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IDP Cloud Solutions – Combining the Best of Two Worlds
In B2B organisations, almost every operational process produces documents. Teams use documents to order goods or services and pay for them, sell and ship goods, file claims and account for things. Finally, documents are needed to report on the ordering, paying, shipping and accounting of goods or services. Procurement and sales departments, in particular, need to handle a vast array of document formats such as paper document, scanned documents, PDFs and images. Traditional automation solutions relying on OCR or EDI help procurement departments to stay on top of processing all the B2B documents but both technologies come with limitations and disadvantages.
The good news is: Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) can overcome the limitations of traditional automation solutions. IDP solutions can not only identify but also interpret and analyse the data extracted from documents. IDP goes beyond simple automated data extraction to identify and understand key data points and classify the document type. It can then apply business rules to the extracted information, verify it and automatically export it into downstream systems.
Even better news: The strengths of IDP solutions can be brought to the next level if they are not implemented as on-premise solutions but as cloud solutions. Operated in the cloud, IDP can unlock its full potential and innovate the way companies process documents. Read on to discover how choosing an IDP cloud solution means combining the best of two worlds.
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What Is Intelligent Document Processing?
Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) is based on advanced technology to digitise and automate unstructured data from B2B documents. Because it combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and natural language processing, IDP can mimic human abilities when it comes to identifying, contextualising and processing documents. IDP uses AI, ML and human-in-the-loop automation to convert unstructured data into structured and actionable data. By relying on orchestration, the coordination of single automated tasks into a seamless and unified workflow, intelligent document processing takes automation to the next level.
Intelligent Document Processing in the Cloud
Intelligent Document Processing is a powerful approach for automating B2B document flows. The IDP solutions’ strengths are brought to the fore even more when they are operated in the cloud. In contrast to on-premise IDP solutions, cloud IDP solutions prove to be more agile, flexible and simple. Therefore, intelligent document processing in the cloud is going to reshape the automation of documents and B2B communication.
The Power of Cloud Solutions
Cloud computing is one of the most impactful technological advancements in corporate IT. Put simply, cloud computing refers to the availability of computing services over the internet. IDP solutions that operate in a cloud allow companies to lower operating costs, scale usage as required and reduce the need for IT teams to maintain software. Moreover, users benefit from customisation and flexibility as well as a high standard of security. .
Customisation: What Can Be Defined in the Cloud
The size:
Depending on current needs and the market situation, users can adjust storage capacities and computing power effortlessly at any time. As an advantage, companies do not have to invest in local IT infrastructure. One of the main benefits of a cloud-based solution is its high flexibility. Changes can be made at any time with the push of a button.
The content:
The content of the cloud can be defined individually. Users decide which data is in the cloud.
Control access and expand collaboration:
Procurement needs to collaborate with business partners and suppliers. The cloud allows users to determine which content suppliers, partners and employees can access.
The Cloud and Security
Cloud providers are responsible for security. The systems’ structures, resources and capacities are specifically designed for these requirements, making cloud-based solutions very secure and reliable. When choosing a service provider, it is essential to ensure that ISO guidelines are adhered to. Standardised norms such as ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 define the handling and processing of highly sensitive data.
Service Models of Cloud Computing
The term ‘cloud computing’ is not just about one offer but comprises a wide range of services that aim to meet various IT needs of an organisation. Some companies provide customers with a cloud, while others, like Netfira, provide a service model that operates in a cloud. The three main service models are Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service.
Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS):
The service involves the provision of data centre infrastructure by a cloud provider. The resources are accessed via private or public networks. The components of the infrastructure provided include, for example, servers, computing and network capacities, communication devices such as routers or firewalls, storage space and systems for archiving and securing data.
Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS):
This can be understood as a link between classic infrastructure services (Infrastructure-as-a-Service, IaaS) and application software from the cloud (Software-as-a-Service, SaaS). Cloud providers provide customers with a platform on which they can develop, operate and manage applications without worrying about the necessary infrastructure.
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS):
Customers can access offerings hosted by a service provider over the internet. Users access the applications via a browser. Companies that use SaaS applications can change the configuration settings and adapt the software to their specific requirements within certain parameters. Like with other cloud services, organisations typically pay a monthly or yearly fee for SaaS applications. SaaS providers usually bill applications based on specific usage parameters, such as the number of people using the applications or the number of transactions. The Netfira Platform, which automates procurement and sales processes, is offered as a SaaS solution.
IDP Cloud Solutions: The Dream Team for Procurement
IDP works best when operated in the cloud. Combined with the flexibility, scalability and customisation options of cloud solutions, IDP can turn simple automation into intelligent automation and process structured as well as unstructured document reliably and quickly. Read more about intelligent document processing in the cloud and discover the 7 benefits of a SaaS IDP solution for procurement in our next blog post.