issue that may be encountered. Poor quality originals can be scanned on a flatbed scanner or copied on photocopy machine to avoid further damage to the original. Another solution is to capture the files with a digital camera. However, there are no guarantees that the extra work and effort will provide an acceptable output.

# 5 - Hard copies without proper formatting and columns are not suitable for output to excel. In such cases, it is faster and more accurate to key in the data manually. However, OCR scanning to excel spreadsheet format works well for sheets that are delimited with tabs. The tabulated data should closely resemble tab CSV - Comma-separated values.

In cases where the originals are inappropriate for OCR software, a better solution is manual data entry. Automated processing does not save resources when you need to go back and substantially correct the output. It is much easier and accurate to do it right the first time. You will be surprised to find out that outsourcing your project to a scanning company with offshore BPO services (business process outsourcing services) is both a timely and affordable solution. This is due to the lower cost of offshore labor which makes manual correction and re-typing cost effective.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Reasons-For-OCR-Software-Errors-When-Extracting-Data-From-Scanned-Documents-to-Editable-Format&id=4172634

Implementing a Data Capture System and Choosing the Correct Hardware

Overlooking Critical Hardware Considerations

A server can be the solid foundation of a document capture system, or it can be the thorn in the side for a company and renders a document capture system virtually useless. A successful software implementation is dependent on properly chosen and configured hardware, and a system for capture is no different. So when you're looking at purchasing hardware, a little bit of planning can go a long way toward a successful data capture implementation. And, although every company's server configuration and specs can be different, depending on the size and scope of their data capture implementation, there are some items that should be considered, regardless of the size of the project.

Scalability: Almost any data capture or document management consultant will tell you that scalability is one of the most important, and often overlooked, factors when considering document management or data capture hardware. After a successful document capture system is implemented and rolled out to production, you have to respond with a higher level of server service as more users and documents tax the processing performance and take up memory. Many servers can reach new levels of performance easily if you add more resources, such as processors, disk space, and memory. Other servers can be upgraded to new higher-performance servers without changing any of the software. Our advice is that it is far better to install a server that is at the low end of its capabilities than one that's at the top end -- but make sure that your system is scalable. This allows you to respond to increased usage by adding hardware resources quickly. For instance, you can increase server performance simply by adding more CPU or memory to support the increasing number of capture stations. In a nutshell, hardware scalability is the key to your long term data capture system viability.

High availability, Backup, and Disaster Recovery Plans: We would suggest besides scalability that high availability, data-backup, and disaster recovery plans should be important factors to consider when purchasing hardware and are a small price to pay in the long run for maintaining business continuity. When your environment for your document capture system is a pilot project with only a few users, a server crash won't create too much turmoil among the few users who are working on it. However, when an entire organization depends on the information and resources available on the data capture server, downtime has a significant cost. Having hardware that provides high availability - for instance up-time of 99% or better - will allow for peace of mind. And data back-up as well as disaster recovery plans will as well. Maybe you don't need all three at once, but you need to be aware of all three when budgeting and purchasing hardware for your data capture system.

We all know of projects that should have succeeded, could have succeeded, and might have succeeded but were bogged down with server problems. Without a well-planned server strategy at the core of your data capture system, any return on investment will be much harder to realize. You should plan on spending a lot of time choosing and setting up your server hardware strategy and you should make sure to budget appropriately, keeping in mind scalability and business continuity. You will find it much less expensive in the long run if you plan carefully. Make sure to purchase a server or servers that will perform reliably and will be scalable to support all the users, documents, and functionality that you anticipate your data capture system will handle over time.

Look for our next article on Third of Five Key Data Capture Implementation Mistakes: Not Choosing Wisely When Deciding on a Thick or Thin Client Solution.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Implementing-a-Data-Capture-System-and-Choosing-the-Correct-Hardware&id=3807818

Invoice Creation and Capture - Paper Invoices Creeping Through the Backdoor!

This article considers the true cost of processing paper invoices, examines a variety of e-commerce alternatives and proposes a flexible and innovative solution for the REAL world.

