Two-thirds of businesses regularly need to scan more than 50 pages/day to transfer information to digital format, finds survey of U.S. and U.K. employees, citing need to keep electronic record, improved cost effectiveness than paper archive, other factors

Kendall Sinclair

WESTBOROUGH, Massachusetts , August 13, 2012 (press release) – Two-thirds of businesses regularly need to scan more than 50 pages a day to transfer information to a digital format

Anoto, the creator of digital pen and paper technology, today announced the results of a survey conducted across the United States and the United Kingdom focused on the state of scanning in business today. Businesses ranging anywhere from 50 to more than 200 employees across a wide variety of industries were surveyed and found to have significant scanning requirements due to a continued reliance on paper. Some of the major reasons include the need to keep an electronic record (71%) and because the data is easier to work with in digital form (55%). Other reasons were:

More cost effective than maintaining a paper archive (45%)
The need to backup printed files (41%)
The increasing plethora of legal requirements (31%)

Of the companies surveyed, the vast majority (81%) of employees said they had a scanning requirement and noted that time spent on the process each day is significant, with 44% of employees spending between one and five hours or more a day just scanning paper documents.

When asked how many pages per day that equated to, more than 61% of the businesses surveyed stated that scanned documents amounted to anywhere between 50 to well over a 100 pages per day. Considering the average cost for scanning a single document is approximately 10 cents per scan and the lost time in productivity that it takes an employee to process each document, the cost to a business can rise to many thousands of dollars per year.

"We asked respondents if they would be interested in an alternative solution to scanning to ease the cost burden, particularly in a solution as simple as a pen instead of a scanner," said Pietro Parravicini, senior vice president area manager Americas for Anoto. "Almost half of these organizations expressed interest in this type of option to revise current processes. This proves that although the paperless office is not yet a reality, businesses are looking for new more portable alternatives to current processes."

The survey also broke out vertical markets where paper is still particularly heavily used including legal, financial services and insurance. The numbers for the need to transfer paper to an electronic form through scanning are staggering:

Legal

88% of employees have a scanning requirement
Reasons for scanning: 43% said it is due to a legal requirement; 100% of survey respondents cite they scan because they want an electronic record; 57% said they want to back up printed files; 43% said it is easier to transfer the data and 57% said because it is more cost-effective than maintaining a paper archive
State of the business: 63% said that the business as a whole requires scanning every day and 72% stated that time spent per day was between one and four hours
When asked about the number of pages the business scanned each day, 60% of respondents stated it was upwards of 100 pages per day

Financial Services

92% of employees have a scanning requirement
Reasons for scanning: 73% of survey respondents cited they scan because it is a legal requirement; 91% said it is because they want an electronic record, 64% said it is to back up printed files; 82% said it is easier to transfer the data and 73% said it is more cost-effective than maintaining a paper archive
State of the business: 75% said that the business as a whole requires scanning every day and 64% stated that the time spent per day is between one and five hours or more
When asked about the number of pages the business scanned each day, 67% of respondents stated it was upwards of 100 pages per day

Insurance

100% of employees have a scanning requirement
Reasons for scanning: 78% of survey respondents cited they scan because it is a legal requirement; 89% said it is because they want an electronic record; 78% said it is to back up printed files; 67% said it is easier to transfer the data and 89% said it is more cost effective than maintaining a paper archive
State of the business: 89% said that the business as a whole requires scanning every day and that 90% stated that time spent ranges from an hour a day to five hours or more
When asked about the number of pages the business scanned each day, 100% stated that it was upwards of 100 pages per day


About the Survey

Anoto conducted an online survey in July 2012 and had 200 responses. The industries surveyed included financial, legal, insurance, healthcare, education and technology. The survey was carried out in both the United States and the United Kingdom and asked respondents about their need for scanning and the time spent on the process every day.

About Anoto Group

Anoto Group is the company behind and world leading in the unique technology for digital pen and paper, which enables fast and reliable transmission of handwritten text into a digital format. Anoto operates through a global partner network that focuses on user-friendly solutions for efficient capture, transmission and storage of data within different business segments, e.g. healthcare, bank and finance, transport and logistics and education. The Anoto Group has around 100 employees and is headquartered in Lund (Sweden). The company also has offices in Guildford and Wetherby (UK), Boston (US) and Tokyo (Japan). The Anoto share is traded on the Small Cap list of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm under the ticker ANOT. For more information visit: Anoto - Anoto penDocuments Pro

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