15 attributes of a true vendor neutral archive

This post originally appeared on the Lexmark News Blog:

The implementation of a vendor neutral archive (VNA) eliminates data silos, cuts costs and facilitates data sharing by streamlining integration to the PACS and EMR. To achieve these benefits it is vital you choose a truly independent VNA. This checklist highlights the essential attributes, qualifications and functionality to consider when selecting your VNA solution partner.

1. PACS aggregation and federation: The VNA should be able to aggregate query results from multiple disparate PACS or locations

2. Dynamic DICOM tag morphing: Confirm that the product will perform on-the-fly conversion/ mapping of data elements in a DICOM header in support of data exchange between PACS. It should use a “self-learning” library of DICOM conformance

Click here to read the rest of the article on Perceptive’s InContextMagazine.

Lexmark News Blog: Top 5 Blog Posts of 2013

Happy New Year! As our 2013 gift to you, we’ve rounded up our top 5 most-clicked stories of the past year. Enjoy, and look for new posts in the coming weeks on some interesting new projects and announcements coming from Lexmark and Perceptive Software.

1. What is the ideal life span for your devices?

3. Lexmark and the PGA Championship – A Sponsorship that Scores Big in the World of Professional Golf

2. Let us introduce you: Saperion, Lexmark’s newest company acquisition

4.  Lexmark selected for United Nations Global Compact 100 stock index

5. Lexmark insights at NRF 2013: interview with Juicy Couture

Electronic benefits you can take to the bank

This post originally appeared on the Lexmark News Blog

Receivables automation combats the hassles of getting paid, puts cash in hands and creates new opportunities

Without having to focus time and attention on manually reconciling remittance data with incoming payments, accounts receivable (AR) departments would be well-situated to engage in more strategic, forward-looking activities. These departments could put monies to better use, build the groundwork for market share and actual-dollar growth, and better tackle the supply chain and customer-facing needs that persist and fluctuate with external dynamics.

However, according to a recent report issued by the Aite Group, “Deploying Emerging Technology to Improve Remittance-Details Processing,” more than 50 percent of enterprises—including large, multinational corporations and mid market companies alike—can claim no touchless processing of remittance documents whatsoever. A number of factors contribute to this; some have an easy fix while others would seem insurmountable, yet a considerable array of technologies and best practices exist to drive manual work out of the accounts receivable role.

Click here to read the rest of the article on Perceptive Software’s “InContext Magazine”.

Saperion acquisition expands Lexmark/Perceptive Software’s footprint

Lexmark recently completed its acquisition of Saperion, a Germany-based developer and provider of enterprise content management (ECM) software in Europe. Saperion will report into Lexmark’s Perceptive Softwaredivision. Sascha Ohler, director of product management, international, for Saperion, sat down to discuss what Saperion does and how it fits into Lexmark’s overall business strategy.

Lexmark: Tell us about Saperion’s technology solutions.

Ohler: Saperion’s solutions enable customers to capture, store and access information. We provide a robust ECM platform that allows partners to extend the ECM functionality to specific industries. These products are highly scalable, easily integrate with all major ERP, email and document management systems, and are mobile capable, which is a real concern for our customers.

We focus on document management, document archiving and integration of the documents into business processes. We have several offerings, I will focus on a few that really stand out.

Saperion has a Web content archiving solution that is used for online retailers, large insurance companies or banks that do business through online portals. Did you know that 8 to 10 percent of transactions online are later cancelled because a customer states that they didn’t actually agree to the transaction? To combat this, Saperion has a tool that takes a snapshot of the screen when a customer submits for a purchase online. If the purchase is later scrutinized, the screenshot provides an additional layer of oversight to the transaction.

Another interesting technology is Saperion’s corporate content collaboration solution, fileNshare. It provides the ability to securely share corporate content with internal and external parties while conforming to corporate security standards.  Once a document is uploaded it can be managed and shared through a simple, yet robust privilege structure. And a key for any business, the documents can be accessed from mobile devices using both native and Web-based user interfaces.