Introduction

Most companies run a pretty tight ship. A typical manufacturing company may have streamlined its staffing costs, reduced the administration overhead, installed, set up manufacturing partners in China and perhaps started selling products and services over the web. They've worked hard to maintain their competitiveness and are proud of their achievements... and so they should be.

But, walk into any company, large or small, and you'll still find an accounts team processing paper invoices. Ok, some of the large organisations have invested heavily in e-Business initiatives, document management software, electronic trading portals or perhaps EDI (Electronic Data Interchange); but when you dig a little deeper there are still paper invoices creeping in through the backdoor. It's often the small suppliers and customers who create the problem. They can't and won't invest thousands of pounds in new technology and business procedures. They don't have the volume, the cash or the inclination to make it work. We all accept that processing a paper invoice is crazy in this day and age, but how do you create a strategy to deal with the real world.

The Small Guy
So here's the problem: we need an e-Business solution which will cope with our largest suppliers but we also need an e-Business solution which will cope with the "Small Guy", a company with 5 employees running Sage Line 50.

What's out there?
Before we can consider a way forward, we need to consider what invoicing methods are already out there. So let's consider the pros and cons of each. The table below isn't designed to be a definitive guide, more a way of considering each option and the suitability to the "Small Guy".

Post Paper Invoices
Cost to Send: High - at least £0.5 per invoice.
Cost to Process: High - Everyone quotes different figures but £10 to £20 to process an invoice isn't far off the mark.
Pros/Cons: Anyone can raise a paper invoice. Simple setup with little technology required. Environmentally unfriendly - paper cost, printing cost and postage. Processing costs are high and automation is difficult.

EDI
Cost to Send: Low - but there can be a transaction charge.
Cost to Process: Low - >£1 per invoice
Pros/Cons: Automated. The use of an agreed standard. Some setup cost both in terms of technology and human input. On-going charges.

Email or FTP of XML files
Cost to Send: Low - no transaction charge (email is free).
Cost to Process: Low - >£1 per invoice.
Pros/Cons: Simple to automate and no transaction charge. High setup cost both in terms of technology and human input. What XML schema do you use? You may have to support multiple schemas.

Email or FTP of CSV, ASCII text or other structured data formats
Cost to Send: Low- no transaction charge (email is free)
Cost to Process: Low - >£1 per invoice
Pros/Cons: Simple to automate and no transaction charge. Low technology cost for sender, but receiver carries the cost of processing. Less reliable than XML.

Web Portal
Cost to Send: Low.
Cost to Process: Low - >£1 per invoice
Pros/Cons: Once setup, the process can be automated and large volumes processed automatically. Can be custom written, which incurs a high setup and maintenance charge.

Data Translation Bureau
Cost to Send: Low
Cost to Process: Low - >£1 per invoice
Pros/Cons: Simple to setup - somebody else does the work! There is normally a setup charge and often a small transaction charge.

Living with Paper
One approach is to accept things as they are and to accommodate paper invoices. In other words, capture the information off the paper and make it available to your AP system (Accounts Payable system). Over recent years, lots of time and effort has been spent on improving document management software and the technology behind scanning and recognition software. The aim of this software is to reliably convert a paper document into electronic text. This type of system combines OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology and contextual logic which looks for key words within the document and associates them with title data on the document. For example, when you find the word "Date", the data nearest to it is normally a date field. With this knowledge, you can surmise the likely formats and possible values for the field you've just captured and can automatically discount some possible OCR results (e.g. a month value will never be above 12). By combining technologies such as artificial intelligence, multiple OCR engines, and contextual/fuzzy logic, these systems give improved results over the use of fixed OCR templates - some vendors claim character recognition rates > 90%. However, they are costly to purchase and often complex to setup and refine. Many use a knowledge base which must be taught to recognise the type of invoices you receive. No matter how much effort you spend implementing your document management software, no system is 100% accurate and errors will always creep in through all sorts of factors: dirty, crumpled or torn paper, changes to invoice layouts or even scanner faults.

