“The existence of paper within a business process is typically a roadblock that slows business processes down,” says Greg Griffith, Senior Product Manager at Kyocera Document Solutions South Africa.

He goes on to say that the existence of paper within a business process can compromise privacy, compliance and security initiatives within organisations. The goal, therefore, must be to eliminate paper or, more realistically, shorten the life cycle of paper, however organisations in the digital age handle ever increasing quantities of documentation and information. They also need to come to grips with how to get the most value from their data, while adhering to regulatory and legislative compliance to ensure that this information remains private.

Content services are the accumulation of the latest services and microservices in content management that enable organisations to achieve new levels of operational efficiency by automating workflows.

This not only has the benefit of reducing human error, increasing security and allocating resources more effectively, but importantly, it aids compliance. Effective workflows offer a bird’s eye view of every step of the data collection, storage and disposal process. By keeping track of where data comes from, how it is allocated and where it ends up, organisations can quickly and efficiently demonstrate compliance.

Equally important is the role of auditing. Designation of tasks can not only help to clarify who is responsible for a specific step in the process, but can also be referred to when it comes to auditing if the information or approval needs to be verified.

Content services can also help catapult organisations to achieve new levels of productivity and efficiency through the following key areas:

• Agility: By automating a variety of laborious manual tasks, technology frees up time that could be better spent elsewhere. Content services solutions can be designed to develop roles that are automatically deployed in workflows. Stages of each workflow can be delegated directly to a department, team or a specific individual.
• Convenience: One of the major benefits is how quickly employees are able to search for and retrieve information. Documents are shared in a clear workflow, which enables staff to immediately see their tasks and what data or documentation they need to fulfil their obligations.
• Security: Automatic allocation of documentation can ensure strict access requirements and tracking.
• Collaboration: Whether a team is based in a single office or across continents, its workflows will remain the same and can be clearly defined and communicated.

“Managing an infinite wealth of content is the key to improving productivity. Content services helps companies to optimise their operations through better workflow management. Not only does it save time and prevent errors, but it also presents new opportunities to improve how the organisation works,” concludes Griffith.