DOCUMENT FALL 2024 by MadMen3

Partnering with Azuba for Seamless Customer Experiences

The Power of CCM and CXM

In today’s ﬁnancial sector, customer engagement is essential.

Integrating Customer Communication Management (CCM) and Customer Experience Management (CXM) streamlines both transactional and emotionally engaging interactions. While both focus on improving customer touchpoints, they differ signiﬁcantly in approach:

CCM automates high-volume communications such as account statements, loan notices, and regulatory documents. It’s prevalent in compliance driven industries like banking, insurance, and utilities, using channels like print, email, SMS, and web portals to ensure essential documents reach customers accurately.

In contrast, CXM focuses on the customer journey, building emotional connections through personalized interactions across mobile apps, websites, and support channels. Leveraging realtime and self-reported consumer data, CXM delivers tailored experiences that deepen engagement.

CCM vs. CXM

Both solutions play distinct but complementary roles.

 CCM delivers efﬁcient, organization-initiated communications

 CXM enriches customer-initiated interactions.

 Integrated, they create seamless end-to-end experiences.

Key Differences

 Volume vs. Personalization: CCM handles high-volume, organization-initiated communications; CXM focuses on lower volume, personalized, customer-initiated interactions.

 Accuracy vs. Journey Optimization: CCM ensures timely, accurate, compliant communications; CXM enriches the customer journey with emotionally resonant interactions.

 Automation: CCM uses workﬂow automation for document generation; CXM employs AI for real-time personalization.

 Consistency and Compliance: CCM guarantees consistency and regulatory compliance across multiple channels; CXM ensures cohesive customer experiences while adhering to privacy laws.

Integrating CCM and CXM for Success

Integrating CCM and CXM is crucial for businesses aiming to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty. Their synergy ensures that both transactional efﬁciency and experiential aspects are optimized:

Uniﬁed Data: Centralizing customer data delivers consistent, contextually relevant communications.

Scalable Personalization: CCM provides personalized documents at scale, while CXM ensures interactions feel unique and timely.

Seamless Communication: Combined, CCM and CXM facilitate smooth, consistent messaging across all touchpoints, ensuring customers feel understood and engaged.

Conclusion

In banking and ﬁnancial services, where compliance-driven communications are as vital as personalized experiences, CCM and CXM integration is key. Azuba Corporation’s advanced CCM solutions, paired with leading CXM and CRM systems, empower businesses to deliver tailored, scalable communications that drive customer loyalty. Contact Azuba today to enhance your engagement strategy.

Content Counts: The Importance of Clear Communication

Millennials and Gen Z consumers came of age in a time of rapid, unprecedented technological advancement.

With nearly the complete compendium of human knowledge in our pockets and at our fingertips, these consumers have grown comfortable with digital tools and online platforms, and they have consistently demonstrated a greater willingness to engage with providers through digital channels, including social media, mobile apps and instant messaging. The prospect of omnichannel engagement offers businesses the chance to expand their reach by connecting with these consumers in real-time and on their preferred platforms.

But these opportunities aren’t without their potential pitfalls. Aspire’s recent global consumer research revealed that digitally savvy consumers between the ages of 18 and 43 were twice as likely to have switched providers in the past year after a negative communications experience, highlighting the high stakes underpinning every single interaction on each touchpoint. This heightened sensitivity to poor experiences means that DOCUMENT STRATEGY’s mission to help CCM professionals strategically advance customer engagement has never been more critical than it is right now.

Aspire’s survey also showed that consumers in general — and Millennials and Gen Z customers in particular — believe the quality of their providers’ communications have improved over the last two years. While these results suggest enterprise efforts to prioritize customer experience and digital transformation have found some success, here again, there is good news and bad.

Two thirds of all consumers (including an incredible three quarters of those aged 18 to 43) reported that they find communications difficult to understand at least some of the time. This apparent contradiction highlights a critical

need for improvement. The importance of clear communication and effective messaging cannot be overstated — in fact, the same consumer survey found that four out of the top five negative aspects that would drive consumers to switch providers are directly tied to messaging content and the clarity with which it’s communicated. Consumers of every age and strata value the opportunity to quickly conduct business and resolve issues on their chosen channels, and we, as communications professionals, must rise to the challenge. While personalized interactions are important, even the most tailored communication will miss the mark if its recipient is left confused and frustrated. For this reason, businesses must ensure their messaging is clear and concise while working to deliver accurate information and a consistent experience across all channels. As accessibility becomes ever more vital, organizations should also consider training content creators and investing in automated translation software (with a proven track record of success) so they can convey information clearly and effectively to a diverse audience with differing needs and diverging communications styles.

In an increasingly competitive market, effective communication is a key differentiator. By focusing on clarity, consistency, and accessibility across all channels, organizations can build stronger customer relationships, enhance loyalty and maximize lifetime value. Let’s commit to raising the bar on communication quality. The future of our businesses — and our industry — depends on it.

Will Morgan is an experienced industry analyst with expertise in the Customer Communications Services market. As Aspire’s Senior Research Analyst, he works alongside the wider team to provide advice, insight and vital intelligence to the company’s expanding customer base on both sides of the Atlantic. Before joining Aspire, Will worked with Keypoint Intelligence-InfoTrends’ Customer Communications and Business Development Advisory Services.

president Chad Griepentrog

publisher Ken Waddell

managing editor Erin Eagan [ erin@rbpub.com ]

contributing editor Amanda Armendariz

contributors Ernie Crawford, Avi Greenfield, Atif Khan, Gilad David Maayan, Mia Papanicolaou, Stephanie Pieruccini, Eric Riz, Kaspar Roos, Liz Stephen, Andy Young, Olga Zakharenkava

advertising Ken Waddell [ ken.w@rbpub.com ] 608.235.2212

audience development manager Rachel Chapman [ rachel@rbpub.com ] creative director Kelli Cooke

DOCUMENT Strategy Media (ISSN 1081-4078) is published on a daily basis via its online portal and produces special print editions by Madmen3, PO BOX 259098, Madison, WI 53725-9098. All material in this magazine is copyrighted ©2024 by Madmen3 All rights reserved. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. Any correspondence sent to DOCUMENT Strategy Media, Madmen3, or its staff becomes the property of Madmen3.

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FEATURED CONTRIBUTORS

Andy Young

Andy Young, founder of Treeline Research, has dedicated his career to understanding how people communicate, and how to monetize those inevitable shifts in communication. His professional path has wound through all aspects of the communications spectrum. He grew up in print, working for businesses big and small, market leaders and entrepreneurs, frequently finding himself as a thought leader at the forefront of a market in transition, which starts with disruptive innovation to be successful.

Kaspar Roos

Kaspar Roos is the founder and CEO of Aspire Customer Communications Services, an international technology advisory firm specializing in customer communications transformation and customer engagement optimization. Before starting Aspire, he ran InfoTrends’ global production workflow and customer communications advisory service. At his tenure at InfoTrends, he helped leading technology vendors and service providers understand the shifts in the customer communications and workflow markets by providing market research, insights and strategic consulting services.

Olga Zakharenkava

Olga Zakharenkava focuses on delivering business value to organizations through world-class SaaS customer communications management solutions. She has a strong background in CCM technology and regularly contributes thoughtleadership content to industry publications. Olga covers topics that include SaaS software, marketing, strategy and digital transformation.

MANAGING THE TRANSACTIONAL SHIFT

BY ANDY YOUNG

A new perspective on CCM and the digital customer experience

In the transactional print world, there is a change happening, but nobody is talking about it. Or wants to talk about it. But Treeline Research is talking about it: Printed and mailed bills and statements will be the Yellow Pages of the next decade.

It’s a bold, but true, statement that has traditional printers uneasy about what the future looks like, even though data points to it already happening.

What’s also true? There is a digital experience transformation happening

in parallel that you can capitalize on beyond or with the print experience. So, let’s unwrap it and and learn how to get help with your understanding of the current market, where it’s headed and how to navigate the transformation into new opportunities.

Disruptive Innovation Is Good

Yes, the market is changing, and we know, the human reaction being what it is, any change can be scary. But it doesn’t have to be.