In the area of consolidation services, Saperion has a solution that has saved some of our customers millions of dollars. Let’s say you are an enterprise customer that has multiple large content repositories, for example in support of your SAP system.  Today you will be forced to maintain all of these repositories indefinitely if you need to access some or all of the content at some point. This also means paying the repository vendor for maintenance. TheSaperion Consolidation Services offer customers the ability to reduce these maintenance fees by providing a way to access the content, independent of repository through a unified Saperion user interface. Data and content access is maintained and maintenance cost is lowered without the need for a lengthy content migration.

Lexmark: How does Saperion fit in with Perceptive Software?

Ohler: From a product portfolio perspective, Saperion will bring some unique product offerings, such as those discussed above. From a footprint perspective, Saperion brings a well-developed European customer base and partner channel to the table. We feel that we can only elevate the Perceptive Software name and brand, particularly in Europe.

Lexmark: What are you focused on right now as Saperion joins with the Lexmark/Perceptive team? 

Ohler: Saperion leadership just returned from a 10-day knowledge exchange at Perceptive headquarters in Kansas City, and we continue to work on the road map toward product integration. We are making very good progress.

To find out more information on how Saperion can help your business, click here.

[Lexmark News Blog] Ten ways to kick-start your office’s sustainability efforts

Todd Hamlin, president of Lexmark Canada, recently bylined an article for The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper, that discusses how streamlining operations can not only improve productivity, but help businesses be more sustainable.

It goes without saying that technology plays a critical role in helping businesses of all sizes be successful in today’s always-on, constantly evolving operating environment.

One area that is often overlooked, however, is how office technology can not only streamline operations and improve productivity, but can also help businesses be more sustainable in the process. The following are a few key considerations for tapping technology to foster a “greener” environment:

1. Consolidate your devices. Chances are, your office has at least one fax machine, one scanner, one copier and one printer. With the rapid development of technology, these functions can be combined into a single, compact multifunction printer. Rethinking your device management and reducing the amount of devices saves on licensing costs, support costs and energy consumption, all while freeing up office space in the process.

Click here to read the article in its entirety.

[Lexmark News Blog] Perceptive gives back at Oracle OpenWorld

Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, used its booth at the recentOracle OpenWorld for a unique opportunity: helping impoverished children in the Philippines.

At the booth, Perceptive highlighted how its new customer, World Vision International, is doing amazing things with accounts payable and procure-to-pay automation.

In addition to learning about Perceptive solutions, booth visitors were able to take part in a fun and rewarding service project – assembling school supply kits for World Vision outreach to distribute to children in the Philippines.

The community outreach was a huge hit. During the three-day event, visitors to the Perceptive booth put together 1,000 World Vision school supply kits. Each day, all of the kits allocated for the day were assembled in the first few hours.

“This experience was a great way to serve people in need,” said Alicia Belford, ERP marketing communications manager for Perceptive. “Multiple attendees thanked us for the fun and meaningful experience of building school supply kits, and hoped other companies would begin doing similar outreach activities.”

For more information about Perceptive and World Vision, read the recent news release.

Lexmark reports third quarter results

Lexmark International, Inc. today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2013.

“In the third quarter, Lexmark continued solid execution of our strategy of transforming to an end-to-end solutions provider, and delivered revenue that exceeded our July guidance range, EPS at the top of the range and also strong free cash flow,” said Paul Rooke, Lexmark chairman and chief executive officer.

“Perceptive Software’s profitability increased significantly compared to last year and once again both managed print services and Perceptive Software revenue grew at a double-digit rate, reflecting the imaging and software synergies we’re creating.

“Lexmark’s value proposition is unique and squarely focused on helping our customers solve their unstructured information challenges, enabling us to lead in this large and expanding market,” Rooke said.

“Lexmark is continuing to increase shareholder value through acquisitions and organic investments that are accelerating our transition to a higher value solutions portfolio, and through the ongoing capital return of more than 50 percent of free cash flow,” added Rooke.

Click here to read the full press release.

