Service Companies Critical Element in Delivering Content and Compliance Solutions

http://www.contentmanager.net/magazine/news_h10342_service_companies_critical_element_in.html

AIIM, the international authority on Enterprise Content Management (ECM), reveals the results of its annual "State of the Industry" survey of document-focused Service Companies.

This survey was distributed during September 2004 to Service Company members of PRISM International and AIIM using an on-line survey instrument. A total of 158 executives participated in the survey. This is the second year in which this survey of Service Company executives has been conducted.

"The risks of mismanaging paper and electronic information are growing," notes AIIM President John F. Mancini. "At the same time, the complexity and the scale of the challenge is increasing daily. This combination is making outsourced document solutions more attractive than at any point in the past five years."

According to Bob Zagami, a member of the AIIM Board of Directors and Vice President at ImageMax, "Service companies are uniquely positioned to deliver the full range document solutions needed by end users -- from paper to microfilm to electronic document management. The survey shows that service companies are focused on the 'core' of enterprise content management: capturing information in all its forms, managing critical business records, and controlling documents."

Among the specific findings:

*72% of service companies are small businesses with less than $5 million in revenues and an average of 94 employees.

*Revenues are derived from a mix of professional services (39%), conversion services (31%), and hardware and software sales (23%).

*The conversion services provided by service companies are primarily scanning (59%). Film-based imaging represents 13% of the conversion revenue mix.

*The business environment for service companies has improved considerably in the past 12 months, with over 70% reporting rising revenues in 2004, vs. only 55% in 2003.

*78% of companies were profitable in 2004; 43% reported profits of 10% or more.

*74% of companies will add head-count in 2005, with 34% reporting they will add 6 employees or more.

Copies of the full survey results are available at http://www.aiim.org/IndustryWatch

09.12.2004, AIIM