Boost Efficiency: Benefits of OCR for Document Management
In today’s advanced age, organisations and businesses constantly handle large volumes of documents. From invoices to contracts, these paper documents instantly pile up and become overwhelming. But, putting information manually into digital format is time-intensive and error-prone. This is the point where OCR services come in.
By using advanced technology to transform scanned documents into editable texts, OCR services save business money and time while improving their efficiency. So why spend hours manually entering data when it’s easy to transform paper documents into digital texts with the help of OCR services?
Based on a report published by MarketsandMarkets, it is projected that the global market for OCR (optical character recognition) will expand from USD 7.9 billion in 2020 to USD 13.4 billion by 2025, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.0% during the forecast period.
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What is Optical Character Recognition(OCR)?
OCR is a technology that employs a camera or a scanner to capture an image of handwritten or printed text. It is ordinarily followed by the use of specialised software to identify and transform the characters into machine-readable text.
This technology is widely utilised across a range of industries such as data entry, publishing and document management. Not only this, but it also serves a crucial role in converting printed documents or material into digital formats. Hence, it enables automated check processing and facilitates image-based search engines.
Use Cases for OCR
The digitisation of documents has become an indispensable requirement in different industries such as legal sectors, finance and healthcare. The accurate and prompt retrieval of records is crucial in these sectors. OCR technology plays a significant role in these sectors that ensures digitised documents are secure, easily accessible and available for the future.
- Document Scanning and Digitisation
When employees scan a document using a smartphone camera or a scanner, the OCR software will process an image file that is used to fetch the text from an image. The OCR software then transforms the text into an editable and searchable format, such as PDF or Word document with selectable text.
Moreover, it also identifies and extracts data from structured documents such as invoices or forms, converting the data into digital format. It saves employees effort and time compared to conventional data entry. Overall document scanning and digitisation using OCR technology can enhance the accuracy, efficiency and accessibility of information.
- Data Entry Automation
Conventionally, data entry involves manually typing information from a document into a computer system. This procedure is time-intensive and error-prone, specifically when dealing with huge data volumes. OCR software usually automates this procedure by automatically identifying and extracting the required text from documents and then inputting it into a computer system.
For example, a company receives hundreds of invoices every month that need to be entered into its accounting software. OCR software scans the invoice. Not only this but the required information such as invoice number, and vendor name can be extracted and entered into accounting software automatically.
Hence, OCR saves time and reduces the risk of errors that happen during the data entry process.
4. Accessibility
OCR is used to enhance accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. This technology is powerful and used for the purpose of converting text that visually impaired people can easily understand. For instance, converting printed text into an electronic or audible format that can be read aloud by text-to-speech software. Moreover, OCR services also facilitate braille documents, enabling a blind person to read individual texts.
5. Translation
OCR solutions translate documents from one language to another, extracting text from a document and then translating text by using machine translation tools. By utilising this process, it becomes increasingly possible to rapidly and accurately translate vast amounts of text.
Benefits of OCR
- Increased Efficiency
OCR technology allows for the automation of time-intensive and repetitive tasks such as document scanning and digitisation. By using OCR, conventional data entry methods can be minimised, resulting in significant cost and time savings. This streamlining of procedures enables companies to boost their efficiency and productivity.
- Improved Accuracy
OCR technology boosts high accuracy rates, or can easily recognise both handwritten and printed text. Utilising OCR in data entry automation mitigates the risk of errors that are inherent in conventional data entry. Moreover, OCR technology is equipped with correction capabilities and error detection, enabling it to recognise and rectify errors in scanned documents. Not only this, but it also guarantees the completeness and accuracy of digitised documents.
- Cost Savings
The implementation of OCR technology results in cost savings for companies by reducing the necessity for document processing and conventional data entry. Moreover, digitising documents through OCR can eliminate the requirement for physical storage space, thereby, reducing storage costs.
Key Takeaways
OCR technology is a powerful tool that transforms document management for organisations across various industries. By converting paper documents into editable digital formats, OCR can enhance efficiency, accessibility and accuracy while reducing costs associated with physical storage.