How to design or implement an enterprise file conversion platform?

Enterprises deal with a lot of documents, in multiple formats. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, PDF/A, scanned images, JPEG, TIFF, audio and video files, XML, HTML, e-mail files and many more.

All these files need to be converted for many reasons: standardization, digital archiving, customer communication, regulatory compliance, internal requirements, etc.

It is also possible that the systems in-place have difficulties working with older formats. Think of old versions of Microsoft Word. Not every format supports backwards compatibility.

Some file formats have become de facto standards: PDF for outgoing documents, and PDF/A or TIFF for digital archiving.

Of course, enterprises have to take other criteria into account as well when looking to simplify and speed up their document-related processes.

We have prepared a free guideline for you. This document will help when selecting the right file conversion platform for your needs.

What are some key requirements you should consider for all your enterprise transformation needs?

To ensure the platform meets all your enterprise transformation needs, it must:

Connect with your existing enterprise content systems to allow transformations: OpenText Documentum, Microsoft SharePoint, IBM FileNet, Alfresco, Veeva Vault and e-mail systems such as POP, IMAP, Exchange or Office 365.
Support flexible deployment: On-premise or in the cloud of your choice: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, etc.
Have multi-support platform: Linux, Windows or Docker.
Scale and grow to your needs. And ideally, support Docker & Kubernetes to allow maximum scalability during peak loads.
Easily be implemented by an expert team. Are there sufficient skills in the market to do the implementation? Are there companies specialized in doing the implementation?
Reduce your costs, in many different ways. Not needing authoring applications (Microsoft Office, Adobe technology, AutoCAD, etc.) will for example reduce your licensing costs.
Support all the formats your enterprise uses: from Microsoft Office formats to image files, Photoshop documents, e-mail files and many more.
Generate output that is compliant with your industry regulations.
Help centralize document conversion throughout the enterprise: marketing, sales, HR, delivery, operations, development. All should use 1 centralized conversion platform for consistent output.

These are just some of the key requirements you should keep in mind when selecting your enterprise file conversion platform. You can find all the key requirements in our free guideline.

How to know if your enterprise file conversion platform is the right one?

File conversion throughout the enterprise is a very resource intensive process. Not only resource intensive in terms of computer power, no. It also requires a lot of manual work.

Do you recognize any of these? Does your existing file format transformation software allow less and less automation? Because it is outdated? Out of support perhaps?

How can you cope with new file formats? Do you have to purchase extra tools and software to be able to convert those new file formats?

How about regulatory compliance? Do you manually make sure that your documents meet the specified guidelines? Or is there an automated validation mechanism?

Every enterprise needs an efficient, fast enterprise file conversion platform

Many companies in different industries (insurance, banking, HR, automotive, aviation, life sciences and healthcare, IT integrators) use DocShifter to speed up and simplify their document conversion and enrichment.

DocShifter software is 10x faster than comparable solutions, easier to use and doesn’t need authoring applications (MS Office, Adobe technology, AutoCAD etc.) to run. Saving you valuable time. Reducing your IT and infrastructure costs. Speeding up your operations.

Looking for an automated document conversion software that can convert and enrich your 100.000s of documents at lightning speed?

June 30, 2021/by Alp Tetikel