Though we’re all aware of the shift, that print is declining, there is still a place for it. Knowing this, have you taken the time to uncover what’s necessary in your business to capitalize on it — people, products and processes — to succeed in your next chapter?

The good news is, there are a lot of opportunities awaiting you in the digital customer experience, but pretending it isn’t happening or being afraid to talk about it isn’t going to convert inevitable change into success.

The volume of customer communications is increasing with new digital capabilities, and when they leave one channel like printed paper, they transition to another channel, they don’t just disappear. The key to success is knowing where to look.

The Digital Experience

When one door closes….

We know that there will always be a place for print, but when the market is increasingly digital, the best path forward is providing value by understanding your customer’s preferences and derive an experience vs. a one and done transactional communication.

As a Print Service Provider (PSP), can you see and prepare for this future? Turns out you can by starting with the data and embracing it.

Regardless of the medium, everybody needs information. Your financial and healthcare information, for example, doesn’t just go away because you clicked the ‘do not want printed statements’ box. You need your data to make decisions and often create a plan for budgets, follow-ups and top-ups. Those customer preferences are more than a simple email but rather part of an overall customer experience.

In the “Above the Treeline” Vlog Series, the latest installment with Didier Rouillard, Co-Founder of DNOW! discusses why PSPs are in a great position to capitalize on the digital experience and shift in communications.

“If the Print Service Provider owners believe they are part of a process where they are helping the enterprise

Figure

to assemble content, personalize communications and distribute in a secure manner regardless of the channel, then we have a lot of opportunity. However, if the owners are so deep into printing that they will never let go of physical manufacturing process, the sights sounds and smells of printing, then it will be difficult.” — Didier Rouillard, Co-Founder DNOW!

Simply put, innovation and change go hand in hand and if done right, the opportunities for printers that come with these new challenges can be a game changer for your print business. But if you choose to only focus on traditional processes, there will be no room to capitalize on the transitional shift to digital.

All of this leaves print providers at a crossroads: how do they create a strategy around the reality that 90% of communications are digital but there is still a print element? How do printers balance the two, recognizing that the need and volume for direct mail and transactional print may be steadily decreasing, but understanding that people still need relevant communications?

A critical step is understanding where businesses are investing and

expanding digital capabilities, and partnering with thought leaders who understand how to help get you there (see Figure 2).

Research Findings

Digital adoption rates and volumes are poised to become some of the most important metrics in customer communications. Companies are increasingly focused on efficiency gains, cost reductions and enhancing customer experience — goals that are often intertwined with digital transformation efforts.

There are three essential metrics that we believe will be closely monitored as businesses transition from paper to digital:

1.Number of customers adopting digital as their preferred method of communication.

2.Number of companies prioritizing digital communications.

3.Overall volume of communications by delivery method.

While printed mail will continue to be available for certain consumers and regulatory reasons, the race to achieve digital adoption rates exceeding 90% will define the customer

communications landscape through the end of this decade. For companies, digital is not just an alternative; it is the future of communications, with printed mail gradually fading into the background as it has in other parts of the world.

We have found that nearly every enterprise wants to significantly increase their digital adoption, but they are stuck between legacy systems and regulations in their quest to improve digital adoption. Their print needs are also outsourced to 3rd party service providers (PSP) who are best equipped to help with the transition to digital, but they are also challenged with commitments to equipment leases, revenue models and other overhead related to print. It’s a challenging situation that will start to unravel in the next 3 to 5 years.

Most businesses have a desire to remove paper communications and significantly increase their digital adoption within the next 3 to 5 years.

Businesses overestimate the necessity of printed mailed communications in delivering customer experience. Most customers say they will not leave their bank, insurance company, etc. if they are forced to transition to digital communications.

Businesses and their customers view mailed paper as redundant with digital alternatives.

Digital methods of delivery are the most trusted form of communication delivery.

“Digital experiences are about making the documents that are valuable to the end-user. They work, navigate, look and feel the same as all the other stuff end-users are already doing on their mobile device or a on website, but this experience is delivered as a document that satisfies all the requirements of a “statement of record” with trusted relationship that can be personalized, even printed if that is what they desire.”

— Alan Burger, Co-Founder & CEO NA InfoSlips

Figure 2

Recommendations in Navigating the Shift

There is deﬁnitely a place for printers in a digital world by becoming a strategic partner who understands the customer and creates an experience based on their preferences. Tips for success:

Enhance Digital Engagement: Businesses should invest in improving digital communication methods, particularly mobile and email, to ensure higher engagement and satisfaction among customers. User-friendly platforms and enhanced security features should be prioritized to encourage customers to switch from paper to digital communications.

Focus on Security and Privacy: Given that security and privacy are top concerns for customers, especially older generations and speciﬁc ethnic groups, emphasize these aspects in their digital communication strategies. Clear and transparent communication

about data security measures can help build trust and encourage the transition to digital.

Utilize AI for Enhanced Customer Experience: As AI is expected to signiﬁcantly impact customer communications, businesses should integrate AI technologies to improve customer experiences, identify problems faster and manage regulatory and compliance risks. AI-driven personalized experiences can also help in making digital interactions more engaging.

Monitor and Adjust Based on Customer Feedback: Regularly track and analyze customer satisfaction and engagement rates with digital communications. Use this feedback to continually reﬁne and improve digital strategies, ensuring they meet the evolving preferences and needs of customers.

Promote Digital Wallets and New Communication Forms: Encourage

the adoption of innovative digital communication methods, such as digital wallets and cloud delivery, which have strong support from younger generations. These new forms can further enhance the convenience and accessibility of digital interactions.

ANDY YOUNG, founder of Treeline Research, has dedicated his career to understanding how people communicate, and how to monetize those inevitable shifts in communication. His professional path has wound through all aspects of the communications spectrum. Treeline Research is a specialized market research ﬁrm focused on the transformation of paper customer communications into digital experiences within banking, general insurance, ﬁnancial services and healthcare insurance sectors. Visit www.treelinepress.com.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT WHO ARE THE HOTTEST CM, CCM & CXM SOLUTION COMPANIES

BY AVI GREENFIELD

ARE YOUR CCM SYSTEMS COSTING YOU MORE THAN YOU KNOW?

Beyond financial expenses, consider operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and the ability to innovate

In today’s fast-paced world, effective customer communication is not just a business obligation — it’s a crucial part of the customer experience. Unfortunately, many organizations are bogged down by outdated customer communications management (CCM) systems, often a tangled mess of technologies accumulated over time. This leads to inefficiencies and a diminished ability to engage customers effectively. Outdated systems fail to meet modern expectations for personalized, omnichannel communications and can also result in revenue loss, excessive costs and compliance breaches.

The hidden costs of legacy CCM systems are expenses that many organizations overlook. The burden of maintaining multiple systems is more than a surface-level inconvenience. These challenges erode operational efficiency and stifle innovation until the need for change becomes undeniable.

The Imperative for Change

Transforming to a more unified and cost-effective CCM platform requires more than a simple inventory of tools. It demands a thorough analysis of how these systems interact, overlap and where they fall short. This initial assessment goes beyond identifying problems; it involves understanding the broader implications for your business operations and customer relationships.

Consider these three critical questions:

1. Are your costs higher than necessary due to maintaining multiple systems?

2. Is your customer experience suffering due to inconsistent communications?

3. Are you experiencing delays in implementing necessary changes due to a lack of expertise with legacy systems?

Understanding how your current setup impacts your bottom line emphasizes the urgency for a unified CCM solution and paves the way for transformative discussions with key stakeholders.

The True Price of Legacy Maintenance Fees

At first glance, maintenance fees for individual legacy CCM products may seem reasonable. Each system offers its own features and support, justifying the expense. However, when the costs of maintaining multiple outdated systems that need to work together are added up, the total expense often reveals a different story. Many organizations operate a patchwork of solutions, each requiring its own maintenance contract and expertise. Individually, these fees might seem manageable, but collectively they can become a significant financial burden.