Law of Diminishing OCR Returns
As no document management software system will give you 100% recognition rates, do you double check all of your results or do you accept the odd one will slip through the net. Unfortunately, it's the odd one slipping through the net which costs money to track down. It makes sense to aim for as high a recognition rate as possible, but this type of approach has a major drawback, it follows a law of diminishing OCR returns. The more time and money you spend trying to improve OCR performance, the smaller the increase in recognition.

If your document management software is achieving an 80% recognition rate, you may have to spend £5,000 to achieve a 5% improvement. Once you get to 90%, that same 5% may cost you £50,000.

Paper = Cost
When you look at the costs of creating and processing a paper invoice, one thing jumps off the page at you - COST. Do you spend time and money trying to read paper, or do you invest your time into grabbing it electronically, and processing it through your backend systems with document management software.
On so many levels, environmental, speed, cost and reliability, electronic trading is the way to go.

Electronic Trading - Don't Bully the "Small Guy"?
OK, if you accept some sort of electronic trading makes sense, how do we connect with the "Small Guy" who has no investment in document management software? What's needed is a fresh approach, one which complements the existing infrastructure, but gives us more flexibility. Focusing again on the "Small Guy", 9 times out of 10, he'll use a computer system to create an invoice. So why does he covert his computer data into paper, only for the receiver to convert the paper invoice back into an electronic file, or at least re-key it into an AP system, at the other end?

Stipulating, demanding or even forcing an EDI / customised e-Commerce solution on the small supplier won't go down well. Why should the "The Small Guy" go through the pain and expensive of implementing EDI, when his customer gets all the benefit. The only time this tack works is if you're a very important customer, with a lot of power!

Is there a simple answer everyone's missed so far? No, not that we're aware of! What's needed is a variety of low cost, e-commerce options.

Sensible Options
A responsible partner must offer a number of electronic trading options and a good starting point is to ask what your supplier can deliver. Have they already invested in document management software and if so, what is it capable of?
• Can your supplier send any of the following formats, XML, CSV, EDI format or ASCII text?
• Can you send an Adobe PDF image of your invoice?
• If the answer to the above is no, then it may be worth considering a simple alternative. A simple, low cost "print capture client" is available, which will take printer data and convert it into an electronic format (e.g. ASCII text) which can then be automatically emailed.
• For suppliers without a computer system, provide them with a spreadsheet to fill in, which can be emailed back or perhaps a web portal/HTML form which can capture invoice data.

Thinking Fresh
If you are going to offer a variety of invoicing methods, you need the tools to process these options efficiently. Output management software (e.g. Formate software http://www.formate.uk.com ) is an ideal "document translation hub" to do this.

When used for simple e-Commerce, output management software (OMS) performs 3 major functions, these being:

1. Import - OMS will collect virtually any type of data be it CSV, ASCII Text, XML, EDI files, data in Emails, data from web pages or even MS XLS spreadsheets.
2. Recognise and Validate - OMS will read the data and check what has been received prior to any further action. Errors will be picked up and resolved through a workflow process.
3. Translation - OMS will translate the invoice and make it available for virtually any back-end business system (from SAP to Sage). It will also create human readable copies for a long term archive, which can automatically be submitted to a document management software archive - UK invoices should be kept for 7 years for VAT/TAX legislation.

Some suppliers can only email an image of the invoice in PDF format. In this instance, most OMS systems can extract the PDF attachment from an email and submit it to a document recognition system. It can then be passed through an approval process before archiving into a document management software archive ( http://document-management-software.co.uk/ ). For those suppliers who can only print a paper invoice, there is even a low cost capture client which will take printer data and email it back to the OMS Server for processing.

For companies who already use EDI software, OMS can be used to create human readable copies of EDI transactions (typically in PDF format) and store them into a document management system. Where errors occur in an EDI process, OMS is an ideal way of picking up the error and starting a workflow procedure to resolve the problem.

I'm the Sales and Marketing Director of Document Genetics.

