Blogs

As many of us return from the info360 Conference, I’d like to invite Dean Tang, ABBYY USA’s CEO, to the AIIM Community Blog to discuss ABBYY’s perceptions of the event.

Guest Post by Dean Tang, CEO, ABBYY USA

Now that things are winding down from last week’s trip to our nation’s capital for the AIIM info360 Convention and Expo, I think we should take a moment to discuss what we took away from the event, as well as share my thoughts on the future of the show and our industry. Over the course of three days, the ABBYY team was able to explore how technology advancements are changing how information is used in the business process. One thing I think everyone at the show can agree on is that mobile capture and cloud computing are the future of the data capture industry.

What we did

As the sponsor for info360’s mobile content management track, mobile capture and cloud computing were central to my breakout speaking sessions at info360, as well as ITEX. During the sessions, I shared thoughts on the changing landscape of mobile technologies, integrating capture with mobile devices, and the future of mobile imaging. I also discussed how cloud integration enhances efficiency, how we can use the cloud as a tool for on-demand capture, and how cloud and mobile technologies can be used as an extension of hardware. Above all, I stressed the opportunity that mobile capture and cloud computing present to developers, BPOs and MFP manufacturers, among others. This discussion then permeated into the rest of our conference experience, becoming a central theme for our customer meetings, media and analyst briefings and industry discussion.

During the many sessions and meetings at info360, it was clear that the industry is making great progress in recognizing the possibilities in mobile capture and cloud computing. We found it to be particularly interesting (and great headway) that in one of our end-user meetings, more than 90 percent of the room knew that their mobile phones could be used as a scanner. This goes to show that the industry’s education efforts are working. This also tells me that our focus now needs to shift toward proving the opportunities available today, and facilitating the exploration of what is possible.

What we saw

While the education has started, and the information is out there, there is still a lot of room to grow and improve. I think that there were strides made at info360’s ancillary events that are driving significant value. For example, the new format of the co-located Executive Summit, where vendors could have direct one-on-one conversations with end users, was fantastic. I thought that this was a great use of time and provided an effective platform for ABBYY, and the others that participated, to connect with potential customers, walking them through the possibilities that mobile capture and the cloud hold, and how they can leverage these technologies to increase value for their customer base. Additionally, I think that info360’s dedicated tracks on mobile and cloud topics was a large step forward.

A peek into the future

Ron Miller, with Fierce Content Management, described the event in a recent post and said that “there's definitely more to discuss, and many challenges to answer.” Looking toward the future, I think that info360 will need to look for new ways to connect with the industry so it can remain relevant and effective for all involved. Ultimately, this means a significant evolution is necessary. In my opinion, the conference should become more of a place where the future of the data capture industry – and its technologies – become the primary focus. This means embracing our app-centric world, and the people who drive it, to create an environment that pushes traditional data capture technologies to the limit.

Our industry in a time of rapid change which presents a good opportunity for the show to grow and adapt to the market’s evolving needs. What ways do you think info360 can be updated to deliver  a vibrant learning experience? What topics do you think need to be front-and-center in the coming year’s show? How do you think info360 can better reach the end user?

--Dean Tang