Additionally, indirect costs associated with legacy CCM systems steadily accumulate. The inefficiency of outdated technology necessitates increased manual intervention and workarounds, making processes in contact centers, branches and back offices labor-intensive and prone to errors. This not only slows down operations but also increases the likelihood of costly corrections, such as non-compliance with brand guidelines or breaches of industry regulations like HIPAA. Moreover, the lack of integration between disparate systems can lead to data silos, where vital customer information is not easily accessible across departments. This fragmentation hampers the ability to deliver a seamless customer experience, as employees may struggle to access information, hindering their ability to address customer inquiries and issues promptly. The result is a disjointed customer journey that fails to meet the expectations of today’s digitally savvy consumers.

The ROI of a Unified CCM Platform

Achieving stakeholder buy-in is one of the most challenging aspects of initiating transformative changes. This step involves more than just presenting data; it requires understanding the unique perspectives and concerns of different departments and addressing them. For example, outdated CCM technology that demands extensive IT hours for maintenance,

updates and operation puts a significant strain on organizations, diverting technical resources from complex innovation projects.

In contrast, a unified CCM platform empowers business users to manage communications templates effectively and flexibly, meeting varying customer needs without risking exposure. This capability spans all appropriate physical and digital channels through a single solution. By placing this power in the hands of those who understand customer interactions and processes best, organizations can ensure communications swiftly align with customer expectations and operational realities, freeing IT to focus on technical elements, such as integrating with other business systems.

Is your customer experience suffering due to inconsistent communications?

The strategic advantages of transitioning to a unified CCM platform are numerous: improved customer engagement, enhanced operational efficiency and the agility to swiftly adapt to market changes and customer needs. Furthermore, a unified platform provides comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities, offering valuable insights into customer interactions and behaviors. These insights enable organizations to refine their communication strategies continuously, ensuring they remain relevant and effective.

Conversely, inaction carries significant downsides, including falling behind competitors in innovation, deteriorating customer trust and satisfaction due to outdated communication practices, and the escalating costs of maintaining obsolete systems. Organizations that fail to modernize

their CCM infrastructure risk losing market share to more agile competitors who can deliver a superior customer experience.

A Call to Action

Organizations must recognize that maintaining the status quo with legacy CCM systems is not a sustainable strategy. The business landscape is continuously evolving, and customer expectations are rising. To remain competitive, businesses need to invest in modern CCM solutions that provide the flexibility, efficiency and insights required to deliver exceptional customer experiences.

Embarking on this transformation journey requires a clear vision and commitment from leadership. It involves evaluating current systems, identifying gaps and selecting a unified CCM platform that aligns with the organization’s strategic goals. With the right approach, businesses can turn the challenge of outdated systems into an opportunity for growth and innovation.

In conclusion, the cost of maintaining outdated CCM systems extends far beyond financial expenses. It impacts operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and the ability to innovate. By transitioning to a unified CCM platform, organizations can unlock significant benefits, positioning themselves for long-term success in the digital age. The time to act is now — before the hidden costs of legacy systems take an even greater toll on your business.

AVI GREENFIELD, Vice President of Product Management for Customer Experience Management

(CXM) at

Quadient,

has over 25 years of experience using technology solutions to build business value, with a focus on customer communications and content strategy and delivery. He leads Quadient’s portfolio vision and roadmap for CXM. He helps meet the needs of businesses for managing omnichannel communications to enhance customer engagement and improve experiences across key journeys.

THE HUMAN ELEMENT OF INTERACTION WITH GENERATIVE AI

Part 3 of a 3-part series on AI in CCM | By Atif Khan

Building on the insights from our previous articles on the fundamentals and advanced techniques of prompt engineering, this final installment in our series ventures into the human element of interaction with generative AI. While we’ve explored how sophisticated technical strategies can enhance AI performance, it’s now time to address the user-centric challenges that often determine the success or failure of these interactions.

This final installment aims to unravel the complexities of user experience in prompt engineering, emphasizing strategies to overcome common hurdles, such as prompt paralysis, the crafting of guided and

context-rich prompts, user alignment and the selection of technological partnerships. By addressing these challenges, we strive not only to enhance the practical application of generative AI, but also to ensure it delivers substantial value, tailored to the nuanced needs of its users.

As we pivot our focus toward the user-centric challenges in prompt engineering, let’s consider the critical industry-wide relevance of translation accuracy as our motivating example. Despite the inherent ability of large language models to comprehend and process multiple languages, accurately measuring the quality of translations remains a significant hurdle. This complexity arises because translation

is not merely about converting words from one language to another. It involves understanding context, the intended message, factual accuracy and the nuanced definition of the “right translation.” Throughout this discussion, we will share a use case of an AI-powered quality control agent software application for translation accuracy as a foundational example. This will illustrate the necessity of meticulously structured prompts in delivering precise and context-aware interactions.

Prompt Paralysis

In addressing the challenges of user interaction with generative AI, we first need to recognize the pitfalls of

open-ended prompts. While they offer flexibility, such prompts often lead to a scenario we might term “prompt paralysis,” a state in which users, especially those less experienced with AI, find themselves overwhelmed and uncertain about how to effectively communicate their needs to the AI system. This issue arises from the vastness of possibilities and the lack of direction that happens with open prompts, leaving users struggling to formulate their queries in a way that yields the desired, refined results.

This challenge underscores the imperative for more structured and guided prompting within translation tasks. By furnishing users with tailored prompts specifically designed for evaluating translation accuracy, it makes it easier for them to specify their exact requirements — whether it concerns linguistic nuances, cultural context or the accuracy of conveyed information. Such an approach not only refines the user experience by making interactions with AI more direct and comprehensible, it also ensures that users can fully leverage AI capabilities to obtain precise and contextually appropriate translation assessments.

Guided and Contextual Prompting: Improving User Experience

Implementing guided prompts that clearly instruct users on how to interact with the AI system both enhances the user experience and ensures the delivery of accurate translation assessments. For example, a quality control agent dedicated to translation might begin by asking the user to specify the type of document and its intended use — be it legal, medical or technical. This initial prompt helps set the stage for the kind of linguistic precision required.

Following this, the agent could prompt the user to highlight any terms or phrases that carry significant weight in the original language, such as idiomatic expressions or industry-specific jargon. By asking the user to identify these critical elements, the AI system can pay special attention to them, ensuring they are translated with the correct nuance and emphasis.

Further refining the interaction, the quality control agent might use prompts that request information about the cultural context of the translation. Understanding whether a text is meant for an audience in Spain or Mexico, for instance, could dramatically change the choice of words and phrases. Such contextual prompts guide the AI system to adjust its translation algorithms accordingly, ensuring that the final product is not only linguistically accurate, but also culturally resonant.

Delivering Value: Ensuring Relevant and Appropriate AI Responses

As we’ve seen, guided and contextual prompting plays a crucial role in shaping user interactions with AI, particularly in complex tasks like translation accuracy assessment. However, the ultimate measure of success lies in the AI system’s ability to deliver value through responses that are not only correct, but also aligned with the user’s specific intent and needs. This alignment is key to ensuring that AI is a reliable and useful tool rather than a source of frustration.

For AI to truly deliver value, it is essential that the AI system is designed with prompts that extract the necessary contextual information without overwhelming the user. Rather than repeatedly asking the user for details, the system should be equipped with pre-considered, context-rich prompts that anticipate common concerns and guide the AI system to factor these into its evaluation process.

Technological Partnerships: Choosing the Right Tools and Platforms

The importance of selecting the right technological partnerships cannot be overstated. The effectiveness of AI systems, especially in complex tasks like translation accuracy assessment, hinges on the design of prompts, the intelligence of the models and on the underlying technology that powers these interactions.

A robust AI platform should offer a blend of advanced natural language processing capabilities and flexible

integration options, allowing for the development of context-rich prompts that do not require constant user input, but can infer and adapt based on pre-programmed criteria.

For example, in the context of our quality control agent, a technologically adept platform would provide the raw computational power, language model capabilities and also offer tools for integrating real-time language updates, domain-specific glossaries and contextual databases. These features would enable AI to deliver highly accurate and contextually relevant translations without the need for excessive user intervention.