[Lexmark News Blog] Records and Information Management: Not just for destruction and defense anymore

Stephanie Eaton. senior solution manager for information governance at Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, recently wrote an article on Perceptive’s InContext blog about records and information management (RIM) that discusses what happens as companies broaden their understanding of what RIM actually means as electronic information grows.

While organizations are far from getting rid of all their paper, many are making a conscious effort to do more electronically, which means they are producing even more data than ever before. An analyst report titled “IDC Predictions 2013: Competing on the 3rd Platform” estimates that “The ‘digital universe’ —the total of all digital data created (and replicated)—will reach 4ZB in 2013, almost 50 percent more than 2012 volumes, and nearly a quadrupling of 2010 volumes.”

Click here to read the rest of the article on InContext.

[Lexmark News Blog] What is the ideal life span for your devices?

We’re sharing some of our most popular blog posts from the past year. “What is the ideal life span for your devices?” was originally published in February of 2013.

Historically, businesses have purchased printers and used them until they expire, which can take 10 years or more in some cases (we know some of you still have Optra S devices from 1997 out there!). Yet, these same businesses are leasing other output devices, such as copiers and fax machines, and replacing them every three years. Why is there such a big difference in life-cycle strategy for such similar technologies?

Is it because copiers are thought to be inherently less reliable and require replacement much more frequently?  Traditional copiers may have been less reliable, but the migration to digital printing engines brings them into a class that is much closer to printers, simply with added scanning mechanics on top. For example, Lexmark’s multifunction printers (MFPs), which can be used as digital copiers, are built upon the same reliable engines as our award-winning printers. So, the reliability of the mechanics in the MFP is similar to the printers, which may be used for many years. With that in mind, the recommended life span should be similar between MFPs and printers.

Several years ago, Lexmark engaged in a study with a large corporation to determine how often it should replace its printers. As a high volume user, we looked at its increasing device failure rates due to heavy use and wearing mechanics, as compared to the expected increased reliability of new devices, enabled by both new parts and more reliable designs.  We also looked at the soft costs of user interactions created by device failures, and the impact of lower consumables costs from new, higher yield cartridges.

What we found was that the financial tipping point, when it made sense to replace the company’s  printers and MFPs, was around 48 months. If it had been running lower volumes, the life-cycle recommendation would have been closer to 60 months. In short, the study showed that it made sense to replace the printers more often than what’s typical in the market, but less often than what is typical in the market for MFPs.

Approximately two thirds of requests for proposals with MFPs are only for a 36-month term. If not for reasons of reliability, why would these more expensive devices need to be replaced this often?  In an economic environment where businesses are squeezing more and more costs out of their operations, it would seem that extending contractual life cycles to 48 or 60 months would make financial sense, as it would spread the cost of the device over a longer period of time.

Extending leases over longer terms could have multiple benefits, including:

• Reducing monthly depreciation expenses
• Expanding the functional life of the devices
• Reducing transition management costs (soliciting, evaluating, purchasing, installing, training and old device disposal) and general business disruption with users
• Lessening environmental impact through extension of the functional life of equipment
• Lessening  “churn” for associated technologies, such as workflow systems, which leverage the imaging capabilities of MFP devices

It’s understood that shorter-term leases might receive different financial treatment than longer-term leases- as an operation lease versus a capital lease. However, it’s still interesting that similar device types based upon the same technologies are acquired in different ways –  purchased printers versus leased copiers. Why not lease printers as well… or purchase the copiers like printers, now that distributed MFPs are available and affordable?  These are questions that should be asked as part of building a comprehensive output management strategy.

So how long does your business expect to keep your output devices? Why? Furthermore, given the convergence of technologies, are your acquisition methods for printers versus MFPs also converging as well (are you looking to more printer leases, or more MFP purchases)? 

Please engage the conversation share your thoughts below.

This article was submitted by Scott Hill, Operations Consultant, Lexmark Global Services and member of the LexmarkNews Blog Editorial Board.

