Brainware 5.4. Perceptive Software SUMMARY. Catalyst. Key findings. Ovum recommends

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1 Brainware 5.4 Perceptive Software Reference Code: IT Publication Date: 17 Aug 2012 Author: Fredrik Tunvall, Madan Sheina, Nishant Singh SUMMARY Catalyst To keep their businesses running smoothly, enterprises need a way to efficiently and intelligently capture, search, and retrieve critical business data sourced from a multitude of paper and electronic documents. To support and streamline critical operational business processes, Brainware s advanced pattern recognition software enables companies to quickly and accurately index and classify structured, semi structured, and unstructured documents and records sourced and managed by a wide range of enterprise applications. Key findings Brainware is capable of processing a wide array of semi structured and unstructured records, including invoices, orders, and remittances, in more than 200 languages. Recently acquired for $148m by Lexmark International, Brainware will be part of Perceptive Software, a standalone business unit within Lexmark. Brainware is highly scalable, enabling users to process volumes that can range from hundreds of documents per day to well over 1 million per day on premise or (only for invoicing) in the cloud as software as a service (SaaS) on the Microsoft Azure platform. Ovum recommends Brainware should be on the shortlist when considering enterprise data capture solutions for high volume, complex data capture requirements against a broad mix of document types. It should be considered by Microsoft Windows centric IT organizations that want to enhance their document driven business processes using automated data capture and extraction; companies that are comfortable with running fairly stable document capture and extraction routines as a black box system, with minimal human intervention; and companies looking to efficiently and accurately process large volumes of documents for accounts payable, order tocash, and remittance business processes. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 1

2 Value proposition The SaaS deployment option, Brainware as a Service, should only be considered by organizations that just want to process invoice documents. Despite the gradual decline in the use of paper, paper documents still continue to be a major element of critical business processes. Enterprises have traditionally used data entry personnel to key in indexing information and transactional detail from complex, semi structured, and unstructured records. Not surprisingly, the market for document automation as a front end to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise content management (ECM) systems is growing steadily, as is the volume of documents that must be processed. To provide business users across the enterprise with ready retrieval and access to this data, companies need a way to eliminate the time consuming and costly manual data entry, sorting, extraction, and indexing usually associated with processing large volumes of documents. To tackle the problem, most traditional document imaging vendors have built technologies to capture document images and extract data using a template approach, typically built using exact keyword definitions, taxonomies, and other rules based techniques. However, these have limitations in terms of scale, as well as for the processing of complex document types. Perceptive s solution uses advanced pattern matching techniques to infuse greater flexibility to speed up the automatic processing of a broad range of transactional ERP generated and managed documents, such as customer orders, invoices, remittance documents, explanation of benefits, proof of delivery statements, case files, and contracts, by a factor of 60% to 80%. A built in human learning approach provides greater accuracy, compliance, and control. Once the data is captured and processed by Brainware, it can be automatically exported for processing by ERP or other systems, and indexed for storage and retrieval from a wide range of document repositories. SOLUTION ANALYSIS Brainware is designed as a pass through application that receives incoming documents from scanners, s, fax servers, electronic data interchange (EDI) sources, and other input devices. It uses embedded character recognition technology to parse (read) the document content, and automatically classifies them by extracting specific data fields and line item detail from them based on their context. The software validates the data against external references and then passes on the document image and the validated data for further processing or archiving. The whole process requires very little manual keying or document separation. Brainware claims typical extraction rates of 90% or more, depending on the size and complexity of the documents being processed. Brainware is comprised of the following software modules: Brainware Designer, which enables an implementer or administrator to configure and test system settings before putting new document capture and extraction projects into production. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 2

3 Brainware Runtime Server (RTS), which runs data capture and extraction routines as an unattended Microsoft Windows service that can be configured and monitored through a standard Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap in. Brainware Verifier, which performs quality assurance and corrections, presenting users only with documents that require manual inspection. It directs users to the specific fields in question within each document. It incorporates a "supervised learning" technology that recognizes corrections made by the data entry operator, and reuses them to enhance subsequent document recognition. Gateway, which provides web based self service for vendors to access their invoice status anywhere, anytime via Brainware. Brainware Visibility, a monitoring and reporting module that delivers realtime analysis of Brainware's processing, offering access to the metrics and key performance indicators that let users know the location of every document in Brainware, how the system is performing, and where they need to focus their time and attention. Figure 1: Brainware Visibility user interface Source: Brainware Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 3

4 Document input Brainware can consume electronic documents from a wide range of input sources, including scanned images, s, attachments, faxes, and others stored in a file system or database. Brainware supports more than 250 file types, including standard file types such as TIF, PDF, DOC, and XLS. The system includes multiple, embedded optical character recognition (OCR) engines for documents in more than 200 languages, including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. It also uses intelligent character recognition (ICR) for a variety of inputs such as handprint, barcode, and optical mark recognition (OMR). Figure 2: Architectural overview Source: Brainware Document classification Brainware uses a proprietary (patented) classification technology to sort incoming documents based on their content, irrespective of format or layout. It uses advanced neural network and associative search techniques to compare new documents with a sample set of "learned" documents so that the system Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 4