The journey with generative AI is one of partnership, where users are supported by thoughtfully designed interfaces and systems that understand and align with human intent. As we move forward, the focus must be on developing and implementing these guardrails — tailored, intuitive systems that guide users to harness the power of AI effectively and responsibly. By doing so, we ensure generative AI is a user-centric advanced technology that amplifies human potential and creativity. This isn’t the end, but a new beginning in our collective journey with AI, marked by continuous learning, adaptation and innovation.

You can find parts 1 and 2 of this series in the Spring and Summer issues of DOCUMENT STRATEGY. Visit www.documentmedia.com/magazine

ATIF KHAN has over 20 years of experience building successful software development, data science, and AI engineering teams that have delivered demonstrable results. As the Vice President of AI and Data Science at Messagepoint, Khan has established a comprehensive AI research and engineering practice and delivered two AI platforms (MARCIE and Semantex) that have brought a fresh perspective to the CCM industry. Through collaboration with the leadership team, he has defined the vision and objectives for these platforms, accelerated their market launch, while forging academic partnerships to achieve long-term product research goals.

IF DOCUMENT GENERATION CAN BE AUTOMATED, IT SHOULD BE!

This strategic move can lead to significant cost savings, efficiency gains and improved organizational performance

By Olga Zakharenkava

Organizations are fundamentally dependent on document creation for their operations. From contracts, invoices and reports to production documentation and omnichannel customer communications, document generation is required at every step of a business process. Yet, some businesses still don’t view document generation as a core process where automation is a must-have. This oversight leads to inefficiencies, including wasted time, increased costs and subpar customer and employee experiences. Organizations constrained by resources should seriously consider all document automation opportunities as a clear path to ROI and growth.

Is manual document generation a problem worth solving?

The answer lies in the natural and omnipresent consequences of manual work. Manual document generation involves repetitive tasks, higher risks of human error and inconsistent communication.

Valuable resources are wasted, and both the quality of work and customer interactions suffer. For instance, errors in invoices or contracts can lead to disputes, delays and a loss of credibility. Moreover, manual processes can frustrate employees who must deal with cumbersome systems and repetitive tasks.

But is all this worth the effort and investment in automation software?

Consider a few research-based data points: According to a Forrester study, businesses that implement document automation technologies experience up to a 50% reduction in document processing time and improved productivity (Source: Forrester, 2023).

Gartner estimates that organizations can save between 20% to 30% in operational costs by automating document generation and related processes, due to decreased labor costs and reduced error rates (Source: Gartner, 2022).

Document creation processes should be a top priority if your organization is seeking cost-cutting measures and efficiency improvements.

Let’s automate! Who will do the work? Implementing document generation automation involves various internal stakeholders, each playing a crucial role in the evaluation and success of the project. Here are the key players and their typical roles:

1. IT Team: Oversees the deployment and integration of automation solutions, ensuring alignment with the organization’s IT infrastructure and security protocols.

2. Operations Team: Focuses on enhancing business process efficiency, including document generation, and may lead the automation initiative.

3. CRM Owner: Manages the CRM system, which often includes document generation functionalities, ensuring it meets customer communication needs.

4. Document Management Team: Handles the setup and maintenance of document management systems, including template creation and automation rules.

5. Customer Service Team: Oversees tools and strategies for customer communications, ensuring they improve customer experiences.

6. Finance Team: Involved in automating financial documents like invoices and reports, ensuring accuracy and compliance with regulations.

7. Compliance Officers: Ensure automated document processes adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, collaborating with IT and operations.

8. Business Analysts: Analyze automation needs and identify requirements, working with various departments to implement effective solutions.

9. End Users/Department Heads: Provide feedback on the functionality and effectiveness of automation tools, ensuring they meet their needs.

If you are one of these stakeholders, you can take charge and drive the automation project. It takes a team to automate document generation processes, but all teams will benefit!

So many documents. Where to start? Not sure which documents to prioritize for automation? Start by taking an inventory and reviewing your document

processes. Engaging a business analyst can help. Consider systems that will feed data into your documents and envision how your new library of templates will eventually come to life with personalized data. Here are some common documents and processes that can benefit from automation:

1. Contract Creation: Automate contracts by populating templates with client-specific data from a CRM system.

2. Invoice Generation: Create and send invoices automatically based on sales orders or service records to ensure consistency and accuracy.

3. Proposal Generation: Streamline proposal creation by integrating CRM data to automatically include client information and project details.

4. Report Generation: Automate routine business reports, such as financial summaries and sales performance, by pulling data from various systems.

5. Employee Onboarding Documents: Automate the creation of onboarding paperwork, including offer letters and benefits enrollment forms.

6. Compliance Documentation: Generate audit reports, safety certifications and other compliance-related documents automatically.

7. Customer Communications: Create automated templates for order confirmations, shipping updates and follow-up emails.

8. Legal Documents: Automate the generation of legal documents like NDAs and service agreements using predefined templates.

9. Financial Statements: Use automation to produce financial statements from accounting system data.

10. Internal Documentation: Automate the creation of internal documents, such as policy manuals and procedure guides.

By automating these documents, organizations can significantly reduce manual effort, enhance accuracy and improve overall efficiency. The right document automation software can handle any document, any template, any data source and deliver any output format for any channel, print or digital.

So many ideas. How to prioritize?

Once a list of documents for automation is ready, it’s crucial to prioritize which areas to tackle first. Here are some tips for prioritization:

1. Assess Repetitive Tasks: Identify tasks performed frequently and repetitively.

2. Evaluate Error-Prone Processes: Focus on areas with high error rates.

3. Review Communication Channels: Look for opportunities to automate responses and updates in customer communications.

4. Analyze Document Workflow:

Examine how documents are created, reviewed and stored to identify inefficiencies.

5. Identify Data Integration Points: Target processes involving data transfer between systems to reduce manual entry and improve accuracy.

6. Evaluate Compliance Requirements: Ensure automation addresses areas requiring strict adherence to regulatory standards.

7. Survey Employee Feedback: Gather input from those involved in document creation to identify pain points and areas for improvement.

8. Monitor Customer Interaction Patterns: Automate common customer interactions to streamline communication.

9. Conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis: Assess the potential ROI of automation projects.

By carefully analyzing these factors, organizations can make informed decisions about which automation projects to pursue first.

So many ways to automate. How to choose the right technology?

Having identified priority areas for automation, it’s time to select the right technology. Consider whether an on-premise or cloud-based solution best fits your needs. Versatile, any-premise solutions that can operate across different environments — on-premise, cloud or hybrid — offer several advantages:

1. Flexibility and Adaptability: These solutions adapt to various IT environments, providing seamless integration with existing infrastructure.

2. Scalability: They can scale according to organizational needs, adjusting to changes in document generation requirements without significant infrastructure changes.

3. Business Continuity: They ensure continuity in document generation capabilities regardless of infrastructure changes or failures.

4. Cost Efficiency: They allow you to choose deployment models based on budget and resource constraints, optimizing costs.

5. Enhanced Collaboration: These solutions improve collaboration by integrating with various platforms, facilitating real-time document sharing and teamwork.

By selecting an any-premise solution, organizations can ensure their automation efforts are both flexible and robust, meeting diverse needs and providing a solid foundation for future growth.

It’s time to automate. What to expect?

Automating document generation is not just a trend but a strategic move that can lead to significant cost savings, efficiency gains and improved organizational performance. For example, Gartner found that IT teams can save up to 50% of their time on document management tasks by implementing automation (Source: Gartner, 2022).

By understanding the stakeholders involved, identifying key documents for automation, and choosing the right technology, organizations can transform their document processes and deliver better results. If document generation can be automated, it undoubtedly should be.

Take the leap (and have a plan!) — embrace automation and become the change leader within your organization.

OLGA ZAKHARENKAVA focuses on delivering business value to organizations through world-class SaaS customer communications management solutions. She has a strong background in CCM technology and regularly contributes thought-leadership content to industry publications. Olga covers topics that include SaaS software, marketing, strategy and digital transformation.