[Lexmark News Blog] Print security: how it can help your business

Channel Pro UK recently posted a great opinion piece on print security and how it can help your business that we wanted to share.

The piece discusses why companies should be looking beyond protecting hard copy documents and focus on securing their network.

“It’s time to address the growing need for security and control in the workplace. The stakes are high – if a business chooses to ignore risks associated with accessible information, the impact can be more than just a short-term loss in profits. In the long-term, businesses can harm their market competitiveness and brand credibility, and erode customer loyalty.”

Read the full article here.

[Lexmark News Blog] Perceptive Software Positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management

Lexmark’s Perceptive Softwareannounced yesterday that it has been positioned byGartner, Inc. in the Leaders Quadrant for enterprise content management (ECM) solutions, 2013. Gartner evaluated 23 vendors in their most recent iteration of the annual Magic Quadrant for ECM.

Perceptive Software continues to show double-digit market growth, both organically and via acquisitions. Perceptive Software’s technology platform spans content management, process management, intelligent capture and enterprise search that, both separately and together, bridge the gap between enterprise applications and the processes and information those systems don’t manage.

“We are very pleased to be recognized by Gartner as a leader in the ECM market and appreciate the confidence our customers have placed in us over the years,” said Henry Worcester, director of analyst relations for Perceptive Software. “The consistent value our customers have achieved with our enterprise content management solutions makes our success possible.”

“Bridging the gap between our customers’ enterprise applications and the processes and information those systems don’t manage provides tremendous value in terms of visibility and control, enabling customers to improve financial performance, reduce risk and ensure future flexibility,” said Scott Coons, President and CEO, Perceptive Software.

To learn more about what makes Perceptive Software an ECM leader, download the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management, Mark Gilbert et al., September 23, 2013.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Maurices accesses employees’ vital stats securely using Perceptive Content

Maurices retail stores offer casual and career apparel and accessories for woman, with more than 4,000 employees and 832 stores in 46 U.S. states and Canada.

In the following case study, learn how Maurices ensures authorized personnel in HR, loss prevention and payroll can access vital information immediately and accurately by using Perceptive Software’sPerceptive Content.

“Users can access information right when they’re talking to a store manager or other requestor,” said Robin Murphy, human resources systems administrator for Maurice’s. “We don’t have to call them back anymore.”

Click here to read the case study and to find out how Perceptive can help your business.

Lexmark acquires PACSGEAR

Lexmark International, Inc. today announced the acquisition of PACSGEAR, a leading provider of connectivity solutions for healthcare providers to capture, manage and share medical images and related documents and integrate them with existing picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and electronic medical records (EMR) systems. Lexmark paid a cash purchase price of approximately $54 million.

“As the healthcare industry continues to digitize its differing forms of content, from X-rays and MRIs to insurance forms, providers are struggling to deploy solutions that will help manage their unstructured information challenge,” said Paul Rooke, Lexmark’s chairman and chief executive officer. “The acquisition of PACSGEAR further differentiates Lexmark’s solutions by better enabling healthcare organizations to capture and process digital content, and then ensure it is connected with the applications and people that need it most so they can deliver the best patient care possible.”

“PACSGEAR and Lexmark share a vision to make all content available when and where it’s needed, throughout the healthcare enterprise,” said Brian J. Cavanaugh, president, PACSGEAR. “We look forward to bringing PACSGEAR technology to the broad range of Lexmark healthcare solutions.”

PACSGEAR will report into Perceptive Software. With this acquisition, Perceptive Software will be uniquely positioned to offer a vendor-neutral, standards-based clinical content platform for capturing, managing, accessing and sharing patient imaging information and related documents within healthcare facilities through an EMR and between facilities via PACSGEAR technology.

PACSGEAR’s industry-leading healthcare technology solutions capture, manage and integrate documents, film and video, visible light and other images from any department with any PACS or EMR. Healthcare personnel in specialties such as radiology, cardiology or orthopedics can connect to, view and share patient medical images and analyze results to enhance patient care and enable better health information exchange.

