• Home
  • Research
  • What We Offer
  • Who We Are
  • Blog
  • Your cart is empty.
  • Log in
  • Purchase
  • Free Sample
  • Contact
  • Recent Entries
  • Get Custom Feeds
Team Blog
Pelz-Sharpe

Automating manual processes - is it always worth the effort?

Added By Alan Pelz-Sharpe at 17-Jun-2010 | Twitter: @alanpelzsharpe |

For IT professionals it is taken as a matter of faith that automation improves efficiency, that making paper based documents and processes electronic is, in and of itself, a default benefit.  But experience in the real world paints a more mixed and problematic picture.

Take for example a recent study by University College London into the UK's groundbreaking transition to electronic patient care records for the National Health Service. This initiative has come at a cost so far of $360 million dollars, and (to quote) "will require a high cost and an enormous effort to fulfill it's potential." That's a nice way of saying that the effort to date has largely been a waste of time.

The problems that have dogged this particular initiative are the same problems that arise in almost all similar projects, regardless of the industry sector or budget size. 

  • Undertaking a full content audit, and ensuring that all the original data is not only accurate but also consistent, is difficult, time consuming, and costly
  • Migrating content from (often disparate) systems is always a major challenge
  • If you have not proven the value of the new system, people with stick with the old
  • Validating and continuously improving the new process without full buy-in from the old users is near impossible

Though I do have Luddite tendencies, I am not advocating that you should avoid moving manual and paper-based processes to electronic methods. But I am advocating that you do so with your eyes open to the inherent complexity and difficulties.  Build a business case first, and ensure you have a full grasp on the work involved. Electronic processes are not by default any more efficient or cheaper than manual systems. 

And as for the rather cynical attempt of the ECM industry to push the benefits of Green IT, digital data is often no more "green" than paper. Sometimes it's worse. 

One final consideration is that of confidentiality. If you have highly confidential information remember that it is far easier to inadvertently expose that data to a multitude when it's in electronic form, than paper. 

Again to be clear, great cost and efficiency gains can be got from the move from manual to automated processes. But the move is often far bumpier and less clear-cut in terms of benefits than many think.

I spent this past week at the AIIM UK  Roadshow talking to buyers and end users of ECM technology. My mantra was that we often do not recommend to our research subscribers that they invest in more technology. Rather that you understand better what tools and platforms you own already, and make best use of it. It's an unusual proposition from an industry analyst firm, but as we have 100% independence, it's one we're happy to give.  Likewise we have no problem in advising our customers to think twice before diving headfirst into projects that are based on the belief that automation in itself equals improved business.

Next steps: Get a free research sample or purchase complete vendor evaluations to obtain immediate access.

Categories: Alan Pelz-Sharpe, Enterprise Content Management, Building Business Case, Governance, Implementation, Selecting Technology

Tweet

My Research

Remember MeForgot password?

Not a subscriber? Learn about our subscriptions

Categories

Channel

  • Collaboration & Community Software (162)
  • Component Content Management (79)
  • Digital Asset Management (141)
  • Enterprise Content Management (617)
  • Evaluating SharePoint (131)
  • Portals and Content Integration (352)
  • Search and Information Access (297)
  • SharePoint Across the Enterprise (68)
  • Web Analytics (173)
  • Web Content Management (862)

Analyst

  • Adriaan Bloem (100)
  • Tony Byrne (987)
  • Apoorv Durga (35)
  • Jarrod Gingras (49)
  • Alan Pelz-Sharpe (230)
  • Theresa Regli (88)

Topics

  • Asia-Pacific Marketplace (5)
  • Building Business Case (237)
  • Cloud Computing (10)
  • E-Discovery (13)
  • European Marketplace (31)
  • Governance (29)
  • Green Computing (1)
  • Implementation (324)
  • Industry Events (20)
  • Industry Standards (197)
  • Information Architecture (162)
  • Intranets (14)
  • Marketplace at Large (920)
  • Mobile Computing (5)
  • Open Source (128)
  • Selecting Technology (913)
  • Services Oriented Architecture (9)
  • Software-as-a-Service (27)
  • Usability (5)
  • Vendor Viability & Financials (198)
  • XML (93)

Industries

  • Energy (4)
  • Finance (13)
  • Government (34)
  • Health Care (12)
  • Higher Ed (20)
  • Legal (18)
  • Manufacturing (7)
  • Pharma (6)
  • Publishing-Media (17)
  • Retail (9)

Dates

  • 2010 (211)
  • 2009 (292)
  • 2008 (345)
  • 2007 (294)
  • 2006 (206)
  • 2005 (222)
  • 2004 (109)
  • 2003 (100)
  • 2002 (97)
  • 2001 (44)

Have Questions?

Sales & Customer Support

+1 800 325 6190 (USA)+44 (0) 20 3318 1911 (UK)+1 617 340 6464 (Int'l)sales@realstorygroup.com support@realstorygroup.com

All other inquiries: info@realstorygroup.com

Copyright, 2001 - 2010, Real Story Group. All rights reserved.

  • Contact Us
  • Copyright Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Vendor Evaluations

  • Collaboration & Community Software
  • Digital Asset Management
  • Enterprise Content Management
  • Portals & Content Integration
  • Search & Information Access
  • SharePoint Across the Enterprise
  • Web Analytics
  • Web Content Management

What You Get

  • Vendor Evaluations
  • Advisory Papers
  • One-on-One Advice
  • Online Education
  • Consulting Services
  • Free Research Sample
  • Purchase Now

Need Help?

  • Research & Advisory
       Overview
  • Talk to an Expert
  • FAQs
  • Customer Support
  • Contact Sales Team

Who We Are

  • We're Different
  • Our Team
  • Media
  • Customer List
  • Events
  • Contact Us

Get the real story via our bi-weekly newsletter.

Follow us on: RSS twitter

Log In

Remember MeForgot password?