6 USER MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES FOR ECM

Safeguard sensitive information and optimize your ECM systems |

By Gilad David Maayan

Effective user management is a cornerstone of any Enterprise Content Management (ECM) system.

As ECM platforms are designed to handle vast amounts of sensitive and business-critical information, ensuring that the right users have appropriate access to this content is essential for maintaining security, compliance, and operational efficiency. Mismanagement of user roles and access levels can lead to data breaches, compliance violations, and inefficiencies that undermine the entire system.

To mitigate these risks, organizations must adopt comprehensive user management strategies tailored to the unique needs of their ECM systems. This includes implementing role-based

access control (RBAC), enforcing strong authentication methods, and establishing rigorous provisioning and de-provisioning processes. Moreover, continuous monitoring and regular audits are necessary to ensure that user activities align with organizational policies and that access controls remain up-to-date as roles evolve. By following these best practices, organizations can enhance the security and effectiveness of their ECM systems, ensuring that only authorized users can access the information they need.

Understanding ECM User Roles and Permissions

Understanding user roles and permissions is fundamental in ECM systems. Each user role should align with job

functions and responsibilities, ensuring that users have appropriate access levels. Implementing a role-based access control (RBAC) model can help achieve this by assigning permissions based on roles rather than individuals, simplifying management and reducing errors.

Additionally, it is vital to regularly review and update user roles to reflect changes in job functions or organizational structure. Periodic audits can identify discrepancies and ensure that access levels remain appropriate, maintaining both security and efficiency.

ECM User Management Best Practices

Implementing Strong Authentication Mechanisms

Strong authentication mechanisms

are essential to secure ECM systems. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an additional layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity through multiple methods such as passwords, SMS codes or biometric data. This reduces the likelihood of unauthorized access, even if login credentials are compromised.

Furthermore, implementing single sign-on (SSO) can enhance usability while maintaining security. SSO allows users to log in once and gain access to multiple applications without re-entering credentials, thus striking a balance between convenience and security.

unusual patterns of activity, which may indicate potential security threats or unauthorized access, enabling swift action to mitigate risks.

Enforcing Data Security and Compliance

Enforcing data security and compliance in ECM systems is critical for maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of organizational information. Implementing strict access controls and encryption protocols helps protect data from unauthorized access and breaches. Regularly updated security policies

Implementing secure file-sharing mechanisms and access logging can further protect sensitive information. By closely monitoring third-party interactions and maintaining thorough audit trails, organizations can ensure compliance and mitigate risks associated with external access.

User Training and Support

User Provisioning and De-Provisioning

Effective user provisioning and de-provisioning are crucial for maintaining a secure ECM environment. Automated provisioning tools can quickly provide new users with the appropriate access rights, ensuring they have immediate access to needed resources. This reduces administrative overhead and speeds up onboarding processes.

De-provisioning is equally important. When an employee leaves the organization or changes roles, automated de-provisioning tools can promptly remove or adjust access rights, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information. Proper de-provisioning ensures that access permissions are always current and accurate.

2 3

Monitoring and Auditing User Activity

Monitoring and auditing user activity in ECM systems are essential for ensuring security and compliance. By tracking user actions, organizations can detect suspicious behavior, track compliance with internal policies and identify areas for improvement. This monitoring can include logging access events, document edits and workflow actions.

Regular audits of user activity help verify that permissions align with user roles and organizational policies. Audit reports can also assist in identifying

Regular

audits of user activity help verify that permissions align with user roles and organizational policies.

ensure that the ECM system remains compliant with industry regulations.

Additionally, compliance requires consistent documentation and reporting. An ECM system should support audit trails and compliance reports, helping organizations demonstrate adherence to regulations. This not only safeguards against legal repercussions but also builds trust with clients and stakeholders.

Managing External Users and Third-Party Access

Managing external users and thirdparty access in an ECM environment requires stringent controls to ensure data security. Clearly defined policies for external access should specify the extent and duration of access. Temporary access roles can help manage contractors or partners without compromising long-term security.

User training and support are vital for the effective implementation of ECM systems. Comprehensive training programs should educate users on system functionalities, security policies and best practices. This ensures that users can navigate the system efficiently and adhere to security protocols, reducing the risk of data mishandling.

Ongoing support, including help desks and user guides, is equally important. Providing continuous resources and assistance helps users troubleshoot issues quickly, maintaining productivity and avoiding potential disruptions in the workflow.

In conclusion, ECM systems are integral to modern business operations, offering centralized content management and enhanced workflows. Proper user management is key to leveraging the full potential of ECM, ensuring security, efficiency and compliance. By adopting best practices in user management, including robust authentication, role-based access and continuous monitoring, organizations can safeguard sensitive information and optimize their ECM systems. Ongoing user training and support further contribute to the effective and secure use of ECM, driving organizational success.

GILAD DAVID MAAYAN is a technology writer who has worked with over 150 technology companies including SAP, Imperva, Samsung NEXT, NetApp and Check Point, producing technical and thought leadership content that elucidates technical solutions for developers and IT leadership. Today he heads Agile SEO, the leading marketing agency in the technology industry.

TAKING A GIANT LEAP… FROM CCM TO CXM

BY LIZ STEPHEN & MIA PAPANICOLAOU

As companies strive to meet customer expectations, it’s no surprise that communications have become a focus to ensure customer needs are met and that customer experience is seamless across touchpoints. This means that in the world of Customer Communication Management (CCM) with regulated transactional communications, which are typically complex, ﬁlled with jargon and difﬁcult for customers to read and act, now is the time to focus on adding value and moving towards Customer Experience Management (CXM). Technology has been at the forefront of adding value to regulated

Adding Value to Regulated Communications

communications, from including videos to incorporating AI and ML to really personalize and make the information relevant. However, the real leap from CCM to CXM lies in delivering value by not merely focusing on technology, but by understanding a customer’s needs and treating every communication as part of a broader interconnected journey.

Shifting from Siloed Communications to Value-Driven Journeys

Traditionally, CCM has been about managing and delivering regulated transactional communications that have often been handled as isolated touchpoints, each designed to fulﬁll a speciﬁc regulatory requirement. However, this approach

can lead to disjointed and impersonal interactions that miss the mark when it comes to customer engagement.

The shift to CXM requires a different mindset. It’s about seeing each communication not as a standalone event but as a part of an ongoing journey that spans multiple touchpoints, channels and across the lifecycle with the company. Each interaction should add value to the customer’s experience, making it easier for them to understand the information, take necessary actions, and feel more connected to the brand.

To achieve this, companies must break down the silos that often separate different types of communications. Instead of viewing a billing statement as just a transactional document, it should be seen as an opportunity to engage with the customer, reinforce the brand’s value, and guide them towards their next best action. This means rethinking how communications are created, delivered, and integrated into the broader customer journey.

Understanding What Customers Need

For the most part, customers have a really good experience if they’re on a company’s website, the portal or on the mobile app. The same can’t be said for the transactional communications they receive that don’t match their experiences elsewhere. At the heart of CXM is a deep understanding of the customer — who they are, what they need and how they prefer to engage.

For instance, consider a customer who consistently struggles to understand their billing statements. Traditional CCM might respond by sending more detailed explanations or additional documents, but this approach often just adds to the confusion. Instead, a CXM-focused approach would involve simplifying the communication, perhaps using a personalized video that visually explains the bill, highlights key areas and offers options for immediate action, such as making a payment or setting up a payment plan.

This approach recognizes that the goal is not just to deliver information but to ensure that the customer can easily understand and act on it. It’s about meeting the customer where they are and providing them with the tools and information they need to make informed decisions.

The Role of Technology in Delivering Value

While the focus should be on the customer’s needs, technology plays a crucial role in enabling the delivery of value across the customer journey. Technologies like AI, ML and the resulting hyper-personalization allow businesses to tailor communications to individual customers, ensuring that each interaction is relevant and meaningful.

For example, AI and ML can analyze a customer’s past interactions to predict their preferences and likely next steps. This enables the creation of hyper-personalized communications that anticipate the customer’s needs and provide them with the information that is most relevant to them with options they are most likely to value.

