Tips for Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Implementation

Cristina Duta is the Global Director of Intelligent Automation at AECOM, a global infrastructure consulting firm. Duta has nearly a decade of experience with automation solutions such as RPA and AI, and her team at Aecom is working in expanding their Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) capabilities. On December 8 Duta will be presenting at Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) Digital Summit, during which she will share her insights into the top 5 factors driving IDP success. This Q&A is a preview of the factors Duta will discuss, as well as outlining some of the challenges businesses are facing when implementing IDP. 

Why is Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) so crucial to shared services? 

In today’s digital age, businesses are generating more documents than ever before. From invoices to purchase orders to emails, it has become a lot for businesses to manage, and the amount of data these documents create can be really overwhelming. At the same time, we are learning that data has become essential for the way we do business in the future of work.

This is where IDP comes into play. If organizations are able to implement IDP as part of their digital transformation, it will not only save them money because you are going to gain data from unstructured information, but it will also tap into critical information that you had not accessed previously. Another valuable part of implementing IDP is improving the ability of your users to gain insights into how they can improve their own tasks. Last, but certainly not least, IDP is important for helping businesses shift towards data driven processes. 

What are some common challenges businesses face during IDP adoption? 

There are obviously quite a few, but I think the most common one is not having a clear strategy for your IDP implementation. Everyone starts with a proof of concept (PoC), but if there is no strong business case around it you will not be able to show how IDP can be leveraged across the enterprise, and eventually will not be able to justify why it would not be a strong investment to business leaders.

Without a clear strategy outlined in the PoC, imagine how difficult it can be to have IDP manage the thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of documents that come into your business in a variety of formats. Eventually, you’re going to reach a point where it’s going to be a total disappointment. 
Another aspect businesses fail to recognize when implementing IDP is the needs of their human staff.

Businesses need to be honest that IDP is still evolving, and human cognitive capabilities are still unmatched.

So, if a process is completely switched from human ran to IDP there might be some mixed results, which is why it is essential for businesses to bring in these technologies with human-in-the-loop capabilities. 

Of the five factors driving IDP success is there one you are most excited to share with the audience? Why? 

All five factors will play a big role in the success of IDP, but I am excited to talk about governance because it should be a priority for the success of IDP. Governance should show how your IDP implementation aligns with the strategic objectives of the organization. Whenever you involve multiple stakeholders across various business units, you’re able to secure funding and invest further in IDP capabilities.

Governance is fully connected to setting expectations about what the tool can and cannot do from the beginning, and in order to do so it is important the right people are in place to provide that governance before beginning that journey to provide IDP to your organization. 

What is one lesson you are hoping attendees of your session will walk away with?

I want people to understand that data will continue to play a critical role as businesses handle more documents in this digital era, and that IDP is the solution that will help businesses overcome their data challenges. 

There is no one-size-fits-all IDP solution. Every time you are looking for a solution, it’s best first to understand your business's challenges and needs and find an IDP that’s sustainable, matches your continuous improvement framework, and can be customized to match your needs instead of the other way around.

For more about the factors driving IDP success, be sure to participate in Cristina’s session during the IDP Digital Summit, where she will discuss:

• Upskilling employees and change management guidance
• Prepardness, performance monitoring and expectations alignment
• Governance and Data Availability