Image Processing Systems in Business A Guide for Mis Professionals and End Users

A common complaint heard in today's business office is, There is paper everywhere but I cannot find the document that I'm looking for! It is estimated that 90 percent of all data and information currently being processed and distributed within offices and between organizations resides on paper. Finding the physical space to store this paper can be a key problem. To overcome this problem and others, there is a need for a dramatic new approach to information processing found in business. Such an approach is found in this unique and useful volume.

Essentially, image processing systems in business use today's computer technology to solve paper processing and storage problems. Their main means of processing is performed electronically, that is, documents are captured initially on an electronic medium and forwarded to other users in the same mode. In this manner, their essential means of communicating with users is in an electronic format versus a paper one. Also, image processing systems in business are much more flexible in meeting changing user needs, especially when the data is stored on optical disk.

ROBERT J. THIERAUF is Professor of Information and Decision Sciences at Xavier University.