If a customer, for example, always pays when they receive the bill or statement, making that payment as easy as possible from that communication should be front and center, vs a customer that struggles to pay and has a payment plan presented upfront.

Ensuring Accessibility Across All Touchpoints

Accessibility is a critical component of delivering value in the CXM journey. Every touchpoint, whether digital or print, must be designed to be easily accessible to all customers, including those with disabilities. This means ensuring that communications are not only clear and concise but also compliant with accessibility standards whether in print or digital.

Creating Seamless, Value-Driven Customer Journeys

The ultimate goal of moving from CCM to CXM is to create seamless, value-driven customer journeys. So rather than just sending out a bill for example, the bill is followed by reminders to pay at the time that makes most sense to the customer; when the customer pays, there should be a confirmation sent and all these touchpoints should be seamless in terms of branding, tone and timing.

This means ensuring that every communication — whether it’s a billing statement, a policy update or a service notification — contributes to a positive customer experience and is part of a string of communications that help the customer along that specific journey. Each touchpoint should be designed to make it easy for the customer to understand the information, take the necessary actions and feel valued by the brand.

In Conclusion

The leap from CCM to CXM is about adopting a customer-centric approach that delivers value across the entire customer journey. By integrating this approach with the right technology within the right message, you can transform regulated transactional communications into meaningful, value-driven interactions that enhance the customer experience and drive long-term loyalty.

LIZ STEPHEN has a true passion for helping organizations identify their customers’ needs and consulting with them to satisfy those needs. She is an expert in Customer Communications Management (CCM) and helping clients utilize digital communications to meet their CX goals.

With more than 20 years’ experience in digital communications, MIA PAPANICALOU helps companies go paperless for transactional customer communications and works to improve those touchpoints through customized strategy and advisory services. She is a thought leader and as an expert in her field, shares her expertise through her consulting.

BY STEPHANIE PIERUCCINI

IS YOUR DATA READY?

Customer data management needs to change to improve experiences

When we look at evolving customer communications, we often focus on improving the experience by adding new delivery channels, improving content by adding color and variable images based on the audience or improving self-service. Some organizations focus on making the communications interactive in digital channels, adding video or improving self-serve preference management to encourage digital adoption and reduce print costs.

Despite efforts over the years to merge transactional and promotional (marketing) communications, it’s still more common than not that these communications continue to be managed and generated in siloed systems, separating their stakeholders in name of privacy and security of the data. Marketing needs to have the freedom to explore any and all options when it comes to lead generation and customer nurturing while transactional communications need to maintain guardrails to retain trust with existing customers by protecting their sensitive data.

Unfortunately, this approach often impacts the customer experience. Inconsistencies in communication look and feel, silos by line of business, disconnected or limited integration between systems ultimately leaves gaps in the customer’s ability to navigate the vast web pages and content available through self-serve. This causes them to turn to support channels such as the contact center, customer service, agents, chats, etc. More often than not, these employees in the front lines of customer support often request patience from the customer as they need to navigate several internal systems in an effort to find the desired information or answers.

While many strategies look to new software, business process automation or to redesign communications as a way to improve the overall experience, the goldmine at the root of every experience is the customer data.

“Customer data is a goldmine of information that holds the power to make experiences impactful and engaging.”

Customer data management is done in a variety of ways within an organization, even within individual lines of business. CRMs are often used to capture information for preference management, CDPs (customer data platforms) are used for website tracking and personalization, often missing the full omnichannel experience tracking. Marketing automation has included lightweight CRMs which are evolving to CDPs but are sometimes just their own database specific to their content-focused used cases. Campaign management is often separate as well, holding its own set of data used for personalizing campaigns and understanding customer behavior within them. Journey management solutions also have a unique set of data not stored elsewhere around the events, actions and behaviors, both planned and reality, that reflect customer interactions. Segmentation is another function that is often solved through custom scripting or homegrown systems or is embedded within other marketing systems but holds valuable insights.

The result is a vast system of siloed data sources that customer experience executives and communication centers of excellence (COE) see a need to address, but it requires a level of attention and effort to sort through. At best, go forward efforts such as zero copy policies helps to reduce adding to this complexity, but can slow down adoption of new technologies.

Adding more complexity are AI and LLMs. Generative or Content AI is really where many communications and data tools have focused to generate or tweak content. However, concerns around intellectual property can limit how organizations want to use these tools. In communications management, assisting content creators to craft messages has shown some value, but is only the tip of the iceberg of the potential value AI can provide to communications experiences. The

more data available to be fed into an LLM, the more we can leverage other AI variations such as Insights AI and Responsive AI, which have the potential to analyze the vast amount of data available in these siloed systems and make recommendations for improving customer experiences from individual touch points to the overall sentiment of the business relationship.

Understanding the personas who need to use this data, creating a data governance strategy and aligning key stakeholders are also critical steps to success.

Knowing that this data exists today within organizations but in disparate systems is a good problem to start with. Many have attempted to solve this through business process management/automation and integration, but that approach can create complexities of its own. Aggregating all of this data to persist in a single, centralized database is an unrealistic effort that will get shut down by every CIO and IT department. So, how can we address this?

The first step is understanding where this data exists today. A few questions to ask… What systems exist and where? What type of data is stored in these systems? Is it usable? Is it actionable? Where and when is it used and to what extent? For example, can it be used for personalization of content within a communication, personalization of an experience touchpoint or automating orchestration follow ups?

Once you begin to understand the complexity of your organization’s data

infrastructure and the valuable data it holds, you open the door to the opportunity to connect these systems with a customer data solution that can provide a powerful, complete view of the customer that is both actionable and insightful.

The work is not done yet. Understanding the personas who need to use this data, creating a data governance strategy and aligning key stakeholders are also critical steps to success. What are the desired outcomes and their respective priorities of this data once it’s aggregated, normalized, analyzed and able to provide a more complete view of your customers and their behaviors? This goldmine of data is powerful and desirable, so having clear priorities is key.

As we know in customer communications, data is sensitive and must be protected but can provide powerful insights that can improve business outcomes and enhance personalized experiences when used correctly. New solutions are becoming readily available that are approaching disparate enterprise data systems with a different approach that does not require ripping out the existing infrastructure. It is important to remember that the software and solutions are only as good as the strategy that is driving the ROI and outcomes of centralizing customer data.

STEPHANIE PIERUCCINI is a Senior Manager of Product for OpenText DX. In this role she is responsible for communication orchestration and platform support for OpenText Exstream as well as the StreamServe solution. She also has product responsibility for Journey, data, and insights which includes OpenText Experience Insights and OpenText Experience CDP. Her experience comes from a strong knowledge of communication and production management from creation through delivery acquired from covering the print, marketing, and customer communications management (CCM) markets as an analyst and consultant with InfoTrends as well as serving as the channel development manager for CCM and digital transformation solutions at Neopost USA (Now Quadient).

NAVIGATING A COMPLEX LANDSCAPE

4 BEST PRACTICES TO IMPROVE YOUR ORGANIZATION’S DOCUMENT AND DATA SECURITY IN CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS

BY ERNIE CRAWFORD

In a world where data breaches are a daily reality, safeguarding critical communications — like bills, invoices and healthcare documents — has become paramount. With sensitive personally identiﬁable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI) at risk, the stakes have never been higher.

The Escalating Threat Landscape

The 2024 Verizon Data Breach Report paints a sobering picture of the cybersecurity environment. Ransomware and extortion tactics have become the preferred methods for cybercriminals, accounting for 32% of all data breaches. Ransomware remains a top threat across 92% of industries, underscoring its widespread and devastating impact. However, external threats are just part of the problem. Negligent insiders — employees or contractors who unintentionally cause data breaches

— pose a signiﬁcant risk to document and data security. According to a 2023 Ponemon Institute report, 55% of data breaches were caused by human error or negligence. Whether by mishandling sensitive information, falling victim to phishing schemes or failing to follow security protocols, these insiders can inadvertently expose critical communications to unauthorized access or compromise.

