How do I find the right Scanning Application for Sharepoint?

I find it interesting the different directions scanning and capture hardware and software companies are going when it come to scanning into SharePoint. Most are focusing on enabling the direct connect scanner. Hardware manufacturers, like Fujitsu and Kodak have made efforts to include software apps that can enable “scan to SharePoint” functionality (and just about every other manufacturer).

These apps just seem to be a half-hearted attemp to really look at what is happening in the enterprise. Companies need a standard scanning and capture onramp for the Microsoft SharePoint Platform that can work with any scanning device or process images from directories. It cannot just be limited to a desktop scanner, but needs to work with scanning copiers and MFPs. It needs to be capable of both interactive and automated processing, with a deep feature set that will meet just about any capture need.

So, here are a few recommendations when it comes to choosing a software application for scanning to SharePoint:

Choose a company that has deep roots in scanning and capture. Many of the companies out there have not grown up in the scanning and capture industry, and their lack of experience shows in their product feature set.

Pick a software application that can work with both dedicated scanners and scanning copiers / MFPs

Make sure that the software has the capability to monitor hot folders, and automatically process documents from start to finish

Make sure that the company supports other Document Management Systems and output formats besides SharePoint. Most organizations have a need to migrate documents to other destinations.

Look for true integration with SharePoint. Some cool features out there include: Document Library Settings Import, SharePoint Lookup, and the ability to create libraries and columns automatically

These are just a few recommendations. Good luck.