Item and document imaging -- connecting disconnected worlds

It was only a matter of time before the two worlds of item and document processing came together.

The first convergence was merging statements (COLD) with checks (item images). Then came the 'Wholetail' systems -- blended retail and wholesale lockbox solutions that require both item (check) and document (invoice) capture. Where the early systems were built on proprietary hardware platforms with vendor-specific development environments, today's systems are built using industry standard databases and development tools on commodity platforms.

I remember when scheduling time for users to play solitaire on the PC was a critical factor in the success of a major document imaging and workflow project. Last week my third grade nephew had a homework assignment which required Internet research. Times are changing -- and systems are increasingly affordable.

Given that item and document processing solutions use the same hardware, operating systems and databases, is it any wonder that banks are seeking ways to leverage the investment? This is especially true at the community bank; volumes cannot justify separate system investments, limited IT resources cannot afford to support multiple platforms, and users tend to be generalists rather than specialists and need uniform access to all customer information.

Looking beyond the more obvious value of leveraging system investments - what about delivering check images to call center agents so they can resolve the inquiry on inbound call? Better yet, let the customer access the images directly over the Web! And in the loan servicing area, wouldn't there be value if the customer service representative had immediate access to the payment image as well as the customer's letter and original loan file?

In the past, many organizations were content to allow the worlds of item and document imaging to remain separate islands of information. It is now impossible to deliver on the strategies most banks have for integrated product and service delivery without getting these worlds connected. At a large commercial bank this is a daunting task, at best; but for the community bank, it's an entirely realistic goal.

Who is delivering solutions?

TREEV

In the late '80's a company called DCR introduced a COLD solution called TREEV. The system was well designed, there were packaged interfaces to the leading core system and service providers and there was great customer support. The company was wildly successful and placed its solution in hundreds of community banks.

In the early '90s DCR was acquired by Network Imaging Corporation. DCR's strong client base was in search of imaging and workflow solutions and they wanted to move from DOS or terminal based solutions to a Windows environment. Network Imaging Corporation was in search of a good COLD solution, customer base, and had the larger R&D organization.

Early last year, following a time consuming and costly company and product integration, NIC changed its name to TREEV, Inc. - perhaps in deference to the stronger brand recognition and customer base?

Through it's Business Alliance Program, TREEV has partnerships with ALLTEL Information Services and Open Solutions Incorporated; they have additional relationships with Greenway Corporation, BISYS Bank Information Solutions and StorageTek.

ALLTEL and OSI provide core banking systems, Greenway and BISYS offer check processing and statement rendering solutions, and StorageTek provides highly leveragable and intelligent storage devices that are well known in the financial services market.

The banking marketplace continues to be a major force within TREEV's client base. Through these important partner relationships, they are well positioned to further penetrate the market. At AIIM '99 TREEV is announcing production status of TREEV2000, a fully integrated image, COLD, EDM and workflow solution.

Macrosoft

Macrosoft (Rochester, MI), another one of the early entrants with their product MacroFiche, a standalone COLD solution well positioned for the community bank marketplace.

Not only was MacroFiche suitable for individual institutions, it was also installed by organizations that provided processing services for multiple banks. United Financial Services (Grafton, WI) supports approximately 50 bank customers; Frost Financial Processors (Grapevine, TX) uses MacroFiche( in a service bureau environment to support over 100 bank customers. With both of these organizations, the ease of downloading, processing and separating reports (from Unisys and ITI systems) was key factor in their decision.

The banking market is the largest segment of Macrosoft's base of over 4,500 customers. While they also have large installations with 1,000+ clients, according to marketing VP Mike Ball, community banks ($500 Million in assets) represent approximately 80% of their banking users!

Over the years additional products evolved - MacroChek, a low volume image-based check processing, statement rendering and archive system, and MacroImage, designed for capture and access to documents.

This year, look for Macrosoft's introduction of Synergy/2000 at AIIM '99 in Atlanta, a fully integrated COLD, Check, Electronic and Image Document solution with new capabilities in the area of Internet connectivity and e-commerce.

Hyland Software

OnBase from Hyland Software is one of the more recent entrants. Who can forget their baseball stadium and hotdogs from AIIM '98? At AIIM '99 they'll be handing out the hotdogs again, and they'll be showing their integrated platform for imaging, electronic document management and COLD with a series of Internet/Web updates. Yes, they also have a solution to address the check processing arena, but as a private labeled solution from big brand-name suppliers.

As one of the newer kids on the block, Hyland understood that the quickest and most cost-effective approach to reach the market was through a few, well-placed relationships with brand name suppliers.

Hyland VP of marketing Bill Priemer says that partners "are critical to our success. We have no issues working with organizations that want to private label our solutions; they've funded the business and we can pour all that back into R&D."

Most recently Hyland has established a relationship with UltraData, a credit union core systems supplier, another sector of the industry that is aggressively implementing document management technologies.

Others?

Even the suppliers of 'high-end' solutions, like FileNet Corporation, have instances of customers leveraging their back-end repository for check and payment images. Using products supplied by their Professional Services organization or partners, check images are treated as any other object on the system.

Systems and Technology Group (STG), a FileNet ValueNet partner in Colorado Springs, CO, took this one step further. Using ImGate, an STG-developed gateway that imports check images from the Federal Reserve's tape, and ImGate's API's, STG standardized an interface with CFI Proservices WebPB personal banking Internet applications.

Now the banks deposit operations don't need to service the customer inquiry at all - it's self-service, using the latest technologies which allow smaller institutions to give the look and feel of a major bank. Actually, that's more than any of the major banks are delivering to their customers today!

Executing the vision

Like it or not, the need to optimize the call center and the desire to shift customers to self-service on the Web has made it painfully clear to most banks that they are fundamentally disconnected. There are countless examples of departmental success for document imaging and workflow. There are at least as many stories of banks that have experienced extraordinary savings through use of imaging in item processing operations.

But if call center spending is going to continue to grow -- which it will -- and if investments in the Internet as a delivery channel remains a priority -- which it will -- fundamentally disconnected isn't going to cut it any more.