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From paper to pixels: Secure scanning in public sector digitalisation

By Kevin Dobson, product manager, Epson UK

This month marks three-years since the government first gave the order for people to work from home, wherever possible, at the start of the COVID19 pandemic.

Nobody at the time would have predicted that this simple order – enforced to slow the spread of a deadly disease – would spark the biggest shift in professional working arrangements of the modern era.

While every industry was affected by the decision to work remotely, and many have decided to stay remote since, the public sector has seen perhaps the most significant long-term shift to hybrid working. Recent research from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 48% of public servants are working either partly or fully from home, compared with 40% in the private sector.

Unsurprisingly, this shift has acted as a catalyst for digital transformation in the public sector due to employees requiring access to records and information whatever their location. In fact, the UK government has been actively pushing its ‘Cloud First’ strategy, outlining its commitment to modernising public sector document management processes.

Faster, cheaper, smarter

With many vital public sector institutions such as NHS hospitals and clinics, local councils and even schools typically relying heavily on paper records, scanning is playing a key role in the public sector’s transition to digital. By using different types of scanners, public sector organisations can digitise their paper-based content, resulting in faster and more efficient workflows.

Scanning documents enables public sector organisations to quickly digitise paper documents, making them easily searchable and accessible to everyone who needs to use them regardless of their location. This reduces the time required for manual handling of paper, while allowing collaboration and communication between different departments and stakeholders.

Furthermore, at a time where public sector budgets are being heavily scrutinised, digitising documents reduces the need for physical storage, printing, and mailing of documents, resulting in significant cost savings. Additionally, digitised documents can be easily shared and accessed electronically, reducing the need for physical transportation and distribution of documents.

Scanning documents also allows for automated data capture, reducing errors that can occur during manual data entry. This helps ensure the accuracy and completeness of data, which is critical for many public sector activities.

Security is paramount

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of security and confidentiality of data in public sector settings. Organisations such as the NHS and civil service are often handling highly sensitive information – from personal health records to matters of national security – making robust security imperative.

We’ve seen in the past that breaches of confidential data can heavily undermine public trust in these organisations, meaning they need to ensure that all areas of their tech are as secure as possible.

Network scanners, designed for multipurpose use, are seen by many as an optimal solution to meet the demands of the modern hybrid public sector. But devices that are widely accessible present a number of potential security risks.

That’s why the Epson Workforce DS-790WN has been designed to offer various authentication methods directly from the device, driven by Epson’s Document Capture Pro Server software. For additional integration into existing company systems there is the option for third-party card/biometric authentication to be implemented as well, to provide unrivalled protection against a potentially damaging data leak.

Flexible solutions for a hybrid future

The concept of a fully ‘paperless’ public sector is both unrealistic and undesirable, with organisations continuing to require the redundancy of paper documents while enjoying the benefits that digitalisation has to offer.

That being said, the concerted push to digital does mark a notable step in the public sector’s approach to document management – and the changing nature of work means the flexible and secure technological solutions will play a leading role in powering the hybrid public sector going forward.

Flexible scanning solutions underpinned by strong security and compliance settings will assume a prominent position if the government is to meet its digitalisation targets in an efficient and effective way.

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