New research commissioned by Ricoh Europe and conducted by Coleman Parkes illustrates the benefits to businesses of tackling the bigger data opportunity – the digitisation of business-critical, hard copy documents for business decision-making.

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Leaders clearly understand that significant business value lies locked away in paper documents, with 88% agreeing that digitising and unlocking data from physical documents would improve business decision-making. Furthermore, 70% of business leaders believe that digitising hard copy documents would save between 5% and 20% of their annual turnover, with half of these respondents able to achieve a 5% to 10% return and the other half between 11% and 20%.

Richard Pinker, MD of Ricoh SA, says: “Leaders are aware that the business opportunities of big data go beyond the digital and must address the physical documents that also hold critical business insights. With leaders under pressure to make the right decisions to steer their businesses out of the downturn, we found overwhelming agreement that digitising and unlocking data from physical documents Screen Shot 2013-10-15 at 1.12.06 PMwould improve business decision-making. Business leaders still foresee volumes of hard copy information growing in the workplace. It is clear that we are now in the era of bigger data, and our ability to easily access information, whether digital or physical, is essential as organisations accelerate their digital transformation and drive business growth.”

The research reveals that over 50% of organisations still have between five and 10 years’ worth of information stored only in hard copy. This is not only having an impact on business decision-making, but also productivity and the bottom line. The majority of Screen Shot 2013-10-15 at 12.12.51 PMleaders (63%) agree that it takes too long to find the information they need from hard copy files. Data that is fragmented across filing cabinets, warehouses, basements and files held by employees, often comes at a significant price. Rental space is expensive.

While the initial focus of big data initiatives has been on digital data sources, there is growing recognition from business leaders that there is significant value lying dormant in physical information assets. Seventy-six percent said they could have learned from the previous recession and reduced the impact of the current one if they had better access to historical data. As a result, over three-quarters of respondents have spent more time digitising historical data during the economic downturn. HR, finance and procurement functions continue to rely on paper-based processes in many cases, and often compliance dictates how certain hard copy data, such as medical records, must be retained. However, the digitisation of hard copy documents is now becoming a business priority for organisations. Six out of 10 respondents (57%) expect to have completely digitised these assets within the next three years.

Pinker says: “The first step to managing bigger data is to eliminate the mystery surrounding it. There is one real outcome that matters. That’s collecting, analysing and acting on the high-quality information available, and using it to provide a better service to clients, winning their loyalty and continued custom. Valuable business insight existed long before the big data boom, so it is essential to continue to look beyond digital information. Significant trends and insights from historical data, for example, archived in hard copy, can help to tell the full story and are essential for businesses in the future. The economic crisis has underlined the importance to the organisation of gaining a 360-degree view into the environment around them, both in the past and present. It’s therefore vital that businesses harvest all of their critical information to gain competitive edge, and enhance business decision-making in the future.”

Ricoh

Ricoh SA, formerly NRG Gestetner South Africa, began operating in 1921 and is a wholly-owned operating company within the Ricoh Group. Ricoh SA today is a leading provider of document management solutions, providing cutting-edge hardware as well as software solutions. The company has an extensive network of dealers, sales consultants and service engineers who offer direct service and support throughout South Africa and neighbouring countries.

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Dierdre Fernandes

(011) 723 5186
dierdre.fernandes@ricoh.co.za
Scarlet LetterMichelle Oelschig(083) 636 1766
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