"Hidden" benefits of process optimization
by Kerry Cole
Most organizations are well aware of the productivity and competitive advantages you can derive from optimizing your fundamental information processes.
In a previous post, “Optimizing Information Processes Helps Control eDiscovery Costs”, I discussed how eDiscovery can account for up to 90 percent of the total litigation cost. And according to a global survey from AIIM Industry Watch,1 there is plenty of room for improvement:
You can improve customer service, reduce time-to-market and increase flexibility to meet changing market — and workforce — requirements by:
But with the complexity and sheer amount of litigation facing most corporations, it’s becoming clear that process optimization can significantly mitigate your ever-rising discovery costs.
Yet as we have learned through years of providing business process services to global organizations, technology is only part of the solution.
To optimize your information processes, you need to look closely at the ways information flows through your organization. For technology to be successfully applied, it must align with your business processes and today’s changing workstyles, like accessing corporate information from mobile platforms or working from home. The criticality of email in litigation is a good example of how technology needs to align with strong business processes and practices, such as dual-factor authentication and acceptable use policies, for stronger information governance.
Optimizing your business processes through digitization and automation can help you identify critical information quickly and efficiently, helping control eDiscovery costs while boosting productivity. This is particularly important if you are working with databases distributed across geographies and departments, diverse applications, different languages or multiple formats. The more rationalized and integrated your foundational processes are, the stronger your information governance framework will be — making for more effective and efficient eDiscovery.
Litigation and eDiscovery costs may be rising, but there are opportunities for your organization to minimize costs. In order to help you optimize processes and achieve stronger information governance, consider partnering with an experienced business services provider. Their knowledge and experience across departments, industries and geographies can help you redesign workflows, improve your digitization efforts and avoid known pitfalls.
The right partner can also provide the benefits of state-of-the-art technology without the capital investment, allowing you to scale on-demand to meet changing requirements. And assistance coming from outside the organization can, in many cases, help you overcome organizational resistance to change. In all, the benefits of process optimization extend far beyond the realm of eDiscovery.
