UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Document Imaging
A Tool for Development Professionals
USC Development Research
Imaging Objectives
Improve fund raising results
Provide distributed access to
information
Allow multi-user access to files
Enhance ability to find new
relationships and new prospects
Provide enhanced security
Ensure “institutional memory”
USC Development Research
Challenges
Competition for donor dollars
Information access/retrieval
Cost of staffing
Cost of physical storage
Setting standards for
selection/retention of material
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Competition
Many organizations seeking
funds
Identifying new prospects is key
Must understand the myriad of
donor connections to USC
Access to “total picture” of a
donor is critical
USC Development Research
Information Retrieval
Without imaging ...
– Must manually search through files
– Paper files are “single-user”
– Mis-filed documents are really lost
documents
– There is no practical way to cross reference
– Additional staffing is required
– No backup or security for files
Elapsed time: hours…days…???
USC Development Research
Cost of Staffing
Average loaded cost of a research
support position is $45,000/year
Difficult to find qualified staff at
all levels
Average professional wastes up to
18% of their time searching for or
waiting for information
USC Development Research
Cost of Physical Storage
Cost of floor space
Cost of file cabinets, folders, etc
Cost of paper for multiple copies
Cost of microfilm and microfiche
Cost of lost or missing
information
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Standards of Selection/
Retention of Material
Not everything is appropriate for
scanning - careful review required
Must consider: FORM and CONTENT
File acquisition from Development
Officers, Deans and Sr. Administration
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Solutions
Give up and close down
Continue on as is
Add more human resources
Apply proven technologies
USC Development Research
What is Document Imaging?
Document imaging is a proven
technology that moves
information to the people, rather
than moving people to the
information.
It is a means of storing
information in a digital format
rather than in a paper format.
USC Development Research
Document Imaging Features
On-line multi-user access to data
Search all documents at once
Print documents on demand
Fax documents on demand
Long-term storage and archival
Uses standard PC hardware
USC Development Research
Imaging Network Setup
Production Server Imaging Server
TCP/IP Backbone
Windows PC Scanner Windows PC Laser printer
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Scanning Documents
Paper documents must be scanned
Scanners have both auto-feed and
flatbed capabilities
Multiple scanners can be used
Speed ranges from 10
pages/minute to 100 pages/minute
Prices range from $300 to $40,000
USC Development Research
Indexing Documents
Free-form indexes
Index at folder, document, or page
level
No limit to the number of index key
words
Indexes can be entered manually or
by using OCR
USC Development Research
Optical Character Recognition
Converts images into text
OCR text can be “pasted” into index
Makes every word in the document
part of the index
Minimizes manual data entry
Success of OCR is very dependent
upon the quality of the original
USC Development Research
Search and Retrieval
Search entire database in one pass
Search using any combination of
index key words
Find all files containing a particular
name, word, or phrase
“Page Contents” search option
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Cost Justifications
Enhanced ability to find new
relationships and prospects
Improved access to information
Greater security of files
Payroll cost savings
Reduced physical storage costs
USC Development Research
Sample System Prices
system
Starter $ 19,995
Mid-range system $ 45,995
High-end system $ 75,995
System prices include:
– All hardware
– All software
– Installation and training
USC Development Research
Summary
Document imaging is a powerful
tool for research professionals
that:
– enhances our ability to find new
prospects from within our own files
– provides better access to information
– improves the security of our files
– reduces the cost of research
– has a rapid payback
USC Development Research
Why IMIGIT(TM) and ITG?
Full featured document imaging
software
Complete in-house imaging sys.
Supports both small and large
client requirements
Software, installation, training,
and support from a single vendor
Utilizes existing equipment
USC Development Research
Action Steps...
Gather sample data
Obtain demo CD with USC data
Determine volume of existing files
Determine how to handle backfile
conversion
Provide imaging system proposal
Secure funding
USC Development Research