Document Genetics is an established UK based company providing a comprehensive range of document management solutions. We focus on improving document automation, workflow and collaboration within our client organizations, and our range of innovative solutions and specialist services help to save time and money by processing documents and data more efficiently.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Invoice-Creation-and-Capture---Paper-Invoices-Creeping-Through-the-Backdoor!&id=4536329

Implementing a Data Capture System and Choosing the Correct Hardware

Overlooking Critical Hardware Considerations

A server can be the solid foundation of a document capture system, or it can be the thorn in the side for a company and renders a document capture system virtually useless. A successful software implementation is dependent on properly chosen and configured hardware, and a system for capture is no different. So when you're looking at purchasing hardware, a little bit of planning can go a long way toward a successful data capture implementation. And, although every company's server configuration and specs can be different, depending on the size and scope of their data capture implementation, there are some items that should be considered, regardless of the size of the project.

Scalability: Almost any data capture or document management consultant will tell you that scalability is one of the most important, and often overlooked, factors when considering document management or data capture hardware. After a successful document capture system is implemented and rolled out to production, you have to respond with a higher level of server service as more users and documents tax the processing performance and take up memory. Many servers can reach new levels of performance easily if you add more resources, such as processors, disk space, and memory. Other servers can be upgraded to new higher-performance servers without changing any of the software. Our advice is that it is far better to install a server that is at the low end of its capabilities than one that's at the top end -- but make sure that your system is scalable. This allows you to respond to increased usage by adding hardware resources quickly. For instance, you can increase server performance simply by adding more CPU or memory to support the increasing number of capture stations. In a nutshell, hardware scalability is the key to your long term data capture system viability.

High availability, Backup, and Disaster Recovery Plans: We would suggest besides scalability that high availability, data-backup, and disaster recovery plans should be important factors to consider when purchasing hardware and are a small price to pay in the long run for maintaining business continuity. When your environment for your document capture system is a pilot project with only a few users, a server crash won't create too much turmoil among the few users who are working on it. However, when an entire organization depends on the information and resources available on the data capture server, downtime has a significant cost. Having hardware that provides high availability - for instance up-time of 99% or better - will allow for peace of mind. And data back-up as well as disaster recovery plans will as well. Maybe you don't need all three at once, but you need to be aware of all three when budgeting and purchasing hardware for your data capture system.

We all know of projects that should have succeeded, could have succeeded, and might have succeeded but were bogged down with server problems. Without a well-planned server strategy at the core of your data capture system, any return on investment will be much harder to realize. You should plan on spending a lot of time choosing and setting up your server hardware strategy and you should make sure to budget appropriately, keeping in mind scalability and business continuity. You will find it much less expensive in the long run if you plan carefully. Make sure to purchase a server or servers that will perform reliably and will be scalable to support all the users, documents, and functionality that you anticipate your data capture system will handle over time.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Implementing-a-Data-Capture-System-and-Choosing-the-Correct-Hardware&id=3807818

Paper Based QA Data Capture Versus Computer Based Alternative

Paper-based data capture systems have many disadvantages however there are one or two benefits too. Listing the disadvantages first these include:

