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Five challenges to face document automation with guarantees

The document automation It is a fundamental tool in companies. From issuing employee contracts and sending invoices to email marketing, a properly integrated and applied process has the ability to transform the way companies manage administration and communication.

Although the benefits are far-reaching, implementing document automation (as with any digital transformation initiative) can be a complicated process.

This is true regardless of the size of the company or the technical knowledge of the employees. According to Connective specialists, these would be the five most common challenges of the implementation of document automation.

1. Search and collation of documents for automation

Automation aims to reduce the time spent searching for documents, but any automation project also means that those documents need to be collated to begin with. It doesn’t matter if the documents are stored on paper or digital, both can cause problems.

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It can be difficult to know where to start if the systems for covering data have changed or if digitally stored documents are kept in different drives and folders.

2. Increased volume of documents

Documentation is an unavoidable part of running any business, and as your business grows, so does the number of documents. This constant flow and its complexity are described by the AIIM (The Association for Intelligent Information Management) as a «information chaos». In his State of the Intelligent Information Management Industry report, he points out how companies expect information chaos to get worse.

Respondents say that in the next two years, they expect the amount of information they handle to increase 4.5 times from the current starting point. For companies looking to automate both documents and management, the ever-increasing number of documents can make the process overwhelming.

3. Multiple version management

Although companies have made attempts to digitize information, they often do so with a copy-and-paste approach. Also, if there are duplicate documents, how do you know which one contains the most up-to-date information and therefore, what data should be used in the automation process?

Judging an electronic copy by the date it was last modified only indicates when it was updated, but does not verify whether those modifications were actually up to date or were taken from an even older version. That ambiguity can be incredibly frustrating, not to mention time-consuming. However, it is a challenge that almost all companies face.

4. Security guarantee

Both physical and digital documents can end up stolen, lost or destroyed. But while physical documents can be kept safe with a lock and key, digitally stored data can handled thousands of miles away.

Therefore, any document automation initiative must provide companies with robust solutions to ensure that sensitive data is as secure as possible, especially if it is stored on cloud-based platforms.

5. Resistance to change

One of the most overlooked challenges of automation is people. change scares at best, but “automation” in the workplace can lead to unnecessary anxiety and even resentment. Resistance to new ways of working and the challenges this can bring is something that companies will need to prepare for and deal with employees in advance.

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