Click here to read the full press release.

[Lexmark News Blog] Lexmark’s Center for Children launches and is gathering STEAM

Yesterday, Lexmark opened its new Center for Children, a brand new state-of-the-art facility located at our headquarters here in Lexington, Ky. The 25,500 square foot facility, which has a capacity to hold 186 children ages, six weeks to pre-kindergarten, will be run by Bright Horizons Family Solutions, a leading provider of employer-sponsored child care. 

One of the key teaching initiatives of the center is to provide a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) based education into the curriculum. This will not be your average daycare.

To gain insight into why Lexmark chose a STEAM curriculum for the center’s students and their futures, we talked to Jeri Isbell, vice president of human resources for Lexmark.

Lexmark: Why did Lexmark choose to incorporate STEAM initiatives into the Center for Children’s curriculum?

Isbell: Lexmark is a technology company. Many of our employees have backgrounds in STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. For our curriculum in the Center for Children, we have chosen STEAM, which adds the ‘Art’ component to the original STEM program. All of the subjects are fundamental to children excelling in school. We want to expose them as early as possible to these subjects.

Lexmark: What are the advantages of children having an early introduction to STEAM education?

Isbell: Connecting the STEAM subjects provides a more meaningful curriculum for children. Studies show that children immersed and exposed to a STEAM curriculum at a very early age perform better in science and math than those who are not. We want our children to have the advantage of early exposure to begin to build their interest in these areas.

Lexmark: What is the correlation between STEAM and innovation?

Isbell: Problem-solving and critical thinking, which are the tenets of STEAM curriculum, are the keys to innovation. The Center for Children’s curriculum will be hands-on, inquiry-based, with a lot of projects and activity-based learning. We believe it will be a more engaging, and fun, learning environment.

Lexmark: What has been the response from employees?

Isbell: We’ve had great response from employees.  They are thrilled with the care that was put into the design and build of the center.  The Center for Children is truly state-of-the-art and top-notch.

Lexmark: With both a new childcare center and a wellness center, how will these types of employee services help Lexmark in recruiting?

Isbell: Lexmark is committed to helping our employees balance the pressures of raising their families in our 24/7 global environment. The Center for Children will help our employees with work/life balance, which is key to employee retention and recruitment.  We see the center as another added benefit of working at Lexmark.

For more information on employment at Lexmark, go to our“Careers at Lexmark” page.

[Lexmark News Blog] The results are in: Lexmark conducts “Voice of the Customer” survey

Our counterpart in EMEA recently conducted a voice of the customer survey.

This survey was conducted with customers and Lexmark partners in over 21 countries.

Questions such as, “How important is Performance/Productivity in your business and printing” and “How important is Device Management in your business and printing environment?” were asked and the results are in! 

* 90 percent of those asked would recommend Lexmark products, 77% of which would highly recommend

* Device Management is the most important feature for our customers and partners

* 86 percent of Lexmark customers are most satisfied with the ease of device configuration

Click here to check out the cool infographic detailing the survey’s results and click here to see the results of the full survey.

[Lexmark News] What’s the choice? Getting your information fast, or getting it right? Learn how to have both!

Thanks to the instantaneous answers served up by Google, Yahoo and other search engines, we now have similar expectations for the speed and flexibility of information that drives our businesses. However, access to data in organizations is rarely as quick and fluid as an Internet search. Even so, we hustle to speed up information delivery, especially when it comes to business decisions, collaboration and customer service. 

But the real goal shouldn’t only be faster information, but faster decision making – there’s a difference. The key is to get the RIGHTinformation faster.

You can help your managers and employees improve decision-making processes. The greatest potential for improvement comes from understanding your organization’s true information needs and in bringing more order to workplaces where the norm has been disconnected processes, unstructured information and ultimately, frustrated employees.

Learn About Getting Information Right

In a Lexmark-sponsored webinar on Sept. 24, best-selling author, educator and consultant Tom Davenport will help you focus on identifying the right information. You’ll also learn how to organize the best processes to capture and deliver the data you need. Better processes won’t guarantee better decisions, but can make that outcome more likely.