Business Challenges in Document and Data Security

The ﬁnancial impact of data breaches is substantial. IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report revealed that the average cost of a data breach increased 10% in 2023 to $4.88 million. But the damage extends far beyond immediate costs. Breaches can erode a company’s reputation, diminish customer trust and lead to signiﬁcant legal liabilities. For businesses that handle sensitive

customer communications, the stakes are even higher. Securing PII and PHI is not just about complying with regulations like PCI, HIPAA, GDPR and CCPA—it’s about preserving the foundation of the customer relationship.

One of the most signiﬁcant challenges is securing data throughout its entire lifecycle. From the moment a document is created, through the various stages of processing and printing, until it reaches the intended recipient, there are multiple opportunities for data to be compromised. This is further complicated when document processing is outsourced, as organizations must rely on third-party providers to maintain stringent security standards.

The risk posed by negligent insiders adds to this complexity. Organizations must ensure that all employees and contractors are properly trained on strict security measures that minimize the risk of accidental data breaches.

The Importance of Secure Document Processing

Given the growing complexity of cyber threats, securing the process of document creation, transfer and printing has become a business imperative. Robust security measures are essential to protect data at every stage, from encrypting data during transport and storage to controlling access to sensitive information, and ensuring third-party providers adhere to stringent security protocols.

One powerful security measure is page-level encryption in which each document page is encrypted and decrypted. This significantly enhances data protection while also streamlining document processing, making it easier to manage reprints and other production tasks without compromising data protection.

In addition to encryption, monitoring and auditing tools are vital for tracking

and logging document access and processing activities. These tools add an extra layer of security against both external threats and negligent insiders.

Technology Can Help

While understanding the broader challenges and threats is essential, it’s equally important to recognize the role that targeted secure document processing solutions play in mitigating these risks. Technology that provides the ability to encrypt files both in transit and at rest and offer page-level encryption ensures sensitive data remains protected from the moment a document is created until it reaches its final destination.

IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report revealed that the average cost of a data breach increased 10%

in 2023 to $4.88 million.

Moreover, these solutions incorporate user authentication and role-based access controls, which help reduce the risk of data breaches caused by negligent insiders. Their compliance with key data security regulations gives businesses peace of mind knowing their document processing workflows meet the necessary legal and regulatory standards. This is especially crucial in industries like healthcare and finance, where regulatory compliance is not just mandatory, but vital to maintaining operational integrity.

Best Practices for Secure Document Workflows

To navigate the complex landscape of document and data security, consider following these four best practices:

End-to-end

data encryption:

Encrypting data, including at the page-level, both in transit and at rest protects sensitive information throughout its journey from creation to delivery.

Data processing automation: Automating data processing workflows reduces the risk of human error, enhances security and ensures consistent handling of sensitive information.

User login credentials on all production systems and applications: Requiring authenticated access to all systems involved in document processing minimizes the risk of unauthorized access and potential data breaches.

Employee training and awareness programs: Regular training and awareness programs are essential to mitigate the risk posed by negligent insiders. Studies estimate that more than 50% of data breaches could have been avoided with proper employee training.

Building a Defense

Data breaches are an ever-present and growing threat; hence, businesses must seek out the best possible way to prioritize the security of their critical communications. This involves adopting a comprehensive approach to document and data security that protects sensitive information at every stage of its lifecycle. By combining advanced technology with a holistic security strategy, businesses can effectively shield themselves from breaches, maintain customer trust and look forward to long-term success.

By understanding the evolving threat landscape and implementing a multi-layered security approach, organizations can build a resilient defense against cyberattacks.

An electronic document industry pioneer, ERNIE CRAWFORD is the President/CEO and founder of Crawford Technologies. One of only a small number of people worldwide with a Master Electronic Document Professional (M-EDP) designation, Ernie has more than 30 years of senior marketing and management experience in the high-volume electronic printing market.

CREATING A GOVERNANCE POLICY CHECKLIST

Managing structured, dark, unstructured and semi-structured data | By

Eric Riz

AGovernance Policy

Checklist for managing structured, dark, unstructured and semi-structured data is vital for organizations aiming to optimize operational efficiency, ensure compliance and enhance strategic decision-making. This checklist serves as a foundational tool that mitigates risks associated with data management, such as breaches and unauthorized access, thereby protecting the organization against potential financial, legal and reputational damages. Moreover,

it ensures adherence to various data protection laws, like GDPR and HIPAA, helping organizations navigate the complex landscape of regulatory requirements and avoid severe penalties.

Implementing a robust governance policy not only elevates data quality across all forms but also standardizes data handling procedures, leading to increased operational efficiency and resource allocation. It supports a strategic alignment of data management practices with organizational goals, fostering a culture of data responsibility and paving the way for scalability

and innovation. As such, a governance policy checklist is not merely a compliance requirement but a strategic asset crucial for securing, managing and leveraging data in today’s increasingly data-driven world.

Ensuring that all data types within an organization are thoroughly understood is essential for effective data management and governance. This begins with a comprehensive data classification system that identifies and categorizes data based on its type, sensitivity, and value to the organization. By distinguishing between structured, unstructured, semi-structured and dark data, businesses can tailor their data handling strategies to maximize efficiency and compliance (see Figure 1). For instance, structured data may require robust querying capabilities, while unstructured data might need advanced analytical tools for extraction of useful insights. Understanding these distinctions helps in implementing appropriate security measures, access controls and data lifecycle management practices.

Furthermore, clear comprehension of data types facilitates better risk management, ensures compliance with regulatory standards and enhances decision-making processes by ensuring that stakeholders have access to accurate and relevant information.

Governance Policy Checklist

Here is a checklist designed to help you establish a governance policy inclusive of the unique challenges of managing structured, unstructured, semi-structured and dark data.

1. Data Classification and Inventory

 Identify and classify all data types across the organization.

 Develop an inventory of all data assets, including their source, type and current usage.

 Tag sensitive data for special handling, including PII (Personally Identifiable Information), financial data or proprietary business information.

2. Data Ownership and Stewardship

 Assign data ownership for each type of data, ensuring accountability.

Figure 1 Understanding Data Types

Data Type Description

Structured

Highly organized and easily searchable in databases or spreadsheets. Follows a clear schema, making it simple to analyze, report and query.

Unstructured Lacks a predefined structure, making it difficult to search or analyze using traditional tools. Includes emails, social media posts, documents and multimedia files.

Semi-Structured Has some organizational properties, such as tags or markers, but doesn’t follow a rigid schema. Examples include XML or JSON files.

Dark Data Information collected but not used for any meaningful analysis or decision-making. Includes log files, surveillance footage or old documents stored in various formats.

 Define roles and responsibilities for data stewards and custodians.

 Establish governance committees to oversee policy implementation and compliance.

3. Data Quality Management

 Implement data quality standards to ensure accuracy, consistency and completeness of structured data.

 Develop procedures for assessing and improving the quality of unstructured and semi-structured data.

 Regularly audit dark data to identify valuable information or eliminate obsolete data.

4. Data Access and Security

 Implement access controls based on the classification of data.

 Regularly review access logs and permissions to ensure only authorized personnel can access sensitive data.

 Encrypt sensitive data in transit and at rest, especially for unstructured and dark data.

5. Data Retention and Archiving

 Develop a data retention policy that aligns with legal, regulatory and business requirements.

 Automate the archiving of data that is no longer in active use but must be retained.

 Periodically review archived and dark data to determine if it

should be retained, repurposed, or securely deleted.

6. Data Privacy and Compliance

 Ensure compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR, CCPA or HIPAA.

 Implement privacy-by-design principles, embedding privacy considerations into the data lifecycle.

 Regularly update policies to reflect changes in regulations and emerging data governance best practices.

7. Data Usage and Analytics

 Establish guidelines for the ethical use of data, particularly unstructured and dark data.

 Encourage the use of advanced analytics tools to extract insights from semi-structured and unstructured data.

 Monitor data usage to ensure compliance with governance policies and to maximize the value of all data assets.

8. Data Lifecycle Management

 Develop a clear roadmap for data from creation to disposal.