•     They need a steady supply of consumables such as pens, ink, toner, staples, file dividers, file tabs, archive boxes and electricity.
•     Because they rely on good handwriting skills they are often illegible.
•     Entry fields are often too small for their contents especially if the user writes in large script.
•     Pieces of paper can be easily lost, misplaced or mis-filed and once lost the original is irretrievable
•     Paper documents can easily be damaged especially if they are retained within wet factory environments
•     Paper documents need physical storage space, filing cabinets and archive stores which can retain the documents in dry and pest proofed conditions.
•     People can inadvertently forget to complete trace-ability information such as dates, times and signature fields.
•     People can accidentally put the wrong data into the wrong fields.
•     Paper documents usually need to be carefully checked, collated and filed
•     Because of space limitations, paper forms may need to be on more than one form thus doubling or even tripling consumable consumption.
•     Calculated entries may be required or data may need to be checked against upper and lower tolerances. Doing this manually can easily lead to error.
•     If a paper document is required to be sent to an interested party it would have to be scanned into a pdf format before sending.
•     Errors can easily occur where products need to be manually graded against multiple specifications ie A grade, B grade, C grade etc.
•     Errors can easily occur where hand written forms rely on the writer to detect, highlight and react to out of specification results.
•     Direct statistical analysis of data captured on paper is almost impossible without someone tapping the data into a spreadsheet or database, or using expensive optical character recognition (OCR) services or software to convert it first.
• Advantages of paper data capture systems include:
•     A computer terminal is not required to be present at the point of use.
•     Paper data capture systems cannot crash like a computer can
•     Very little training is required in the use of a paper form
• Disadvantages of a computer-based data capture system includes:
•     A computer terminal is required at the point of use.
•     Computers can crash and lose data
•     Some initial training may be required in using the system
• Advantages of a computer-based data capture system include:
•     Computer systems consume low levels of consumables because there is no need to print out finished reports.
•     Typed data is always legible.
•     Input fields for electronically entered data can auto wrap to allow extra room for larger pieces of data while retaining legibility.
•     Robust automatic backup systems which duplicate data on two different media can make computer stored documents very secure.
•     If an electronic data file is accidentally moved (drag and drop) it can be easily found using standard computer search technology.
•     Electronically retained documents are usually printed out in an office environment. If they become damaged it is easy to simply reprint another one.
•     Electronic data takes up comparatively little physical space.
•     Electronic systems can include robust login systems to capture responsibility signatures and other login specific details
•     Simple data validation to make input errors unlikely.
•     Electronic systems can be made to read barcodes on user ID cards.
•     Computer based systems can easily lock date and time fields automatically ensuring important trace-ability data is not lost.
•     Computer captured data doesn't need to be manually filed as the system should save its data automatically. Computer captured data can also be auto archived after a certain user defined period.
•     Because computer captured data is of uniform character size more data can fit onto an A4 size printed form while retaining legibility.
•     Computers can automatically check entries against stated tolerances and auto calculate fields without error.
•     Electronic documents can be e-mailed to interested parties without having to be copied or scanned first.
•     Computers can auto grade product results against complex multiple specifications easily.
•     Computers can easily highlight out of specification results making sure none are accidentally missed.
•     Electronically captured data can easily be locked to prevent further editing or erasure.
•     Electronically entered data can be automatically validated and blocked if the wrong kind of data has been input.
•     Electronically collected data can be easily collated and analysed without the need for further processing.

All in all there are many more advantages to using computerised data capture over paper-based systems. However, many people still do not 100% trust computers. We have all lost data from time to time but this is usually with software which allows the user the option of switching off auto backup features. A well designed system should be both easy to use and data safe.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Paper-Based-QA-Data-Capture-Versus-Computer-Based-Alternative&id=7354368

Benefits of Availing Expert and Affordable Data Capture Services From a Reputed Company

Data capturing involves identifying and capturing significant data or information from a document and converting it into digital format. The data can be captured or acquired from various sources. Data capture services use an optimum combination of human intervention and the latest technology. Data capturing experts use manual data entry or automated methods like OCR to provide high quality services.

Outsourcing companies process a variety of documents, such as-

- Text based documents, whether printed or handwritten such as memos, bills, surveys, reports, instruction manuals, business cards, product warranties or index cards.

- Numbers based documents such as financial statements, payroll records or time sheets.

- Forms such as surveys, questionnaires, application forms for credit cards, patient records, coupon redemption, medical and insurance claims, product registration, loans, subscriptions and shipping documents.

- We can capture data from all types of handwritten documents.

- Image based documents such as photographs, graphs and charts, etc.

- Mixed format documents such as credit card statements and bank statements, etc.

Data is captured and documented from the sources discussed above and then converted into an electronic format. This process is known as electronic data capture. Various quality checks are applied throughout the process. The data is thoroughly checked for any junk characters, or any other errors which may have occurred due to automation.

Data capture services cover the following business areas:

- Capturing data from forms
- Capturing data from Micro-films, cards, magnetic tapes and photos
- Capturing data from birth records, municipal records and town records
- Capturing data from web
- Receipts, vouchers and coupons
- Medical and Legal documents
- Cheque scanning and imaging
- Capturing and punching huge volumes of data from files of any format

Benefits of availing outsourcing to a reputed data entry company:

- Outsourcing firms are adept at handling bulk data capturing projects with proficiency and ease.

- With outsourcing you save money, efforts, infrastructure as well as office equipment.
Seasoned proficiency in various methods of capturing the data, such as manual data entry, OCR scanning, etc.