Join this free webinar to learn more about:

• Identifying the kinds of decisions your organization makes
• The types of work our decisions support
• What information needs to be fast – and what doesn’t
• How to avoid the pain of gathering information

Register today to join this master class, without leaving your office.

More About Tom Davenport

It’s not every day you have the chance to spend an hour with one of the world’s top 25 consultants and one of the 100 most influential people in the IT industry. Tom Davenport has authored hundreds of articles, columns and blogs for such publications as Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review, CIO, and The Financial Times. http://www.tomdavenport.com/

[Lexmark News Blog] Conversations around the cloud in financial services

Analysts are predicting a greater adoption of cloud services over the next five to seven years. Mike Gabbert, manager of Lexmark’s financial services vertical, discusses what kinds of conversations are taking place in the cloud today, what trends are forthcoming and how important the cloud is to businesses.

For more information about Lexmark financial services, click here.

[Lexmark News Blog] What we can all learn from the Snowden disaster

Dennis Cunningham, vice president public sector for Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, writes a timely post focusing on data security and the implications of the Edward Snowden data breach incident. 

A commitment to finding, securing and tracking sensitive data might just save your organization from a catastrophic data breach.

In 1775, Benjamin Franklin said, “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither.”

Whoa. Those are some heavy words written by a man more than 200 years ago. In the wake of 9/11, I heard this quote used in the context of airport security lines, the Patriot Act, defending our borders and many other modern-day scenarios.

But, I can’t say I’ve heard this quote in reference to the handling of the data we use every day to run our businesses. In light of the Edward Snowden case, however, I can’t help consider a parallel.

Click here to read the entire article.

[Lexmark News Blog]Solving the document headache: Using technology to process receipts

Bronwyn Jesse, payroll manager and accounts payable supervisor for theCity of Lethbridgein Canada, recently wrote this customer case study on how organizations can keep track on company purchases and ensure accurate reports with Perceptive Capture Solutions. 

Credit card use in Canada is on the rise, with nearly 74 million Visa and MasterCard cards in circulation as of October 2012. These cards aren’t limited to personal use — employees frequently have access to corporate credit cards, as well. But increased usage brings with it a greater volume of receipts and record keeping processes for finance departments. So the question becomes, how can organizations keep track of all company purchases and ensure accurate records?

This is a challenge with which the City of Lethbridge is extremely familiar. Our department typically processes between 800 to 1,000 receipts every month. Given the nature of government many of these receipts originate with individuals out in the field or in our various locations within the city, adding an additional layer of complexity should we have questions about the details behind a particular purchase.

Our expense system requires that employees are responsible for keeping track of their monthly receipts and getting them approved by their supervisor. In order to do this, they need to print off the individual activity statement from the credit card’s website and enter in a General Ledger (GL) code and description of the purchase. From there, they must reprint the activity statement, and send to their supervisor for approval along with copies of all the relevant receipts. Following supervisor approval, the statement is forwarded to an office manager to confirm that the expenses are in line with the City’s policies. Once confirmed, the completed package is then forwarded to the accounts payable department to pull details from the credit card website and input them into our financial system.

Once this has been done, all of the receipts are scanned intoPerceptive Capture, an intelligent data capture solution from Perceptive Software, a Lexmark company, which seamlessly captures receipts and links them with matching expense reports. The solution allows us to attach a GL code to all scanned receipts, so that we can easily look up the number to determine the nature of the transaction. A bit like a virtual filing cabinet, this ensures that vendor, employee and corporate receipts are all stored so that they can be easily accessible by our users, especially when they are in the field. Implementing Perceptive Capture means this access is available wherever and whenever we need it — a particularly important benefit given the city government’s various departments and locations.

We’ve been excited by the feedback we’ve received stemming from the implementation of Perceptive Capture and looking ahead, we have plans to further digitize our document management system even further.

Want to find out how Perceptive Capture can help your business. Click here to find out more information.