In a challenging labor market, automation is a key strategy for survival and growth.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Companies generating high volumes of customer-facing printed and electronic documents have traditionally relied upon on-premise solutions that require trained individuals to handle the customer communications management (CCM) production workflow. With many people retiring or leaving the industry, a new generation of workers with large system on-premise skills and experience is proving more difficult to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Switching to a CCM Software as a Service (SaaS) platform can allow for the automation of some processes formerly performed by these employees. Sometimes called web-based, on-demand, or hosted software, SaaS applications (apps) run on a provider\u2019s servers and are delivered over the Internet. Rather than having to install and maintain software, user companies simply access the service via the worldwide web \u2014 freeing companies from complex software and hardware management. The SaaS provider manages access to the app, including security, availability, and performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Business users can assume the remaining manual tasks. \u201cThe goal is to free up your smart people to do the exception handling work,\u201d says Pat McGrew, managing director of consultancy McGrewGroup, Inc. Firms that jumped on the cloud-computing bandwagon before the COVID-19 pandemic have realized the labor benefits of automating their systems, notes McGrew who has covered production software and workflow for market research firm Keypoint Intelligence\/InfoTrends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some people contend the inevitability of on-premise solutions fading away. However, to date, \u201cThere are companies at every stage of the journey,\u201d McGrew observes. \u201cSome embraced cloud technology five years ago and built the necessary security and encryption measures.\u201d Then, on the other side of the spectrum, are those who are comfortable with the status quo and have a difficult time surrendering control of on-premise security, servers and costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd, some companies represent the hybrid model,\u201d she acknowledges, managing a balancing act of both on-premise and cloud solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Updating and automating legacy document production systems \u201cwill always save you people and time,\u201d notes McGrew, but it does require practice. The biggest challenge, she says, is bringing knowledge into your team of what a cloud implementation means for you and for your clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technology providers like Quickcoms can supply guidance and advice to organizations as they transition from on-premise CCM systems to an SaaS platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou have to define a lot of business rules,\u201d McGrew explains. \u201cProcesses need to be documented and tasks need to be defined so that automation can happen. It\u2019s a big list. Remember, you don\u2019t want manual intervention. An ad hoc approach never works,\u201d she warns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Citing security concerns, one industry insider believes that hackers are going after on-premise clients with ransom attacks that encrypt data. \u201cThey\u2019re targeting everybody,\u201d counters McGrew, \u201cwhether on prem or not. Even in SaaS environments, data can rest on site for a time. Any data coming in or out can be under attack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n