- If required, experts from outsourcing firms can also assemble and arrange information in the client specified format.

- Dedicated supervisors/project managers for regular communication and timely updates on the progress of the work.

- Outsourcing firms guarantee complete security and confidentiality of the information/data/files/documents shared by you.

- They can deliver the information in any format like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Database, Adobe Portable Document Format and the captured and verified data is sent to the client via compact disks, email, or File Transfer Protocol.

- Most outsourcing firms also provide free trial samples to get you an insight into their quality, efficiency and time management, before you outsource them the complete project.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-of-Availing-Expert-and-Affordable-Data-Capture-Services-From-a-Reputed-Company&id=8175218

Implementing a Data Capture System? First of Five Key Mistakes to Avoid

If you look up document type on Wikipedia you will find that it is defined as a set of markup declarations that define a type for SGML-family markup languages (SGML, XML, HTML). As you may already have figured out from the title, that is not what we are talking about in this article. In this article, we are talking about the different documents and their types that are used in businesses, such as invoices or employee benefits or bill of ladings. And we are talking about the importance of understanding the structure of various documents and their types in order to make a good decision in buying a data capture system.

Now we don't know about you but the companies that we work with that are looking to purchase or replace a data capture system are looking to solve a number of common problems. One problem is the lack of being able to scan a large amount of documents and being able to effectively search for them in a backend document repository. For example, companies or departments will often have a large amount of documents that need to be scanned, processed through an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) engine, and then sent through a workflow process. The reason for the OCR process is usually to capture certain information that could be used as an index in aiding a document search or for the data to be tied back into an internal business system like one that accounting or human resources may use.

A popular document type in this situation is an invoice or a medical record. It is our experience that companies would rather not pay resources to spend time manually entering invoice data, such as the amount, invoice number, purchase order number or company name and address, into a data capture system. So you would think that this is a perfect reason to simply OCR the scanned documents and allow the workflow process to enter the information into a database where it can be searched for at a later time. Problem solved...or is it?

What if the company grows and they partner with more vendors? What if each vendor has their own unique invoice template? What if the problem compounds when the employee grabs a stack of papers including invoices from different customers, bills of lading, contracts, and expense reports and places them all into the scanner?

Each document type listed above presents its own unique problem and its own set of solutions. For example, there are only a couple of software solutions on the market, that we know of (and yes, we offer one of them), that successfully automate the processing of unstructured documents (documents of the same type but that have different formats)) like a contract. In addition, not all Data Capture Systems can decipher between different documents types when they are all scanned at once so just buying a data capture system without knowing if it can handle your different document types is a mistake. You should always list out your types of documents, if they are structured (i.e. survey, tests), semi-structured (i.e. invoices, receipts), or unstructured (i.e. contracts, articles), and decide how you want your data capture system to handle your specific situation. Then you will need to find out if the data capture system that you are looking to buy can efficiently handle your document types.

The bottom line is that companies can make the mistake of not understanding their unique document types and how they intend for a data capture system to handle them. Now we know what you are thinking. I will just go out and buy the most expensive data capture system that I can find and it will do everything for me, including handling all document types. But just buying the most expensive system thinking you will get everything you need to conquer every unique data capture problem, like automatically handling unstructured document types, is incorrect thinking. Many data capture systems will not handle unstructured document types but they still are very expensive. Knowing your various document types and making sure that your money is well spent on a system that will allow you to process those document types is critical.

Look for our next article on Second of Five Key Data Capture Implementation Mistakes: Overlooking Critical Hardware Considerations

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Implementing-a-Data-Capture-System?-First-of-Five-Key-Mistakes-to-Avoid&id=3734637

Preference to Offshore Document Data Entry Services

A number or business organizations if different industries are seeking competent and precise document data entry services to maintain their business records safe for future references. Document data entry has advanced as a quickly developing and active industry structure almost accept in all major companies of the world. The companies doing businesses these days are undergoing rapid changes and therefore the need for services is becoming all the more crucial.