5 can iteratively classify them automatically at runtime. Learn sets typically range from as few as two to five samples, and up to as many as 15 to 20 per class. By eliminating the need for form identifiers, keywords, templates, and other rules based techniques, Brainware eliminates most, if not all, of the manual pre sorting that typically takes place in the mailroom or at the point of digital scanning. Extraction Brainware extracts fields of data and line item detail using context rather than keywords, templates, anchors, zones, or other IT intensive techniques. The extraction is language agnostic, making it suitable for processing multi language invoices in global shared services centers, for example. Brainware claims that its solution is able to automatically capture 90% or more of the field level data, allowing for a significant reduction in the keystrokes and the manual effort required to process documents, while simultaneously minimizing errors and reducing cycle times. Reconciliation Brainware incorporates search technology that allows the system to reconcile extracted information against known sources to ensure its accuracy and validity, independent of misspellings, abbreviations, OCR errors, or other variations in text. This is particularly useful for invoice processing, where Brainware is able to reconcile the vendor name and address information against a vendor master file that can contain hundreds or hundreds of thousands of entries, as well as perform automated linepairing of invoice line items with purchase order details using item descriptions as needed. Integration Once the data has been captured and validated, Brainware passes relevant indexing information and extracted data into the existing enterprise application architecture. Brainware has certified integrations with Oracle, SAP, and Microsoft, but has successfully been deployed with a wide range of other commercial ERP systems in addition to custom solutions. Typical Brainware implementations include integration with one or more ERP systems, or an imaging solution or data repository. Brainware also integrates tightly with hardware platforms from Lexmark, HP, Fujitsu, and OPEX. Go to market strategy Brainware has a direct sales organization that focuses on high value/high volume paper driven businesses, typically Global 2000 companies. Nearly two thirds of the company s revenues are generated via this channel. Brainware is a horizontal solution but has carved out a strong niche with healthcare, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, services, and third party outsourcers that are performing services for their corporate clients. Brainware's functionality is also applicable to a wide range of front and back office processes. Accounts payable is a major focus area, with additional effort placed on applications such as order to cash, remittance processing, and mailroom automation, enabling BPO providers to process other unstructured or semi structured document types. Being part of Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 5

6 Perceptive Software will expand Brainware's sales, development, training, and customer support capabilities, particularly for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs). While the majority of Brainware's sales are generated in North America and Europe, the company is looking to break into Asia and South America, primarily through local distributors, VARs, and business partners. The company has established reseller and partner agreements with Ascend Software, HP, Oracle, Microsoft, Naviant, and SAP. As an OEM partner, Oracle has embedded Brainware in its Fusion Middleware platform under the name Oracle Forms Recognition (OFR). In addition, Microsoft was an integral part of developing the Brainware as a Service offering on the Microsoft Azure platform. Deployment Brainware runs exclusively on the Microsoft Windows platform. The system can be scaled to process documents across a wide range of volumes, and can be deployed in three different ways: On premise: although a more complex implementation, documents stay on premise, offering a more robust and secure option well suited to organizations that deal with highly sensitive data. Brainware as a Service (BaaS): a software as a service (SaaS) option where scanned documents are uploaded to and processed on the Microsoft Windows Azure cloud platform. This is only available for invoices, but there are plans to expand it to include a wider variety of documents in the near future. Hybrid: Brainware is implemented both on premise and SaaS. This will suit companies that need an on site solution for higher security and a public cloud solution with extended resources for higher scalability. In its deployment methodology, Brainware uses a foundation Brainware project based on parameters and best practices learned from prior deployments of its technology into which specific customers configurations are added to reduce the complexity and time to production. For most of its accountspayable deployments, Brainware claims its software can be installed, made operational, and prepared for user acceptance testing within a few weeks. More elaborate deployments for Brainware can, however, take from eight to 14 weeks, depending on the level of customization and complexity. Brainware offers online training as well as onsite training. Brainware s anticipated technological developments include improving recognition, classification, and extraction rates by further advancing its patented and proprietary neural network and associative search technologies. By joining Lexmark, Brainware will also inherit an extensive customer support division and learning network that can be leveraged to further serve customers. The acquisition will also allow Lexmark to forge tighter integration of Brainware into the Perceptive Software platform. The acquisition has already shown promise with the May 2012 release of Distributed Intelligent Capture, an enhanced solution that combines Brainware technology with Lexmark's Multi Function Printer (MFP) device. Further integration is planned that will strengthen Lexmark's position in the MFP market with innovative, value added capabilities from Brainware. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 6

