Despite the ready availability of digital business productivity tools, the majority of organisations are still slowed down by inefficient – and often inaccurate – paper based processes.
This emerged during a webinar hosted by Dax Data in partnership with ITWeb, focusing on how Adobe and Microsoft integrations revolutionise paper-based processes.
Carla Ralph, Adobe product expert, said paper-based processes were both costly and time-consuming, yet many organisations around the world still depended on them.
“Around 60% of executives worldwide feel they are behind in terms of digital transformation; and 80% of document processes still rely on paper, which wastes both time and money. In addition, only around 19% of organisations have excellent data visibility, often due to the fact that the majority are using paper-based processes,” she said.
Polls of attendees echoed international trends, finding that 63% felt their organisation was lagging in terms of digital transformation, and 76% said their document processes still relied on paper.
Paper based processes caused challenges across departments, Ralph noted: “In a sales environment, for example, two thirds of a sales rep’s time is spent on administration, sales cycles are interrupted by manual and paper-based tasks, and business delays are caused waiting for documents to be signed.”
The situation is similar for HR, procurement, legal and other departments, with paper based processes slowing down processes, wasting time and increasing risk due to errors and missing information.
Ralph demonstrated how Adobe and Microsoft integrations make it possible to implement automated and 100% paperless document workflows, with Adobe Document Cloud for Microsoft 365, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Sign and PDF services built into Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. These applications enable instant digital signatures and authorisations, and track their status in tools such as Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Adobe Sign and Acrobat PDF tools can be accessed from the Office 365 window in Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, SharePoint and OneDrive; enabling users to combine multiple 365 files, images, text and PDFs into a single PDF for archiving or distribution; or create electronic contracts for e-signature approvals and track their status in Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint or Teams.
Organisations using Adobe Document Cloud and Microsoft achieve 28 times faster cycle times, and save around $28 per document and 65 hours per year, Ralph said.
“Among the benefits are giving customers and employees an intuitive and accessible digital experience from any device, gaining real-time visibility into contracts, eliminating data errors and silos, and globally compliant e-signatures and approval processes,” she said. “Organisations can accelerate business, retain business continuity, boost customer and employee satisfaction, increase document visibility and auditability, and reduce the risk and compliance burden, as well as increasing their ROI on Microsoft 365, Azure and Dynamics 365.”
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