 Implement workflows for the management of data across different stages of its lifecycle.

 Integrate lifecycle management with data governance tools to automate and enforce policies.

9. Training and Awareness

 Conduct regular training sessions on data governance policies for all employees.

 Develop specialized training for data stewards, owners and custodians.

 Promote a culture of data responsibility through ongoing communication and awareness programs.

10. Continuous Monitoring and Improvement

 Set up a continuous monitoring system to ensure adherence to governance policies.

 Regularly review and update the governance policy to address new challenges and technologies.

 Benchmark your data governance maturity and identify areas for improvement.

A robust governance policy is not just a compliance requirement but a strategic asset that ensures the integrity, security and usability of your data. By following this checklist, your organization can effectively manage structured, unstructured, semi-structured and dark data, driving better decision-making and minimizing risk.

Whether you are at the beginning of your data governance journey or looking to refine your existing policies, this checklist serves as a practical guide to achieving comprehensive data governance across all data types.

An established leader focused on corporate efficiency, strategy and change, ERIC founded data analytics firm VERIFIED and Microsoft consulting firm eMark Consulting Ltd. Over a 20-year career in the Microsoft space, Eric has worked extensively in the areas of document and records management, web content management, portals, digital business and process analysis, analytics, metadata, and data management. His outlook on Blockchain, WEB3, governance, and change management is welcomed internationally as a keynote speaker and author, offering thought leadership on data strategies and solutions, and shifting corporate focus to the organization’s specific needs. Visit www. ericriz.com for more information on how to govern your data journey.

IXM Laun ch : Revolutionizing Customer Interactions

By Kaspar Roos

Anew paradigm has emerged that promises to reshape the way businesses engage their customers. Aspire CCS has launched a groundbreaking new Leaderboard grid to track the new market segment space we call Interaction Experience Management or IXM. This new segment reflects a significant shift in traditional customer communications, blending the traditionally separate realms of inbound and outbound interactions into a seamless, holistic customer experience.

The shift from static, documentbased form-filling into a dynamic ecosystem of digital interaction experiences represents a fundamental reimagining of the foundational customer journey. In this new

paradigm, each touchpoint is no longer the end of an isolated communication but a stepping stone in an ongoing conversation between businesses and their customers. The ability to capture customer data at these interaction points will deliver unprecedented opportunities for more meaningful, context-rich customer engagements.

Understanding IXM

Historically, many organizations have structured their customer interactions around internal business processes, often at the expense of user experience. This approach is reminiscent of the early days of Customer Communications Management (CCM), when regulatory requirements and legal considerations often took precedence over userfriendly design. Similarly, on the inbound side, complex forms and rigid

processes frequently overshadowed the importance of a smooth user experience.

IXM changes this dynamic by leveraging new technologies that allow organizations to separate data gathering logic from the interaction user interface design. This separation enables businesses to focus on crafting experiences that minimize abandonment rates and make customer data easier to collect through users’ preferred channels.

Beyond traditional PDF and web forms, data can now be collected through a variety of engaging formats, including interactive videos, messaging chats, phone conversations, and other digital channels, creating new opportunities for personalized, context-aware customer experiences.

The IXM Landscape

For this inaugural market assessment, we’ve evaluated the following solution vendors, but we expect to add more as the IXM field continues to take shape in the coming months.

Adobe is a powerhouse in the digital experience platforms space, offering Adobe Experience Manager Forms for comprehensive customer engagement solutions.

Dialog Group focuses on conversational AI and natural language processing for enhanced customer interactions. It is marketing several tools based on its Interaction Layer vision with a particular focus on Benelux and central Europe.

Doxee is offering personalized video and interactive experiences as part of its Doxee Platform CCM suite.

EasySend is focused on providing no-code digital customer journey platforms for streamlined customer interactions.

Ibermatica is a technology services company (featuring its Iberdok solution) with a growing presence in customer experience management, particularly in Spanish-speaking markets.

MHC provides enterprise content automation solutions through EngageCX, which is linked to its NorthStar platform for improved customer communications.

O’Neil offers the ONEsuite and is well known for its expertise in complex, data-driven customer communications supported by generative AI.

Precisely brings data integrity, location intelligence, bi-directional chat, and video to customer communications with EngageOne Communicate.

From our vantage point, IXM will play a pivotal role in shaping future interactions between businesses and the consumers they serve.

Quadient is a leader in customer communications management and is now brining iForms into the fold, emphasizing omni-channel experiences.

Smart Communications leads with SmartIQ and specializes in intelligent forms and digital process automation.

The Impact on Customer Experience Management (CXM)

For technology vendors in the CCM space, IXM represents a natural evolution towards more comprehensive Customer Experience Management (CXM) capabilities. By integrating IXM functionalities, these vendors can offer their clients the ability to:

Create more personalized and context-sensitive customer journeys

Reduce friction in customer interactions across all touchpoints

Gather richer data insights to inform business strategies

Improve customer satisfaction and loyalty through more meaningful engagements

Drive operational efficiencies by streamlining communication processes

Meeting regulatory requirements in new, evolving ways by building better experiences for both customers and employees.

The integration of IXM into existing CCM and CXM strategies allows organizations to close the loop between outbound communications and inbound responses, creating a truly interactive and responsive customer experience ecosystem.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Customer Interactions

From our vantage point, IXM will play a pivotal role in shaping future interactions between businesses and the consumers they serve. Aspire expects to see continued innovation in this space with advancements in predictive analytics, additional interaction channels, enhanced personalization, and improved accessibility and inclusivity. Moreover, we anticipate the integration of generative AI in the space to act as an intelligent guide pulling alongside users to ensure they provide the right information. As the line between traditional CCM and broader CXM strategies continues to blur, it will create new opportunities for businesses to differentiate themselves through superior customer experiences.

Take Action: Explore the IXM Leaderboard

To gain a deeper understanding of the evolving IXM landscape and how different vendors stack up, you can register on the Aspire Leaderboard (www.aspireleaderboard.com) for free and get instant access to detailed analysis and comparisons of key players in the IXM space that will help you make informed decisions about your customer interaction strategies.

Aspire CCS Global Consumer Research: Communications, CX and AI Insights

Aspire recently published a brand-new global research study that provides an up-to-date perspective on consumer channel preferences as well as demand for digital delivery and other emerging technologies (especially artiﬁcial intelligence). It also highlights consumers’ overall view of the state of customer communications and the aspects of communications experience they consider most vital. Furthermore, the study revealed that while younger consumers are more open to digital adoption and more willing to engage on a variety of communications channels, they are also more likely to switch providers after a negative interaction. If you’d like to dive into these and a host of other intriguing ﬁndings, visit: blog.aspireccs.com/ new-research-coms-cx-ai

IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Intelligent Document Processing Software 2023–2024 Vendor Assessment

The advancement and expansion of digital transformation (DX) initiatives overall and the pursuit of technology improvement within the IPA and RPA markets (including AI) are important facilitators for IDP’s robust current (and future) revenue growth trajectory. Leading technology-buying organizations have sought out digital-first solutions to resolve the process and resource roadblocks of their current labor-intensive analog practices. These organizations are leveraging IDP’s advancements and evolution to raise the priority of converting business-critical unstructured documents into structured, centralized data resources, whose insights are tied directly into downstream systems and processes/ workflows. Further, these organizations understand that high levels of IDP accuracy and precision are critical to driving handsoff, scalable, and effective automation (and straight-through processing [STP] rates), as well as more effective stakeholder communications. As one customer stated, any IDP process or workflow that requires a human-in-the-loop (HITL) step, for whatever reason, greatly impacts any potential ROI or business value gains.

This IDC study represents a vendor assessment of the intelligent document processing market through the IDC MarketScape model. This assessment discusses both quantitative and qualitative characteristics that explain success in the IDP market. This IDC MarketScape covers a variety of vendors participating in the IDP space. The evaluation is based on a comprehensive and rigorous framework that assesses vendors relative to the criteria and to one another and highlights the factors expected to be the most inﬂuential for success in the market in both the short term and the long term.

www.idc.com