7 Additional work is being done to integrate Brainware's technology into Lexmark s end user products, such as scanners, speeding up the time for capture and feedback for end users by moving the software closer to the hardware. As with any new acquisition, there is a lot of work to be done, and although the merging of the companies looks promising, organizations should show some caution to see what value it will bring to their current document processing challenges. Deployment examples Disney Worldwide Shared Services Disney is a global Fortune 50 media and entertainment company encompassing numerous businesses including television, vacation resorts, and publishing. Disney's Worldwide Shared Services division processes more than 6 million invoices per year for 42 different countries and 10 different languages at its Orlando, Florida location. The company found it was manually processing about 500,000 paper invoices per year, which was proving costly and detracting from its green initiatives by producing a large amount of paper invoices. Disney sought to implement a solution that could drastically reduce the manual effort and provide paperless imaged based invoice data capture to reduce its carbon footprint, and automatically post invoice data into its ERP system, which it claims is the largest single instance of SAP in the world. After extensive testing, Disney implemented Brainware's solution and reduced its manual data entry workload by 80% within 100 days. It also led to more paperless transactions as well as a reduction in defect rates. Disney estimates the ROI of the implementation will be less than a year. SBA Communications SBA Communications, a leading US based owner and operator of wireless communications towers, required six employees to process roughly 600 utility invoices each day into the company s Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP system. By implementing Brainware as a Service (BaaS) hosted on the Microsoft Azure cloud, the company was able to process more than 700 invoices per day, most of which were poor quality images including stamps, handwriting, and other obstructions inherent to the manual processing of paper documents. Brainware's automated software helped not only to speed up processing but also lower processing costs by reducing manpower overheads to one FTE data entry clerk for handling exceptions and allowing for additional field entries without having to manage or implement any software or IT infrastructure. Southwestern Energy Southwestern Energy and its subsidiaries are engaged in oil and gas exploration and production, natural gas gathering and marketing. The company selected Brainware to sort and index more than 35 million document pages per year into 1,000 distinct document categories. The company has a vision to leverage best practices, tools, and technology to make ECM "transparent", meaning that end users throughout the whole company, from mailroom to boardroom, have full access to content and its Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 7

8 processing at all times. By implementing Brainware, the company minimized document silos and made the ECM system accessible to all its knowledge workers. Old Dominion Freight Line Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) is a leading less than truckload (LTL) super regional carrier that faced lengthy and complex remittance processes. Typically, checks and remittances were received by lockbox providers. They would scan and transmit both documents electronically to ODFL, where eight FTE workers would key the data at a speed of 400 remittances per hour. The company implemented Brainware for remittances, which enabled it to boost its accounts receivable productivity by between 400% and 500%. As a result, weekend backlogs have been more or less eliminated and almost 80% of remittances processed through Brainware are handled with no human involvement at all. Now regularly achieving 2,000 remittances processed each hour, ODFL has also expanded its Brainware platform to the automated processing of shipping documents. DATA SHEET Key facts about the solution Table 1: Data sheet Product name Brainware Product classification Enterprise Content Management Version number 5.4 Release date June, 2011 Industries covered Healthcare, energy, oil & gas, manufacturing, services Geographies covered Global Relevant company sizes Global 2000 SME Platforms supported Microsoft Windows Languages supported 200 Licensing options Deployment options On premise, SaaS, hybrid Route(s) to market Direct, VAR, OEM URL Company headquarters Ashbrook Place Suite 150 Ashburn Virginia USA Tel: +1 (703) European headquarters High field House Foundation Park 8 Roxborough Way Maidenhead Berkshire SL6 3UD Tel:+44 (0) North America headquarters Ashbrook Place, Suite 150 Ashburn Virginia USA Tel: +1 (703) Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 8

9 Source: Ovum APPENDIX Methodology Ovum Technology Audits are independent product reviews carried out using Ovum s evaluation model for the relevant technology area, supported by conversations with vendors, users, and service providers of the solution concerned, and in depth secondary research. Author Fredrik Tunvall, Analyst, Information Management [email protected] Madan Sheina, Lead Analyst, Information Management [email protected] Nishant Singh, Lead Analyst, Market Intelligence [email protected] Ovum Consulting We hope that this analysis will help you make informed and imaginative business decisions. If you have further requirements, Ovum s consulting team may be able to help you. For more information about Ovum s consulting capabilities, please contact us directly at [email protected]. Disclaimer All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Ovum (an Informa business). The facts of this report are believed to be correct at the time of publication but cannot be guaranteed. Please note that the findings, conclusions, and recommendations that Ovum delivers will be based on information gathered in good faith from both primary and secondary sources, whose accuracy we are Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 9

10 not always in a position to guarantee. As such Ovum can accept no liability whatever for actions taken based on any information that may subsequently prove to be incorrect. Ovum. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited Page 10