Batch processing is crucial for capture systems. It swiftly and accurately handles large data volumes, removing bottlenecks. However, efficient batch processing isn’t easy. It needs the proper foundation of support behind it. Want to reduce downtime, speed up response times and enhance your workflows and capabilities? This guide is for you. Let’s unlock the full potential of your capture operations.
Brian DeWyer is CTO and Co-Founder of Reveille Software. With more than 25 years of experience in technology, Brian DeWyer provides product strategy and technical leadership in his role as Reveille CTO and board member. Brian leverages his extensive knowledge from his tenure as a senior IT leader at Wachovia and previous role as a process consulting practice leader for IBM Global Services delivering on-premises and cloud-based solution implementations for Fortune 1000 commercial and government clients. He has led process change efforts within large organizations, building on content-driven solutions for high-volume transaction processing applications. He is a past board member of the Association of Image and Information Management (AIIM) industry association. Brian graduated from Virginia Tech with a BSME and holds an MBA from Wake Forest University.
Like a digital assistant, batch processing captures and keeps extracted data, organizes information, automates tasks and analyzes data — all without risking any human errors. It helps businesses run smoothly by automating everyday processes, services and functions. For example:
• In a bank, when there is a loan application, it automates gathering details. It then sorts them and moves the application through the approval stages.• In insurance, it speeds up claims processing. It does this by checking data, assigning tasks and updating customers.• In manufacturing, it tracks production performance and predicts when it’s needed.
Batch processing speeds up content-intensive business workflows, reduces errors and saves time for the organization and its stakeholders. Best of all, this solution allows employees to focus on more important tasks and improves business performance. Batch processing is a process that automatically handles documents and data in groups (batches). It’s vital for dealing with large, structured datasets, which are key in businesses with lots of transactional data.
To further elaborate, here’s how it works:
1. Document Capture: It automatically grabs documents from scanners, email and phones.2. Data Extraction: It pulls out needed info using OCR and other technologies.3. Classification: It sorts documents based on their content and rules.4. Validation: It checks the data for accuracy, adding manual checks if needed.5. Export: It sends the processed data to ECM systems, databases or other applications.
Best Practices for Batch Processing Efficiency
Improving batch processing is key for handling large data volumes. Streamlining workflows and optimizing processes lead to quicker, more accurate results. Here are some best practices to follow:
1. Automate Document Capture
Use automation to grab documents and data, reducing manual work. Set up workflows to pull documents from emails, fax servers, scanners and any other inputs you use. This process speeds up document processing and lowers errors common in manual, repetitive human work.
2. Use OCR and Advanced Extraction
Advanced analytics technologies use intelligent document processing to speed up data extraction and boost data accuracy. Optical character recognition (OCR) converts images of typed, handwritten or printed text into machine-encoded text. These technologies help businesses extract details from various document types and process them quickly and accurately.
3. Set Clear Validation Rules
Create strict rules to ensure accurate and complete manual data extraction throughout. These rules check for consistency in manual data extraction, document processing, format and completion. For example, a rule could be set to ensure that the data entered into a field is the correct data type, format, and length. These rules reduce mistakes and the need for manual corrections.
4. Adjust Batch Sizes
Tailoring batch sizes to your system’s capacity and workload is important. Larger batches are more efficient but might slow down systems with low resources. Meanwhile, smaller batches are quicker to process — with less code — but need more frequent handling. Finding the right balance speeds up processing and minimizes delays.
5. Track Performance
Regularly check batch processing performance to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement. Use metrics and dashboards to monitor processing time, error rates and resource use. These insights help maintain performance and highlight any issues before they impact processes.
Benefits of Using ECM Management Systems for Batch Processing
Efficient batch processing management integration is not as simple as installing a system and letting it do its thing. It needs constant monitoring. Enterprise Content Management systems can make this easier and some key benefits include:
- Proactive Issue Detection and Resolution: Imagine having 24/7 monitoring of your ECM environment that alerts you to potential issues before they become problems. There will be an eye on your complete ECM environment, spotting issues early to prevent user impact, sending alerts and offering fixes. This proactive approach helps IT teams maintain high system availability.
- Comprehensive Visibility and Insights: Understanding the inner workings and capabilities of your batch processing activities is crucial. ECM management solutions can go deep into the data to reveal performance, user activity and system health. This insight is key to identifying inefficiencies. It also helps optimize processes for better performance.
- Reduced Manual Work: ECM management solutions automate monitoring, task automation and management. This task automation cuts down on manual work to maintain batch processing. It frees up IT teams for more critical tasks and strategic decision-making on projects, boosting overall productivity.
- Enhanced Compliance and Security: Keeping your data safe has never been easier. ECM management provides thorough auditing and compliance reports to ensure batch processing meets regulatory and internal rules. It also watches for suspicious activity and security breaches. This secures sensitive data and maintains integrity.
- Improved System Performance: Advanced monitoring enhances system performance. It finds and fixes bottlenecks and resource issues before they impact wider systems or customers. This leads to faster processing and better efficiency in batch operations.
Better batch processing is a win-win for businesses. It means happier employees, satisfied customers, cost savings and freed-up resources.
