How companies manage and maintain their documents may be the next business function facing technological disruption. While document and record management remains a vital process, companies find it to be an increasingly complex and labor-intensive practice. This is precisely why data scientists and software developers are now looking for ways that Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms could help.

Since the rise of the first document management systems, companies could streamline their workflows and ensure the accurate execution of their processes. However, it still required humans to enter all the related data, initiate the workflows, and compare versions of documents manually. In an IDC whitepaper from 2012, professionals still reported that they spent, on average 4.5 hours per week searching for documents. Often, if they cannot find what they are looking for, they will recreate a document or file leading to higher productivity losses.

The rise of Artificial Intelligence

The concept of Artificial Intelligence has bothered humanity for ages. It was only after Alan Turing, the British Polymath, published his paper on Computing Machinery and Intelligence in 1950 that it became a viable pursuit. The problem was that computers in Turing’s days couldn’t even store data, let alone process or understand it. Only since the personal computer boom of the 1970s did it start to become possible for machines to interpret information using a given set of parameters.

Fast-forward to today’s powerful PCs, distributed networks, and advanced algorithmic reasoning; Artificial Intelligence is now a viable technology. Modern AI systems provide accurate predictive analysis for financial markets and make autonomous driving possible. It can also improve weather predictions and help investigators analyze the root cause of an accident by running thousands of models against a set of parameters. It was only a matter of time before researchers and developers turned AI’s attention to business productivity solutions.

AI-Powered Document Management Systems

Since the technology became viable, finding applications for AI hasn’t exactly been difficult. One area that didn’t receive immediate attention was document management systems. Developers have caught up and now use AI to improve the inefficiencies of current processes. AI has since become a force multiplier in document management by making every step in a company’s workflows smarter and faster.

Specifically, there are five distinct areas where AI-powered document management systems improve company productivity. As the technology matures over time, it will continue to reshape how businesses manage, interact, retrieve, and store information.

1. Automated Processing and Classification

Using what experts call computer vision, AI solutions can help staff quickly scan, classify, and process paper documents. Applying this feature of AI to document management, it uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) that allow the system to read documents without human intervention.

2. Gaining Information Insights with Data Extraction

Another powerful capability AI offers is with extracting data from current and historical documents. This helps organizations to uncover hidden data stored in their documents and enable them to extract key insights into their processes and business performance. Using AI as a knowledge service can help business managers understand their pain points while also identifying inefficient company processes.

3. Document Clustering

The way companies cluster documents depends mainly on their business operations. Document Kind Classification may be efficient for departments, but once the company needs to understand the context based on a client or product, it becomes a minefield to find the right information. AI can help companies define topics and cluster documents according to specific search criteria. If the company needs to view a complete communication history for a particular client, AI will help ensure they have every document or record available.

4. Ordering Unstructured Data

While a business may spend a lot of time managing official documents and records, the majority of company information remains freeform. This includes text files, emails, and text or instant messages. AI-powered document management systems can bring order to this unstructured data. The system will scan the contents of files, email correspondence, and other information and structure them according to the topics it contains.

5. Improving Information and Document Security

Finally, AI can help companies to enhance their information and document security. Using machine-reading and computer vision, an AI-powered document management system can recognize personal information, which may be sensitive and ensure it receives the necessary classification. Automatically protecting Personally-Identifying Information (PII) will help the company comply with regulations while reducing the costs associated with these tasks.

Leverage the Latest Document Management Solutions for Your Ohio Business with Blue Technologies

AI will continue to improve the way companies manage and store information. It also provides more significant data analytics for businesses to make better decisions. Blue Technologies helps companies in Ohio to leverage the latest technologies for improved business processes and increased productivity.

If you need more information about how Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the capabilities of document management systems from Blue Technologies, complete our contact form and have an agent contact you today.