Research Firm Finds $6 Payback for Every $1 Spent on ECM

Nucleus Research recently analyzed 37 case studies of ECM users and found an average ROI of $6.12 for every dollar spent on ECM technology. Nucleus presented its number at Digitech's recent reseller conference held at Denver's Inverness Conference Center. Digitech is a leading SaaS-based provider of ECM technology through its ImageSilo offering and also delivers on premise capture and ECM through its PaperVision line of products.

Nucleus' study found that second and third generation systems "deliver increasing ROI through more streamlined processes and greater productivity." From the Nucleus press release on the study, "In the analysis of Nucleus case studies, 62% of all returns came from direct benefits such as reduced paper or avoidance of staff or service bureau costs.  Another 38% of returns came from indirect benefits, such as productivity."

I was honored to be asked to present at the Digitech event. My presentation was entitled "News You can Use: Staying Ahead in a Rapidly Evolving Market." Basically, I encouraged VARs to embrace new technologies and selling techniques as we enter the "knee of the curve," as Ray Kurzweil calls it in his book "The Age of Spiritual Machines." I also reviewed my biggest stories of 2011 and tried to explain how I felt these stories are going to be affecting the market going forward.

Digitech made an interesting capture software announcement at the event. It released its new PaperVision Capture Desktop, which is a batch capture application to compete with Kofax Express and Kodak Capture Pro. The main difference is that Digitech is not increasing the price of Capture Desktop when it is run with higher volume scanners. The new product lists for $599 and is available exclusively through Cranel. More on this in our next premium edition.