If you read the book “Intelligent Document Capture with Ephesoft,” (http://amzn.to/1fvlCML) the first chapter (dedicated to the evolution of document capture) includes me and my colleagues discussing how software moved from template or coordinate based solutions to more free-form technologies — not only to classify documents but also to extract the meta-data. Not everyone has kept up with the evolution. I recently visited a potential customer in Tennessee and was shocked at what I saw. This organization processes thousands of Invoices using 20-year-old technology purchased just a few years ago! When we started talking about what Ephesoft brings to the table and how 100% different we are, I think the potential client was also shocked. I explained to them how Ephesoft doesn’t need to template the 30,000 vendors to capture them, how Ephesoft can read the invoices (thru Full Page OCR) and match the vendor to their own database which is hosted in an Oracle Database, and how the system can be used by data-entry operators in India without any software installed on their computers, which also requires VPN connections. I think they quickly realized there is a better way to perform document capture, and that way is Ephesoft.
Ephesoft approaches document capture differently. Here are a few differences when you implement Ephesoft vs traditional document capture vendors:
No Barcoded Separator Sheets: Whether you are focused on mailroom automation for an insurance company or mortgage loan origination or scanning invoices, Ephesoft can not only identify where a document starts and ends (without barcodes), but can also classify them by simply looking at the content (Full Page OCR) like you and I do.
No Client Software: Ephesoft is developed for the browser. Admin screens, user screens, and scanner screens — everything is web-based. This means our clients don’t have to worry about months of upgrades for their in-house computers. Think cloud, internal cloud…
No Templates: Ephesoft does not require clients to create templates. We either learn through rules such as “find invoice date” or “look to your right or below and grab the date.” No need for templates for every vendor to capture one field from all vendors.
I think the strength of Ephesoft goes well beyond what we designed 4 years ago. Our software is key but just as important is our ability to listen and change the product roadmap based on feedback. We continually listen to our clients and SI partners for product innovations. In fact, we really don’t define our roadmap on our own; we let our community tell us. Many of the features we will release in the next version were suggested to us by our clients or partners 6 months ago. Is your vendor listening to you?