To get success you need to accomplish more understanding about the market, your business, clients as well as the prevailing factors that influence your business. A considerable amount of document is in one or the other way included in this entire process. These services is helpful in taking crucial decisions for the organization. It also provides you a standard in understanding the current and future business status of your company.

In this information age data-entry from documents and data conversion have become important elements for most business houses. The requirement for document services has reached zenith since companies work on processes like business merger and acquisitions, as well as new technology developments. In such scenarios having access to the right kind of data at the right time is very crucial and that is why companies opt for reliable services.

These services covers a range of professional business oriented activities such as document plus image processing to image editing as well as catalog processing. A few noteworthy examples of from documents include: PDF document indexing, insurance claim entry, online data capture as well as creating new databases. These services are important in industries like insurance companies, banks, government departments and airlines.

Companies such as Offshore and outsource and others offer an entire gamut of first rate data services. Actually, getting services from documents offshore to developing yet competent countries like India has made the process highly economical plus quality driven too.

Business giants around the world have realized multiple advantages associated in Offshore-Data-Entry. Companies not only prosper because of quality services but are also benefited because of better turn around time, maintaining confidentiality of data as well as economic rates.

Though the company works in all form of documents, there are few below mentioned areas where it specializes:

• Document data entry
• Document data entry conversion
• Document data processing
• Document data capture services
• Web data extraction
• Document scanning indexing

Since reputable companies like Offshore Data-Entry hire only well qualified and trained candidates work satisfaction is guaranteed. There are several steps involved in the quality check (QC) process and therefore accuracy level is maintained to 99.995% ensuring that the end result is delivered to the client far beyond his expectation.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Preference-to-Offshore-Document-Data-Entry-Services&id=5570327

Web Scraping Services, Data Recovery Software Adaptation Actions

Site scraping, also known as Web data mining, or Web harvesting, data mining software is a web site. Web scraping is closely related and similar web index, index Web content. Index of the pages is on most machines. The site scraping the difference between the focus on the translation of unstructured content network, usually rich text format, such as HTML, you should direct them to analyze data, and other spreadsheet or database. Network Piquing also makes web browsing more efficient and user productivity.

For example, the website, scraping compare prices on the Internet, automatic monitoring, and integrated changes in site identification and information. Agency enforcement actions and use of data scraping method to generate the benefits of file information relating to crime and criminal behavior.

Researchers have the interests of the pharmaceutical industry and network use scraping to collect information and statistical analysis of disease such as AIDS and influenza-like swine flu from the recent Influenza A (H1N1) epidemic. Run a program automatically when the data scraping is the only easy to collect data from another program.

Data scraping is a programmer product line generated by the system, it is no longer a useful way to date equipment. Generated data, and through the use of stripping data designed for use by the user. This clever, it is used to the software code can be used for public institutions.

A leading provider of Web scraping software's provides a wide range of user-based services company, can be cheap and easy way to extract and manage network data. Individuals can use to set up agents to seek regular information, then stores this information, and eventually released the information in several places. When the data system, individuals can change and reuse of these data and other applications, or simply use its intelligence.

All information is the host of safety and health classes and data warehousing, and by the user through the Internet Security Web console access. Some of the more software is called. Harvest is used to create a competitive intelligence and market information on the Web scrapers and network search. Script, network scraper can be stored in the form used will soon be ready.

Allow from all types of web pages, dynamic Ajax pages mark the safe area behind the complex unstructured HTML pages, and more data recovery software, to support adaptation actions. The software can also be exported in various formats, such as the data in Excel and other database programs. Web scraping software is used to collect too much information, no problem with a revolutionary device.

The program has the impact of many people or companies need to apply for comparable data from the Internet in different places, and useful information on the situation. A wide range of information, in a very short time detection method is relatively easy, very cost effective. The purpose of Web scraping software is used every day of commercial applications, and more data recovery software, to support adaptation actions.

The software can also be exported in various formats, such as the data in Excel and other database programs. Web scraping software is used to collect too much information, no problem with a revolutionary device. The pharmaceutical industry, meteorology, law enforcement agencies and government agencies.

Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/outsourcing-articles/web-scraping-services-data-recovery-software-adaptation-actions-5884907.html